![]() ![]() Viet’s perilous journey culminated into the priesthood. Readers will not only sympathize with Viet’s struggles but will also be empowered by his dedication to human freedom and by his deep faith in God and fealty to the Church, in which he serves. It is obvious to readers that Reverend Vu, through his main character Viet, narrates his multiple experiences as a young boy who endured the Viet Nam war and the atheistic communism of his country, a refugee who was one of the many boat people that escaped Viet Nam, a newcomer to America who struggled with cultural and language barriers, and a seminarian who, being human, experienced loneliness and hopelessness and even thought of suicide. Kirkus Reviews calls the book “a powerful story of overcoming adversity and finding religion.” Vu published “Living For Higher Purpose: Story of a City Boy Who Survived the Vietnam War by Living for Jesus and Others” (Dog Ear Publishing, 2017) to positive reviews by Amazon customers, Goodreads users, and book reviewers. The book affirms the power of faith over communism, a godless ideology. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Last year, I reviewed HALO by Alexandra Adornetto, which was full of beautiful visuals, but lacking in real punch. ![]() The story that Alexandra Adornetto built in her bestselling debut, HALO, comes alive in action-packed and unexpected ways, as angels battle demons, and the power of love is put to the test. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well." There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. ![]() ![]() With all these stresses and complications, it’s no wonder Audrey looks at the canon of romantic comedies and finds her life wanting. She pegs her male coworker, Harry, as a “fuckboy” right off the bat-yet that doesn’t change the feelings she starts to develop as they bond over cinema. She has started an after-school job at a boutique cinema. But now her dad has left her mom for a younger model, including new kids, and that makes Audrey’s home life … stressed, to say the least. It Only Happens in the Movies is Bourne’s first standalone YA novel after finishing The Spinster Club series, and it departs from that series enough to stand out while still presenting the same fresh, feminist ideas that are a hallmark of Bourne’s writing.Īudrey was named after Audrey Hepburn, of course-her dad proposed to her mom in Rome because of Roman Holiday. In other words, it’s an epitome of a subgenre of YA in which Bourne has carved out a considerable niche. ![]() It’s time for another Holly Bourne book, and if you’ve been following along my reviews, then you know what to expect by now: incisive, excellent narration from a teenage girl who is at a turning point in her life, some kind of crisis moment, and a lot of honest discussions about mental health, sex, romance, and friendship. ![]() ![]() ![]() Something I could understand were the emotions coming from 16 year-old Paige. Trying to wrangle my thoughts for this one. Torn between two worlds and two versions of herself, Paige must decide where, and with whom, she truly feels at home. Or, she could go back to Texas and prove for once and for all that she’s more than her mistakes and more than a disease. When her own health fails her, she has the choice of staying at home and receiving care. Just as Paige begins to feel settled in Texas, her dad’s worsening Crohn’s disease brings her home to Seattle. He even makes her forget about the debilitating stomach cramps she struggles to hide. He’s so different from her, but Paige realizes that may not be a bad thing, especially since being around Joey curbs her urge to vandalize and ignore the rules. ![]() Meanwhile, Paige reluctantly befriends her sister’s straight-laced teenage neighbor, Joey, who is a frequent guest. ![]() Paige’s parents sign her up for a rebuilding project in Texas where her sister lives. To make things worse, her parents threaten her with boarding school in the fall if she can’t prove she’s changed her bad habits. Paige just wants to have fun, spray paint a few walls, and block out everything stressful, including her growing concern that she might be sick as well. Not when her dad gets sick, not when her relationship implodes, not even when her parents send her to another-freaking-state for the summer to live with her sister. Sixteen-year-old Paige Williams can’t stop self-sabotaging. ![]() ![]() ![]() But Mack is also in the running for queen. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington. But it’s okay-Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.īut when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down.until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed Midwestern town. ![]() ![]() D- had been in the room, saw the letter, and switched it for a letter of no importance. The prefect has a case he would like to discuss with Dupin.