Our greatest moments of joy involve other people, the birth of a child, finding love, reunions with dear friends. Human connection is the foundation on which we build everything else.Ĭonnection is our evolutionary birth right. This, along with Lost Connections, are the best books I have come across which cover this subject area. If you want to increase your understanding of how togetherness can significantly impact everyone's lives, and how simple changes can result in lasting positive benefits. However, some points are repeated but the first 30 pages or so are outstanding and a must-read. I hadn't appreciated the full impact and had a limited understanding of loneliness - this book increased my awareness of it. We can change this, we can become more connected and when we do there are great benefits. In a world that is slowly becoming more disconnected, especially relevant with COVID-19, it is important we understand the loneliness condition on our hands. When we connect more, through reaching out to strangers and having meaningful interactions, our lives are more fulfilled. The benefits are unrivalled, it is a healing power. It wasn't explicit but a dark thread that ran through more obvious issues.įeeling connected is human nature, it is fundamental to us. There seemed to be a general thread of loneliness when Dr Murthy travelled the United States. Together: Loneliness, Health and What Happens When We Find Connection by Vivek Murthy □ The Book in 3 Sentences
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Along comes Minty Fresh-the man in green-to enlighten him: turns out Charlie and Minty are Death Merchants, whose job (outlined in the Great Big Book of Death) is to gather up souls before the Forces of Darkness get to them. When objects in his store begin glowing, strangers drop dead before him and man-sized ravens start attacking him, Charlie figures something's up. Though security cameras catch nothing, Charlie swears he saw an impossibly tall black man in a mint green suit standing beside Rachel as she died. For beta male Charlie Asher, proprietor of a shop in San Francisco, life and death meet in a maternity ward recovery room where his wife, Rachel, dies shortly after giving birth. ) tackles death-make that Death-in his latest wonderful, whacked-out yarn. Regrettably, Brooks's fans continue to assert that she WAS Lulu, the character she played in one (or, unofficially, both) of her two German films. (Which is nonsense: if Marilyn Monroe really WERE Norma Jean, her fans wouldn't be interested.) In Brooks's case, her fans tend to skim over her entire Hollywood career in order to fixate on the two films she made in Germany for GW Pabst: those two films *do* contain Brooks's two best performances, but I feel that the constant emphasis on her German films does a great injustice to her Hollywood films, in several of which Brooks does give excellent (and sexy) performances. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Marilyn's fans would have us believe that Monroe was some wounded little fawn, who - underneath the glamour - was actually Norma Jean the girl next door. (Full disclosure: I've had some professional dealings with Hugh Neely, and I consider him a friend, but I hope that this hasn't coloured my perceptions of his films.) I enjoy Louise Brooks's movies, but I tend to be alienated by her fandom cult, much as I'm alienated by the fandom cult for Marilyn Monroe. 'Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu' is one instalment in an ongoing series of documentaries by Hugh Munro Neely, each spotlighting an actress of the early film era. I can’t help but think that this novel would work better as a middle-grade read. And yet at no stage did I feel invested in this story, or attached to the characters, or compelled by the conflict. There are so many promising elements here: a clearly realised world, a strong and intelligent princess, a court intrigue, a varied cast of characters. In some respects it’s quite the opposite.īut for me, this book felt rather “paint-by-numbers”, where the finished product looked just as it should, neat and tidy, and yet somehow a bit soulless. To be clear, this is not a badly written or subpar book. To me, two stars seems paltry and possibly indicative of poor writing, plotting and characterisation – and that’s not actually true in the case of Aurelia.īut the Goodreads star system defines two stars as “It was okay”, and to be honest, that’s the most fitting of the ratings for my personal reading experience of this book. I don’t feel great about giving this book two stars. She has a job, a young son, Alex, a church to which she's devoted, and a mortgage to cover. Mary Chang, the older sister, lives a stable life in Northern California. The novel follows three women: sisters Mary and Ingrid, who immigrated to the United States from China, and their elderly mother, Wang Fenglan, who stayed in their homeland with their now-deceased father. Placidly paced, and eschewing claims to grandeur, the novel traces familial and cultural values as they transfer between generations and geography. "Beautiful as Yesterday," by San Jose writer Fan Wu, explores the consequences of trapping one family between