![]() ![]() This question is surely not a life-or-death decision, but the amount of misery it has produced among bright young graduates does remind me of the existentialist knots that often surface in Wolff’s stories. ![]() Many elite college students in America face a less extreme moral dilemma: whether they -intelligent, high-achieving students - should pursue lucrative offers in Wall Street, Silicon Valley and the like, or follow their true calling-which might not necessarily mean financial data-crunching and manufacturing flawless PowerPoint slides for corporate clients. ![]() In "The Night in Question," as with a few of Tobias Wolff’s other short stories, there was a man mired in a moral quandary: he had to choose whether to prevent a train from crashing into the river or to save his little son from a fatal engine room nearby. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() James Riley’s novel is more a re-imagined and greatly embroidered fairy tale than it is a fractured one. A host of familiar fairy tale characters appear, including-but certainly not limited to-Snow White, Merriweather, Malevolent, Red Riding Hood, the Wicked Queen, the Huntsman, the Seven Dwarves, and Rapunzel. Along the way, he and May pick up a dainty companion (a fairy), a noble companion (Prince Phillip) and a scary companion (the Wolf King). Before you know it, Jack is facing witches and wolves, taking on giants and dragons with the best of them. Her grandmother is missing, and she needs Jack’s help to save the old woman. Still, that hardly seems to matter when a princess named May unexpectedly drops into his life. He alone, of all the village boys, has failed his princess-saving test. Unfortunately, Jack doesn’t seem to be very good at it. His education is devoted to learning how to save a princess, since that is the only way to escape his life as a peasant. Living with his grandfather in the shadow of his father’s reputation as a thief, Jack is a different sort of hero. No, that Jack was this Jack’s father and this Jack hasn’t seen him since that famous encounter with the giant. But he is not the fairy tale Jack of Beanstalk fame. The first character we meet in this tale is Jack. Half Upon A Time has it all-voice, charming fairy tale characters with a twist, hilarity, and an adventure-filled plot. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Suddenly Li is chasing a killer in an alien world miles underground where everyone has a secret. And a mining “accident” that is starting to look more and more like murder. A missing dataset that could change the interstellar balance of power and turn a cold war hot. A dead physicist who just happens to be her cloned twin. But no memory upgrade can prepare Li for what she finds on Compson’s World: a mining colony she once called home and to which she is sent after a botched raid puts her on the bad side of the powers that be. And Li should know she’s been hacking her memory for fifteen years in order to pass as human. But that’s what backup hard drives are for. UN Peacekeeper Major Catherine Li has made thirty-seven faster-than-light jumps in her lifetime-and has probably forgotten more than most people remember. From a stunning new voice in hard science fiction comes the thrilling story of one woman’s quest to wrest truth from chaos, love from violence, and reality from illusion in a post-human universe of emergent AIs, genetic constructs, and illegal wetware. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The official document mentions that one of the survivors was a slave from a city in Morocco, but no other information was included, leaving the author with a lot of room for poetic license. The official chronicle was written by another survivor, a Spaniard named Cabeza de Vaca, and was one of the earliest, detailed records of the New World and the tribes that lived there. The Moor’s Account is essentially a retelling of the official account of the doomed expedition. The Moor’s Account was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2015. The author, Laila Lalami, was born and raised in Morocco and now lives in California. February’s challenge was to read a book by an African author in honor of Black History Month. I read The Moor’s Account as part of the 2022 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. (This in no way affects the honesty of my reviews!) All commissions will be donated to the ALS Association. As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, from qualifying purchases. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. The story is told by Mustafa, a Moroccan slave who accompanied his master on the expedition and was one of only four survivors. The Moor’s Account is a fascinating historical fiction novel based on a real-life journey to Florida by 300 Spanish conquistadors in 1528. ![]() ![]() ![]() This means that if you choose to purchase, I’ll make a small commission.) The Paris Apartment Synopsis Fuel your conversation with 10 The Paris Apartment book club questions, a book synopsis and some controversial reviews.