![]() ![]() He’s married.”Ĭynthia was regularly threatened by Beatles fans and didn’t tour with John again although she was frequently seen with him at nightspots and in other press photos. Manager Brian Epstein insisted that both the marriage and the baby be kept secret as he felt it helped the group’s image with younger girls but the news broke during the band’s first trip to America and, during an Ed Sullivan appearance, a graphic was shown saying “Sorry, girls. Julian was born on April 8, 1963, just as the Beatles were taking off. Lennon and Powell were married on Augshortly after Powell found out that she was pregnant. ![]() ![]() The pair began dating in the fall of 1958 and kept their relationship together, save for a three month break in the early years, even with Lennon’s frequent long engagements in Hamburg with the Beatles. She became interested in art early in life and attended the Liverpool College of Art where she met a young John Lennon. Cynthia Powell was born in Blackpool where the family had relocated after their previous city, Liverpool, became the target of German bombing runs. ![]()
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![]() ![]() The # 1 rule in America: to be noticed is to risk losing everything. And yet, young Qian, now acting as her mother’s nurse, her family’s translator, a student, and a worker, cannot ask for help. At home, Qian’s resilient Ma Ma ignores her own pain until she’s unable to stand, too afraid of the cost and attention a hospital visit might bring. ![]() Qian goes to school hungry, where she teaches herself English through library books, her only source of comfort. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly. Qian’s parents work in Chinatown sweatshops and sushi factories. In China, Qian’s parents were professors in America, her family is “illegal” and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive. In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country.” Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. An incandescent and heartrending memoir from an astonishing new talent, Beautiful Country puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world. ![]() ![]() ![]() He was struggling with his street guide as it flapped on the passenger seat when a siren blooped behind him. The road here kicked and turned, with fine views all the way to the Pacific. ![]() The Ford's engine made an ominous coughing sound as it climbed the hairpins. Air so clean it tasted like God's aftershave. On past the stores offering sightseeing tours and the boys selling maps of the stars and girls selling themselves and the plateglass boutiques and the bars which were already open for the morning, or hadn't yet closed from the night before. Up along Franklin beside the high fences of the new Paramount-Shindo studios. Not for the first time, he told himself that he should pay more attention to the industry on which this city thrived. Pack, and he hadn't heard of them, either. Backstabber Wife, starring Trudy Rester-whoever the hell she was-was on at the Aladdin, and The Wonderful Prairie and Midnight's Dust were in continuous double bill at the Classic, both featuring Saffron Knowles and James H. Stargazy queues were already lengthening outside the feelie houses for today's first shows. ![]() The last of the mist had burned away and the smog had yet to settle as he took the offramp from the new Olympic Parkway and rattled north through Hollywood in his battered '36 Ford. ![]() ![]() He asked if she needed further assistance, which she declined. “There you go, ma’am,” my source said to the breathless rider, handing the reins back to her. I knew he had a background with horses, but it was extraordinary to witness how quickly and intuitively he brought a dramatic and potentially dangerous situation under control. My source, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paramilitary operator, leapt off his horse, positioned himself in the wide path, and deftly grabbed the reins of the thousand-pound animal as it charged by. ![]() ![]() A figure on horseback rounded the bend, the terrified rider hanging on for dear life as her horse galloped out of control, reins dangerously askew. Halfway into our outing, as we were riding along in the otherwise quiet forest, we heard screaming-unmistakably a woman’s voice. One interview took place on horseback up in the mountains, an off-the-grid location where that particular source felt comfortable speaking. Some interviews took place in sources’ homes, others in the anonymity of roadside diners. ![]() In reporting this book I sat for hundreds of hours with sources who recounted to me situations of sheer pandemonium and chaos entwined with the human will to survive and the intellectual challenge of not giving up hope. ![]() This is a nonfiction book about complex individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. ![]() ![]() ![]() The action is narrated by Ginny, the oldest daughter of Larry Cook (our Lear ) as she tells us how she understood her father deciding, seemingly randomly, to sign over his thousand acre farm to his three daughters. ![]() Even though Lear is a tragedy, A Thousand Acres doesn’t strike you as a tragedy in the beginning-and even when you feel like the scales are tipping in that direction, they never do. She painted a picture of isolation in a great expanse, of solitude-of creeping, haunting solitude-that only occurs when you are surrounded by unchanging scenery. Instead of sensationalized, Smiley presented me with something a little different. So I came to this book looking for scandal, the way I always wanted to read something sensational, taboo or banned (I try to pull a few titles from the Banned Book list every year and read them just because they’re banned). My professor went to school with Smiley and said that when the author sat down to re-invent King Lear she came to the story with the perspective that Lear sexually abused his daughters. ![]() I came to Smiley through a love of Shakespeare-during a Global Shakespeare film class where we were watching Kozintev’s take on King Lear, we got into a discussion about Lear’s relationship with his daughters and conversation came to A Thousand Acres. ![]() ![]() ![]() Scary and powerful, the reality of Trump politics, I feel uncomfortable even writing about my thoughts about this novel because I really don't know how true or false the narrative is. Reads like a coming of age "incident" for Trump, with a chapter including a visit from his late grandfather, the acceptance of his destiny from real estate tycoon to becoming the 45th president of the United States. But it’s also a really smart one, and you shouldn’t let the page turning quality mislead you - you need to pay attention as you read this!