Download or read book Understanding the Book of Mormon written by Grant Hardy and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-07 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mark Twain once derided the Book of Mormon as "chloroform in print." Long and complicated, written in the language of the King James version of the Bible, it boggles the minds of many. Yet it is unquestionably one of the most influential books ever written. With over 140 million copies in print, it is a central text of one of the largest and fastest-growing faiths in the world. And, Grant Hardy shows, it's far from the coma-inducing doorstop caricatured by Twain. In Understanding the Book of Mormon, Hardy offers the first comprehensive analysis of the work's narrative structure in its 180 year history. Unlike virtually all other recent world scriptures, the Book of Mormon presents itself as an integrated narrative rather than a series of doctrinal expositions, moral injunctions, or devotional hymns. Hardy takes readers through its characters, events, and ideas, as he explores the story and its messages. He identifies the book's literary techniques, such as characterization, embedded documents, allusions, and parallel narratives. Whether Joseph Smith is regarded as author or translator, it's noteworthy that he never speaks in his own voice; rather, he mediates nearly everything through the narrators Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni. Hardy shows how each has a distinctive voice, and all are woven into an integral whole. As with any scripture, the contending views of the Book of Mormon can seem irreconcilable. For believers, it is an actual historical document, transmitted from ancient America. For nonbelievers, it is the work of a nineteenth-century farmer from upstate New York. Hardy transcends this intractable conflict by offering a literary approach, one appropriate to both history and fiction. Regardless of whether readers are interested in American history, literature, comparative religion, or even salvation, he writes, the book can best be read if we examine the text on its own terms.

Download or read book A Family of Readers written by Martha V. Parravano and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two of the most trusted reviewers in the field join with top authors, illustrators, and critics in a definitive guide to choosing books for children—and nurturing their love of reading. A FAMILY OF READERS is the definitive resource for parents interested in enriching the reading lives of their children. It’s divided into four sections: 1. Reading to Them: Choosing and sharing board books and picture books with babies and very young children. 2. Reading with Them: Launching the new reader with easy readers and chapter books. 3. Reading on Their Own: Exploring what children read—and how they read—by genre and gender. 4. Leaving Them Alone: Respecting the reading privacy of the young adult. Roger Sutton knows how and why children read. He must, as the editor in chief of THE HORN BOOK, which since 1924 has been America’s best source for reviews of books for young readers. But for many parents, selecting books for their children can make them feel lost. Now, in this essential resource, Roger Sutton and Martha V. Parravano, executive editor at the magazine, offer thoughtful essays that consider how books are read to (and then by) young people. They invite such leading authors and artists as Maurice Sendak, Katherine Paterson, Margaret Mahy, and Jon Scieszka, as well as a selection of top critics, to add their voices about the genres they know best. The result is an indispensable readers’ companion to everything from wordless board books to the most complex and daring young adult novels.

Download or read book A Reader s Guide Through the Wardrobe written by Leland Ryken and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2005-08-26 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this interactive, informative book, a Lewis scholar and a literary expert unlock the door to "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Download or read book Band of Sisters written by Lauren Willig and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A crackling portrayal of everyday American heroines…A triumph." — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue A group of young women from Smith College risk their lives in France at the height of World War I in this sweeping novel based on a true story—a skillful blend of Call the Midwife and The Alice Network—from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig. A scholarship girl from Brooklyn, Kate Moran thought she found a place among Smith’s Mayflower descendants, only to have her illusions dashed the summer after graduation. When charismatic alumna Betsy Rutherford delivers a rousing speech at the Smith College Club in April of 1917, looking for volunteers to help French civilians decimated by the German war machine, Kate is too busy earning her living to even think of taking up the call. But when her former best friend Emmeline Van Alden reaches out and begs her to take the place of a girl who had to drop out, Kate reluctantly agrees to join the new Smith College Relief Unit. Four months later, Kate and seventeen other Smithies, including two trailblazing female doctors, set sail for France. The volunteers are armed with money, supplies, and good intentions—all of which immediately go astray. The chateau that was to be their headquarters is a half-burnt ruin. The villagers they meet are in desperate straits: women and children huddling in damp cellars, their crops destroyed and their wells poisoned. Despite constant shelling from the Germans, French bureaucracy, and the threat of being ousted by the British army, the Smith volunteers bring welcome aid—and hope—to the region. But can they survive their own differences? As they cope with the hardships and terrors of the war, Kate and her colleagues find themselves navigating old rivalries and new betrayals which threaten the very existence of the Unit. With the Germans threatening to break through the lines, can the Smith Unit pull together and be truly a band of sisters?

