Three years ago, someone had asked if they could move the dial up to seventy degrees. The shades on the windows to his office were pulled shut against the afternoon sun, the air-conditioning blasting harshly, keeping him alert. He made a mental note to send out a memo to remind everyone that he had a sensitive nose, and that he shouldn’t be expected to work in such conditions. One of the night staff must have spilled something in his office, the scent thick and cloying. He folded his hands on his oak desk, his Arper Aston chair squeaking as he settled in for what he was sure was going to be a case of unfortunate histrionics, all while trying to keep from grimacing at the stench of bleach and Windex. “How did you know?” she said, her cheeks wet as she reached for the Kleenex box on his desk. Tears were pointless, and she was only delaying the inevitable. Little tears, big tears, full-on body-wracking sobs, it didn’t matter. Wallace Price hated it when people cried.
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This book has already made the jump onto my favorites list it's one of those feel-good stories I look forward to reading again and again. And she's also one of the most delightful literary characters I've ever encountered. The sheriff even calls her a "one-woman crime wave." She may indeed seem to be as tough as a boot - after the first summer, Grandma doesn't even meet the kids at the train station she figures that they can find their own way to her house, but Joey, Mary Alice, and the reader soon come to realize that she's something of an old softy inside. Grandma is not above stretching the truth or stealing borrowing someone's boat to achieve her goals. Over the years, Grandma Dowdel gets the kids involved in all sorts of hilarious adventures - catching criminals, helping some star-crossed lovers elope, and showing up the snooty banker's wife. As the years went by though, Mary Alice and I grew up, and though Grandma never changed, we'd seem to see a different woman every summer. And tough! She was tough as an old boot, or so we thought. She was old too, or so we thought - old as the hills. She was so big and the town was so small. "I don't think Grandma's a very good influence on us," Mary Alice said.Įvery August, Joey Dowdel and his kid sister Mary Alice spend a week at their Granny's house. But Ellie shows fierce loyalty to her neighbors, especially her best friend, who becomes a target for cruel jokes at school. Her attitude toward her star-struck mother and remote father is as ambivalent at the end of the story as it is in the beginning. Readers may find it unsettling that Ellie fails to make a significant connection with either parent. Around the time of Kennedy's assassination, she decides to leave her family to pursue her dream in New York City. Tension mounts as Doris becomes increasingly obsessed with becoming a famous actress and grows neglectful of her children. And she felt a pang of embarrassment at being one of the people who lived on Witch Tree Lane.") Ellie's chief source of anxiety is her mother, Doris Day Dingman, who acts more like a beauty queen than a mother. She felt a tugging fondness for her small house and the four other houses on the street. ("Every time Ellie neared her street she was struck by two opposing feelings, and wasn't sure how her heart had room for both of them. Eleanor ("Ellie") Roosevelt Dingman, a sixth-grade resident of Spectacle, N.Y., wrestles with her feelings about her family and neighborhood, which is filled with social misfits. , affectingly reexamines them in this third novel set in the 1960s. Martin, who explored with such insight the themes of ostracism and family conflict in Belle Teal Anyone who enters his store finds the object of his or her lifelong dreams and desires: a prized baseball card, a healing amulet. Leland Gaunt opens a new shop in Castle Rock called Needful Things. “A read in the tradition of The Stand” ( Booklist). Stephen King’s #1 national bestseller about a store where Leland Gaunt can sell you whatever your heart desires-sexual pleasure, wealth, power, or even more precious things-but not without exacting some price in return. What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads) : That’s not a particularly impressive reading rate… but, I keep moving forward. Of the 100 books I’ve chosen for Shelf Control, I’ve managed to read only 11 so far, plus one more that I DNFd and one that went in my most recent discard pile. And the scary thing is that I’m not in any danger of running out of unread books on my shelves. THIS IS MY 100th SHELF CONTROL POST! Wooooooo. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here. Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Welcome to Shelf Control - an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nick’s marriage bubbles to the Two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets That bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the With an overpowering talent for seduction…and an alluring acquaintanceįrom their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. Social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily’s friendship Budgie’s arrival to restore herįamily’s old house puts her once more in the center of the community’s Her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently married-anĮvent that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lily’s past: That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview. Placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that Idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the In his text, Richard Kenvin looks at the craft and design of surfboards from a historical and cultural perspective. The decline of traditional alaia board riding is not only an example of a lost art but also a metaphor for the disintegration of traditional culture after the Republic of Hawaii was overthrown and annexed in the 1890s. From the ancient Hawaiian alaia, the traditional board of the common people, to the unadorned boards designed with mathematical precision (but built by hand) by Bob Simmons, to the store-bought longboards popularized by the 1959 surf-exploitation movie Gidget, board design reflects both aesthetics and history. Surf Craft maps this evolution, examining surfboard design and craft with 150 color images and an insightful text. Today most surfboards are mass-produced with fiberglass and a stew of petrochemicals, moving (or floating) billboards for athletes and their brands, emphasizing the commercial rather than the cultural. Surfboards were once made of wood and shaped by hand, objects of both cultural and recreational significance. The evolution of the surfboard, from traditional Hawaiian folk designs to masterpieces of mathematical engineering to mass-produced fiberglass. Left visually impaired, she can nonetheless glean glimpses into the future through the sporadic visions and dreams that come to her. Our story follows a handful of key POV characters, starting with Nyx, a student at the Cloistery who was found as an infant in the wilderness. But it didn’t always used to be this way. In this opening volume of the Moon Fall saga, we are whisked away to the world of Urth, a tidal locked planet with one hemisphere always in the scorching sun and the other forever shadowed in frosty darkness. But in fact, the author began his writing career with fantasy, as he reminds readers in the foreword of The Starless Crown, so this was more like a return to his roots! Regardless, I was very excited to get to reading. Up until now, my experience with James Rollins has primarily been limited to his mystery and thriller books, so epic fantasy seemed like a major departure. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own. I received a review copy from the publisher. Book Review: The Starless Crown by James Rollins In this book, the authors discuss how the artist's sensual classical maidens, Raphaelesque Madonnas, and pristine peasant children embodied the tastes of American Gilded Age patrons, and how Bouguereau's canvases persuasively functioned as freshly painted Old Masters for collectors flush with new money. While also lauded by the French artistic establishment and a dominant presence at the Parisian Salons, Bouguereau achieved his greatest success selling his idealized and polished paintings to a voracious American market. This fascinating volume offers an in-depth exploration of Bouguereau's overwhelming popularity in turn-of-the-century America and the ways that his work-widely known from reviews, exhibitions, and inexpensive reproductions-resonated with the American public. An in-depth exploration into the immense popularity of William-Adolphe Bouguereau's work in America throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries Seeking to bring Gallic sophistication and worldly elegance into their galleries and drawing rooms, wealthy Americans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries collected the work of William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) in record numbers. JSA (with the first half of the run - issues #6–25 and 32–51 - co-written by Johns and David S. Star Spangled Comics: ".A Terrifying Hour!" (with Chris Weston, one-shot, 1999) collected in The Justice Society Returns (tpb, 256 pages, 2003, ISBN 1-4012-0090-7).Stargirl: The Lost Children (with Todd Nauck, 2022-2023).Stargirl Spring Break Special (with Todd Nauck and Bryan Hitch, 2021).Infinite Frontier #0 (untitled 4-page story, with Todd Nauck, anthology, 2021) collected in Infinite Frontier (hc, 352 pages, 2022, ISBN 1-7795-1424-7 tpb, 2023, ISBN 8-2).Impulse #61: "The Sidekick Swap" (with Eric Battle and Mariko Shindo, 2000).(with Lee Moder, Chris Weston (#0) and Scott Kolins (#9–11), 1999–2000) collected as: A small masterpiece of insight and concision, this volume offers a clear portrait of one of the twentieth century's most important and controversial thinkers. Now, in this extremely accessible introduction, Anthony Stevens-one of Britain's foremost Jungian analysts-clearly explains the basic concepts of Jungian psychology: the collective unconscious, complex, archetype, shadow, persona, anima, animus, and the individualization of the Self. Though he was a prolific writer and an original thinker of vast erudition, Jung lacked a gift for clear exposition, and his ideas are less widely appreciated than they deserve to be. This is the most lucid and timely introduction to the thought of Carl Gustav Jung available to date. Now, in this extremely accessible introduction, Anthony Stevens-one of Britain's foremost Jungian analysts-clearly explains the basic concepts of Jungian psychology: the collective unconscious, complex, archetype, shadow, persona, anima. |