It should not be so hard to write both poetry and fiction. Both arts, after all, make use of the same materials, words and punctuation. Poems...
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My boss was kind enough to give me this book, and I'm really glad he did. It's a great read with wide appeal that goes beyond genre and demographics. It's got elements of everything from a bildungsroman to a science fiction classic, and those elements are blended extremely well.
The story revolves around Julia, protagonist and narrator of the book, as she recounts how her world--not to mention the world at large--changes when "the slowing" beings. The earth's rotation suddenly starts slowing down, and there's no one who knows why or how to stop it. Julia is eleven years old when it starts, and in the span of only a few months, life is irrevocably changed. Everything is affected.
Plants, animals, and people all fight to survive as things become ever more extreme. How can the crops survive long stretches without light? How can animals migrate when the earth's magnetic fields are breaking down? How can relationships survive when they're tested by the stress of extreme environmental changes and fear of the unknown?
As if life weren't difficult enough in middle school, when you're just trying to figure out where you fit in the world, Julia has to deal with the fact that the world might no longer fit people. Days are stretching and the world is breaking apart. Julia watches as people abandon their homes and families to live on real time as opposed to following the old clocks, as people fall ill from a syndrome resulting from the slowing, as people die from the syndrome or mass suicides, as people fall away from her life as she tries to move forward.
The Age of Miracles is a captivating story of the human experience in extreme circumstances. It's evident from the beginning that Julia is telling this tale from some point in the future, after the slowing, and there's no telling what that future is like. She reflects occasionally, marking the things that are lost--everything from eating her last grape to the ability to go outside without the sun's radiation burning through her clothes.
It's a remarkable book. I only wish I hadn't read it so quickly--because now I want to read it again.
My boss was kind enough to give me this book, and I'm really glad he did. It's a great read with wide appeal that goes beyond genre and demographics. It's got elements of everything from a bildungsroman to a science fiction classic, and those elements are blended extremely well.
The story revolves around Julia, protagonist and narrator of the book, as she recounts how her world--not to mention the world at large--changes when "the slowing" beings. The earth's rotation suddenly starts slowing down, and there's no one who knows why or how to stop it. Julia is eleven years old when it starts, and in the span of only a few months, life is irrevocably changed. Everything is affected.
Plants, animals, and people all fight to survive as things become ever more extreme. How can the crops survive long stretches without light? How can animals migrate when the earth's magnetic fields are breaking down? How can relationships survive when they're tested by the stress of extreme environmental changes and fear of the unknown?
As if life weren't difficult enough in middle school, when you're just trying to figure out where you fit in the world, Julia has to deal with the fact that the world might no longer fit people. Days are stretching and the world is breaking apart. Julia watches as people abandon their homes and families to live on real time as opposed to following the old clocks, as people fall ill from a syndrome resulting from the slowing, as people die from the syndrome or mass suicides, as people fall away from her life as she tries to move forward.
The Age of Miracles is a captivating story of the human experience in extreme circumstances. It's evident from the beginning that Julia is telling this tale from some point in the future, after the slowing, and there's no telling what that future is like. She reflects occasionally, marking the things that are lost--everything from eating her last grape to the ability to go outside without the sun's radiation burning through her clothes.
It's a remarkable book. I only wish I hadn't read it so quickly--because now I want to read it again.
The Darlings aren't your average family. They're the 1%, with Park Avenue apartments, weekends in the Hamptons, and jobs in high finance. Paul Ross, however, wasn't born into this life. He married into it when he married Merrill Darling. He feels lucky to be part of the family and to have a job working for Merrill's father, Carter, when so many others are getting laid off in financially troubling times.
But something isn't right. When one tragic event brings attention not only from the media but also the SEC, Paul has to make a choice. He needs to decide whether he will save the family business or betray his family and save himself. Which is the right thing to do? And can he live with the consequences? No matter what happens, someone is going to lose, and lose big.
