![]() ![]() It sounds like the setup of a comedic sitcom, and in many ways, it is exactly that. Burroughs’s mother, a chain-smoking, aspiring poet, who seems to have manic episodes, after divorcing her abusive, alcoholic husband, sends Burroughs, age 12, to live with her … psychiatrist, Dr. The premise of the memoir is already bonkers, folks. It helps that in addition to a ridiculous story to tell, he also has such a writer name, and a great title, although I’m not sure what the thought was behind the cover picture of a boy with a box over his head since I don’t recall a story about that from the book. ![]() I’m talking about the famous, movie-adapted 2002 memoir by Augusten Burroughs, Running with Scissors. When a Christmas tree is still up in May (and the kids are still mining it for candy), and a girl wears her McDonald’s uniform to the beach to go whale-watching - wearing a button promoting the newest, hottest menu item, Chicken McNuggets, no less - you know you’ve stumbled into a wildly memorable memoir. ![]()
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![]() Donald's life of Lincoln is different and therefore more rewarding it unrolls, as Lincoln's real life did, as a series of abrupt twists and turns, triumphsĪnd setbacks, after any one of which, had he made the wrong choice, he would never have had his chance at greatness. Through his life in search of clues to how he got that way. ![]() But the authors of all but a handful of them began by assuming that he was a Great Man, then dutifully worked their way back No one knows how many books have been written about Lincoln - one prominent collector estimates there have been more than 7,000. ![]() Is so lucid and richly researched, so careful and compelling, that it is hard to imagine a more satisfying life of our most admired and least understood President, at least for the foreseeable future. To belong to him the way Herndon does, of course no biography of the 16th President can ever be definitive each new generation will insist on redefining him, just as all its predecessors have. Now, nearly half a century later, after writing, editing or collaborating on 15 more volumes and winning two Pulitzer Prizes for biography, he has produced a life of Lincoln himself. $35.ĭAVID HERBERT DONALD began his distinguished career in 1948 with "Lincoln's Herndon," a life of Abraham Lincoln's law partner and early biographer, William Herndon, so comprehensive - and so entertaining - that no one has ever bothered ![]() ![]() October 22, 1995, Sunday, Late Edition - Finalīy David Herbert Donald. ![]() ![]() ![]() In 2008, it was a CBC Radio Toronto pick for one of the best nonfiction books of year. And quite frankly in many instances-George Francis Train, for instance, or Louis De Rougemont-you'd probably be right. You might call them something else nuts, perhaps. ![]() There is an ineffable quality, an indefinable something or other that sets some people apart, places them in the special category that Jim Christy calls scalawag. Many adventurers are not even interesting, come to think of it, let alone scalawags. But you can be an adventurer, a conman or conwoman, a fool, liar, gambler, rodomontade or ragamuffin and not be a scalawag. In these pages you will encounter gamblers and adventurers, conmen and conwomen, rodomontades and ragamuffins, outright fools and outrageous liars. CBC Radio Toronto selection, one of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Year (2008). ![]() ![]() That he can read the language ? Latin, too. Then Harry begins to notice things: that, as well as Gaelic, the boy speaks flawless French, with an accent much different from Harry's Norman one. The Scottish boy is surly and violent, and eats anything that isn't nailed down. Montagu gives the boy to Harry as his squire, with only two rules: don't let him escape, and convert him to the English cause.At first, it's hopeless. ![]() They ride north, to a crumbling Scottish keep, capturing the feral, half-starved boy within and putting the other inhabitants to the sword.But nobody knows why the flower of English knighthood snuck over the border to capture a savage, dirty teenage boy. Nineteen-year-old Sir Harry de Lyon yearns to prove himself in the war, and jumps at the chance when a powerful English baron, William Montagu, invites him on a secret mission with a dozen elite knights. ![]() ![]() I think she excels in any genre she writes, she always has a mix humor and a pop culture which I love, and she writes great romances with crush-worthy characters. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I love Meg Cabot. Maybe it would be better for Em to just keep on running… ![]() Will Christopher be able to put aside his personal feelings and help her expose her employer to the world? Is it even fair to get Christopher involved-since if he agrees, there’s every chance that Stark Enterprises will try to have them both killed-this time, permanently? With everyone she loves furious with her for something she can’t explain, and nothing but the live Stark Angel fashion show on New Year’s Eve to look forward to, Em’s reached the end of the rope…what’s the point of even going on?īut when she discovers the truth about Nikki’s secret, she knows there’s only one person she can turn to. In Runaway, the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling and acclaimed Airhead novels by Meg Cabot, Emerson Watts is on the run: from school, from work, from her family, from her friends, from herself. Genre: Contemporary with a touch of Science Fictionįull Disclosure: Reviewed from ARC sent for contest purposesĪbout the Book: (From Book) High fashion with a touch of sci-fi. ![]() ![]() I get that the authors are taking the well known and loved movies and altering the plots to be something slightly different. I don’t ever find them actually “twisted”. I will say that I have a sort of love/hate relationship with these books. ![]() ![]() Despite the amazing tagline, I honestly didn’t know what to expect, and ultimately, I enjoyed this one. The moment I learned that there was going to be a Twisted Tales novel based on Hercules, I knew I needed to read it. Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. Written by the author of Mirror, Mirror and Conceal, Don’t Feel, Jen Calonita’s latest twist is sure to delight and surprise. Can Meg put her past behind her and use her quick-wit to defeat monsters and gods alike, including the nefarious Hades? Will she finally figure out her place and contribution to the world? Or will her fear of commitment have her running away from an eternity of godhood with Herc? The ex-boyfriend who immediately moved on to someone else while she was stuck in the Underworld. ![]() The ex-boyfriend she saved by selling her soul to Hades. The mission? Oh, just to rescue her ex’s current wife from the Underworld. All Meg has to do is complete a mysterious quest. Luckily, Hera has a solution, offering Meg a chance to prove herself worthy of a spot on Mt. That is, until Zeus tells Meg that she can’t be with Hercules because she’s, well, mortal. ![]() After Hercules proves he’s a true hero and regains his godship, all seems right in the world. ![]() ![]() ![]() With an obsessive fascination that is as contagious as it is compelling, author Jacky Colliss Harvey (herself a redhead) begins her exploration of red hair in prehistory and traces the redhead gene as it made its way out of Africa with the early human diaspora to its emergence under Northern skies. A book that breaks new ground, dispels myths, and reinforces the special nature of being a redhead, with a look at multiple disciplines, including science, religion, politics, feminism and sexuality, literature, and art. Book excerpt: Red is a brilliantly told, captivating history of red hair throughout the ages. This book was released on with total page 0 pages. ![]() Book Synopsis Red by : Jacky Colliss Harveyĭownload or read book Red written by Jacky Colliss Harvey and published by Black Dog & Leventhal. ![]() ![]() Motivated by vanity and a desire for fame, seventeen-year-old Boyd becomes a courier and spy for the Confederate army after shooting a Union soldier in her home. They use seduction to discover the secrets of Union soldiers and Northern politicians. Drawing from original source material, Abbott makes these women and their histories come alive, illuminating the women’s war and how these unsung heroines influenced the course of history.īelle Boyd and Rose O’Neal Greenhow are two women whose allegiances lay with the Confederacy. ![]() The book cycles through the stories of Belle Boyd, Emma Edmonds, Rose O’Neal Greenhow and Elizabeth Van Lew. ![]() Each chapter shifts in focus, alternating between Union and Confederate sympathizers. In her latest work of historical nonfiction, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, Karen Abbott examines the role of four women during the Civil War who risk their lives for their beliefs. ![]() ![]() Brinzaru brought him to a room filled with a wide variety of torture instruments. Richard knew the days of soft interrogations had come to an end. 'I used to hold you on my knee when you were a baby,' Brinzaru had told the young lad. Major Brinzaru had a reputation for being a refined, intelligent sadist with arms as hairy as a gorilla's and a knack for extracting information.īefore he became an interrogator, he had worked for a popular politician whose son was arrested for leading a patriotic movement. Richard, like all the other prisoners, dreaded that name. 'Tomorrow you will meet Comrade Brinzaru.' Richard Wurmbrand became a powerful advocate for persecuted Christians. 'His name is Jesus Christ,' Richard said, his face throbbing, 'and if he wants to, he can release me.' 'Can't you see that you're completely at my mercy and that your Saviour, or whatever you call him, isn't going to open any prison doors?' 'You've been playing with us,' Colonel Dulgheru shouted, delivering a blinding punch to Richard's cheek. This extract from an inspiring new biography is published on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. His wife Sabina was also imprisoned and brutally treated. ![]() He was to spend 14 years in prison, undergoing torture and abuse. His 'crimes' were leading Christian worship and witnessing to his faith, both of which were illegal under the Communist regime. ![]() On February 29, 1948, Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand was arrested on his way to a church service. ![]() ![]() ![]() In that way, The Long Song joins Amma Asante’s Belle in presenting its audience with a view of the British Empire’s heyday told from a different perspective of someone raised within it and directly affected by the racism and oppression that fuelled it. It is July who is given the direct close-up and a fourth wall break that tells us instantly that this is her story and not the kind of nineteenth century tale we usually get. Caroline’s tantrum is witnessed in wider shots with any closer shot of her obscured slightly by a lace curtain. Director Mahalia Belo alludes to this visually during this sequence. Williams allows a knowing nod to this at the start of the episode by explicitly stating that this isn’t a story about a white woman trapped on a plantation and waiting for her love to arrive. Importantly, it’s storytelling from a perspective that viewers of period dramas don’t often get to witness, that of a slave herself. Storytelling and its importance is at the heart of it all, from the framing device of the older woman writing her narrative, to the title cards that signal different stages of July’s story. ![]() |