5/21/2023 0 Comments Sarah waters handmaidenTo speak to such populations is impossible, of course all we can do is imply, using ourselves as a reference. Here, in Fingersmith (2002), the reader is witness to minute details of quotidian life in the past, details of intimacy that we, as people alive today, assume the population of history might have shared with us. Sarah Waters’ writing is well-aware of the romantic, fantastical effect a thrilling 19th century setting has on its readers: that this era, in fiction, is an otherworldly canvas onto which we can project our current fantasies. Wet tissue, a rubbing finger, the promise of a sexual awakening–one that is explicitly homosexual in today’s terms. Her eyelids fluttered, and she caught my eye.Īn erotic encounter: A Victorian handmaiden rubs at her mistress’ sharp tooth with a thimble. My hand grew wet, from the damp of her breaths. Her throat lifted and sank, as she swallowed. Maud stood very still, her pink lips parted, her face put back, her eyes at first closed then open and gazing at me, her cheek with a flush upon it.
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5/21/2023 0 Comments Ivory by Keith SomervilleThis article explores the potential of ivory artworks as educational ambassadors, as well as the international reach of museums to target demographics in key ivory consumer regions such as South East Asia, and the ethical obligations of museums with ivory collections to participate in conservation education. This prompts us to suggest an alternative to the destruction of museum ivory: that art museums with ivory collections take on the challenge and responsibility of imparting powerful conservation messages. But analysis of media reactions to the parallel strategy of burning modern ivory stockpiles may offer insight to the likely effectiveness of that course of action in museums: such burns have seemingly fallen short in sending a clear and enduring message to the intended demographics-be this consumers, dealers, poachers or traffickers. Ivory in art museum collections has been a contentious topic during recent years, with some parties calling for its destruction. I will say that the Kindle price is outrageous even for a charming Rumer Godden story. But then it’s about wishes and Christmas so it can be as improbable as it wants and still be charming. This is a charming – if somewhat improbable – story. The Story of Holly and Ivy is a Christmas classic by Rumer Godden, beautifully illustrated by Christian Birmingham. But Ivy has no money, and the shop is closed. Ivy has never had a doll to love, but when she sees Holly, she knows at once that this doll is meant specially for her. On Christmas morning a little lost orphan girl finds herself outside the toyshop. But the day ends and Holly is left in the window. Holly, a small doll dressed especially for Christmas, wishes hard for her own special child. It is Christmas Eve and, for the toys in Mr Blossom’s shop, it is their last chance to be sold. 5/21/2023 0 Comments A dead djinn in cairoThe plot itself is pretty easy to follow with few real surprises, but it’s entertaining and full of excitement right from the off, and the investigation provides plenty of opportunities for details of this world to be gradually revealed. There’s a lot of world building to cram into this alternate-history short story, from technology (dirigibles, aerial trams, mechanical servants) and supernatural creatures to magic and mythology, but it’s a delight to explore from start to finish. Whatever it is that’s stirring amongst the city’s supernatural denizens, it’s up to Fatma to put a stop to it. What at first appears to be a simple case of suicide (however unlikely that may be among immortals) quickly develops into a mystery involving djinn mythology, mechanical angels and flesh-eating ghuls rising from Cairo’s slums. Djèlí Clark’s intriguing urban fantasy A Dead Djinn in Cairo. When a djinn is found dead – exsanguinated, to be precise – it’s Fatma el-Sha’awari’s task, as an investigator for Egypt’s Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, to find out how and why, in P. That harsh reality stands in sharp contrast to the fictional witches whose stories of magic and mayhem fascinate readers of all ages today. For much of recorded history, anyone outside of the norm was regarded with suspicion whenever something went awry in a community, leading to accusations of witchcraft over something as simple as a failed crop. In real life, the witch hunts that swept across Europe from the 1500s to the late 1600s are believed to have resulted in more than 40,000 executions, while the Salem witch trials caused 19 people to be hanged. As a result, there's no shortage of witchy reads both old and new just waiting to be added to your TBR. From the Grimm brothers's cautionary tale "Hansel and Gretel," which featured an evil witch with a taste for children, to the more modern redemption story of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, in Wicked, witches have long played a key role in literature. Witches make every story better that's just a fact. