It spans a couple of centuries and tracks three families over four generations, animating the events of Zambian history with Namwali’s unique application of obsessive research, beautiful prose, playful genre-blending, and futurecasting. Namwali’s book, out March 26, is a massive multi-generational novel 20 years in the making. She had just read mine, The Golden State, and I had a chance to read an early copy of hers, The Old Drift. We bonded over the joyful agony of publishing our debut novels, which we exchanged. when she was 8, and then back to Zambia when she was 15 for a shorter stint). Over the next six months, we had a series of friend dates and conversations about reading, writing, and our respective upbringings moving between continents (I’m a foreign service brat Namwali was born in Zambia, moved to the U.S. Over the course of the evening, which involved karaoke, it became clear that I had met a kindred spirit, a writer and reader with a deeply held appreciation for ‘90s hits (no anti-Alanis sentiments here) and genre fiction, which she was teaching to her students at UC Berkeley. I met Namwali Serpell last fall while we both hovered over the cheese plate at an event at the Ruby, a women’s co-working space in San Francisco. Photo: Penguin Random House, Peg Korpinski
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I struggled through this one for a couple of reasons. In a world of shallow organized religion which never gets beyond the doling out of loaves and fishes (or donuts and coffee), this is a refreshing revisiting of a true spirituality-a love of God, because one loves the attributes of God-and for no other reason than that. Much like Bonhoeffer, Tozer's theology is not one of hockus-pockus, miracles, magical rescues or voices in the night, promises of heavenly rewards or threats of punishments and damnation, not one of picnics, "pastor appreciation" dinners, or easter egg hunts, but rather a deep and abiding yearning for the everlasting goodness that is God-and again, not a longing borne of a seeking after the comforts of heaven or the avoidance of hell (a "cheap grace" as Bonhoeffer would say), but rather the full and complete wedding of oneself to the goodness of God and a willingness to suffer for that goodness and godliness- because one loves goodness and Godness and not for any other reason than that. His dad had fought in the Second World War, so as a young adult, he decided to join the army. His fascination with war developed from an early age. Michael grew up in St Albans in Hertfordshire, England, and during the Second World War, he was evacuated to Northumberland with lots of other children, because of the bombing raids on the cities. Approximately the same number of horses died in WWI as people, and it was research into this kind of history that inspired me to delve deeper and write the story of War Horse.” It might sound a bit sentimental but this wasn’t a silly, sentimental man, but a solid former soldier, who said he could talk to his horse when no-one else would listen, and depend on the horse during times of conflict. “I was inspired to write War Horse by a man who told me that his best friend during WWI was his horse. I write about the things that interest me, and sometimes these things are sad. My writing reflects the realities of life - the good things and the bad. People die, animals die, and bad things happen. When a child asked him, “What makes you write about sad things?” he replied, “Life is a mixture of sad times and happy times. He shared what inspired his stories when he spoke at the Thame Arts and Literary Festival in Buckinghamshire, England. Well-known children’s writer and the author of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo, is a former primary school teacher who’s developed a fascination with the First World War. Michael Morpurgo at Thame Art at Literary Festival © Susie Kearley Freeman describes the rise and fall of General Beauregard, the growing friction between Jefferson Davis and Joseph E. In this first volume, "Manassas to Malvern Hill," Dr. Lee as they came forward on the stage of war. A sweeping narrative that presents a multiple biography against the flame-shot background of history, it is the story of the great figures of the Army of Northern Virginia who fought under Robert E. Publisher's binding and dust jacket.Folding map at rear of volume 3.Īll unquestioned masterpiecc of the historian's art, and a towering landmark in the literature of the American Civil War."Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command" is the most colorful and popular of all of Douglas Southall Freeman's works it is generally considered the most penetrating study ever written of military personalities and tactics during the American Civil War. He also tried to stop Gandalf from helping Ring’s fellowship. He is an old friend of Gandalf, although later, coveted for power and fearing Sauron, he joins the Dark Army. Saruman: A wizard who was on Sauron’s side. Although the ring is destroyed in the end, we cannot attribute it in any way. We feel sorry for him because in many scenes he has failed to emerge as a true hero. When it comes to taking down the ring at Mount Doom, he refuses to do so and stands in the way of returning the ring. He is always weak to the overwhelming temptation to offer the ring to his bear. A young fondant was chosen to have the ring to return to Mordor. He is often fickle but concerned about the future of Middle-earth.įrodo: The main protagonist of the series. He also changed from gray to white wizard and surprised everyone. His fight with Saruman in Moriya is one of the best parts of the novel. Gandalf demonstrates remarkable courage and intelligence. Gandalf first learned of Ring’s powers and dangers and kept Bilbo and Frodo from being invisible. Gandalf – A great wizard who keeps the entire trilogy going. He never felt that his ring was a source of great power, although heavily influenced by it and he began to go crazy as he grew older. Bilbo is a happy, fortunate and fickle pastime that spent his entire life in a poet. