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America is not the heart6/6/2023 ![]() ![]() You know, down the hall and up the stairs from this office is the part of the White House where the President and his family live. The sorrow - the goodbyes, of course, and leaving this beautiful place. And the fact is, ``parting is such sweet sorrow.'' The sweet part is California and the ranch and freedom. Well, maybe I can do a little of that tonight. And so many times I wanted to stop and reach out from behind the glass, and connect. ![]() You spend a lot of time going by too fast in a car someone else is driving, and seeing the people through tinted glass - the parents holding up a child, and the wave you saw too late and couldn't return. One of the things about the Presidency is that you're always somewhat apart. Nancy and I are grateful for the opportunity you gave us to serve. So many of you have written the past few weeks to say thanks, but I could say as much to you. It's been the honor of my life to be your President. But before I do, I wanted to share some thoughts, some of which I've been saving for a long time. We've been together 8 years now, and soon it'll be time for me to go. This is the 34th time I'll speak to you from the Oval Office and the last. ![]()
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The alchemyst books6/5/2023 ![]() ![]() By the last page of this exhilarating journey, it’s delightfully clear that the ending is merely the beginning. The story moves breathlessly fast, with riotous confrontations featuring beasts, Egyptian gods, witches and the walking dead. The lines between good and evil blur when Sophie’s magical powers are awakened, but Josh’s are not. They are accidental participants in Dee’s attempt to steal the Codex and destroy Flamel and his wife (but if they have been mixing this formula for eons, why do they need the recipe?) It gradually becomes clear, though, that Sophie and Josh hold potentially great powers and play an essential role in fulfilling a prophecy foretold in the Codex. ![]() Caught in the middle of the age-old struggle are teen twins Sophie and Josh. The Codex contains the secret of eternal youth and keeps the ancient, dark “Elder Race” from world dominion representing the Elders is a devious human, Dee. ![]() History’s greatest alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, has been guardian of a magical book, The Codex, for eons. The juxtaposition of our reality with magic and myth is riveting if one is willing to overlook one tiny glitch in the design. This first in a planned series borrows characters from history, legend and mythology, but is set in modern time. ![]()
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Samuel beckett deirdre bair6/5/2023 ![]() ![]() Yet as Bair reveals in what she calls her “bio-memoir”, the Nobel laureate never bothered to conceal his erotic indifference to the earnest, happily married woman who had cheekily suggested that she was the best person to write his life. Now, it transpired, this American had pillow-talked her way into the literary gig of the century while they had been busy going to international Beckett conferences, getting drunk in Dublin pubs or fretting about why “Sam” hadn’t replied to their last three letters. If anyone was going to write about the author of Waiting for Godot, Molloy and Krapp’s Last Tape, they had always imagined it would be them. Evil-minded gossip flew around the obstreperous ragtag of ivy league professors, Irish poets, Parisian intellectuals and New York critics who had appointed themselves gate-keepers of the Beckett universe. The year was 1971 and there could be no other explanation as to why the reclusive Grand Old Man of Irish and European letters should bestow a pearl of such great price on a young American with no more than a recent PhD to her name. W hen Samuel Beckett agreed to let Deirdre Bair write his biography, everyone assumed it was because he was sleeping with her. ![]()
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An american marriage book buy6/5/2023 ![]() ![]() This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. ![]() After five years, Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. As Roy's time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. ![]() He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. ![]()
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Reign of brayshaw meagan brandy6/4/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() We could make more friends and ask them to come over. Maybe after tomorrow, our first day at a real school, that would be different. Maybell, and the guy that loves to drive us around. Like the high walls to a king’s castle, they protect us from others. We asked Dad if we could cut them down once so we could see if there were other kids around who might want to play with us, but he said no, that the trees were there for our protection. Maybell’s smile slowly goes away, she turns, looking out at the big trees all around our home. I smile at her and quietly unwrap the caramel, popping it in my mouth. ![]() She grins, moving her fingers to her lips. She pulls some candy from her sweater pocket, handing me a piece. I always listen when she asks me to do something, if I don’t, she might decide she doesn’t want to stay here with us and go away like our moms did, like Dad says he has to soon. Maybell calls, patting the seat beside her on the porch. ![]()