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work. As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. Adapting to adversity has been the enduring theme in all of Brook’s works. World War Z was read and discussed by the sitting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Brooks has been invited to speak at a variety of military engagements-from the Naval War College, to the FEMA hurricane drill at San Antonio, to the nuclear "Vibrant Response" wargame. military to examine how they may respond to potential crises in the future. Brooks’ unique, unconventional thinking depicted in his books has even inspired the U.S. While Brooks has published three massively successful zombie-themed books-The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z, and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks (all of which are now considered the definitive tomes for the genre)-Brooks’ ultimate goal was to challenge old ways of thinking and encourage mental agility and flexibility for problem solvers and leaders. As a best-selling author, Max Brooks is credited with helping propel zombie-lore from niche sub-culture fascination to mainstream pop-culture obsession. 5/20/2023 0 Comments Indecent by Corinne SullivanWhen Imogene meets handsome, popular Adam Kipling a few weeks into her tenure there, a student who exudes charm and status and ease, she's immediately drawn to him. So, shortly after her college graduation, when she's offered a teaching position at the Vandenberg School for Boys, an all-boys prep school in Westchester, New York, she immediately accepts, despite having little teaching experience-and very little experience with boys. Shy, introverted Imogene Abney has always been fascinated by the elite world of prep schools, having secretly longed to attend one since she was a girl in Buffalo, New York. "The disturbingly painful depiction of the struggle to be at home within one's skin will move teens with its well-written, haunting, and illuminating story of a young woman spinning out of control." - School Library Journal Imogene's backstory.will have readers sympathizing with her as she works through her past." - Library Journal " steamy debut, in which infatuation crosses the line into obsession. "Sullivan's debut is a smart and delicious page-turner." - Booklist " surprising debut.an affecting novel, examining self-doubt, self-sabotage, and the lasting impact of both." - Publishers Weekly Blurring the lines of blame and moral ambiguity, Corinne Sullivan's smart, sexy debut is perfect for fans of The Girls and Sweetbitter. 5/20/2023 0 Comments La torre del sol by Natalia DoñateToledo Paz has also collaborated with her father, Francisco, to create children's stories, such as Light Foot/Pies ligeros (2007). Toledo Paz enjoys using the Zapotec language because she feels that it has "a great aesthetic sensibility for creating images and beauty." Her writing, along with other writers' use of the Zapotec language in their work, has helped boost demand in Mexico to make indigenous cultures more visible. Toledo Paz's writing has been concerned with women and their relationship to the environment. Toledo Paz studied in Casa de la Cultura de Juchitán and Sociedad General de Escritores de México (the General Society of Writers of Mexico, SOGEM). Toledo Paz has been writing since she was young. Until she was seven and moved to Mexico City, Toledo Paz lived in a community where Zapotec was the main language spoken. She is daughter of the painter Francisco Toledo and sister of Dr Lakra. Toledo Paz was born in Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca. Ida Kozlowska-Day states that Toledo is "one of the most recognized contemporary poets in the native languages of Mexico." Early life and education Her work helped to revive interest in the Zapotec language. Natalia Toledo Paz (born 1968) is a Mexican poet who writes in Spanish and Zapotec. 5/20/2023 0 Comments Demonic Visions by Chris RobertsonAdams was eventually detained and interrogated by the Gestapo, who suggested he might want to consider returning to the United States. He had been in Germany in 19 and worked with the underground anti-Nazi church, known as the Confessing Church, led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was not a man to use the word fascist lightly. Their ideological inheritors had found a mask for fascism in the pages of the Bible. The Nazis, he said, were not going to return with swastikas and brown shirts. But Adams warned us against the blindness caused by intellectual snobbery. It was hard, at the time, to take such fantastic rhetoric seriously, especially given the buffoonish quality of those who expounded it. This call for fundamentalists and evangelicals to take political power was a radical and ominous mutation of traditional Christianity. Its stated goal was to use the United States to create a global Christian empire. The warning, given 25 years ago, came at the moment Pat Robertson and other radio and television evangelists began speaking about a new political religion that would direct its efforts toward taking control of all institutions, including mainstream denominations and the government. James Luther Adams, my ethics professor at Harvard Divinity School, told his students that when we were his age - he was then close to 80 - we would all be fighting the “Christian fascists.” Shu Han's ruler, Queen Makhi Kir-Taban, plots to kill her sister Ehri Kir-Taban from taking the throne when a blot of darkness with a likeness to the Shadow Fold spreads past the Unsea and into Shu Han. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king's gift for the impossible. As Fjerda's massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm-and even the monster within-to win this fight. The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology. |