![]() ![]() I loved Jahanara’s friends, but didn’t feel there was enough back story to show why Ladli in particular was so loyal to her. I liked the romance between Jahanara and Issa, but I thought it came on too fast. I liked this book, but I didn’t love any part of it. ![]() This summary sounds a little more scripted than I think most of my others do, but this book is such a sweeping epic that it deserves a sweeping introduction. The tale that unfolds is one of political positioning as well as star-crossed lovers. Jahanara loves her older brother and wants him to succeed and sends her loyal spies into Aurangzeb’s trusted inner circle. It’s known that he favors his oldest son, Dara, the brains, and his younger son, Aurangzeb, who is a powerful soldier. Thus, Isa, the great architect, has Jahanara cast as his assistant and thus sparks the great love story.Īs the towers grow higher, the emperor’s health is failing. And the only living woman who holds a candle to the late empress’ beauty is Jahanara, her daughter. To memorialize her, the emperor orders the Taj Mahal to be built. When the wife of the emperor dies, all of Hindustan is thrown into sorrow but none more than the emperor himself. ![]()
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![]() When I finished I wanted more Gaskell and so I picked Ruth off my shelf and this did not disappoint. The richness of the narrative, the variety of characters and the complexity of their intertwined lives forced me to read slowly. Molly really got to me and each morning I awoke wondering how her story would unfold. ![]() ![]() I picked up Wives and Daughters several weeks after my last post and it was the perfect book to read at a “snail’s pace.” Have you ever loved the experience of reading a book as much as you loved the book itself? As I spent long leisurely evenings on the couch or afternoons on the patio rocking chair, Molly Gibson stayed front and center in my thoughts. I am about one half the way through David Copperfield, but I put it on hold to read Gaskell’s, Ruth. I’ve spent the last two months reading Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens. ![]() The daily life into which people are born, and into which they are absorbed before they are well aware, forms chains which only one in a hundred has moral strength enough to despise, and to break when the right time comes–when an inward necessity for independent individual action arises, which is superior to all outward conventionalities. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Here, on his ancestral land, Dmitry Vasilyevich built a three-story house with large terraces, spacious rooms and a workshop. Bryullova, Maria Alekseevna Polenova gave the first drawing lessons to her children.īeginning in 1855, the Polenovs with their three sons and two daughters spent every summer in Karelia, in the former Olonets province, on the Imochentsy estate. A talented amateur artist who once took lessons from Academician K.A. ![]() His legacy in the Polenov family is love for progressive social thought and zealous service to educate the people.įrom him, Elena Polenova's mother, Marya Alekseevna Polenova, inherited a love of literature, music and painting and managed to pass it on to her children, especially her son Vasily and daughter Elena. Returning to his homeland, even in Catherine's times, he wrote a work On the destruction of serfdom in Russia, where he advocated the immediate emancipation of the peasants and universal literacy. Lomonosov, who received a higher legal education at universities in Germany. Her great-grandfather on her father's side - Alexei Yakovlevich Polenov, the famous first Russian "lawyer" and "emancipator", by the decision of M.V. ![]() ![]() ![]() Spanning from the ancient world to modern leaps in technology, and vibrantly illustrated throughout, this book will add a little chroma to anyones understanding of the history of colors. This origin story of historys most vivid color pigments is now in paperback and perfect for artists, history buffs, science lovers, and design fanatics. Red lead, for example, was invented by the ancient Greeks by roasting white lead, and it became the dominant red in medieval painting. Featuring informative and detailed color histories, a section on working with monochromatic color, and recipes for paint-making, Chromatopia provides color enthusiasts with an eclectic story of how synthetic colors came to be. ![]() From grinding down beetles and burning animal bones to alchemy and pure luck, Chromatopia reveals the origin stories behind over fifty of historys most vivid color pigments. ![]() Throughout history, pigments have been made from deadly metals, poisonous minerals, urine, cow dung, and even crushed insects. Did you know that the Egyptians created the first synthetic color and used it to create the famous blue crown of Queen Nefertiti? Or that the noblest purple comes from a predatory sea snail? In the Roman Empire, hundreds of thousands of snails had to be sacrificed to produce a single ounce of dye. ![]() ![]() ![]() Yet even if they survive, how can these two lovers - Carpathian and human - build a future together? And how can Dubrinksy bring Raven into his dark world without extinguishing her beautiful goodness and light? But just as fate unexpectedly brings these life mates together, malevolent forces threaten to destroy them and their fragile love. Until the day a beautiful voice full of light and love responds, softly soothing his pain and yearning.įrom the moment they meet, Raven and Dubrinksy are helpless to resist the desire that sparks between them. Engulfed by despair, fearful of never finding the mate who can save him from the encroaching darkness, his soul cries out in loneliness. Mikhail Dubrinksy is the Prince of the Carpathians, the powerful leader of a wise and secret ancient race that thrives in the night. In need of rest and rejuvenation, she embarks on a vacation far from home. But her work keeps her from getting close to others, and has drained her body and spirit. DARK PRINCE Enter the enchanting world of the Carpathians, where dark adventure, mystery, and love await, and the desires of two daring hearts unite in one irresistible passion.