two nations. Nationality is often compared to belonging to a family: You share history, draw borders, are sometimes proud of belonging and at other times conflicted. Urban's understated, borderline na%C3%AFf narrative gives voice to Mattie's many uncertainties ("Always Mattie has been shy. Mattie hopes that Uncle Potluck will make her his "custodial apprentice" at the school where he works (and which she'll attend) and that this time she'll finally find a "true, tell-your-secrets-to" friend. Uncle Potluck tells funny, larger-than-life stories%E2%80%94the kind of stories Mattie likes to write, but is embarrassed to share with others. Fifth grader Mattie Breen doesn't share her mother's eagerness to pick up stakes whenever "the going gets tough." Mattie hates starting over at unfamiliar schools, but when her mother announces they will be living with Uncle Potluck, Mattie feels hopeful, for once. Urban (A Crooked Kind of Perfect) traces a highly self-conscious child's cautious emergence from her shell in this tender novel about new beginnings and "small brave" acts. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping, moving-and ultimately uplifting-detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a “barefoot doctor,” a steelworker, and an electrician. An engrossing record of Mao’s impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love, Jung Chang describes the extraordinary lives and experiences of her family members: her grandmother, a warlord’s concubine her mother’s struggles as a young idealistic Communist and her parents’ experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. An engrossing record of Maos impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love, Jung. The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history-a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten million copies sold around the world, now with a new introduction from the author. When asked about how she felt when she learned that her character would be getting a new live-action series, Eckstein stated that she was excited. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Eckstein has looked back on Ahsoka's journey from her animated beginnings to her upcoming live-action series and reflected on what the character has meant to her and Star Wars. Related: Why The Mandalorian Didn't Cast Ashley Eckstein As Ahsoka Many predicted that she would die at the end of the series due to her absence in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but she has since lived on in other franchise media, including the live-action television series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and her forthcoming show, Ahsoka. However, as the series progressed, Ahsoka's arc was treated with care, and she became one of the most nuanced characters in the entire show. Initially, Ahsoka's introduction received a mixed-to-negative response from fans calling her annoying and pandering to younger audiences. The animated film served as an entry point to The Clone Wars television show that followed the exploits of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker as they fought the Separatists during the Clone Wars. Yet unlike the precise, slapstick comedics of The Beet Queen (1986), here the doings are all overdetermined by the slap and slather of Erdrich's lyricism. Finally, it's miracles and love medicine and spirit intercessions that bring everything into harmony-and that Erdrich, as ever, wants to celebrate. To win her wholly, Lipsha (who works at Lyman's bingo parlor) will go to any length, including subjecting himself to a vision-contest with Lyman-from which he returns sprayed on by a skunk. Lipsha's ardor is transcendental, biblical, greater-than-great but Shawnee could take him or leave him-and does both. Plucked from the revolving carousel of Erdrich's Chippewa characters now is Lipsha Morrissey-the good-for-nothing doofus son of much-escaped convict Gerry Nanapush and spooky June Kapshaw-who's been batting around off the reservation but returns and promptly falls stone in love with Shawnee Ray, a single mother half-pledged to the tribe's gambling-casino entrepreneur, the much older Lyman Lamartine. Later, the squad members speak about their lives in "the World." Lobel, a curly-haired Jewish soldier from California, likes comparing the reality of war to Hollywood movies. This catalyzes the subsequent transfer of the VC to the intelligence unit. Peewee and the VC even smoke a cigarette together until the captain catches them - which is when the VC jumps on Peewee and tries to take his pistol. Peewee strikes up a conversation with the prisoner, who speaks perfect English. Meanwhile, a VC is at the camp, awaiting questioning. Jenkins's death continues to plague Perry's thoughts. While watching his superiors place Jenkins's body in the bag and zip it up, Perry feels like he is going to "throw up." Afterwards, Lieutenant Carroll leads the squad in a prayer for Jenkins, whom he calls a "fallen angel warrior." Perry writes another letter to his mother but decides not to mention Jenkins, since he does not want to upset her. Perry is tasked with bringing a body bag to Sergeant Simpson and Lieutenant Carroll from the supply closet. |