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The penderwicks 36/4/2023 ![]() ![]() The wedding serves as a seamless device to bring back more characters from previous books who arrive at the ceremony with pleasant surprises. Tifton, who remains a rigid and humorless foil for the Penderwicks’ exuberance. ![]() Lydia and her siblings are less pleased to see another Arundel native: Mrs. ![]() Lydia is eager to explore the place “where the possibilities for adventure are endless.” She finds a kindred spirit in Alice Pelletier, who lives in the cottage where the Penderwicks stayed and whose father is Cagney, the object of Rosalind’s preteen crush, now a history teacher and the estate’s caretaker. The last time the entire family was at the estate was 15 years ago now they are gathered for Rosalind and Skye’s double wedding. And what a stage she has: the story is set at Arundel, the legendary estate which, for Lydia, has previously existed only in her sisters’ stories. Lydia, the youngest Penderwick sibling, is now 11 and takes center stage in this fifth and final entry in the National Book Award-winning series. ![]()
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Elsewhere zevin novel6/4/2023 ![]() ![]() This moving, often funny book about grief, death, and loss will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward? And now that she's dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn't want with a grandmother she has only just met. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe's psychiatric practice.Įlsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere's museums. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. ![]()
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The straight razor cure6/4/2023 ![]() ![]() It's important to re-up the lather before you get to that area. An important note: After some time, the soap on your legs will start to dry. ![]() When the towel felt lukewarm, I lathered on my shaving soap with my brush. If you have a hard time maneuvering around the knees, or want to just remove small areas of hair–like, say, the bikini line–then a straight razor is perfect for you.įirst, I prepped my skin by placing a towel soaked in hot water on my legs. For one thing, a straight razor shave gives you more control than a standard bladed razor. There's a reason why straight razors have persisted throughout history. If you're bored of spending money on razor blades, want to shave more sustainably, or are just interested in behaving like James Bond would, here is everything you need to know about how to shave with a straight razor. Not only did I remove any trace of hair from my legs, but I get the sense that any dead skin was also scraped off, leaving me with possibly the smoothest shave I've ever achieved. The next day, I dutifully shaved from my ankles to my bikini line with it. ![]() Then, one night, during a quarantine-induced fugue state of online shopping, I pulled the trigger: I bought myself a straight razor. For the past few years, I've seen him achieve a ridiculously close shave and smooth jawline every few days in the mirror (alas, he won't let me do it for him). Enter my boyfriend, who steadfastly refuses to shave with anything other than a straight razor. ![]()
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Rise by Jeanne Reames6/3/2023 ![]() ![]() There was significantly more attention paid to the relationships he had with his friends, his family, and, of course, Hephaistion. Book I was about learning who Alexandros was, how he thought, how his experiences formed his adult character. The differences between this book and the first are stark. What sources are to be believed? Which facts or theories will work best with the narrative the author wants to present? ![]() Add to that the fact that the society he lived in is also poorly understood and completely foreign to the world we live in today, and writing a book of this scope becomes hugely difficult. Reames mentions in her postscript, the information about Alexander is nebulous, contradictory, overlaid with myth and altered by centuries of political changes – there is no way to know the full truth. ![]() I am a huge fan of historical fiction, but I recognize that it is inherently much more difficult to write a historical biography, and especially when the character written about is almost mythical. ![]()
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The oleander sword review6/3/2023 ![]() ![]() But Malini and Priya’s souls remain as entwined as their destinies. Their chosen paths once pulled them apart. But she doesn’t yet understand the truth of the magic she carries. Thrice born priestess, Elder of Ahiranya, Priya’s dream is to see her country rid of the rot that plagues it: both Parijatdvipa’s poisonous rule, and the blooming sickness that is slowly spreading through all living things. The power of the deathless waters flows through Priya’s blood. ![]() ![]() But even with the strength of the rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight. She is determined to claim the throne that fate offered her. The prophecy of the nameless god-the words that declared Malini the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa-has proven a blessing and curse. ![]() |