that he is wiser today than yesterday." "A tavern is a place where madness is sold by the bottle." "A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart." "A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart." "Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps few know their own strength. "A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire and intention, by false speaking, to deceive and injure your neighbour." "A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying.
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A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. contains uncommonly novel ideas and presents them in an engaging manner.Ħ – Notable. A helpful and/or enlightening book that combines two or more noteworthy strengths, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style.ħ – Good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. A helpful and/or enlightening book that is extremely well rounded, has many strengths and no shortcomings worth mentioning.Ĩ – Very good. Often an instant classic and must-read for everyone.ĩ – Superb. A helpful and/or enlightening book that, in addition to meeting the highest standards in all pertinent aspects, stands out even among the best. Here's what the ratings mean:ġ0 – Brilliant. Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. Our rating helps you sort the titles on your reading list from solid (5) to brilliant (10). We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Helpful – You’ll take-away practical advice that will help you get better at what you do. Whatever we select for our library has to excel in one or the other of these two core criteria:Įnlightening – You’ll learn things that will inform and improve your decisions. At getAbstract, we summarize books* that help people understand the world and make it better. The clock on the mantel was buried behind crumpled cigarette packs, but the light seeping into the room through the blinds was bright enough to be late morning. Neil untangled the borrowed sheet from his legs and sat up. He hadn't said anything last night, maybe too tired to demand an explanation for last night's fiasco, but had relegated Neil to the living room and gone to sleep himself. Wymack had dropped everyone else off at the stadium but snagged Neil before he could catch a ride with his teammates back to the dorm. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but the view was as familiar to him as the one from his bed at the dormitory. The others fell asleep within a few miles, but Neil spent the entire ride thinking about Riko and his father. Wymack rounded up his team, waited while they changed out into more comfortable clothes, and got them on the road. Neil was happy to let it die and gladder when his teammates didn't bring up Riko again. Neil assumed that meant the subject was touchier than a drugged Andrew could let on, so he answered with a vague, "He summarized it for us."Īndrew grinned and shrugged the conversation off. Nicky only would have confessed his indiscretion to Andrew if he felt guilty for giving so much away. Yes? Nicky said he told you all about it." "I didn't enter the foster system with a last name, so I was tagged as a Doe. Infrastructure was renovated, trade was opened and developed, and the arts flourished under his rule. People from all walks of life, religions, and castes were engaged in his empire’s modernized army and administration. Though a devout Sikh who spearheaded an effort to repair his religion’s main sites, notably the Harmandir Sahib or “Golden Temple” in Amritsar, he also went to considerable pains to protect religious freedom inside his borders. During his rule, Punjab and Northwest India experienced a golden era. All of this changed with the ascension of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Afghan invasions, chronic infighting among Punjab’s numerous sovereign kingdoms, and the impending prospect of British expansion had left the province politically unstable, economically weak, and religiously divided by the time Ranjit Singh was born in 1780. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, also known as the “Lion of Punjab” or “Sher-e-Punjab,” was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which controlled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early part of the nineteenth century. Eva has an ear for accents and has decided to reinvent herself. Eva's real name is Ethel Maltby and she is from Yorkshire, the daughter of a laundress and a drunken abuser, while Precious is an American. In 1939, we get to know Precious and her best friend and roommate, Eva. The editor in charge is a college friend from when Maddie was studying in England and Maddie will be staying in the spacious Marylebone Road flat in which Precious lives, which is owned by the family of the editor's cousin, Colin, whom Maddie has avoided in the past. Precious was a model in the late 30s to early 40s and the article Maddie writes will be paired with an exhibit at the local Design Museum that will include clothing and accessories Precious saved from her time as a model. Maddie has been asked to come to London to interview an elderly woman who goes by the name of Precious and just happens to be distantly related to Maddie. The Last Night in London by Karen White is a contemporary/historical novel that goes back and forth between present-day London and London just before the beginning of WWII, in 1939, through the Blitz. That flight revealed for the first time an unmistakeable image of a sprawling metropolis, tantalizing proof of not just the mythical city but an entire lost civilization. Three quarters of a century later, bestselling author Doug Preston climbed aboard a rickety, single-engine plane carrying expensive laser technology that could map the terrain under the dense rainforest canopy. Soon after, he committed suicide without revealing its