Īnd if you want more murder or to further explore the dark side of Paris, we’ve also got three related reads that you can add to your reading pile. Our discussion guide for The Paris Apartment will help you pick apart and examine those lies, shadows and skeletons. There a lot to talk about with this murder mystery, so uncork the red, set out the brie and get ready for a juicy book club discussion. But enter she does, triggering the page turning plot of The Paris Apartment. “Jess…don’t do it…don’t enter the building!” we cry. ![]() In addition to residents who are creepy schemers, this Paris apartment also houses a pile of lies, closets full of skeletons, shadowy figures and dank cellars. ![]() ![]() “The total of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of planet earth.” So claimed Carl Sagan in 1980. This means the majority of humans have no basic visual access to their own galaxy in an immediate, astronomical sense. As 2014 over 50% of the world’s population live in cities, by 2050 it is projected to be 70%. Because of nighttime light pollution, the Milky Way is simply not visible in urban areas. We are from the inside looking outward and inward at once, a part gazing at the whole, partially but not impartially. As a band spanning the sky it seems like some distant river, but in fact we and our solar system are cradled quite deeply within its arms. Carl Sagan (Episode 1: The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean, Cosmos, 1980) ![]() We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle - deep, and the water seems inviting. On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. “The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. ![]() ![]() Kvothe is a gifted musician and magician, but he’s also hot-headed, impetuous, and has no patience. ![]() That always struck me as odd, considering the genre is full of powerful protagonists, but it’s also odd because we know from the first chapter that for all of Kvothe’s skills, he caused a tragedy. His heroic exploits are constantly at odds with the end result of what happened.Ī common refrain of critics of the Kingkiller Chronicle is that Kvothe is too good at everything he tries. However, by the time we get to Kvothe telling his tale, we’re several chapters into the frame story, in which we’ve learned that the world is a mess, and much of it is Kvothe’s fault. Kvothe survives and spends several years growing up as a street urchin in the nearby metropolis, and then finally enters the University to learn magic. His parents and everyone he knows are killed by beings called the Chandrian, mostly believed to be fairy tale monsters for children-killed because his father was trying to write a song about their real history. The Mistrel: Kvothe from The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Kim Kincaid ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Oh, and what’s that on the first page of the book? An apple tree? *cue crazy guy voice* GARDEN OF EDEN ANYONE?! Theory #2: The Truman Show-esque Civilization Theory Thus when the dog/Jesus digs down at the end of the book, the boys land in purgatory. In this theory, the dog that accompanies Sam and Dave is Jesus, trying to lead the boys in the right direction (notice that the dog is always pointing the way to reach the jewels), yet they don’t listen and end up missing the precious stones every time. I will now present six theories on what exactly happens at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, from least likely to most likely. Really, one of the best open-ended picture book conclusions in recent memory. It has some excellent broad humor, as well as one heck of a challenging ending that will make readers think. But definitely read Sam & Dave Dig a Hole (out October 14). ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Are you ready for the impossible?įrom the first page of Upgrade, it’s clear you’re in the hands of a master storyteller Blake Crouch leads you on a rollercoaster ride in this highly original science-fiction adventure thriller, by turns mysterious, fascinating and deeply moving - exploring the very nature of what it means to be human. Intricately plotted and epic in scope, Upgrade asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity – and our boundless potential. To win this war against humanity Logan will now have to become something other than himself. But with a terrifying plan in place to replicate his upgrade throughout the world’s population, he may be the only person capable of stopping what has already been set in motion. Logan’s family legacy is one he has been trying to escape for decades and it has left him vulnerable to attack. He knows that it’s not natural, that his genes have been hacked. He’s beginning to see the world around him, even those he loves the most, in whole new ways. Your concentration was better, you could multitask quicker, read faster, memorize more, sleep deeper.įor Logan Ramsay, it’s happening. ‘You are the next step in human evolution. Upgrade is the mind-bending thriller from Blake Crouch, author of the bestselling Dark Matter and Recursion. ![]() ![]() ![]() You may see each other ten times, but formal dates? Probably not. If you’re going out with a guy who’s only interested in sex, you won’t make it to a tenth date. This is in keeping with the long-standing theory of the ten date rule, which states that it takes straight men ten dates with a woman to know that he wants a relationship. Studies suggest that 39% of couples declare their relationship at around the three-month mark, which works out to approximately 10-12 dates if you’re seeing each other once a week. ![]() ![]() However, the 10 date rule exists to give a guideline for where you should be after a certain amount of time. Even though this is not a one-size-fits-all formula, there are reasons to follow it. Some couples never do, while others establish monogamy after only a couple of dates. There is no “normal” length of time for a couple to become exclusive. ![]() |