Download or read book A Reunion Of Ghosts written by Judith Claire Mitchell and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FINALIST “The Alter sisters are mordant, wry, and crystalline in wit and vision; it is a tremendous pleasure to rocket through generations of their family histories with them.” —Lauren Groff, New York Timesbestselling author of Fates and Furies, The Monsters of Templeton, and Arcadia In the waning days of 1999, the last of the Alters—three damaged but wisecracking sisters who share an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side—decide it’s time to close the circle of the family curse by taking their own lives. But first, Lady, Vee, and Delph must explain the origins of that curse and how it has manifested throughout the preceding generations. Unspooling threads of history, personal memory, and family lore, they weave a mesmerizing account that stretches back a century to their great-grandfather, a brilliant scientist whose professional triumph became the terrible legacy that defines them. A suicide note crafted by three bright, funny women, A Reunion of Ghosts is the final chapter of a saga lifetimes in the making—one that is inexorably intertwined with the story of the twentieth century itself. “Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.”—People Book of the Week “A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious.”—Emma Straub, New York Timesbestselling author

Download or read book A Gentleman in Moscow written by Amor Towles and published by Random House. This book was released on 2017-01-09 with total page 547 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers Soon to be a Showtime/Paramount+ series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov From the number one New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel 'A wonderful book' - Tana French 'This novel is astonishing, uplifting and wise. Don't miss it' - Chris Cleave 'No historical novel this year was more witty, insightful or original' - Sunday Times, Books of the Year '[A] supremely uplifting novel ... It's elegant, witty and delightful - much like the Count himself.' - Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year 'Charming ... shows that not all books about Russian aristocrats have to be full of doom and nihilism' - The Times, Books of the Year On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all? A BOOK OF THE DECADE, 2010-2020 (INDEPENDENT) THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A DAILY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2017 ONE OF BILL GATES'S SUMMER READS OF 2019 NOMINATED FOR THE 2018 INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS WEEK AWARD

Download or read book Reading Women written by Nanci Milone Hill and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2012-03-07 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An indispensable guide for anyone who runs or participates in a book group, this title provides the structure and fun facts needed to examine the genre of women's fiction. Women's fiction covers numerous topics of importance in the lives of women—friendship, love, personal growth, and familial relationships. For this reason, the genre is a hotbed of engaging subjects for book group discussions. Reading Women: A Book Club Guide for Women's Fiction brings together information on over 100 women's fiction titles, providing everything a book group needs to encourage focused, stimulating meetings. Reading Women marshals information that has been, up to this point, either nonexistent or scattered in book club guides. Readers will learn the difference between women's fiction, romance, and chick lit, as well as why these genres provide a rich trove of discussion topics for book groups. Specific entries cover titles from all three genres, offering an author biography, a book summary, bibliographic material, discussion questions, and read-alike information for each book. An additional 50 titles suitable for book group discussions are listed with brief summaries.

Download or read book The Silver Linings Playbook written by Matthew Quick and published by Sarah Crichton Books. This book was released on 2010-04-27 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller, The Silver Linings Playbook was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It tells the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife's betrayal. During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy. When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their "contract." All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining. In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.

Download or read book Circe written by Madeline Miller and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world. #1 New York Times Bestseller -- named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, Buzzfeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider.