Ī satirical account of ex-President Trump during high school at the New York Military Academy. I don’t want to spoil the fates of the other boys, but in one funny passage a clueless fellow who is briefly feeling so overcome with guilt that he thinks he may vomit, puts his copy of Crime and Punishment under his pillow to prop up his head (arguably the worst possible course of action at that moment and a fantastic image).Īs many people have written here, this is a funny book. The anti-hero Donald loses his copy before he’s read even a page, and of course he feels no guilt at all. ![]() Each boy’s relationship to the book says something important about their feelings toward guilt and confession. Then an incident occurs which leaves a number of the boys reasons to feel guilty. The students at the school are assigned the book at the beginning of the term. ![]() ![]() As a former student of Russian literature, I really enjoyed the author’s use of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment in this book. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Even as a spate of grisley murders rocks the city. ![]() Even as Ryker’s mysterious past begins to unravel. ![]() When his research brings him to the Noctera Observatory, a one-night stand with a witch incites trouble with the local packs, but their connection is primal and neither of them is willing to let go. Ryker Atwood is a rogue werewolf used to living on the fringe of the supernatural world, shunned by his kind. Now her adoring fans follow her every move, and she can’t leave Noctera, the magical capital of the supernatural world, without security. Lennox Winterbourne is a potion witch who went from master biochemist to a world-famous beauty mogul. When she stabs a dangerous fallen angel, and the mercenary’s lethal seraphic magic transfers to her, they are forced to return to her hometown to find the one person who might be able to save them… Never double-cross a witch who can break the Internet with a single photo…Īnd never provoke a lone werewolf who has no pack and isn’t afraid to die…įarren is a trainwreck of a witch who spends her nights partying and her days hunting for a necromancer who can exorcise the demon controlling her life. And the romance is hot! Never sleepwalk with a poisonous demonic blade… From KAMI GARCIA, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES & ALYS ARDEN, bestselling author of THE CASQUETTE GIRLS comes a brand-new, adult, paranormal romance! CITY OF NIGHT teems with dark magic, razor-sharp claws, venomous fangs, and brazen supernatural characters who are not afraid to use them. ![]() ![]() ![]() Immediately, the audience is aware of several factors at work in this story world. The very first line begins with a confession by the main character, David, “I’ve seen Steelheart bleed” (Sanderson 1). ![]() The first sixteen pages are a tight, fast-paced introduction to the story world, its characters, and the main character’s motivation and goal. While the writing community is divided on the topic of prologues, this specific story makes effective use of its prologue. But David knows something the Reckoners don’t. Everything thinks that assassinating the world’s most powerful and feared Epic is impossible. ![]() Only the Reckoners fight back, which is why David longs to join their mission. Years ago, when humanity experienced the first wave of unnaturally and extraordinarily powerful humans called Epics, the most cruel of them all, Steelheart, solidified his reign as the city’s most feared ruler. Steelheart by Brandon Sandersonĭavid knows firsthand that superheroes don’t exist in real life. ![]() We’ll be discussing hooks and subversion today, but there are many literary techniques at work in Steelheart, and I will probably come back at a later date to talk about writing action scenes. The material not only met, but also exceeded, my expectations. Steelheart is my very first introduction to Sanderson’s work, and I was not disappointed. I’ve been meaning to read a book by Brandon Sanderson for a very long time, ever since I first heard praise for his masterful fiction. ![]() ![]() Her books have sold more than nine million copies and been translated into 37 languages. ![]() As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated - scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court. Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it a hard-earned reprieve. In this companion tale to the bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series, Feyre, Rhys and their friends are working to rebuild the Night Court and the vastly changed world beyond after the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin. Absolutely spellbinding - New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken ![]() ![]() Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processesĪ gorgeously written tale as lush and romantic as it is ferocious. Reference, Information & Interdisciplinary subjects Hong Kong Golden Dragon Books 2022-2023. ![]() ![]() ![]() Natalia's horrifying history with fires is slowly revealed, amping up the already high tension as it becomes clearer exactly why she is as terrified as she is. Indeed, Natalia, her hiking partner and crush, Wyatt, and a motley group of other hikers are now forced to hike miles in smoky, treacherous air (with flames rapidly approaching in the dry summer) after their nearby exit is blocked off because of the encroaching flames. ![]() The existing wildfires were fairly distant, but a new fire, accidentally set, means that danger is far closer. Natalia has learned some coping strategies to deal with her crippling fear of fires, but those tools are going to be challenged when a brief hike in her home state of Oregon becomes a fiery ordeal. ![]() ISBN 9781250234070 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. ![]() |