Cristina Alger has lived in that world and writes her debut novel with an insider's experience. The twisted connections between the Darlings, the SEC, and the journalists investigating both create an atmosphere of complex deception and intrigue that offers happy endings to some and not-so-happy endings to others. Whether the endings are right for the people who get them, well...that's the real question, isn't it?
This book is an intricately woven tale that spans continents, cultures, and lifetimes. The characters are so enmeshed in each others' lives that not even reincarnation can separate them for long. Leela Sharma finds that out when she finds herself returning to India after decades away, decades of avoiding the memories of Meera, her dead poet sister; Vyasa, her arrogant manipulator of a brother-in-law; or twins Bharati and Ash, the niece and nephew she hasn’t seen since they were babies.
But just because Leela is drawn back by Vyasa for a family wedding (between his son, Ash, and Leela's husband's niece, Sunita), it doesn't mean that the past is going to repeat itself. Ganesh, blue elephant-headed god and scribe of the Mahabharata, isn't going to let Vyasa have things all his own way. Ganesh acts as more than a scribe; he writes his own stories as well, and he's writing one for Leela and those who surround her. Families intertwine in unexpected ways, and whether noted professor, impoverished servant girl, or newlywed liar, everyone feels the effects of what's happening.
Alice Albinia has created a book or rich texture and experience. Literature, history, religion, and fascinating characters are put together so well that Leela's Book is a book I didn't want to put down. It shows great depth and the plot has a sophisticated complexity full of lush detail and the human experience.
So . . . much . . . fun! William Shatner is hilarious. Seriously. I was laughing out loud as I read. His life has been filled with some crazy situations, and he shares them with readers with great perspective and attitude. Who else would have a football party and invite Rush Limbaugh and Henry Rollins? (Only one of them stayed, but for a minute they were in the same room together.) Loved this book!
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Customer Comments
Gracie has commented on (36) products.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Gracie, April 3, 2012
My boss was kind enough to give me this book, and I'm really glad he did. It's a great read with wide appeal that goes beyond genre and demographics. It's got elements of everything from a bildungsroman to a science fiction classic, and those elements are blended extremely well.The story revolves around Julia, protagonist and narrator of the book, as she recounts how her world--not to mention the world at large--changes when "the slowing" beings. The earth's rotation suddenly starts slowing down, and there's no one who knows why or how to stop it. Julia is eleven years old when it starts, and in the span of only a few months, life is irrevocably changed. Everything is affected.
Plants, animals, and people all fight to survive as things become ever more extreme. How can the crops survive long stretches without light? How can animals migrate when the earth's magnetic fields are breaking down? How can relationships survive when they're tested by the stress of extreme environmental changes and fear of the unknown?
As if life weren't difficult enough in middle school, when you're just trying to figure out where you fit in the world, Julia has to deal with the fact that the world might no longer fit people. Days are stretching and the world is breaking apart. Julia watches as people abandon their homes and families to live on real time as opposed to following the old clocks, as people fall ill from a syndrome resulting from the slowing, as people die from the syndrome or mass suicides, as people fall away from her life as she tries to move forward.
The Age of Miracles is a captivating story of the human experience in extreme circumstances. It's evident from the beginning that Julia is telling this tale from some point in the future, after the slowing, and there's no telling what that future is like. She reflects occasionally, marking the things that are lost--everything from eating her last grape to the ability to go outside without the sun's radiation burning through her clothes.
It's a remarkable book. I only wish I hadn't read it so quickly--because now I want to read it again.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Gracie, April 3, 2012
My boss was kind enough to give me this book, and I'm really glad he did. It's a great read with wide appeal that goes beyond genre and demographics. It's got elements of everything from a bildungsroman to a science fiction classic, and those elements are blended extremely well.The story revolves around Julia, protagonist and narrator of the book, as she recounts how her world--not to mention the world at large--changes when "the slowing" beings. The earth's rotation suddenly starts slowing down, and there's no one who knows why or how to stop it. Julia is eleven years old when it starts, and in the span of only a few months, life is irrevocably changed. Everything is affected.
