I am generous with 4 star ratings, but I don't give out a lot of 5 stars; I reserve those for the most exceptional books. This was an exceptional book!
Despite the blurbs on the back cover, Bret Anthony Johnston’s debut novel, Remember Me Like This, is not a thriller in the traditional sense. The elements are all here: a kidnapping, a possible murder, a family in turmoil. But to Johnston’s credit, his novel is partly about thwarting expectations—mostly the reader’s, and not always in ways that we’re accustomed to.
This film is the perfect antidote to the evening news. Rather than dwelling on the grim or sensational, it magnifies the beauty of the quotidian as it follows a single day in the life of people all over the world. Not only visually stunning, it is also emotionally impacting to see the human race in all its variety and realize how different, and how very much the same, people can be.
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley may have been born a slave, but she was not destined to remain one. Her exceptional skill as a seamstress won for her both freedom and the acquaintance of many of society's elite, the most notable of these, Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln. The focus of Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker is on Elizabeth's life and that of her family, then turns to the relationship between she and Mrs.
Things are going pretty well for Colleen O'Rourke: she co-owns a tavern with her twin brother, Conner; has made more than a few love matches between the good people of Manningsport, NY; and is great at giving advice. Well, things were going well until Lucas Campbell comes back to Manningsport to see his dying uncle. Ten years ago they were in love—Lucas living in Chicago gearing up to go to law school, Colleen in Manningsport to be close to her family while becoming a nurse.
If you’ve ever felt uncertain or uncomfortable about giving or serving in your community or abroad, but could never quite put your finger on why, this book is for you. Toxic Charity explores how charity can often be detrimental to those it purports to benefit.
In The Bully Pulpit, Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses the Progressive Movement through the eyes of three principal actors—Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Samuel S. McClure—along with the remarkable contributors to McClure’s Magazine, notably Ida Tarbell, Ray Stannard Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and William Allen White.
Looking for a feel-good movie? Babies is a must-see documentary. Watch as four newborn babies from around the globe grow, learn, and love during their first year of life on this planet.
Each baby is born into a world full of different customs and opportunities, yet their universal humanity busts through cultural boundaries. Follow Ponijao from Namibia, Bayarjargal from Mongolia, Hattie from San Francisco, and Mari from Tokyo as each baby navigates his or her place in the world.
In 1928, sixteen-year-old Minka has to make a decision that will affect her life forever: to give up her newborn daughter Betty Jane for adoption. At a sewing class picnic, Minka was assaulted in the woods by a stranger and becomes pregnant. The family has no way to support the baby, so against her strongest desires, she chooses a better life for Betty Jane. But she can't ever forget her little girl, and for twenty years she writes the adoption home trying to find information about her precioius daughter.
