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Showing posts from March, 2016

Book Review for Tree of Souls The Mythology of Judaism by Howard Schwartz Book 3 Part 5.10

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General Information: Name of Book: Tree of Souls ISBN: 9780195086799 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Year it was published: 2004 Overall theme: "With only one God, heaven would be a barren place, at least in mythic terms. Yet the actual Jewish view of heaven is quite different. There are seven heavens, filled with angels and other divine beings, such as the Messiah [Not jesus!], who is said to have a palace of his own in the highest heaven. The clestial Temple can be found there- the mirror image of the Temple in the earthly Jerusalem- as well as an abundance of heavenly palaces, one for each of the patriarchs and matriarchs and sages, where he or she teaches Torah to the attentive souls of the righteous and the angels..." (xliii) "Drawing on the full range of Jewish sources, sacred and nonsacred, ten major categories of Jewish mythology can be identified: Myths of God, Myths of Creation...Each of these categories explores a mythic realm, and,

BookGrabbr Spotlight Tour

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​BookGrabbr: A  great way for readers to discover new books and an innovative marketing tool for authors.  ​For Readers: BookGrabbr is a social media-marketing tool that allows authors to share both full books and previews of their books with readers. Readers, you can have access to these books by signing in through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn and using their ability to share as a form of currency. The “Share” is the payment! Share the book, and it will allow you to read it. Just click the “Grabb this book” button next to the book and our system will prompt you to share in exchange for reading! BookGrabbr contains books of many genres, so  visit today , "grabb" a book that catches your eye and start reading! For Authors and Publishers: Through their unique marketing tool and platform, BookGrabbr helps authors connect to readers that they wouldn't generally be able to connect to through their friends and their friend’s friends. The nois

Book Blast: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

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The Tapestry (Joanna Stafford #3) by Nancy Bilyeau Paperback Publication Date: March 22, 2016 Touchstone/Simon & Schuster Paperback; 416 Pages Series: Joanna Stafford Genre: Historical Mystery     " Fans of the Tudor era, you're in for a treat " --InStyle magazine Henry VIII's Palace of Whitehall is the last place on earth Joanna Stafford wants to be. But a summons from the king cannot be refused. After her priory was destroyed, Joanna, a young Dominican novice, vowed to live a quiet life, weaving tapestries and shunning dangerous conspiracies. That all changes when the king takes an interest in her tapestry talent. With a ruthless monarch tiring of his fourth wife and amoral noblemen driven by hidden agendas, Joanna becomes entangled in court politics. Her close friend, Catherine Howard, is rumored to be the king's mistress, and Joanna is determined to protect her from becoming the king's next wife--and victim. All the while, Joanna tr

G698 Book Review of Shylock is my name by Howard Jacobson

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Name of Book: Shylock Is My Name Author: Howard Jacobson ISBN: 978-0-8041-4132-1 Publisher: Hogarth Publishing Type of book: Incest, Oedipal alert between father and daughters, based on a Shakespeare play Merchant of Venice, Shylock, modern times, anti-Judaism and its relation to others, reality shows, control, relationships Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Man Booker Prize-winner Howard Jacobson brings his singular brilliance to this modern re-imagining of one of Shakespeare’s most unforgettable characters: Shylock Winter, a cemetery, Shylock. In this provocative and profound interpretation of “The Merchant of Venice,” Shylock is juxtaposed against his present-day counterpart in the character of art dealer and conflicted father Simon Strulovitch. With characteristic irony, Jacobson presents Shylock as a man of incisive wit and passion, concerned still with questions of identity, parenthood, anti-Semitism and revenge. While Strulovich struggles to reconcile him

G703 Book Review of Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson

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Name of Book: Moonlight Over Paris Author: Jennifer Robson ISBN: 978-0-06-238982-4 Publisher: William Morrow Type of book: Paris France, 1923-1925, history, friendship, family, finding self, romance, art, writing, daily life, class differences, Year it was published: 2016 Summary: USA Today and internationally bestselling author Jennifer Robson takes readers to 1920s Paris in an enthralling new historical novel that tells the riveting story of an English lady who trades in her staid aristocratic life for the mesmerizing salons and the heady world of the Lost Generation. It’s the spring of 1924, and Lady Helena Montagu-Douglas-Parr has just arrived in France. On the mend after a near-fatal illness, she is ready to embrace the restless, heady allure of the City of Lights. Her parents have given her one year to live with her eccentric aunt in Paris and Helena means to make the most of her time. She’s quickly drawn into the world of the Lost Generation and its circle

G695 Book Review of No One Writes Back by Jang Eun-Jin

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Name of Book:    No One Writes Back (Original title: Amudop'yonji haji ant'a) Author: Jang Eun-Jin, translated by Jung Yewon ISBN: 978-1-56478-960-0 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: South Korea, travels, vagabond existence, communication, family issues, blind dog, friendships, relationships, letter writing, old fashioned phone calling, unresolved issues, 2009, quirky characters, fascinating hotels. Year it was published: 2009 (translated in 2013) Summary: Communication–or the lack thereof–is the subject of this sly update of the picaresque. No One Writes Back is the story of a young man who leaves home with only his blind dog, an MP3 player, and a book, traveling aimlessly for three years, from motel to motel, meeting people on the road. Rather than learn the names of his fellow travelers–or invent nicknames for them–he assigns them numbers. There’s 239, for example, who once dreamed of being a poet, but who now only reads her poems to a friend in a co

