10 great science fiction novels that have been banned @djscruffy: And that's why you're a heathen and should be burned at the stake. @djscruffy: In defense of public schools, I would suggest that the reason many of these books are challenged so often is that they're frequently included in school curriculums and libraries. I grew up in a state that, according to these links, engaged in book-burning less than a decade before my birth. That makes me shudder. But I'm also the child of a public school teacher and am familiar with my mother's and many of her peers' views on children's reading materials. Despite the generally conservative views in my community, my elementary school encouraged me to read A Wrinkle in Time and The Giver and Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret. I suppose I've wandered a bit. @djscruffy: To be fair, it's not usually the schools that want to ban the books, but the few overprotective parents who make wild assumptions about the books we try to teach.
The best books of 2014 A haunting story of POWs on the notorious Burma railway, which won the Man Booker prize Read our review of The Narrow Road to the Deep North Buy The Narrow Road to the Deep North here A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride (Galley Beggar) This experimental novel was the surprise winner of the Goldsmiths Prize and the Balieys Prize. Read our review of A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing. Buy the book here THE SHOCK OF THE FALL BY NATHAN FILER (Harper Collins, 310pp) Winner of the overall Costa Prize, Nathan Filer's debut novel is an unsettling read but a perceptive and moving one. Read The Telegraph's review of The Shock of the Fall. Buy The Shock of the Fall here. THE LIE BY HELEN DUNMORE (Hutchinson, 304pp) Helen Dunmore's ambitious tale wavers between ghost story and a study of war trauma. Read The Telegraph's review of The Lie. Buy The Lie here. Every Day is for the Thief by Teju Cole (Faber, 176pp) An enjoyably unsentimental journey into the chaotic streets of Lagos, Nigeria. Buy Bark here.
The Books That Changed Your Lives I have a feeling that many of these are favourite books rather than life-changing. Certainly I love "The Hitch-hikers Guide ... Jared Diamond's book is very interesting but hardly life-changing. In my opinion "2001: A Space Odyssey" had a huge effect on the way people perceive the benefits of science, undermining the positive attitude created by the Apollo program. "1984" had the biggest effect on me, changing my view of government, communication and words. I have read but cannot recall much of "Zen ..." but you have inspired me to pick it up again and the two Dawkins books are waiting on my "to be read" pile.
Book of Kells Title: Book of Kells Name(s): Department: Item No Is part of: Digital No MS58_001r Note: Folio 1r: Hebrew names and Evangelist symbols IE TCD MS 58 fol.1r-27r Preliminaries; 27v-129r Matthew; 129v-187v Mark; 188r-290r Luke; 292r-339v John. Abstract: The Book of Kells contains the four Gospels in Latin based on the Vulgate text which St Jerome completed in 384AD, intermixed with readings from the earlier Old Latin translation. Type of work: Dimensions: 33 x 25 cm Materials: Subjects: Publisher: Copyright: Copyright 2012 The Board of Trinity College Dublin.
15 Books You Should Have Read in 2010 - Culture - GOOD Image by Jane Mount, Courtesy 20x200 Yes, we read Freedom this year and yes, it was good. As Esquire put it, it “was one great slab of a book, at a time when most books have given up on greatness.” 1. Author: Stephen King Recommended by: Ben Jervey, Environment Editor Why read? 2. Author: George R.R. Recommended by: Morgan Clendaniel, Deputy Editor, GOOD Why read? 3. Author: Jan Gehl Recommended by: Alissa Walker, Contributing Editor, GOOD Why read? 4. Author: Tom Rachman Recommended by: Zach Frechette, Editor in Chief, GOOD Why read? 5. Author: Walter Van Tillburg Clark Recommended by: Cord Jefferson, Culture Editor, GOOD Why Read? 6. Author: Colum McCann Recommended by: Nicola Twilley, Food Editor, GOOD Why read? 7. Author: Diane Ravitch Recommended by: Liz Dwyer, Education Editor, GOOD Why read? 8. Author: Matthew B. Recommended by: Allan Chochinov, Editor in chief, Core77 Why read? 9. Author: Robert Caro Recommended by: Alex Marshall, Senior Fellow, The Regional Plan Association Why read? 10. 11.