mysterious location. In 1940, swashbuckling journalist Theodore Morde returned from the jungle with hundreds of artifacts and tantalizing stories of having seen the crumbling walls of the Lost City of the Monkey God for himself. Indigenous tribes speak of ancestors who had fled there to escape the Spanish, warning that anyone who disturbs this sacred city will fall ill and die. Since the days of conquistador Hernan Cortes, rumors have circulated about an ancient White City of immense wealth hidden in the Honduran interior. New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston takes listeners on an adventure deep into the Honduran jungle in this riveting, danger-filled true story about the discovery of an ancient lost civilization. Not Necessarily Award Winners: Books for Boys.2019 Ladybug Picture Book Award Nominees.Audiobooks the Whole Family Will Enjoy. Heat level: Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes Themes: prepping, alternative lifestyles, disability, crime, loneliness, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fish out of water, opposites attract, abduction, Stockholm syndrome, family issues “When Taron looped the heavy metal collar around the slender neck and closed the padlock, his body throbbed with the excitement of knowing he owned this boy. One that isn’t right, yet tempts him every time Colin’s pretty eyes glare at him from the cage. It’s only when he finds out the city boy is gay that an altogether different option arises. Colin doesn’t deserve death for setting foot on Taron’s land, but keeping him isn’t optimal either. The last thing Taron needs is a nuisance of a captive. He deals with his problems on his own, but the night he needs to dispose of an enemy, he ends up with a witness to his crime. But what seems like his worst nightmare might just prove to be a path to the kind of freedom Colin never knew existed. He ends up taking a detour into the darkest pit of horror, abducted by a silent, imposing man with a blood-stained axe. What he doesn’t realize is that it’s the last time he has a choice. On impulse, he decides to take a different route. Like every other weekend, Colin is on his way home from university, but he’s taunted by the notion that he never takes risks in life and always follows the beaten path. When Beowulf finally arrives and defeats Grendel, the novel presents the closest thing to a true hero. By refusing to kill Unferth, Grendel denies him a heroic death and demoralizes him, showing him the emptiness of his ideas of heroism. By refusing to fight Unferth and instead throwing apples at him, he humiliates the hero and turns what should be a noble fight into a kind of pathetic slapstick comedy. Grendel is especially able to mock ideals of heroism through his interactions with Unferth. The Danes’ exploits are simply examples of “violence no more legitimate than a wolf’s.” Hrothgar’s amassing of riches and tribute is perhaps no different from the dragon’s selfish hoarding of treasure. From Grendel’s perspective, the heroic feats celebrated by the Shaper are all lies. Whereas the epic poem Beowulf builds up the idea of a hero, much of Grendel criticizes and pokes fun at the very idea of heroism. In the background of the novel is perhaps English literature’s most significant text about heroism: Beowulf. So, grab that cuppa, sit back and enjoy the book that gave me the kick up the rear and gave me back my mojo! So a massive thank you to Catherine and Eleanor for reminding me, without knowing it how much I love reading! xx But even so, I can’t even express how depressing it was not being able to enjoy a book! Then I started this and I have to say that this became a balm, I was gripped from the first chapter and by the end, I felt as though a weight had been lifted, but more than that I re-found my love of reading again. I blame too much time on social media mixed with obsessively watching the chaos on the news, it all got a bit much. Over the last month or so I have really struggled with keeping motivated and my focus on reading, which for someone who loves reading, who finds so much joy in books and has always used books as an escape from the real world that slump made me really sad. Before I start with this review, I wish to take a moment to say just say something… Hello Sunshines! I am super excited to be sharing my review of this breathtaking book The Colour of Mermaids by Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead. After Makeba is born, the tension between Ben and Helen-who resents the fact that Ben can't make a full commitment to marriage or fatherhood-reaches the breaking point, and Ben leaves for a few days to clear his head. At the time, Ben was an aspiring writer as soon as he and Helen marry, he finds himself torn between his soon-to-be family and his all-consuming career. We learn that Ben and Helen met at a Valentine's Day party in 1975, fell in love, and, when Helen got pregnant months later, married. The rest of the narrative alternates between the background story of Makeba's father, Ben, and her mother, Helen, and entries from the journal Makeba has kept while reading her father's autobiographical novel about fatherhood and about a lifetime spent away from the daughter he supposedly loves. In the prologue, 19-year-old Makeba Crestfield shows up at a crowded book signing in Philadelphia when she finally reaches the front of the line, she confronts the author-for the very good reason that it's her long-lost father who, Makeba thinks, walked out on her a decade before. Journal entries in the form of letters to a father from his daughter, along with an imaginary dog/wolf named Mate who symbolizes the forces that drive couples apart, help Pate (Losing Absalom, not reviewed) establish himself as a stylistic innovator who can also tell a story-in this case about the as yet largely uncharted territory of modern-day African-American fatherhood. |