![]() ![]() The ending provoked me even though I knew something like that was coming. The Old Man struck me as being a school assignment. I was done with them long before they were over. ![]() Of the other four, The Little Photographer, Monte Verita, and The Apple Tree dragged for me. Each leaves you wanting more, thinking beyond the tale, and yet each is a finished story. In my opinion, four of these stories are very strong and perfect short stories Kiss Me Again, Stranger, The Birds, The Split Second (this one did go on too long, and it was repetitive, but a nice story) and No Motive. We see their vanity, pride, greed or envy and the ugly spot it makes in their life simply because the character will not see it. The author is adept at portraying people as they see themselves, but letting the reader see beneath the veneer as well. Not that the stories are particularly scary. Eight in all, they have the creepy, tuck your feet under you so something doesn't grab you under the chair feel. This is one of the better collections of du Maurier's short stories. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Tristol and Drey are so freaking adorable that it made my teeth hurt - in a good way. I hesitate to say more in fear of spoilers, but the mystery is both relevant to the alien nature of the galoi and utterly poignant to this human reader in view of current political issues so close to home.Īnd finally, the romance. ![]() The science fiction elements are also what make the mystery elements of this story possible. Carriger also has fun with language, especially in Tristol’s point of view scenes, which were a delight to read. They might be humanoid, but the galoi are truly alien in the ways that matter. Carriger doesn’t spend a lot of time on the science of her space station or the politics of the greater universe, but she spends just the right amount of time on things such as alien biology and sociology, and how human biology and sociology both fit and clash where appropriate to the plot. This novel could not have worked without the science fiction elements. Carriger’s science-fiction/romance/mystery is certainly one that I will now hold up as a great example of how to blend things right. As someone who regularly speaks at writing and fandom conventions about the topic of “genre blending” or “genre blurring” in contemporary writing, I have some pretty strong opinions on the subject. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Then again, since the kitchen was one of the common rooms in the main building, I could have walked in when Aggie was halfway through her lunch, which I’m sure would have been more distressing for at least one of us. In truth, I sounded a wee bit hysterical, and I wished with all sincerity that I had walked into the kitchen five minutes later. “You can’t eat that!” I tried to sound firm, like a responsible human and business owner should. She seemed so normal, if you overlooked her timely payment of the rent each week and the fact that she had taken up residence in The Jumble three weeks ago and seemed to be enjoying herself. Until that moment, I hadn’t known I had a scream that could crack glass I hadn’t wondered if an eyeball would puff up and explode in a wave-cooker like those animal-shaped marshmallows and I hadn’t realized my lodger-Agatha “call me Aggie” Crowe-was that kind of Crow. I wouldn’t have known about the dead man if I hadn’t walked into the kitchen at the exact moment my one and only lodger was about to warm up an eyeball in the wave-cooker. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Most who are in the know are trustworthy with one big exception: a wannabe poultry thief. The chickens’ superpowers aren’t a secret. (The town of Gravenstein’s fairly diverse, but some residents need remedial multicultural ed.) The chickens Sophie acquires are plenty diverse themselves, from Henrietta, who lays glass eggs, to Chameleon, with her nifty gift for turning invisible when predators are near. While Dad’s white, brown-skinned, U.S.-born Sophie and her freelance-writer mother are frequently assumed to be migrant farmworkers, legal or otherwise, but they take it in stride. ![]() Sophie’s story unfolds through her correspondence with the poultry people and her letters to Great-Uncle Jim and her beloved abuelita (both deceased but very much alive to Sophie). Moving to the farm her family inherited from Great-Uncle Jim, Sophie Brown, 12, discovers a flyer from a local poultry purveyor promoting its “unusual chickens” and quickly discovers it’s not false advertising. ![]() ![]() ![]() When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time… Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. Genre: YA Contemporary Romance, High School Competition, Jewish There is swearing, sex, and underage drug use. I really wish books had a better rating system. ![]() ![]() Suggested Reader Age: It’s marketed as 12+, but I would put it at 16+. My favourite gift is the metal, stemless travel wine/coffee mug. Boxes are valued at $225 and WILL SHIP IN LATE JUNE.” About The Book □ ![]() 2-3 wrapped gifts will be paired with each book to bring the novels to life even further. The author, Julia Quinn, will be signing the first book, The Duke and I especially for this box. “This singular box will contain the first three novels in the Bridgerton series (The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me, and An Offer From a Gentleman) each featuring exclusive artwork printed directly onto the hardcover edition, deckled edges, and custom end papers. ![]() ![]() ![]() She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.Ĭameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe-please God-make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago-an event that forever changed her life. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I think that’s because each and every person in Lansquenet has their own story and Joanne Harris could spend the rest of her life telling their tales. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes seems to be a village that Joanne Harris can’t get out of her head. There’s Guillaume and his little dog Charly, Armande Voizon and her red silk underwear, Curé Reynaud and his secret past. I first read it about three or four years ago and fell in love with Lansquenet and its character filled streets. Vianne has to decide whether she is going to finally stop wandering where the wind blows her, or if she and Anouk will leave when the wind changes. Not only that, but the river-gypsies are not well-accepted in the village and violence is brewing. Armande’s family doesn’t approve of Vianne and their friendship and so her daughter causes trouble for Vianne in the village. Just as the villagers begin to warm to Vianne and her chocolaterie, she befriends the river-gypsies from the Tannes and an old woman named Armande. ![]() So that doesn’t exactly go down well with the Curé. They buy the old bakery and Vianne turns it into a chocolaterie. Lansquenet-Sous-Tannes is not the most welcoming village in the world, but when the wind blows Vianne and her daughter Anouk into town, she decides to stay. ![]() ![]() Some of the colored pages were put through more than 20 printing steps in order to render the subtle shadings required. The books are set in Monotype Bembo, a lead typeface designed so that smaller sizes open the surrounding white space, producing a pleasing balance. He has designed the books so that the reader almost never has to turn a page to see the image, graph, or table that is being described in the text. Tufte illustrates these principles through all three books, going to extremes in the care with which he presents examples, both good and bad. ![]() Serve a clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation, or decorationīe closely integrated with the statistical and verbal descriptions of a data set ![]() Reveal the data at several levels of detail Induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than the graphical designĪvoid distorting what the data have to say Quantitative graphics should: Show the data The most important of all the practical advice in these books is found on the first page of the first book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Tufte about the expression of information through graphs, charts, maps, and images. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative is the most recent of three books by Edward R. ![]() Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities,Įdward R. ![]() The Visual Display of Quantitative InformationĮdward R. ![]() ![]() ![]() That’s impressive, but it’s not the world record. The Guinness Book of World Records is so popular that it’s published in 23 languages. The longest duration for balancing on four fingers was 19.23 seconds by Wang Weibao of China.Tokyo Dog in Seattle sold the most expensive hotdog ever for $169. ![]() Johanna Quass of Germany is the oldest gymnast who was still competing at the age of 86.The tallest structure built by LEGO bricks is 114 ft.Ayanna Williams has the longest fingernails on a pair of hands, which measures 18 ft.In New York City, the DiLusso Deli Company created a sandwich with the most layers – 60.The largest litter of puppies is 24 born to a Neopolitan mastiff in Manea, United Kingdom.Bismarck, ND holds the record for most people simultaneously making snow angels – 8,962 people. ![]() Some of the categories featured include food and drink, the human body, gaming, nature, structures, marathons, and mass participation. The book contains amazing human achievements as well as incredible animal feats. First published in 1955, an annual edition of the popular book has been published every year since. Most people are familiar with the Guinness Book of World Records. On Guinness World Records Day, potential record-breakers come together with the common goal of being a world-record titleholder. Guinness World Records Day is held annually in November to celebrate record-breaking achievements. (Last Updated On: May 16, 2022) GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS DAY ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I was definitely able to guess most of the ending but that didn't make me like it any less. It made it more eerie and suspenseful reading Lydia's words that way. I absolutely loved the way this book was written. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.įrom the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us comes An Anonymous Girl, an electrifying new novel about doubt, passion, and just how much you can trust someone. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. The next novel of psychological suspense and obsession from the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us ![]() |