A Rap on Race: Margaret Mead and James Baldwin’s Rare Conversation on Forgiveness and the Difference Between Guilt and Responsibility by Maria Popova “We’ve got to be as clear-headed about human beings as possible, because we are still each other’s only hope.” On the evening of August 26, 1971, Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901–November 15, 1978) and James Baldwin (August 2, 1924–December 1, 1987) sat together on a stage in New York City for a remarkable public conversation about such enduring concerns as identity, power and privilege, race and gender, beauty, religion, justice, and the relationship between the intellect and the imagination. By that point, Baldwin, forty-six and living in Paris, was arguably the world’s most famous living poet, and an enormously influential voice in the civil rights dialogue; Mead, who had just turned seventy, had become the world’s first celebrity academic — a visionary anthropologist with groundbreaking field experience under her belt, who lectured at some of the best cultural institutions and had a popular advice column in Redbook magazine. Art by Wendy MacNaughton for Brain Pickings
The Top 10 Best Science Fiction Books Before the comments fill up with “Why didn’t you include this” and various slights against our personal and professional integrity, this is just a list of ten great science fiction novels, not in order, and by no means the top ten ever produced. ‘Ten of the best’, not ‘the ten best’. That being said, please post up your own favourites, as we’re always looking for new things to read. 10. The Moon Is A Harsh MistressPublished: 1966 Author: Robert Heinlein Awards: Hugo (1967), Nebula (1966), Prometheus, (1983)Buy it on Amazon Heinlein’s elegantly constructed novel evokes some of the finest traditions in science fiction, with a near-future setting on the mongrel colony of Luna, which is preparing its revolution against the tyrannical rule of Earth. 9. | Kindle Edition 8. It’s nigh-on impossible to talk seriously about the post-apocalyptic subgenre of science fiction without mentioning Walter M Miller Jr’s A Canticle For Leibowitz. 7. | Kindle Edition 6. | Kindle Edition 5. | Kindle Edition 4.
Miscellaneous nonfiction (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania:) Executive Council of the Fraternity (by The Comenius Press) 1888. First edition. published under the direction of the Executive Council in the 55th year of the Fraternity. Gives the complete roll of each chapter; according to the introduction it was the intention to provide accurate statistical and biographical information on each member from the time he left college until the present (or until his death, for deceased members.) Also includes statistical reports on geographical distribution, those who served in the Union and Confederate armies, a summary of occupations, a table of relationships, and an index. Engraved frontispiece and small vignette on the title page. bookfever.com (Volk & Iiams) Book number: 33332
Suggested Reading List @ Shaolin.com Shaolin.com Highly Recommends These Books... While there are no books that we have found that accurately and completely portray Shaolin history, philosophy, and kung fu technique, the reader will find the following books a step in the right direction. We have found that there tends to be more quality found in philosophical texts and histories than books on technique. If the book covers technique, we prefer books that cover both form AND application (as the techniques themselves are useless without a clear and concise explanation of the applications) and that constitutes the majority of the books we list. Please note that many of these books are out of print. They can still be found by perusing used book stores and through out of print book search services. General Shaolin Praying Mantis Northern Praying Mantis is one of the most written about styles. Wing Chun Wing Chun is by far the most written about Shaolin style. Shaolin Philosophy Qigong and Pressure Points Other Chinese Martial Arts
Where's the Bible in Harper Lee's 'Watchman'? Show caption American author Harper Lee speaks with documentary filmmaker and author Mary McDonagh Murphy (L) and family friend Joy Brown (R) prior to the publication of “Go Set a Watchman” at The Prop & Gavel restaurant in Monroeville, Alabama June 30, 2015 in a picture provided by Mary Murphy & Company LLC. Murphy is the director of the PBS/WNET documentary “Harper Lee: American Masters”. Harper Lee’s unexpected second novel “Go Set a Watchman” goes on sale July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Mary Murphy & Company LLC/Handout via Reuters NO SALES. (RNS) Harper Lee’s “new” book “Go Set a Watchman” is infused with religious life and Christian moral argument, from its title to its final words. It’s also a book with splashes of humor, enough Victorian poetry references to send readers scrambling for a Norton Anthology, and Bible allusions as the narrator of both novels, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, grows up to own her own life. Examples (spoiler alert!) The book starts out lightly. Who is the watchman?
The 100 greatest non-fiction books Art The Shock of the New by Robert Hughes (1980)Hughes charts the story of modern art, from cubism to the avant garde The Story of Art by Ernst Gombrich (1950)The most popular art book in history. Gombrich examines the technical and aesthetic problems confronted by artists since the dawn of time Ways of Seeing by John Berger (1972)A study of the ways in which we look at art, which changed the terms of a generation's engagement with visual culture Biography Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects by Giorgio Vasari (1550)Biography mixes with anecdote in this Florentine-inflected portrait of the painters and sculptors who shaped the Renaissance The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell (1791)Boswell draws on his journals to create an affectionate portrait of the great lexicographer The Diaries of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys (1825)"Blessed be God, at the end of the last year I was in very good health," begins this extraordinarily vivid diary of the Restoration period