![]() “There’s a lot of weird banging that happens too.” “I live on the 5th floor, no one is above us and it sounds like someone is running on the roof,” Hagen said. In fact, sophomore Alyssa Hagen and her roommates have all recently experienced what they believe to be a ghostly presence haunting their suite and those around them. ![]() Horizon, being only about 11 years old, is a newer building compared to most on campus, but this doesn’t make it resistant to hauntings. ![]() It seems there are some uninvited residents lurking throughout Horizon Village, a residence hall on the UW Oshkosh campus, as stories of ghosts and spirits have begun to spread around campus. Students have reported strange occurences within Horizon, which opened in place of Nelson, Breese and Clemens Halls in 2012 ![]()
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![]() ![]() "Deft use of literary allusions and ironic humor add further touches of class to a topnotch mystery," said School Library Journal. But as things in Echo Falls keep getting curiouser and curiouser, Ingrid realizes she must solve the murder on her own-before it's too late. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town's production of Alice in Wonderland, Ingrid is swamped. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. ![]() In Down the Rabbit Hole, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Welcome to Echo Falls, home of a thousand secrets. ![]() Perfect for middle school readers looking for a good mystery. Astonishing." (Stephen King)ĭown the Rabbit Hole is the first book in the Echo Falls mystery series by bestselling crime novelist Peter Abrahams. ![]() ![]() ![]() In this witty, engaging book, Twitchell describes his own experiences trying out different churches to discover who knows how to "do church" well. Successful pastors ("pastorpreneurs," Twitchell calls them) know how to speak the language of Madison Avenue as well as the language of the Bible. Filling the pew is an exercise in salesmanship, and as with any marketing campaign, it requires establishing a brand identity. There is more competition among churches than ever in our history. ![]() But, says James Twitchell, this isn't because Americans are undergoing another Great Awakening rather, it's a sign that religion providers-that is, churches-have learned how to market themselves. We can wear our religious affiliation like a designer logo. Religion is now celebrated and shown off like a fashion accessory. ![]() Churches that don't know how to do this or don't bother are fading away. Churches that know how to appeal to those shopping for God are thriving. Today, many Americans change their denomination or religion, sometimes several times. A couple of generations ago Americans remained in the faith they were born into. Just as we shop for goods and services, we shop for church. How did this happen? And what does it mean for religion and for our culture? ![]() Now religion is marketed and advertised like any other product or service. Today religion is everywhere, from books to movies to television to the internet-to say nothing about politics. Not so long ago religion was a personal matter that was seldom discussed in public. ![]() ![]() In it, Kunstler lays out a journalistic argument that the world is running out of cheap oil and that we will soon surpass the 50 percent mark of extractable oil. I first met Jim Kunstler in the fall of 2005, shortly after the publication of his best-selling nonfiction book The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century. It’s anti–sci-fi, set maybe ten to twenty years out. This isn’t a sci-fi view into a future one hundred or fifty years away. ![]() ![]() ![]() Such is the fictionalized world envisioned by James Howard Kunstler in his new book, World Made by Hand. It’s as round and as large as it’s ever been. The globe is no longer flat (sorry, Tom Friedman!). The federal government has retreated to Minnesota, of all places (because who would attack them up there?), and with resources limited, race wars have erupted across the South. The Chinese have reportedly landed a man on the moon, but that’s probably more legend than fact in these paranoid times. Oil, or access to what’s left of it anyway, is as good as gone. A flu pandemic has wiped out a good third of the population, maybe more. That puts the global economy into a smoking tailspin. ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS have blown up Los Angeles and DC. ![]() ![]() " -Sumbul Ali-Karamali, author ofThe Muslim Next Door: the Qur'an, the Media, and that Veil Thin "Her journey is at times hilarious, but also a rare and fascinating insight into what it means to be a Muslim woman. ![]() Perfect for the bedside table, but enlightening, as well. ![]() A forthright, charming tale of unraveling the 'overwhelming contradictions and tangles' of identity." -Kirkus Review "A delightful memoir that celebrates spirituality, self-empowerment, female agency and resistance to cultural (both 'Eastern' and 'Western') dictates on women's roles and identities." -Randa Abdel-Fattah, author ofDoes My Head Look Big in This? "What a fun glimpse into the courting rituals of a traditional South Asian British Muslim community! Janmohamed's colorful and often humorous memoir shows us how those of another culture and religion might navigate the search for love, that most universal of themes. There has been a lot written about the horrors of arranged marriage, but here you see it at its best." -The Good Book Guide, "Her account of having to meet the succession of suitors-frequently unsavory, reluctant or downright rude-is hilarious. ![]() "Her journey is at times