G685 Book Review of Pavane for a dead princess by Park Min-Gyu

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Name of Book: Juguen Wangnyeoreul Wihan Pavane /  Pavane for a Dead Princess Author: Park Min-Gyu (Translated by Amber Hyun Jung Kim) ISBN: 978 1 62897 066 1 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: South Korea, 1985-1986, relationship, beauty, aestheticism, low wage jobs, wealth, poverty, love, modern music, art, work, philosophy of life without answers Year it was published: 2014 (originally 2009) Summary: Following the relationship between a man with matinee-idol good looks and “the ugliest woman of the century,” Pavane for a Dead Princess examines how contemporary Korea’s obsession with beauty is its popular culture’s newest canker. Both celebrated and condemned for his attacks upon what he perceives as the humorlessness of contemporary Korean literature, author Park Min-gyu uses a myriad of references to Western music and art, and the addition of a ‘writer’s cut,’ to suggest various ways of looking at his country’s extreme aesthetic fetishization. Character

G689 Newspaper boys always deliver; a personal journey into pop and technological change of the last fifty years

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Title of the book:   Newspaper boys always deliver; a personal journey into pop and technological change of the last fifty years Author:  Joseph Gulesserian Publisher: Self published Publishing Date: 2015 ISBN: 9781507898628 Summary: The days of our lives are like pages out of a newspaper, sprinkled with glory, tragedy and enigma, but when these pages are assembled together, they become the journal of our times and existence. It is this story that is told in how in just fifty years, Western culture has gone from culture to techno-culture-from the swinging sixties to rap, encyclopedia to Wikipedia, slide rule to supercomputer. We're too busy scrolling through social media to flip through the newspaper, and too invested in hashtags to ponder how people even spent their time before Twitter. As our attention spans are dwindling, we seem to know a little about a lot of subjects, but with no deep knowledge of any, perhaps due to the modern phenomena of "time povert

G678 Book Review of A Good Family by Seo Hajin

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General Information: Name of Book: Chakhan Gajok/A Good Family ISBN: 978 1 62897 118 7 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Year it was published: 2008 (translated in 2015) Summary: This collection of eight stories cynical and sympathetic by turns represents the author's attempt to document and understand the conflicts, resentments, hatreds, and anxieties of contemporary family life. The title story depicts a mother's busy day playing numerous roles ashamed, fearless, or humble depending on which member of her family she's tending to. In "The Privacy of My Father," a daughter tracks her father to Hong Kong in order to spy on what she thinks is an illicit affair. All in all, says Seo Hajin, family means deception--but these masks aren't so easily removed." Author: Seo Hajin (Translated by Amy C Smith and Ally H Hwang) About the Author: Seo Hajin She was born in 1961 in Youngcheon, North Kyungsang Province. She studied Korean literature at Kyun

G665 Book Review of My Son's Girlfriend by Jung Mi-Kyung

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General Information: Name of Book: My Son's Girlfriend/ Nae adul ui yonin ISBN: 978 1 56478 910 5 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Year it was published: 2013 (Original year 2008) Summary: At once an ironic portrayal of contemporary Korea and an intimate exploration of heartache, alienation, and nostalgia, this collection of seven short stories has earned the author widespread critical acclaim. With empathy and an overarching melancholy that is at times tinged with sarcasm, but always deeply meaningful, Jung explores the ambition and chaos of urban life, the lives of hte lost and damaged souls it creates, and the subtle shades of love found among them. Author: Jung Mi-Kyung (Translated by Yu Young-Nan) About the Author: Yu Young-Nan She lives in Seoul. She has translated numerous Korean novels into English, including Park Wan-suh's Who Ate Up all the Shinga? and Yom Sang-Seop's Three Generations. Jung Mi-Kyung She is one of the most distinguished writers

Book Review for Tree of Souls The Mythology of Judaism by Howard Schwartz Book 3 Part 4.10

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General Information : Name of Book: Tree of Souls ISBN: 9780195086799 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Year it was published: 2004 Overall theme: "With only one God, heaven would be a barren place, at least in mythic terms. Yet the actual Jewish view of heaven is quite different. There are seven heavens, filled with angels and other divine beings, such as the Messiah [Not jesus!], who is said to have a palace of his own in the highest heaven. The clestial Temple can be found there- the mirror image of the Temple in the earthly Jerusalem- as well as an abundance of heavenly palaces, one for each of the patriarchs and matriarchs and sages, where he or she teaches Torah to the attentive souls of the righteous and the angels..." (xliii) "Drawing on the full range of Jewish sources, sacred and nonsacred, ten major categories of Jewish mythology can be identified: Myths of God, Myths of Creation...Each of these categories explores a mythic realm, and,

Interview with Judith Works, author of Coins in the Fountain

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What was the first book you remember reading? The first book I remember reading was The Wizard of Oz . Actually, my mother read it to me and I learned to read from following along. I loved all the books in the series. I loved them so much they finally fell apart from over use. What a marvelous story the Wizard is: a travel adventure with all sorts of amazing characters – who can resist a scarecrow, tin man, and a lion all of whom get the fix they desire, and Dorothy who finds that there is no place like home What genres do you read? I read a lot of non-fiction, particularly history, as well as literary fiction, popular fiction including women’s contemporary, mysteries, and thrillers. I don’t seem to relate to erotica, science fiction or fantasy. Who are your favorite authors today? A recent non-fiction book is Hotel Florida by Amanda Vaill, about the Spanish Civil War was fascinating. All the Light We Cannot See, a novel set in World War II by Anthony Doerr is p