![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The world of famine and violence, where women have no voice and no place - the very world that nearly destroyed her also gave her the tools to survive. She told her story - enduring, at five years old, the ancient and savage custom of female circumcision running away at twelve on foot through the desert in order to escape an arranged marriage being discovered by Terence Donovan as she worked as a cleaner in London and becoming a top fashion model - in her book, the worldwide bestseller, Desert Flower.Īlthough Waris Dirie fled her homeland, she never forgot the country and culture that moulded her. At first it seemed impossible - almost as impossible as a camel girl becoming a fashion model.'įashion model, UN ambassador and courageous spirit, Waris Dirie is a remarkable woman, born into a traditional family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia. I had no idea where my family was in Somalia. I wanted to return to the place where I was born and see it with new eyes. ![]() At first it seemed impossible - almost as impossible as a camel girl becoming a fashion model. 'I wanted to return to the place where I was born and see it with new eyes. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Thompson used to say that he’d retype Hemingway novels as a way of getting inside the art,” Jennings says, referring to the influential gonzo journalist who was a close friend and collaborator of Zevon’s. Now Jennings is set to show off his studies Friday night in a concert tribute to Zevon at the Roxy in West Hollywood with a band he’s calling the Werewolves of Los Angeles. “Mind-blown,” as he puts it, by the discovery, Jennings, 43, spent the next couple of years absorbing everything Zevon recorded over an idiosyncratic career that made him a cult-fave avatar of L.A.’s dark side and a musician’s musician beloved by ’70s superstars like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Linda Ronstadt. “He’s owning up to a failure of emotional adulthood in that song, like he’s f- his life up and he’s putting it on parade.” What he heard in Zevon’s heart-rending yet bleakly hilarious lyrics - “And if California slides into the ocean/ Like the mystics and statistics say it will/ I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill” - was “the most blatantly honest songwriting I’d ever encountered,” Jennings says. “Then I listened to it 3,000 more times.” ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Yet every description - whether the colour of a beetle's shell, the rhythm of pterosaurs in flight or the lingering smell of sulphur in the air - is grounded in fact. Journeying backwards in time from the most recent Ice Age to the dawn of complex life itself, and across all seven continents, Halliday immerses us in a series of extinct ecosystems, each one rendered with a novelist's eye for detail and drama. What would it be like to visit the ancient landscapes of the past? To experience the Jurassic or Cambrian worlds, to wander among these other lands, as creatures extinct for millions of years roam? In this mesmerizing debut, the award-winning palaeontologist Thomas Halliday gives us a breath-taking up close encounter with worlds that are normally unimaginably distant. A dazzlingly original, lyrical and epic encounter with the Earth as it used to be ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Russell criticizes Jesus cursing the fig tree. There was one argument that I found silly. Oh, how I hate the argument that morality proves the existence of God and the other tired old tropes all of which are refuted in this book. Who created God (or Bob, or the Super AI)? We can just as easily say the universe has always existed or even more intelligently not make a statement on what we don't know beyond the best facts known. 'Everything that is needs a cause, therefore God (or Bob or the Super AI) must exist'. I still hear the special pleading arguments which were outlined in this book used by people today even after they have been shot down in this book. The Euthyprho dilemma explained in terms of God's fiat is the first time I've ever really understood it. 'Love with knowledge' is our guide for morality. ![]() If you are a human being and have your basic needs met and have time to reflect about yourself and the nature of being human, these essays should be required reading. Incredibly good well written set of essays that flow together. All earthlings can profit from these essays ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Armed with her wits, her interest in “naturalism,” her curious son Francis, and adventurous maid/companion Martha (Hayley Squires), Cora leaves her comfortable London life to solve the mystery once and for all.īut she quickly finds herself at odds with the paranoid, God-fearing people of the town, who quickly start to suspect her when the body count begins to rise. In the middle is Cora Seaborne ( Claire Danes), a woman recently widowed from a wealthy, abusive spouse, who sees the opportunity to find out who she is and what she really wants out of life.Ī fortuitous report out of Essex gives her the chance: A winged, fanged “serpent” is reportedly snatching people up outside the sleepy port town of Aldwinter. The Pitch: 1890s England: a time where the rapid rise of scientific knowledge - medicine, technology, archaeology - clashed with Christian superstitions and fairy tales. ![]() ![]() Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene-though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives-and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all.ĭon't miss this essential concluding volume in the Binti trilogy.