Ī letter from the queen's lover has been stolen from her boudoir by the unscrupulous Minister D. Auguste Dupin when they are joined by G-, prefect of the Paris police. The unnamed narrator is with the famous Parisian amateur detective C. It first appeared in the literary annual The Gift for 1845 (1844) and soon was reprinted in numerous journals and newspapers. These stories are considered to be important early forerunners of the modern detective story. Auguste Dupin, the other two being " The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and " The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". ![]() It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. " The Purloined Letter" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. ![]() The Gift: A Christmas, New Year, and Birthday Present, 1845 ![]() ![]() ![]() It is one of the most translated texts in world literature. Its influence has spread widely within the globe's artistic and academic spheres. Many artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and gardeners, have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China. The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. ![]() ![]() The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written-or at least compiled-later than the earliest portions of the Zhuangzi. The Tao Te Ching ( UK: / ˌ t aʊ t iː ˈ tʃ ɪ ŋ/, US: / ˌ d aʊ d ɛ ˈ dʒ ɪ ŋ/ simplified Chinese: 道德经 traditional Chinese: 道德經 pinyin: Dàodé Jīng ( listen)) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. ![]() ![]() ![]() The tumultuous weather serves to reinforce the tumult in the lives of the residents of Three Pines. Quebec writer Louise Penny on finding joy, coping with loss, and why her books aren’t ‘really’ about murder A month of muttered curses and mud-caked boots, and splattered cars, and dogs rolling, then shaking.” Of sublime afternoons sitting outside in the bright sunshine with a glass of wine, and then waking to another foot of snow. “April in Quebec was a month of cruel contrasts. ![]() A Better Man begins with a coming storm that may be rain, or sleet, or frozen rain, or snow, and it sets the tone: Louise Penny has always used the Quebec climate as a character, as well as a backdrop, in her superb Armand Gamache series of crime novels. Log In Create Free AccountĪs Margaret Atwood pointed out nearly 50 years ago in Survival, Canada’s weather determines much about its culture. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Geertz, following Paul Ricoeur, suggested that “a” culture-any culture-is a complex assemblage of texts that constitutes a web of meanings. It is a perspective that was developed by Clifford Geertz as a response to the established objectivized ethnographic stance prevalent in anthropology at the time, and that calls for an epistemology (“culture as text”) and a writing methodology (“thick description”) that will allow an anthropologist to interpret a culture by understanding how the people within that culture are interpreting themselves and their own experiences. “Interpretive anthropology” refers to the specific approach to ethnographic writing and practice interrelated to (but distinct from) other perspectives that developed within sociocultural anthropology during the Cold War, the decolonization movement, and the war in Vietnam. ![]() ![]() ![]() Fun, spontaneous and adventurous, they are motivated by a need to be happy, to plan stimulating experiences and to avoid pain. ![]() Committed, practical and witty, they are worst-case-scenario thinkers who are motivated by fear and a need for security. Analytical, detached and private, they are motivated by a need to gain knowledge, conserve energy, and avoid relying on others. Creative, sensitive and moody, they are motivated by a need to be understood, experience their over-sized feelings and avoid being ordinary. Success-oriented, image-conscious and wired for productivity, they are motivated by a need to be (or appear to be) successful and to avoid failure. Warm, caring and giving, they are motivated by a need to be loved and needed, and avoid acknowledging their own needs. ![]() Ethical, dedicated and reliable, they are motivated by a desire to live the right way, improve the world, and avoid fault and blame. This overview of the types is a direct quote from the book. ![]() The Enneagram is not new-it's been around for many years-but only recently has it regained popularity. Why bother study personalities? Isn't it just a way to excuse how you are? One of the things I appreciated about this book that I've not always observed in other personality books was the focus on growing, becoming more healthy and socially aware, and reflecting more of the character of God. ![]() |