Americana ngozi7/8/2023 ![]() ![]() When Ifemelu returns to Nigeria after some delay due to a suicide attempt made by her beloved cousin Dike, she and Obinze must decide where their friendship and love stand. The story is told mainly through Ifemelu's thoughtful, critical narration and sometimes through posts from her blog “Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black,” but the narration switches to Obinze's point of view for portions of the story to describe the difficulties he faced as an illegal worker in London and his quick rise to wealth upon returning to Nigeria. ![]() As she sits in the salon, she reminisces and recounts pieces of her life in Nigeria as a child her struggles with culture, language, money, and hair in the United States and two relationships since emigrating that could never measure up to her first love with a young man named Obinze. The novel begins as she takes the train from Princeton, New Jersey, the posh university town where she has a fellowship as a writer, to Trenton, New Jersey, a nearby city that is much poorer, to get braids done before returning to Nigeria. Ifemelu is a young woman from Nigeria living in the United States. ![]()
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Huckleberry finn7/8/2023 ![]() ![]() While the books remain in school libraries, teachers can no longer use them as part of their curricula. ![]() Hart Union High School District in Santa Clarita (CA). In response to concerns raised by students and parents, Of Mice and Men, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and To Kill a Mockingbird were temporarily removed from the mandatory reading list of the William S. The district will also review reading lists every eight years. The titles are available for individual reading and teachers can use then with small groups after the teacher has undergone training on facilitating conversations on racism, implicit bias, and racial identity. Following a review committee’s recommendation, the superintendent also banned the use of the N-word in all school classes. 2022Īfter parent complaints about the use of racist epithets in To Kill a Mockingbird Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Cay Of Mice and Men and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the Burbank (CA) Unified School District superintendent removed these titles from required classroom reading lists. Marshall University does not ban books! The information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Determined, despite everything, not to turn and walk away, he rose through the ranks and made his way to the very top. There, he experienced racism and inequality, from colleagues shouting racist insults, to the Brixton Riots where 'Kill the black one first!' was yelled from the crowds. Hoping to tackle injustice and create change from within, Michael joined the police force. 'Michael Fuller is an extraordinary man with a remarkable and interesting story' - Helen MirrenĪ story about race, identity, belonging and displacement, "Kill the Black One First" is the memoir from Michael Fuller - Britain's first ever black Chief Constable, whose childhood in care and career in policing is not only a stark representation of race relations in the UK, but also a unique morality tale of how humanity deals with life's unfairness. There are pleasures here, and lessons to be learnt, whatever colour you are' - T he Sunday Times ![]() Running with scissors novel7/8/2023 ![]() At a sign from the host, the musicians in their gallery strike up "Amazing Grace.” The candles are all lit and the champagne glasses filled. ![]() They are seated at the damask-laid table in the great hall. The pusher, the whore, the village idiot who stands at the blinker light waving his hand as the cars go by. The old wino with his pint in a brown paper bag. The old woman in the moth-eaten fur coat who makes her daily rounds of the garbage cans. The man with no legs who sells shoelaces at the corner. God is the eccentric host who, when the country-club crowd all turned out to have other things more important to do than come live it up with him, goes out into the skid rows and soup kitchens and charity wards and brings home a freak show. ![]() “God is the comic shepherd who gets more of a kick out of that one lost sheep once he finds it again than out of the ninety and nine who had the good sense not to get lost in the first place. ![]() Joan hickson a pocket full of rye7/8/2023 ![]() Her final note said 'I can't go on'.Ī Murder is Announced - read by Joan Hickson ![]() But all that changes when one of the recipients, Mrs Symmington, commits suicide. Lymstock is a town with more than its share of shameful secrets - a town where even a sudden outbreak of anonymous hate-mail causes only a minor stir. The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marple to solve the mystery. She is wearing evening dress and heavy make-up, which is now smeared across her cheeks. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. The Body in the Library - read by Stephanie Cole From seven potential murderers, Miss Marple must seek out the suspect who has both motive and opportunity. