Weirdly Beloved


Book Description

Inspired by the romantic misadventures she’s witnessed in her own family, Cynthia Ceilán takes us jauntily through real-life stories about love: what demented things we do in the name of love, the wildly unusual choices people have made in their selection of a mate, and the joys and horrors of saying goodbye to a relationship that has long overstayed its welcome. In her fact-finding mission to write this collection, Cynthia Ceilán began in the bowels of her own family history, which always seemed unnecessarily shrouded in mystery. There she discovered a treasure trove of delightfully wicked secrets, which spurred her on to create this collection of true stories from around the world. Here's some of what she found: “Normal” is in the eye (and the bedsprings) of the beholder, especially when it comes to furries, objectophiles, and happily married conjoined twins. Same-sex marriage is illegal in most countries but a few are happy to let you marry your dog. You shouldn't be afraid to invite your crazy relatives to your wedding – unless your brothers are Scott, Erik, Aaron, Ryan, and Randall and they’re currently out on bail. Weirdly Beloved offers comforting proof that there is never only one way to fall in love, or one way to be properly married, or one way to suffer the necessary indignities of love gone wrong.




Myths of a Merciful God


Book Description

Poignant, riveting, full of rage and beauty, Cynthia Ceilan's new novel, Myths of a Merciful God, takes us on the unforgettable journey of one woman's quest to overcome unspeakable loss. SYNOPSIS: How does one come back from a tragedy as unspeakable as the death of a child? Myths of a Merciful God is the story of Sarah Miranda, a strong, independent, single mother who is brought to her knees by just such an event. Compounding this misfortune are the circumstances surrounding the birth of her little girl, as well as Sarah's own troubled past. Through the literal and figurative journey upon which Sarah embarks in the aftermath of this unimaginable loss, and the people she encounters along the way, Myths of a Merciful God explores the concepts of divine retribution and intervention versus the gaping silence of an indifferent universe, moral turpitude versus the virtue of well-kept secrets, and whether the absence of religion in a person's life helps, hinders, or makes no difference in one's ability to find a way back toward wholeness.




Why I Hate Toni Morrison's Beloved


Book Description

Essays about the pleasures and perils of loving (and hating) books, places, and other people.




By The Gods Beloved


Book Description

Mark and Hugh are school friends. Mark has visited Hugh’s house, whose father is an Egyptologist and where there is an odd museum. One day, Hugh discovers the descendants of ancient pharaohs are still living in the Libyan Desert. The two then experience incredible adventures, strange sights, a beautiful princess and great dangers.




LoveÕs Beloved


Book Description

Kaathi, the mystic healer, Jacob, the warrior, and friends confront danger and intrigue in distant villages. Kaathi refuses to pay homage to a tyrannical emperor and is imprisoned; it sparks hundreds of supporters to protest for her release. An unexpected solar eclipse startles the evil emperor forcing him to make a spectacular decision. In the holy village of Jeru Salem, Kaathi speaks with the leaders of the three world religions, enraging one of them so grievously he engages killers to silence her. Everywhere Kaathi goes, she encounters suppression of women and encourages them to demand equality, justice and freedom. She continues to share her inspirational message of love to established groups of supporters and everyone willing to listen. An abused woman entombed every day by her jealous husband, escapes, seeks help from family and friends, does not receive it and roams the village in hope of finding the mystic, Kaathi and sanctuary.




The Heart of the Humanities


Book Description

From one of America's great professors, a collection of works exploring the importance of reading, writing, and teaching well, for anyone invested in the future of the humanities. A renowned professor of English at the University of Virginia, Mark Edmundson has devoted his career to tough-minded yet optimistic advocacy for the humanities. He argues for the importance of reading and writing to an examined and fruitful life and affirms the invaluable role of teachers in opening up fresh paths for their students. In his series of books Why Read?, Why Teach?, and Why Write? Edmundson explored the vital worldly roles of reading, teaching, and writing, earning a vocal following of writers, teachers, and scholars at the top of their fields, from novelist Tom Perrotta to critics Laura Kipnis and J. Hillis Miller. Now for the first time The Heart of the Humanities collects into one volume this triad of impassioned arguments, including an introduction from the author on the value of education in the present and for the future. The perfect gift for students, recent graduates, writers, teachers, and anyone interested in education and the life of the mind, this omnibus edition will make a powerful and timely case for strengthening the humanities both in schools and in our society.




