![]() ![]() Severing Sanguine, The second companion novel, focusing on Sanguine.The Ghost and the Darkness, The second novel in the series. ![]() It focuses on Jade, a character introduced towards the end of Fallocaust. ![]() Breaking Jade, The first companion novel.Fallocaust, the first book in the series.However, since these books often introduce characters and plot concepts that will later become essential to the series, they're considered essential reading within the fandom. Reaver's life changes forever when he falls in love with Killian, an innocent newcomer, and soon the two are drawn into a battle for control of what little remains of the world.Īlthough the main series takes place in chronological order, each book in the series is accompanied by a companion novel set during a different time period and focusing on a specific character instead of an ensemble cast. Reaver Merrick is a young man and self-described sociopath who lives with his adoptive parents in Aras, a small town in the greywastes. ![]() Fallocaust is a post-apocalyptic science fiction series by Quil Carter.Ģ31 years after a nuclear catastrophe known as the Fallocaust, humanity has been all but wiped out, with the survivors centered in and around Skyfall, the last remaining city. ![]()
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7/8/2023 0 Comments Mismatch by Kat Holmes![]() ![]() She creates a 5-step circle of inclusion to be integrated into the design process. Most importantly, this means including and learning from people with a range of perspectives.ĭrawing from the ‘Nothing about us, without us’ slogan popularised in America by disability activist and author James Charlton in the late 1990’s, Kat continually reiterates throughout the book that the job of a designer is to involve the end user at each stage of the design journey. Kat defines Inclusive design as: A methodology that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity. She has dedicated her career to understanding the true scope of human diversity, studying different ways in which people can feel excluded by design with the view to make a shift from the concept of inclusive design as ‘nice add-on’ to a culture of design in which inclusivity is embedded at every stage. Kat is an engineer turned designer who headed up the inclusive product innovation at Microsoft for 7 years and went on to Google as UX design director. As a fledgling UX designer with an intention to design for projects for social good, it felt like an important read. ![]() ![]() Published by MIT press, it’s considered a strong starting point for design students and practitioners who want to better understand inclusion in design. I picked up the book Mismatch – How Inclusion Shapes Design, by Kat Holmes, as part of my User Experience Design Masters study. ![]() ![]() ![]() "Lushly designed and wonderfully rendered. This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, each of them lavishly illustrated and culminating in stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves. Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, the tales in The Language of Thorns will transport you to lands both familiar and strange-to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse. Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price. Trace the roots of Grisha power and discover this deliciously atmospheric, fully-illustrated collection of Grishaverse fairy tales filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love. ![]() See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone - Season 2 streaming now! ![]() 7/7/2023 0 Comments Witch King by Martha Wells![]() ![]() However, in 2023, I am going to make a real effort to finally read something from one author whose name I keep hearing about, Martha Wells. Despite my best efforts, I have never had a chance to truly check some great authors out, which is something I deeply regret. ![]() As such, I currently have a huge backlog of books that I desperately want to read, including a ton from some highly regarded authors whose voice I have never had a chance to enjoy before. One of the sad realities of being a reader/reviewer is that it is pretty impossible to read every single amazing novel that is released, no matter how much you want to. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an excellent and compelling upcoming fantasy book from an author I have been meaning to try for some time, with Witch King by Martha Wells. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. ![]() I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. ![]() ![]() ![]() This creative take on a classic musical (itself an adaptation of a play) could stand on its own, but for My Fair Lady fans it’s especially delicious.įrom the March/April 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. ![]() The mostly jovial novel (full of nods to the source material song lyrics serve as chapter titles) thoughtfully explores real-world issues: Elijah is hiding his Jewishness Penelope Pickering, whose ancestry is partly from the Philippine Islands, is passing as white and Helena’s evolving attitude toward both adds depth to her snobbish character. ![]() Those familiar with the musical can almost imagine the rest, though some intentional plot deviations may keep them on their toes. Author Jennieke Cohen combines an interesting what-if version of history with a reality-TV-type cooking contest that holds the readers interest. Culinarian-in- training Helena Higgins sets her sights on turning street-food vendor Elijah Little into a “gentleman chef” for her final project. And My Fine Fellow has enough appeal for readers who arent familiar with either the Hollywood musical or Broadway play versions of My Fair Lady. Gender roles have taken steps, albeit small ones, toward being less restrictive than they actually were at that time, and the profession of Culinarian is reserved for women, with its practitioners revered. This clever, gender-swapped retelling of My Fair Lady is set in an alternate version of 1830s England ruled by Queen Charlotte (who, a historical note explains, was King George IV’s only heir but died before ascending the throne). ![]() 7/7/2023 0 Comments Traphis by James D. Maxon![]()