Ī telepathic hunter of serial killers, Raven Whitney helps catch some of the most depraved criminals. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After nearly losing Avery, Declan insists that he will be the one to take care of her while she recovers. ![]() She might not have any love in her life, but she’s happy.īut everything comes to a screeching halt when Avery is in a car accident, leaving her immobile for weeks. Avery is living her best life-she works with her sisters and loves every minute of it, she has a great group of friends, and she lives in a fantastic condo with her best friend Declan. After years of working hard and making personal sacrifices, Avery and her two younger sisters have turned the Spark House into the premier destination in Colorado Springs. Running the Spark House, a hotel/event space that has been in her family for years, has been Avery Spark’s lifelong dream. When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting-a reviewĪ / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play /ĪBOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 21, 2021 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Lindy West got a message on Twitter from her dead father. A catalyst for conversation, West also addresses some of the most burning issues of popular culture today, taking a frank and provocative look at social injustice, racism, fat-shaming, twitter-trolling and even rape culture, unpicking the bullshit and calling out unpalatable truths with conviction, intelligence and a large dose of her trademark black humour. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West ‘I never wanted internet trolls to be my beat’. She reveals the obstacles and misogyny she's had to overcome to make herself heard, in a society that doesn't believe women (especially fat women and feminists) can ever be funny. In Shrill, Lindy recounts how she went from being the butt of people's jokes, to telling her own brand of jokes - ones that come with a meaningful agenda and aren't at someone else's expense. ![]() Fortunately for women everywhere, along the road she found her voice - and how she found it! That cripplingly shy girl, who refused to make a sound, grew up to be one of the loudest, shrillest, most fearless feminazis on the internet, making a living speaking up for what's right instead of what's 'cool'. It's difficult to believe she was once a nerdy, terror-stricken teen who wanted nothing more than to be invisible. Her talent and bravery have made the Internet a place I actually want to be.' Lena Dunham 'A thrilling, kick-ass, joyous ROAR of a book.' Caitlin Moran Guardian columnist Lindy West wasn't always loud. *CATCH THE TV ADAPTATION OF SHRILL ON BBC3 NOW* 'Lindy West is an essential (and hilarious) voice for women. ![]() ![]() ![]() So thank you, Debbie, for spinning this tale and then permitting Hallmark transform it into a new holiday classic that the entire family will enjoy. Her characters are as real as she is, and her Christmas stories are some of my all-time favorites. I know that every time I pick up one of her books, I will read a heartfelt story with a unique twist here and there. Thankfully, Hallmark chose to turn her delightful story into an amazing film, and a phenomenal film it is too! When it comes to modern authors, I still maintain that Debbie rates in my top five. In fact, I have this very book (signed by Debbie herself) resting on my shelf, but I have been so swamped this month with reviews that I have not had an opportunity to read it. Finally, I can state that I had the supreme joy of meeting Debbie in person just a little over a month ago. ![]() No review of Debbie Macomber’s works can happen without a nod to the author herself. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Now the secret is out - and so, brought together in one volume, are these three spellbinding stories of future shock and suspense. 9781444723533 The Bachman Books 48.2000 NZD InStock /shop/books /shop/books/fiction /shop/books/fiction/horror For years, readers wrote asking if Richard Bachman was really world-bestselling Stephen King writing under another name. The Running Man: TV's future-favourite game show, where contestants are hunted to death in the attempt to win a $1 billion jackpot. ![]() Roadwork: An immovable man refuses to surrender to the irresistible force of progress. For years, readers wrote asking if Richard Bachman was really world-bestselling Stephen King writing under another name. Roadwork: An immovable man refuses to surrender to the irresistible fo. The Long Walk: A chilling look at the ultra-conservative America of the future where a gruelling 450-mile marathon is the ultimate sports competition. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Reading has never been so seductive, so dangerous. Raised by his tutors on the written dreams of the distant city, when he gets the opportunity to travel there, his life is thrown off track when he is haunted by the ghost of a girl whom he must face down before he can go free. In this hypnotic debut Jevik the pepper merchant's son dreams of far Olondria. Sofia Samatar is a merchant of wonders, and her A Stranger in Olondria is a bookshop of dreams."-Greer Gilman "Imagine an inlaid cabinet, its drawers within drawers filled with spices, roses, amulets, bright cities, bones, and shadows. "Gorgeous writing, beautiful and sensual and so precise-a Proustian ghost story."-Paul Witcover A Stranger in Olondria reminds both Samatar's characters and her readers of the way stories make us long for faraway, even imaginary, places and how they also bring us home again."-Karen Joy Fowler "Mesmerizing-a sustained and dreamy enchantment. One of the best fantasy novels I've read in recent years."-Jeffrey Ford A story of ghosts and books, treachery and mystery, ingeniously conceived and beautifully written. ![]() "Thoroughly engaging and thoroughly original. ![]() "Samatar's sensual descriptions create a rich, strange landscape, allowing a lavish adventure to unfold that is haunting and unforgettable." ![]() |