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkienīilbo: Frodo’s uncle, who first had the ring. Any other Middle-earth stories attributed to J.R.R. Thornhill discovered Buchanan's illegal dealings and forced Buchanan to collect incriminating evidence of US legislators, threatening to harm Buchanan's aide, Faith Lockhart.įaith Lockhart was an invaluable aide to Buchanan's efforts and admired his altruistic causes. Edgar Hoover, despite the fact that Thornhill deeply resented the FBI over professional rivalry and turf competition. The cabal believed it alone was capable of protecting the country from external threats, and adopted to keeping compromising information on government officials to get its way, a technique attributed to J. Robert Thornhill was a deputy director in the Central Intelligence Agency who oversaw a cabal so secretive that its existence was unknown outside its group, including the president and top leadership of the government. In addition to ensuring the aid reached the actually needy, Buchanan also resorted to bribing legislators to support government bills on foreign aid, using the same methods employed in his professional capacity. The book was initially published on November 9, 1999, by Warner Books.ĭanny Buchanan was a highly successful Washington lobbyist who earned a fortune from his trade, and then after a conscience awakening, used it to fund his personal crusade to help the needy in the Third World countries. Saving Faith, written by David Baldacci, is a thriller novel set with backdrop of the political lobbying, political corruption, and blackmail in the US Government. His teaching was focused on the history of systematic theology and related areas in history and the philosophy of religion. In 1914 or 1915, he was awarded a Chair at Breslau and another in 1917 at Marburg he spent most of his career, from 1917-1937, teaching as a Professor of Systematic Theology at Marburg-on-the-Lahn. (His own account of his growing up can be read in his Vita that accompanied his first Examination in Theology, ~~translated here~~.) In Göttingen, he was actively participatory with a group of liberal theologians known as The Friends of Die christliche Welt ( Die christliche Welt was a liberal Protestant paper/journal). Systematic Theology is a school of theology that seeks to, literally, systematize Christianity, that is, to offer a rational account of the faith and its beliefs through both its sacred texts and the historical development of its doctrine. He became a Privatdozent (unsalaried lecturer) in Systematic Theology in 1897 at Göttingen and then became a Professor in 1904 (or 1906, depending on accounts), still at Göttingen. in theology in 1895 with his dissertation on the Holy Spirit in Luther’s thought. His early studies were in theology-he reports that he wanted to be a pastor from the age of 12-and mostly done at schools known for their conservative approach, although he also studied at a few places known for its liberal interpretations. Theologian, philosopher, historian of religion.īorn into a family with 13 siblings, Otto’s father (owner of a malt factory) died when he was 13. Peine, in the Prussian province of Hanover d. This charming book is a fabulous pick from LGBTQ romance novels and is one of the enemies-to-lovers books we recommend most often. We don’t think about royals and the LGBTQ community because we don’t usually see openly gay royals, which is so sad in today’s society. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.ĭespite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour-until now. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality. Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. Reading through the summary, I saw that it was actually a romance novel Now, I love fiction so much but I NEVER go for romance novels. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and a “rising star in the romance genre” ( Entertainment Weekly) comes a dazzling novel about a spontaneous holiday vacation that turns into an unforgettable romance. Add Stay With Me to your Goodreads TBR ➻ With green eyes, tattoos, and the voice of a poet, she is quickly drawn to him.īut because of her sociopath tendencies, she knows it could only end in one of two ways.Įither he will be the one to free her from her past, or she will be the one to destroy him. Though Mia never anticipated Ollie Masters. She’d keep her head down, ignore everyone, and make it through the next two years effortlessly. In a desperate final attempt to save nineteen-year-old Mia from herself, she gets transferred to Dolor University, a reformatory college in the UK that housed deranged and dangerous young adults who viewed the private institution as their own personal playground. Whom could I possibly go to with these words? Who’s there to listen, anyway?Ĭoncerning My Daughter, Kim Hye-jin, Jamie Chang (trans) (Restless Books, September 2022) Things I want to say, must say, cannot say, must not say – I have no confidence in any of these words. She keeps quiet, ignoring the messiness of reality and guarding these thoughts in her head.īut her silence can only be maintained for so long, and she contemplates it during a quiet moment at church.Īll I did was sit here in this spot where I could look up at the altar, run my hands over these words that I feared others might hear, and let the silence grow. And as a mother, she doesn’t want to talk about her adult daughter, who doesn’t have stable employment and is involved in a long-term relationship with a woman. The narrator of Kim Hye-jin’s Concerning My Daughter believes that “some things aren’t spoken out loud.” As she ages, she doesn’t want to discuss the lack of facilities willing to care for the elderly. |