An Unconventional History of Western Philosophy


Book Description

The historical exclusion of women's voices has diminished academic disciplines, including philosophy. In this groundbreaking new account of Western philosophy throughout the past 2,600 years, Karen J. Warren has paired sixteen women philosophers along-side their historical male contemporaries in conversations on philosophy. An overview essay, together with chapter introductions, primary readings, and expert commentaries, offer a rich description and evaluation of each philosopher's vital contributions to Western philosophy. Book jacket.




Born to Write


Book Description

Born to write is a poetry collection. It contains the voice of the suffering Africans and entirely the observant voices who feel compassionate about them. Most of the poems were written out of the experience of the writer. The collection is organized based on the common message the poems convey to the society. It incorporates humor to knit the ideas in their flow. As you see inside, you will realize what it contains.




The Whole Death Catalog


Book Description

In the tradition of Mary Roach’s bestselling Stiff and Jessica Mitford’s classic exposé The American Way of Death comes this meticulously researched, refreshingly irreverent, and lavishly illustrated look at death from acclaimed author Harold Schechter. With his trademark fearlessness and bracing sense of humor, Schechter digs deep into a wealth of sources to unearth a treasure trove of surprising facts, amusing anecdotes, practical information, and timeless wisdom about that undiscovered country to which we will all one day travel. Topics include • Death anxiety–is your fear of death normal or off the scale? • You can’t take it with you . . . or can you? Wacky wills and bizarre bequests • The hospice experience–going out in comfort and style • Deathbed and funeral etiquette–how to help the dying and mourn the dead with dignity • Death on demand–why the right-to-die movement may be the next big thing • “Good-bye everybody”–famous last words • The embalmer’s art–all dressed up and nowhere to go • Behind the scenes at your local funeral home • Alternative burial choices–from coral reefs to outer space From the cold, hard facts of death to lessons in the art of dying well, from what happens in the body’s last living moments to what transpires in the ground or in the furnace, from near-death experiences to speculation on the afterlife, The Whole Death Catalog leaves no gravestone unturned.




Mystery Tour to terra incognito


Book Description

In a nutshell, the story of Mystery Tour to Terra incognito starts with a tour of two close friends. One is the doyen of RAW, the most talented and dauntless officer; who conceals his real identity even with his friend. He is well known as a special correspondent of a famous Indian daily paper. His friend, a youth of Arunachal Pradesh is a Liaison officer in New Delhi. Both made a plan and went out for a pleasure trip to Arunachal Pradesh and reached Tawang monastery, where Mr. Khan, the RAW agent has confronted with a series of most enigmatic amazing, and supernatural events. Gradually he felt that he has entered into an inscrutable mysterious invisible world of Wizardry. Even though he was specially assigned to a secret mission by the central government, he never divulged it before his friend. From Tawang, Mr. Khan starts his most tiresome terrific tour to that Terra incognito, an unknown land, the land of Wizards. The land of Tantric Lamas, who practiced the most inscrutable and esoteric culture of Vajrayana, the enigmatic and dreadful sect in Mahayana. Lord Pema Yungney, the most supernatural Buddhist Lama, laid the foundation stone of Vajrayana. In Hindu mythology, the great sage Rishyashringa; who performed the Putrarthe Jogya of King Dasaratha for on coming born of Rama, Laksmana, Bharat, and Satrughana was nonother this second Buddha Pema Yungney, who is said to be the Self-born. ***It's a long story about how Mr. Khan with his friend, Niko Dolo have appeared in the valley of Norbuland, the kingdom of Lama Zhiang Hui Pheng, the most dreadful Tantric of the world. Mr. Khan had frankly admitted to his superiors that he has entered into a passage of darkness, surrounded by zombies and werewolves. Wanglee, the land of beautiful blondes. Nima Hui Pheng, the first astrophysicist and astronaut, sponsored his maiden Martian Mission; the interplanetary Odyssey to lay the foundation of the Human Colony over the Red planet.