Download or read book David Foster Wallace s Infinite Jest Second Edition written by Stephen J. Burn and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Infinite Jest has been hailed as one the great modern American novels and its author, David Foster Wallace, who committed suicide in 2008, as one of the most influential and innovative authors of the past 20 years. Don DeLillo called Infinite Jest a “three-stage rocket to the future,” a work “equal to the huge, babbling spin-out sweep of contemporary life,” while Time Magazine included Infinite Jest on its list of 100 Greatest Novels published between 1923-2006. David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest: A Reader's Guide was the first book to be published on the novel and is a key reference for those who wish to explore further. Infinite Jest has become an exemplar for difficulty in contemporary Fiction—its 1,079 pages full of verbal invention, oblique narration, and a scattered, nonlinear, chronology. In this comprehensively revised second edition, Burn maps Wallace's influence on contemporary American fiction, outlines Wallace's poetics, and provides a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas, before surveying Wallace's post-Infinite Jest output, including The Pale King.

Download or read book Elegant Complexity written by Greg Carlisle and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Elegant Complexity is the first critical work to provide detailed and thorough commentary on each of the 192 sections of David Foster Wallace's masterful Infinite Jest. No other commentary on Infinite Jest recognizes that Wallace clearly divided the book into 28 chapters that are thematically unified. A chronology at the end of the study reorders each section of the novel into a sequential timeline that orients the reader and that could be used to support a chronological reading of the novel. Other helpful reference materials include a thematic outline, more chronologies, a map of one the novel's settings, lists of characters grouped by association, and an indexed list of references. Elegant Complexity orients the reader at the beginning of each section and keeps commentary separate for those readers who only want orientation. The researcher looking for specific characters or themes is provided a key at the beginning of each commentary. Carlisle explains the novel's complex plot threads (and discrepancies) with expert insight and clear commentary. The book is 99% spoiler-free for first-time readers of Infinite Jest."--Publisher's website.

Download or read book The Reader s Companion to Twentieth century Writers written by Peter Parker and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1995 with total page 854 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in a Nutshell provides a concise overview of a popular therapeutic approach, starting with the ABCDE Model of Emotional Disturbance and Change. Written by leading REBT specialists, Michael Neenan and Windy Dryden, the book goes on to explain the core of the therapeutic process: - Assessment - Disputing - Homework - Working through - Promoting self-change. As an introduction to the basics of the approach, this updated and revised edition of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in a Nutshell is the ideal first text and a springboard to further study.

Download or read book By The Book written by Ramona Koval and published by Text Publishing. This book was released on 2013-10-23 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the Book is Ramona Koval's love letter to books and writing, a tribute to the stories that have changed and enriched her life Ramona Koval is one of Australia's best-loved broadcasters, having spent sixteen years presenting 'The Book Show' on Radio National An internationally respected literary journalist, Ramona has interviewed the best writers in Australia and overseas Born to Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust and brought up in Melbourne, books were Ramona's lifeline from a young age Her mother famously never censored Ramona's reading, even buying her ten-year-old daughter a copy of the Kama Sutra when asked to In 1995, Ramona won the Order of Australia Media Award for her work on Radio National This gorgeous paperback edition is the perfect gift for anyone who loves books Ramona has legions of dedicated fans across Australia Author lives in St Kilda, Melbourne and is a regular guest of writers' festivals all around Australia and abroad

Download or read book The Bible written by R.P. Nettelhorst and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed for use alongside the Bible, this book is a navigational tool for the modern reader. Sections are colour coded by theme for easy cross-referencing. This provides the reader with an instant frame of knowledge - through which they can explore over-arching themes, the 100s of chapters and the sacred patterns with confidence.

Download or read book Book Lover s Guide to Great Reading written by Terry W. Glaspey and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you love books, you'll love this book. Follow Terry Glaspey on a tour of the great literary works of the ages. You'll be reminded of favorite classics and exposed to new treasures.

Download or read book A Reader s Guide to Gerard Manley Hopkins written by Norman H. MacKenzie and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Escorial - Rosa Mystica - The wreck of the Deutschland - Dublin sonnets - Il Mystico - St Thecla - Moonrise.

Download or read book The Intersect written by Brad Graber and published by . This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set against the backdrop of Arizona's political and cultural vortex at the start of 2010, "The Intersect" explores the issues of the day by weaving together the varied lives of disparate characters striving to survive in a world where sometimes the strongest link, and most lasting connection, is made among strangers.