Labels of Origin for Food: Local Development, Global Recognition
Elizabeth Barham and Bertil Sylvander
Book
Agri-food traditional, regional and typical products are an important resource for agricultural and...
Introduction to Quasi-Monte Carlo Integration and Applications
Gunther Leobacher and Friedrich Pillichshammer
Book
This textbook introduces readers to the basic concepts of quasi-Monte Carlo methods for numerical...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Place Called Winter in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Loosely based upon a true story, one of Patrick Gale’s ancestors in fact, <i>A Place Called Winter</i> follows the life of Harry Cane during the early 1900s. The book begins with Harry being transferred from a mental asylum to a therapeutic community called Bethel Ranch. The story then backtracks to Harry’s life as a young, nervous, motherless boy and the time he met his future wife, Winnie.
Throughout the book the reader is trying to guess the reason Harry eventually finds himself at Bethel Ranch. Gale describes Harry’s marriage, his discovery of homosexuality and his move to Canada to his final stop at a homestead in a place called Winter. Does Harry develop a mental illness or is it something to do with his scandalous desires? Or, does something else happen later in the book?
After moving to Canada, Harry does not exactly have it easy and the reader feels for him as he perseveres with his new life style. We watch him grow from a timid young man into someone with his own farm and independence. It makes it all the more upsetting to read when certain things take a turn for the worse.
In this historical novel, Patrick Gale emphasizes on the way homosexuality was regarded in society. Entire families cut people out of their lives at the slightest hint of a scandal. Gale also touches on the techniques used within mental asylums during this period as well as racial discrimination.
Occasionally, the story was difficult to read as it alternated between being really interesting and then slightly dull. Overall, regardless of how much was based on actual events, it was a good storyline, and once you have started reading you feel the need to continue to find out what happens to Harry. I have only read one other book by Patrick Gale –<i> Notes From an Exhibition</i> – that I struggled with a little. <i>A Place Called Winter, however, was a lot better than I was expecting. </i>
Pediatric Psycho-oncology: Psychosocial Aspects and Clinical Interventions
Shulamith Kreitler, Myriam Weyl Ben Arush and Andres Martin
Book
Like the ground-breaking first edition, Pediatric Psycho-oncology, Second edition puts the child at...
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Mechanical in Books
Apr 27, 2018
The Mechanical is a wild ride through the lives of three characters; a catholic priest pretending to be protestant and smuggling information to New France, a female spy known in the legends as The Tallyrand, and Jax, the mechanical in question. The characters stories intertwine together to create a rich well-developed adventure of excitement, love, treachery, betrayal, and euphoric freedom. The book looks you in the eye and challenges the idea of free will, religion, and the tendency for us to believe everything the government wants us to believe.
In the beginning, I found the narrator hard to listen to, maybe because of his pacing, and steady non-fluctuating voice. But as I got more and more into the story, learned more about this world and what was going on, fell in love and hatred with the characters, I appreciated the way he read more. It worked for the characters and for the story.
I am super excited for the rest of this series and highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a well thought out story. Ages 17 + for some violence and sexual scenes.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Local Girls in Books
May 10, 2018
From the beginning of the book, we know that someone is going to die. And now I am just trying to figure out the when and how. The book flips between present day and the past when the group of three girls used to be a foursome.
Something about this book that I liked is that you get to see how the girl get to this point in their life. I liked the flashbacks and it transported me back to my high school days. I could see me and my friends in this same situation although my friends and I were not quite as wild as these girls.
One part that really struck me was a reference to Virginia Woolf and her suicide note. In the note she says, "I don't think any two people could have been happier than we have been." The character reading this mentions that this phrase is said twice in her short suicide note. I find it ironic that the author mentions a phrase twice in this book, "Only boring people get bored." I think deep down these girls were bored, but used the antics they pulled help to add some excitement to their lives. Another interesting thing about this book, is that we are never really introduced to the narrator. I can only recall her name being mentioned twice in the book.
**I received an uncorrected proof of this book through Goodreads Giveaways and this review is based on that copy.**
The Kish Cypher: The Story of Kljn for Unconditional Security: Introduction, History, the Big Picture, Details, and Design
Book
Designed to offer a thorough account of the KLJN key exchange system (also known as the Kish Cypher,...
How to Deal with OCD: A 5-Step, CBT-Based Plan for Overcoming Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Book
OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder, is a common and difficult condition characterised by...
Film and the Ethical Imagination: 2016
Book
This book provides a comprehensive, critical overview of the turn to ethics in literature, film, and...
The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens
Book
The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens is the definitive collection from the man Harold Bloom has...