Plants, animals, and people all fight to survive as things become ever more extreme. How can the crops survive long stretches without light? How can animals migrate when the earth's magnetic fields are breaking down? How can relationships survive when they're tested by the stress of extreme environmental changes and fear of the unknown?
As if life weren't difficult enough in middle school, when you're just trying to figure out where you fit in the world, Julia has to deal with the fact that the world might no longer fit people. Days are stretching and the world is breaking apart. Julia watches as people abandon their homes and families to live on real time as opposed to following the old clocks, as people fall ill from a syndrome resulting from the slowing, as people die from the syndrome or mass suicides, as people fall away from her life as she tries to move forward.
The Age of Miracles is a captivating story of the human experience in extreme circumstances. It's evident from the beginning that Julia is telling this tale from some point in the future, after the slowing, and there's no telling what that future is like. She reflects occasionally, marking the things that are lost--everything from eating her last grape to the ability to go outside without the sun's radiation burning through her clothes.
It's a remarkable book. I only wish I hadn't read it so quickly--because now I want to read it again.
The Darlings by Cristina Alger
Gracie, March 2, 2012
The Darlings aren't your average family. They're the 1%, with Park Avenue apartments, weekends in the Hamptons, and jobs in high finance. Paul Ross, however, wasn't born into this life. He married into it when he married Merrill Darling. He feels lucky to be part of the family and to have a job working for Merrill's father, Carter, when so many others are getting laid off in financially troubling times.But something isn't right. When one tragic event brings attention not only from the media but also the SEC, Paul has to make a choice. He needs to decide whether he will save the family business or betray his family and save himself. Which is the right thing to do? And can he live with the consequences? No matter what happens, someone is going to lose, and lose big.
Cristina Alger has lived in that world and writes her debut novel with an insider's experience. The twisted connections between the Darlings, the SEC, and the journalists investigating both create an atmosphere of complex deception and intrigue that offers happy endings to some and not-so-happy endings to others. Whether the endings are right for the people who get them, well...that's the real question, isn't it?
Leela's Book by Alice Albinia
Gracie, March 1, 2012
This book is an intricately woven tale that spans continents, cultures, and lifetimes. The characters are so enmeshed in each others' lives that not even reincarnation can separate them for long. Leela Sharma finds that out when she finds herself returning to India after decades away, decades of avoiding the memories of Meera, her dead poet sister; Vyasa, her arrogant manipulator of a brother-in-law; or twins Bharati and Ash, the niece and nephew she hasn’t seen since they were babies.But just because Leela is drawn back by Vyasa for a family wedding (between his son, Ash, and Leela's husband's niece, Sunita), it doesn't mean that the past is going to repeat itself. Ganesh, blue elephant-headed god and scribe of the Mahabharata, isn't going to let Vyasa have things all his own way. Ganesh acts as more than a scribe; he writes his own stories as well, and he's writing one for Leela and those who surround her. Families intertwine in unexpected ways, and whether noted professor, impoverished servant girl, or newlywed liar, everyone feels the effects of what's happening.
Alice Albinia has created a book or rich texture and experience. Literature, history, religion, and fascinating characters are put together so well that Leela's Book is a book I didn't want to put down. It shows great depth and the plot has a sophisticated complexity full of lush detail and the human experience.
Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large by William Shatner
Gracie, December 31, 2011
So . . . much . . . fun! William Shatner is hilarious. Seriously. I was laughing out loud as I read. His life has been filled with some crazy situations, and he shares them with readers with great perspective and attitude. Who else would have a football party and invite Rush Limbaugh and Henry Rollins? (Only one of them stayed, but for a minute they were in the same room together.) Loved this book!1-5 of 36next