![]() ![]() The world that made Augustus–and that he himself later remade–was driven by intrigue, sex, ceremony, violence, scandal, and naked ambition. Augustus’s rise to power began with the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar, and culminated in the titanic duel with Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Here, Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of Cicero, gives a spellbinding and intimate account of his illustrious subject.Īugustus began his career as an inexperienced teenager plucked from his studies to take center stage in the drama of Roman politics, assisted by two school friends, Agrippa and Maecenas. Yet, despite Augustus’s accomplishments, very few biographers have concentrated on the man himself, instead choosing to chronicle the age in which he lived. ![]() ![]() His consolidation and expansion of Roman power two thousand years ago laid the foundations, for all of Western history to follow. As Rome’s first emperor, Augustus transformed the unruly Republic into the greatest empire the world had ever seen. He found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Among them are the astronomer Maria Mitchell, who paved the way for women in science the sculptor Harriet Hosmer, who did the same in art the journalist and literary critic Margaret Fuller, who sparked the feminist movement and the poet Emily Dickinson. Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists-mostly women, mostly queer-whose public contributions have risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the way we understand, experience, and appreciate the universe. About the Book "Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries, beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement. ![]() ![]() ![]() Still, David hears Alex’s music, haunting and beautiful. When David’s structured world comes crashing down, his fledgling relationship with Alex is the first casualty. ![]() Becoming a composer suddenly feels attainable.ĭavid’s fragile ego, worn away by years of his grandfather’s disdain, makes losing control difficult. David begins to dream of Alex, wonderful dreams full of music. But Alex is outgoing, relaxed, and congenial-everything David is not-and soon makes dents in the armor around David's heart. Then Alex puts bow to string, and David hears the brilliance of Alex’s soul.ĭavid has sworn off relationships, believing he will eventually drive away those he loves, or that he'll lose them as he lost his wife and parents. ![]() Alex’s fame and outrageous tattoos fail to move David. When a guest violinist at the Chicago Symphony falls ill, David meets Alex Bishop, a last-minute substitute. But no matter how he struggles, David can’t translate the music in his head into notes on paper. World-renowned conductor David Somers never wanted the investment firm he inherited from his domineering grandfather. ![]() ![]() ![]() And for me, taking agency has meant not letting someone else’s bad mood become mine, not playing the victim to avoid accountability, and not being a doormat or a martyr for the sake of politeness, peer pressure, or some societal construct. But, this year brought me so much personal growth, the biggest of which is realizing I have agency over everything in my life, which, no duh, but *knowing* that is different from *living* that. ![]() □□♀️ It happens, and I’m a people pleasure, so it’s a hard habit to break. I think this year I was overstimulated, overdrawn, and a little too emotionally vulnerable to the opinions of strangers. 2022 taught me that sometimes you have to make your circle small when it comes to what you can accomplish. The older I get, and the longer I’m in this career, the more I realize I need times like these to turn off my writer brain and just exist in the moment for a bit.Īnd now for that grand old wrap up. In case it isn’t obvious, I’ve been out of the office for the holidays, so if I’m quiet on here, this is why. ![]() They’ve been holding out on me with these vacation properties. ![]() Apparently they each have one on this side of the bridge. Swipe for evidence of them fleeing-slash-leading me to their respective castles. This is a picture of my kids running away from me after I tried to get them to smile for a picture. ![]() ![]() ![]() Train station: During the old days, when Vikendi's weather was mild and pleasant, the central train station was the main attraction point, allowing tourists to see Vikendi's beautiful snowy landscape.These trees are a favorite local product, which may be why many villagers have previously used lumber from these trees to build their houses. Battlepug The Compugdium (2019) (Omnibus) : Join the last Kinmundian and his faithful steed, The Battlepug, as they travel the globe seeking revenge against every giant ridiculous animal they can find. Lumber yard: It's well-known that the unique species of trees in Vikendi can withstand the harsh environment. The epic tale of blood and drool continues It's been a few years since the Last Kinmundian and his faithful Battlepug saved the world from a magical apocalypse, so when a familiar threat emerges, they'll need help from old and new friends alike t.However, everyone from the facility eventually had to leave to save their own lives. Observatory: Observatories were established to monitor the new Vikendi's fast-changing environments.Vikendi Reborn - which has expanded from 6km x 6km to 8km x 8km - is composed of various environments such as glaciers, snowfields and greenery, presenting sharp slopes and heavy snow in the north, with relatively less snow and flatter terrain in the south. With the changes to the environment and sudden blizzards raging everywhere, your chance of survival is unknown. A new adventure awaits you this winter in the ruthless snowy plains - Vikendi Reborn. ![]() ![]() ![]() I