7/7/2023 0 Comments Auggie and me![]() ![]() ![]() Next comes Pluto, Auggie's friend Christopher's story. I started this short story thinking, "I'll just get through this one quickly because I really want to read the other two," and ended it with tears of compassion for Julian and his family. His visit with his grandmere in Paris was life-changing for him, and reading her story was the most touching part of The Julian Chapter. However, all is not lost, as Julian undergoes quite a bit of character growth in this story. She simply delves into his character and own family life, and through that narrative, the reader comes to see that Julian's behavior towards Auggie and Jack was only natural for him: he is the product of his upbringing. ![]() Julian's history doesn't excuse his actions, and Palacio does not try to create false sympathy for Julian. I enjoyed hearing Julian's own narrative voice and found myself completely understanding where his anger and hate towards Auggie came from. ![]() I mean, who doesn't love to hate Julian?! But, I was so surprised at the way my view of Julian changed after reading his story. The first story is The Julian Chapter, which I admit, I was looking forward to the least. I am not usually a huge fan of short stories, but the three stories in Auggie & Me are short stories done right. Palacio when I got the offer to read Auggie & Me. Like millions of people worldwide, I fell in love with Wonder. ![]() ![]() These two books were later adapted as successful motion pictures.Ĭhris was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 18, 1949, the second child of Doris Christiansen Van Allsburg and Richard Van Allsburg. picture book illustration, among other awards, for 'Jumanji' (1981) and 'The Polar Express' (1985), both of which he also wrote. His marvelous drawings beautifully convey a mix of the everyday and the extraordinary, as a quiet house is taken over by an exotic jungle.Ĭhris Van Allsburg (1949-) is an American illustrator & author born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In his second book for children, Chris Van Allsburg again explores the ever-shifting line between fantasy and reality with this story about a game that comes startlingly to life. Little did they know when they unfolded its ordinary-looking playing board that they were about to be plunged into the most exciting and bizarre adventure of their lives. so they thought they'd give Jumanji a try. ![]() ![]() The game under the tree looked like a hundred others Peters and Judy had at home.īut they were bored, restless and looking for something interesting to do. ![]() ![]() ![]() Van Sciver displays a love of the history an The resultant effect is a routinely funny (Van Sciver never takes himself too seriously unless it is intended for comedic effect) but also deeply relatable book that touches on some of life's big questions, whether about the ways we measure happiness or success, the ways we often define ourselves by our careers, or the ways we can sometimes lose sight of the most important things. Van Sciver juxtaposes fictional stories about what life as a '19th Century Cartoonist' might have looked like with a series of autobiographical strips about life as a contemporary cartoonist, along with pieces about his father and childhood that inform the path in life he has chosen. ![]() Acclaimed cartoonist Noah Van Sciver puts to use all the creative arrows in his quiver in this captivating collection of fiction, biography, memoir, and more. A series of comic strips joined together by the theme of the author's chosen profession - cartooning - reveals a funny and often poignant reflection on the human condition and the lives we choose to live. ![]() 7/7/2023 0 Comments Yevgeni zamyatin![]() This campaign has continued, on different pretexts, to this day, and it has finally resulted in a situation that I would de scribe as a sort of fetishism. 1, 1920) in a form that many people found to be sharp and offensive, and this served as a signal at the time for the launching of a newspaper and magazine campaign against me. I raised this problem in one of my articles (published in the journal Dom Iskusstv, No. ![]() Specifically, I have never concealed my attitude toward literary servility, fawning, and chameleon changes of color: I have felt and I still feel that this is equally de grading both to the writer and to the revolution. I know that I have a highly inconvenient habit of speaking what I consider to be the truth rather than saying what may be expedient at the moment. I know that among the works I wrote during the first three or four years after the revolution there were some that might provide a pretext for attacks. I have no intention of presenting myself as a picture of injured innocence. Yet the situation that has come about is such that I cannot continue my work, because no creative activity is possible in an atmosphere of systematic persecution that increases in intensity from year to year. ![]() ![]() To me as a writer, being deprived of the opportunity to write is nothing less than a death sentence. ![]() The author of the present letter, condemned to the highest penalty, appeals to you with the request for the substitution of this penalty by another. ![]() |