Because I love to see how an author progresses in their storytelling abilities. Whether they continue with the same characters or move on to new worlds and new storylines, the art of writing changes as the author becomes more comfortable with their craft. I love knowing that the mind that created Dorian Grey and recorded his story also created Lord Saville. Even though they came from the same mind, they are their own entities, and the author was willing to give life to both. I love when an author is committed to the art of storytelling and not just of genre.
I love the entire Dune series, but most readers don't get past the first book. The characters retained the growth and development from the first book and we see how they continue to deal with their differing struggles, like Chani who desperately wants children, while Paul knows that her desire will bring her death. Unable to marry Chani, Paul has taken a wife, in name only, but the woman loves him and desperately wants to be loved by him. I saw myself in these two women who wanted such simple things, but for reasons out of their control, were not able to have them. It made me realize that sometimes we have to let go of what we want and just be grateful for what we have, for as long as we may have it.
The extraordinary sequel to Dune, the greatest science fiction novel of all time.
Twelve years after his victory over House Harkonnen, Paul Atreides rules as emperor from the desert planet Arrakis - but his victory has had profound consequences. War has been brought to the entire known universe, and billions have already perished. Despite having become the most powerful emperor known to history, Paul is powerless to bring an end to the fighting.
While former allies conspire to dethrone Paul and even his own consort acts against him, Paul accepts a gift from the Tleilaxu, a guild of genetic manipulators,…
This is an interesting tale about a man looking for the source of eternal life and actually finds it. However, he begins to see the corruption that can accompany such a gift. He also learns that while easily attained, the gift can just as easily be taken away. I enjoyed the notion of a life spent doing whatever one wants, but I also appreciated the idea that being immortal doesn't include character development and one can just as easily spend a millenia being a tool. I especially enjoyed how the main character answered the titular character when she demanded he join her in the Eternal Flame. That was a plot twist!
She — subtitled A History of Adventure — is a novel by H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925), first serialised in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 100 million copies sold in 44 different languages as of 2013. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print. According to literary historian Andrew M. Stauffer, "She has always been Rider Haggard's most popular and influential novel, challenged only by King Solomon's Mines in this regard".The…
This was another one with an amusing plot twist. Lord Arthur is engaged to be married when, one night at a party, a fortune teller tells him that he will commit a murder. Lord Arthur doesn't want to bring that horror into his new marriage and thus resolves to do the deed before he marries. He postpones his wedding, promising his beloved they will marry as soon as he's taken care of some "business". Poor Lord Savile is a terrible murderer and can't seem to manage to actually kill anyone. I loved this book because it was just so absurd. Some odd little man tells Lord Sevile he will commit a murder, and Lord Sevile never once questions his fate. It was an excellent reminder to me that we shouldn't base our actions on what someone else says.
'He was not blind to the fact that murder, like the religions of the Pagan world, requires a victim as well as a priest...'
Wilde's supremely witty tale of dandies, anarchists and a murderous prophecy in London high society. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here…
I really enjoyed this book because it was a great example of how a Utopia can't exist if people are forced into living it. The aliens that have infected the world have a blissful society, but only achieved it at the expense of another race, and while they see nothing wrong with what they are doing, there are others of their kind who, coming to know human beings, begin to recognize that they aren't as benevolent as they originally believed. It was interesting to see and experience the growing understanding through the eyes of the conqueror. It reminded me that my perspective isn't the only one and you can't force people into a Utopia.
Now in the trade paperback edition: New Bonus Chapter and Reading Group Guide, including Stephenie Meyer's Annotated Playlist for the book.Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and…
This book is an interesting spin on a well-known fairy tale. I really enjoyed this one because the "princess" isn't a damsel in distress and the "charming" isn't always charming. They are written as multi-dimensional characters with character flaws and imperfections. They don't instantly fall in love. They bicker and disagree, but then learn how to work together to free her family from the curse that put her in the middle of the forest. I like the reality of having to learn how to work with someone else and the growth that comes from that learning.
In Enchantment, Orson Scott Card works his magic as never before, transforming the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty into an original fantasy brimming with romance and adventure.
The moment Ivan stumbled upon a clearing in the dense Carpathian forest, his life was forever changed. Atop a pedestal encircled by fallen leaves, the beautiful princess Katerina lay still as death. But beneath the foliage a malevolent presence stirred and sent the ten-year-old Ivan scrambling for the safety of Cousin Marek's farm.
Now, years later, Ivan is an American graduate student, engaged to be married. Yet he cannot forget that long-ago day…
Kale Carson was barely fourteen years old when her mother married a self-important man. He came from nowhere, the man she and her brother called "the General", and took them away from everything they'd ever known. When their mother retreated within herself, the General filled their heads with fearful plans for the future. Then Kale found a friend, someone she could confide in, and she felt she had a chance at a normal life. Off on an adventure, it should have been the time of her life-but betrayal and heartbreak waited around the corner. Trying to pick up the pieces, she forges on alone, but the General's plans include her and he's decided it's time to reclaim her.
I once saw a play at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Theatre. A play about Sor Juana. It was a good play, but it felt like something was missing like jalapenos left out of enchiladas. The play kept nudging me to look further to find Sor Juana, and so for the next five years, I did so. I read and read more. I listened for her voice, and that is where I heard her life come alive. This isn’t the only possibility for Sor Juana’s life; it is just the one I heard.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, this brilliant 17th century nun flew through Mexico City on the breeze of poetry and philosophy. She met with princes of the Church, and with the royalty of Spain and Mexico. Then she met a stunning, powerful woman with lavender eyes, la Vicereine Maria Louisa, and her life changed forever. As her fame grew, she dared to challenge the diabolical Archbishop once too often, and he threw her in front of the Inquisition, where she stood, alone.
Sor Juana's work is studied still today, and justifiably so. Scholars study her months on end; mystics…
This astonishingly brilliant 17th century poet and dramatist, this nun, flew through Mexico City on wings of inspiration. Having no dowry, she chose the life of a nun so that she might learn, so that she might write, so that she might meet the most fascinating people of the western world. She accomplished all of that, and more.
One day a woman with violet eyes, eyes the color of passion flowers, entered her life. It was the new Vicereine, Maria Luisa. As the two most powerful women in Mexico City, the bond between them crossed politics and wound them in…