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later. It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. ![]() ![]() The Murder at the Vicarage - read by Joan Hickson Six complete and unabridged Agatha Christie novels read by Joan Hickson and Stephanie Cole, perfect whether you've been a fan of Miss Marple for years or are just starting to discover her now for the first time. ![]() Heathen Gods by Mark Ludwig Stinson7/7/2023 ![]() ![]() I reached the age of 37 or so, without even HEARING of heathenry. I know that if I do not teach my kids about heathenry, no one will. It is about communicating, sharing, explaining, and letting them know what you believe. It is not about “forcing” your children to do or believe anything. Some will say that teaching your child about your spirituality or belief system, is somehow “forcing them into a religion.” I believe that much of this reaction is based on negative experiences with being forced to go to Christian church or being forced to pray as a child. ![]() Nathan (10) has begun helping with tasks during our Fainings, and is beginning to show an interest in toasting during Symbel. When that happens, you will have very little input or control regarding how they fill that emptiness. But, when we leave a spiritual hole or emptiness in our children, they will find someone willing to fill that hole. ![]() It might be their classmate, their Uncle Bob, their first girlfriend or boyfriend, or even some television show. If you do not teach your children your belief system as the basis for which they live good and honorable lives – then someone else most certainly will. If you do not teach your children about spirituality, the Gods, their Ancestors, and the way to live their lives in relation to the divine – then someone else most certainly will. ![]() ![]() ![]() In a new edition that addresses recent international events from September 11 to the war in Iraq, this now classic book remains as prescient and powerful as ever. servicemen in Okinawa to our role in Asia's financial crisis, from our early support for Saddam Hussein to our conduct in the Balkans, Johnson reveals the ways in which our misguided policies are planting the seeds of future disaster. In this incisive and controversial book, Chalmers Johnson lays out in vivid detail the dangers faced by our overextended empire, which insists on projecting its military power to every corner of the earth and using American capital and markets to force global economic integration on its own terms. The term "blowback," invented by the CIA, refers to the unintended results of American actions abroad. 'Blowback', a term that officials of the CIA first invented for their internal use, refers to the unintended consequences of American policies and the dangers faced by an overextended. The term 'blowback,' which officials of the Central Intelligence Agency first invented for their own internal use, is starting to circulate among students of international relations. Now with a new and up-to-date Introduction by the author, the bestselling account of the effect of American global policies, hailed as "brilliant and iconoclastic" (Los Angeles Times) ![]() ![]() One of Bonhoeffer’s most famous works, The Cost of Discipleship, is an enduring source of wisdom on the demands of Christian discipleship. Sometimes the unexpected troubles in our own lives tempt us to ignore the spiritual and physical needs of others and maybe question, “Lord, are you there?” But we need only look at Bonhoeffer’s passion and sacrifice as a blunt reality check for what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Today he is considered one of the most esteemed Protestant theologians out of the twentieth century. On ApBonhoeffer was hanged at Flossenbürg concentration camp for his involvement in a small Protestant resistance movement and conspiracy to defeat Hitler and his regime. ![]() That Bonhoeffer was focused on others’ redemption in the midst of his own challenges is a stirring reminder of the cost of discipleship. ![]() ![]() Dietrich Bonhoeffer had spent two years imprisoned, yet he published letters on spiritual wisdom, delivered Sunday sermons and shared the Gospel with his prison mates and prison guards. In the spring of 1945 a 30-something Lutheran pastor awaited execution in a Nazi concentration camp. ![]() The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey7/7/2023 ![]() Her novels stand out for their “wicked pace, snappy dialogue, and likable characters” (Publishers Weekly), “gripping storyline,” (RT Book Reviews), and “sizzling undercurrent of romance” (USA Today). Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance. Praised by New York Times best-selling author Dee Henderson as “a name to look for in romantic suspense,” Dani Pettrey has sold more than half a million copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. ![]() But will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer, or will they become his next mark? Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Gabby can't ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them. Now that she's returned, the tug on Finn's heart is strong, but with the risks she's taking for her next big story, he fears she might not live through it. The already volatile situation is complicated even further by the arrival of Gabby Rowley-Finn's boss's sister and an investigative reporter with unrelenting questions about the crime. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officer's boat, and the direction the clues point to will test Finn and the Guard to their limits. When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous crime yet. ![]() Things Are about to Get Very Complicated. An Old Flame with Danger Written all over Her. ![]() Middlesex book cover7/6/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() His writing makes up only half of his genius. I was (and still am) tempted to write to Eugenides, asking him if I could be his slave for a few years and just watch what he does, how he writes-an offer that still stands if you’re reading this, Mr. ![]() He had me verbally upset with him at times because I was jealous of how well he could write a sentence or how that sentence led the reader into some greater truth about a character. He is one of those authors I constantly curse because he is such a good writer. Middlesex proves that Jeffrey Eugenides is an absolute master. It is one of the deepest and most compelling novels I’ve ever laid my hands on. It is about immigration, family, gender, identity, and rebirth. It makes you feel the racial tensions during and after the civil rights movement. It is about that same family coming to America and learning how to live and pursue the American Dream. This same family flees Greece after being caught in a massive fire that burns down their entire town. While this book is about an incestuous Greek family who produces an innersex child, it is, obviously, about so much more. ![]() |