Īt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor - Paperback Model: African Fiction Weight: 0.50kg ISBN: 9789789649297 Description. Neil GaimanFor the first time in hardcover, the conclusion to Nnedi Okorafors Hugo and Nebula Award-winning series. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse.įar from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her. ![]() ![]() The Night Masquerade At the Publishers request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. ![]() Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the. ![]() The concluding part of the highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy that began with Nnedi Okorafor's Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning BINTI.īinti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. The concluding part of the highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy that began with Nnedi Okorafors Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning BINTI. ![]() ![]() ![]() A few decades ago, people would find a decent person who lived in their neighborhood. In a short period of time, the whole culture of finding love has changed dramatically. Who’s Nathan? Did he just send her a photo of his penis? Should I check just to be sure?”īut the transformation of our romantic lives can’t be explained by technology alone. Some of our problems are unique to our time. “Why did this guy just text me an emoji of a pizza?” “Should I go out with this girl even though she listed Combos as one of her favorite snack foods? Combos?!” “My girlfriend just got a message from some dude named Nathan. ![]() With technology, our abilities to connect with and sort through these options are staggering. So why are so many people frustrated? Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. This seems standard now, but it’s wildly different from what people did even just decades ago. ![]() We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. ![]() ![]() ![]() I reread it at least once a year, and I never tire of the overheated adventures of Jaenelle, Saetan, Daemon and an awful lot of other characters with "ae" somewhere in their echt-fantasy-novel names. I'm a fervent, if not unabashed, fan of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy. So bring the Cheetos and the cheap pink wine, because I'm about to bring the guilt (though let's not forget the pleasure). Except for Gary Shteyngart - dude, call me up and let's talk about Zardoz, because I think you might be my new best friend. Or fried chicken, but only from this one perfect stall in the Taipei night market - not actually guilty at all. ![]() It's like saying your guilty pleasure is '50s pulp novels, but only first editions. But here's the thing - I don't think it's nearly guilty enough. I love the My Guilty Pleasure series, I really do. Petra Mayer is an associate editor at NPR Books. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Black Jewels Trilogy Subtitle Daughter of the Blood/Heir to the Shadows/Queen of the Darkness Author Anne Bishop ![]() ![]() ![]() Being the mayor’s kid gave him some cache, and attempting to keep a secret that would’ve ruined him if anyone had ever discovered it put a lot of pressure on him to be someone he wasn’t or didn’t really want to be. Tallis knows as well as anyone that he dug himself a deep enough ditch to try to climb out of. But sometimes being able to go back home again depends on why you left in the first place, and sometimes fate and circumstance leave you with no better option then, really, the best you can do is to go back to the beginning and try to make a clean start, even if that means living with your grandma, facing the wrath of half the town, and being forced to prove that you’re not the same person you were when you left. ![]() You can’t relive the past, nor can you change it, nor can you deny that you yourself have changed in significant ways. ![]() It’s been said you can’t go home again, that once you leave behind the narrow view of the small world of your youth and set out to explore the big wide unknown, returning again to the place you came from is impossible. It takes a while, though, for him to recognize that his own special brand of Karma is really called Lex Barry, and Lex? Oh yeah, Lex is staring right back at him. That’s a good one too, because when Tallis Carrington returns to Rock Bay, Washington, humbled and lower than he’s ever been in his life, he stares a former nerd called Karma right in the face. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” Someone also once said, Karma’s a bitch. ![]() ![]() ![]() Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff The Unexpected Everything by Morgan MatsonĪ Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen The Upside of Unrequited by Becky AlbertalliĪ Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. MaasĬhildren of Blood and Bone by Tomi AdeyemiĪ Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1) by Leigh Bardugo The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon ![]() Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQusiton You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah JohnsonĪurora Rising by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman ![]() Need help remembering the events in a book? The folks at Recaptains and Book Series Recaps can help!Īny post with a spoiler in the title will be removed.Īny comment with a spoiler that doesn't use the spoiler code will be removed.Īny user with an extensive history of spoiling books will be banned. ![]() Book suggestions, discussions, and questions are definitely encouraged! January Book Club Discussion: A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir Young Adult literature isn't exclusive to only young adults, so here's a place for both the young and the young at heart to discuss books, news, movies based on books, and everything else related to YA. ![]() |