felt for her with her grief, and the uncomfortable circumstances of her living with her Uncle trying to get her inheritance. Like I said above, Robin is my kind of girl. My only complaint is that occasionally I didn’t know it was Zylas speaking and not one of the other men (like Darius). ![]() It was so cool to hear the demon language from her. I don’t understand how she does that! She was awesome as always. It was the slightest change, barely noticeable, but it was all Robin. I could tell from the first sentence that I was listening to someone else and not Tori. Let’s talk about Cris Dukehart for a second. I also kind of love that our main heroines in both these series are fairly uninformed about the world, and without any inherent great power…it’s who they are inside that makes a difference. A meek book nerd who perseveres? YES PLEASE! Honestly, the whole book was fascinating to me, and I loved seeing a different side of this universe. ![]() 4.5 stars - Somehow I just knew I was going to love Robin. ![]() ![]() ![]() But when the man shows up on her doorstep, he is nothing like she expected - he is a young, handsome heir to a dukedom who suddenly threatens everything she holds dear.Ĭonstantine Sinclair arrives on the Langley doorstep in a desperate bid to save the woman who raised him, the duchess of Birchwood.only to discover that the venerable doctor he expected is a bold and lovely charlatan. ![]() She corresponds with people all over the world, including an old army colonel. New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Sophie Jordan continues her best-selling Rogue Files series with this captivating romance that will thrill her many fans.ĭespite being surrounded by her happily wed sisters, Nora Langley prefers botany to ballrooms and would rather spend a lifetime in her laboratory than consider affairs of the heart. An expert herbalist, Nora has been masquerading as her late physician father for years, dispensing invaluable medical advice. ![]() ![]() Terkel, who died in 2008, was a familiar radio voice for decades, interviewing from his studio in Chicago at WFMT. Certainly, it's a necessity that has sent so many men deep down into the bowels of the earth." "So many of us would not like to need the jobs we have," said Terkel, speaking on a Labor Day broadcast in 1960. In addition to their stories, he often mused on the nature of work itself. ![]() In the 1960s, Terkel spent years crisscrossing the country, talking with people about their working lives. ![]() Terkel was a broadcaster, historian and author who developed a particular talent for finding the stories of ordinary people and showing us what it was like to work a day in their boots. Over his lengthy broadcast career, Studs Terkel talked with people from all walks of life about their work, from firefighters, to steel workers, to labor activist Cesar Chavez. ![]() ![]() Julia's original idea of giving them to her late husband's heir was way better. ![]() I'm not the best person at picking up all the clues and solving the murder mystery before the book explains it to you, but this one just struck me as impossible to solve, in an unfair kind of way.Īlso, the Grey Pearls? Seriously, giving these magnificent heirloom pearls away to your Roma friend on a whim? No. In the end we had two different murderers, plus two more people who either attempt a murder or are an accessory to one, plus an unrelated jewel thief. And second, once the mystery(ies) start to get solved and Everything is Explained, it was really an overly complex resolution, not to mention wildly unlikely. I mean, I do enjoy Raybourn's writing and hanging out with these characters, but over 200 pages of exposition before the murder mystery actually gets going? Seems excessive. No, my real complaint with this book is the murder mystery itself. ![]() I think Lady Julia and her eccentric family are too much 21st century with their socially liberal attitudes, but I already complained about that in the first book, so that one's on me if I decide to keep reading the series anyway. I enjoy the characters and the world Raybourn has created, and I'm pretty much into the tortured romance of the main characters, even though they go months without seeing each other and spend more time insulting each other than kissing. ![]() This Victorian-era murder mystery gets a mixed verdict from me. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Years before he was born, the idea of an imaginary friend who couldn’t be imagined was something I was tinkering with for years. ![]() Can you tell us the story behind that?ĭ: Alek is my oldest son who is eight years old. M: At the end of the book, you attribute the name “Beekle” to a boy named Alek. “…I pressed on in hopes of realizing what I truly wanted in my life.” Beekle is the writer, the girl is the illustrator, and they meet under a tree. Lastly, it’s the metaphor about how two people can collaborate to make a story together. In the end it takes is just one person to understand who he is and everything feels right. Beekle is like my son at his first day of school worrying about whether or not he will fit in with the other kids in school, or if he can even make friends. The book is also a metaphor about the worry a child has about going out into the real world and making their first friend and wondering if there’s someone out in the world for them. Then when Beekle meets his child all that fear suddenly disappears and he instantly loves this person he has just met and it feels just right. He then goes on a journey, a transformation in a sense, to discover who he truly is and during the entire time he’s nervous and excited at the same time, much like a first time parent. “In the story… There’s a gathering around him like when family gathers at a hospital when a birth is happening.” (Early Sketch) ![]() |