![]() ![]() Her expertise as a former therapist enriches her advice column and is also what makes her latest book with Vancouver-based Arsenal Pulp Press, I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World, an especially thought-provoking read. ![]() Kai Cheng Thom may be best known for her personal essays and her advice column in Xtra, “Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse,” though her contributions to feminist, queer, and trans literary culture also include the novel Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir (Metonymy Press) the poetry collection, a place called No Homeland (Arsenal Pulp Press) and a children’s book, From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea (Arsenal Pulp Press). –Kai Cheng Thom, “How Neoliberalism Is Stealing Trans Liberation” My dear trans kindred-weird sisters, brothers grim and gay, siblings-in arms: What kind of world do you want to live in? Reviewed by Jane Shi Kai Cheng Thom, I Hope We Choose Love (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2019), 144 pp., $17.95. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() ![]() ![]() The phylloxera has ravaged the vineyards in this neighbourhood and in the early morning, under some chestnuts by the river, I found a party of men working with a cider-press. ![]() I gave what help I could and volunteered some advice, which struck me as being excellent. The young women of the Cevennes profit by the common religion and the difference of the language to go largely as governesses into England and here was one, a native of Mialet, struggling with English circulars from two different agencies in London. The maire, a Protestant, asked me to help him in a small matter which is itself characteristic of the country. St Jean du Gard is a large place, and largely Protestant. The pecuniary gain is not obvious, but I had bought freedom into the bargain. Before ten I had an offer of twenty-five francs and before noon, after a desperate engagement, I sold her, saddle and all, for five-and-thirty. Intending purchasers were aware of an unrivalled opportunity. ![]() Pierre, spread a favourable notion of my donkey’s capabilities. Our yesterday’s march, with the testimony of the driver who had pursued us up the long hill of St. She would need at least two days’ repose, according to the ostler but I was now eager to reach Alais map for my letters and, being in a civilised country of stage-coaches, I determined to sell my lady friend and be off by the diligence that afternoon. On examination, on the morning of October 3rd, Modestine was pronounced unfit for travel. ![]() ![]() And that presents a problem when it comes to writing a review, as almost anything I saw will not help your reading experience. ![]() Infinite definitely fits into that mould. Like The Retreat, Shadow of a Doubt, Day Four, and The Three, there are many times when categorizing a book into a particular genre is not helpful. This is particularly the case when a book doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre. Often all of this is forgotten when I come to the book and this is generally a good thing as I don’t want my journey to be spoilt by knowing too much in advance. There’s usually a good reason for the selection – whether it’s the subject matter, title, cover, blurb that goes with the book, the author themselves, or the comments by a series editor. ![]() ![]() One of the things I enjoy most about getting some books is that by the time I get round to reading them, I forget why I selected them. ![]() ![]() ![]() Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research. ![]() Vladimir Nabokov likened it to Madame Bovary and Dead Souls as “a fable that lies nearer to poetry than to ordinary prose fiction.”Įnriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Though sometimes dismissed as a mere mystery story, the book has evoked much literary admirations. ![]() Published in 1866, Jekyll and Hyde was an instant success and brought Stevenson his first taste of fame. Anticipating modern psychology, Jekyll and Hyde is a brilliantly original study of man’s dual nature-as well as an immortal tale of suspense and terror. Jekyll, a kindly scientist who by night takes on his stunted evil self, Mr. ![]() Stark, skillfully woven, this fascinating novel explores the curious turnings of human character through the strange case of Dr. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror, he accomplishes exactly what he wanted readers to feel when studying the pages of this book, by scaring, shocking, and almost piercing their souls as they read his words which give off a great deal of emotions. Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s book, The Strange Case of Dr. ![]() ![]() ![]() Her next series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, is an international bestseller. It has been sold into 21 foreign territories. ![]() What you might find.? Well, that's the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part fantasy/war series, The Underland Chronicles,which became a New York Times bestseller. In New York City, you're much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you're not going to find a tea party. Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days,and a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children's author and illustrator James Proimos, who talked her into giving children's books a try. She also co-wrote the Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! with her friend, Peter Bakalian, which was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. ![]() For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. ![]() In 1991, Suzanne Collins began her professional career writing for children's television. ![]() ![]() ![]() I designed an independent study focusing on under-represented voices in literature, film, and art. That year I made a bold choice to ditch the Bard and privilege the voices of women and contemporary writers of colour. What messages was I sending to students with my book choices? Whose voices were missing? What if I changed everything and sought out texts that better represented my students and community? Having just taught Ontario’s Grade 11 Gender Studies course, which had opened my mind to intersectional ways of thinking, I couldn’t help but notice that the writers populating the shelves presented a very narrow demographic: they were mostly Western, white, male, and long dead. ![]() Eager to prepare, I visited our school book room, but came away feeling uninspired by the options: 1984, Animal Farm, Fifth Business, and lots of Shakespeare. Five years ago, I was assigned to teach Grade 12 English for the first time in years. ![]() ![]() ![]() This sticky situation degenerates into civil war as nasty as it is ludicrous. So Misha heads for Absurdistan, a chaotic Caucasian region populated by two warring ethnic groups plus plenty of visiting employees of Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root: It seems there’s oil somewhere in them thar hills. His only way out is a trip to the Republic of Absurdistan, where the millions he negotiated as a settlement with Papa’s killer (another mobster) can buy him a Belgian passport and a ticket back to Western materialism. But now, in 2001, he can’t get an American visa-there’s that small matter of the Oklahoma businessman whom beloved papa iced. ![]() Misha would like to go back to the U.S., where he spent the 1990s happily attending college and sampling New York’s multicultural delights. Petersburg gangster who’s just been offed on the Palace Bridge. This time, Shteyngart’s not-so-heroic hero is 30-year-old, 325-pound Misha Vainberg, son of a St. Disappointing follow-up to The Russian Debutante’s Handbook (2001) sends another Soviet-born Jewish protagonist to another global hot spot. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The cast of characters is almost Dickensian: politicians, generals, White House aides, newspapermen, Northern and Southern conspirators, amiably evil bankers, and a wife slowly going mad. ![]() In this profoundly moving novel, a work of epic proportions and intense human sympathy, Lincoln is observed by his loved ones and his rivals. Isolated in a ramshackle White House in the center of a proslavery city, Lincoln presides over a fragmenting government as Lee’s armies beat at the gates. During the next four years there will be numerous plots to murder this man who has sworn to unite a disintegrating nation. The future president is in disguise, for there is talk of a plot to murder him. It opens early on a frozen winter morning in 1861, when President-elect Abraham Lincoln slips into Washington, flanked by two bodyguards. Lincoln is the cornerstone of Gore Vidal’s fictional American chronicle, which includes Burr, 1876, Washington, D.C., Empire, and Hollywood. ![]() ![]() If you love historical mysteries with a little bit of romance I think you will find a lot to enjoy with this series. I am so happy to see that this series has continued and we are now at book six! Ashley adds elements of romance to the series and I recall it being an added bonus but not the focus of the series which is nice. ![]() Author, Jennifer Ashley, has written a number of romances (historical and some cowboy romances!) and also developed this beloved character in Kat Holloway. ![]() As with so many readers, there are so many books but not enough time and I got distracted by other series.īut this series hasn’t been far from my mind. But then I never really continued with the series. I picked up the first book in this series when it very first came out and I was going through some major Downton Abbey withdraws! I loved the upstairs/downstairs elements of the story and thought it was a solid start to a new mystery series. ![]() ![]() This short story had a unique feel, and the author, Vo, has a very diverse and varied vocabulary. It had depth and rich symbolism with strong, smart female characters. ![]() The Empress of Salt and Fortune delivered beautiful quotes and is a perfect blend of fantasy and women’s literature. This novella has some fantasy, some strong prose, and it feels non-American, not conforming to the standard American storylines. Rabbit then proceeds to share her stories of Empress In-yo. They meet with Empress In-yo’s former serving girl named Rabbit. Two birds, Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant, are traveling in the Lake Scarlet area when information regarding the reign of Empress In-yo becomes declassified. This book didn’t disappoint! I had no idea that this author wrote The Chosen and The Beautiful(which I also read and loved). When I asked for short book recommendations, my underground book club suggested The Empress of Salt and Fortune. “Sometimes the things we see do not make sense until many years have gone by. ![]() The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo ![]() |