hilarious, but also a rare and fascinating insight into what it means to be a Muslim woman. ![]() ![]() This year’s event is no longer a secret due to a recent anonymous tell-all book and so it has drawn tourists from all over. ![]() The one left standing will win the control of Ilvernath’s high magick until the next generation’s tournament. Long time ago, seven families cursed themselves, each generation were to fight each other to their deaths. This book started with the Lowe brothers, Hendry and Alistair, told in Alistair’s point of view as they climbed the fence out to town. It was so good to read and I looked forward to those two point of views more than the others. There seemed to be enemies to lover trope but it didn’t get far despite the slow burning wants. I loved following each character’s train of thoughts, maybe Alistair more than others because his relationship with his brother was unique. Despite being who they were, I liked that each character appeared to have their own personal goals. They are born into a villain family and trained to be a villain their whole life. An excellent read, this book has a set of characters, villains as they may be, you couldn’t help but love them. ![]() My Experience: I started reading All of Us Villains on and finished it on. ![]() ![]() Making Rounds with Oscar is the story of an unusual cat, the patients he serves, their caregivers, and of one doctor who learned how to listen. ![]() He teaches by example: embracing moments of life that so many of us shy away from. And his presence lets caregivers and loved ones know that it’s time to say good-bye. Oscar provides comfort and companionship when people need him most. Then, as if this were his job, Oscar strides purposely into a patient’s room, curls up on the bed, and begins his vigil. But he never spends much time with them - until they are in their last hours. ![]() Oscar is a welcome distraction for the residents of Steere House, many of whom are living with Alzheimer’s. Apparently, this ordinary cat possesses an extraordinary gift: he knows instinctively when the end of life is near. It wasn’t long before Oscar had created something of a stir. Occasionally he consented to a scratch behind the ears, but only when it suited him. He loved to stretch out in a puddle of sunlight and chase his tail until he was dizzy. When Oscar arrived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island he was a cute little guy with attitude. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Humankind is not separate from other animals, but a part of the animal kingdom. Some sixty-five years before ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ was written, Charles Darwin had shown how all animals are locked in a bloody and desperate struggle for survival: one animal hunts another for food, two animals of the same species fight to the death over a potential mate, animals tears each other apart in their competition for limited food sources.Īlthough Darwin’s initial book on evolution, On the Origin of Species (1859), did not discuss man, the implications of his theory of natural selection were plain enough to most readers. For in some respects, Connell’s tale can be analysed as a kind of allegory for the predatory and cutthroat elements of human nature. Although ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ is a well-paced and engaging adventure story, we should not let this fact lead us to conclude that this is all the story is: an action-packed piece of entertainment. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Could he and the experts who authenticated that picture have got it wrong? The trouble is that in 1999, Philip helped authenticate a different picture as 'the lost Gainsborough'. Mark’s picture looks very much like a famous print by Gainsborough, copied from one of his paintings, believed to be lost for many years. Philip is intrigued by this painting as it’s a landscape he recognises. Mark’s father tore off the Gainsborough label in disgust, but Mark would love to be able to put the name Gainsborough back on the painting. But then a valuation downgraded it to a Barker of Bath – an attribution Philip calls a ‘bin name’. The painting has been in the family of owner Mark Cropper for generations, and until the 1970s it was considered to be a Gainsborough. The team investigate an 18th-century landscape: could it be a lost work by the great British master of landscape painting, Thomas Gainsborough? ![]() ![]() ![]() We associate the name “Sal” with “Sally”, but it could just as easily be a nickname for “Salvador” and the like. She/He walks about in those gender neutral overalls and long, but not too long, hair. I’ve heard theories that speculate that part of the charm of this book also lies in the boy/girl nature of Sal. ![]() Brooke and Amy have already pinpointed the two major reasons why: Blueberry picking is the ultimate child sport, and any author/illustrator who can make blue ink continually compelling must be some kind of genius. ![]() Now I don’t remember reading Blueberries for Sal as a kid, but I don’t think it’s possible to “miss” the appeal of this one. Our response to it was not overwhelmingly positive, and we figured that had to be because we “missed it”. I was speaking with a fellow librarian the other day about a classic children’s book (which shall remain nameless) that both of us missed in our youth. This is a hangover favorite from childhood that I really can’t otherwise think to say what’s so great about it except that I always loved it. Honestly, I think my favorite part as a kid was just staring at the endpapers with the scene of Sal and her mom in the kitchen, noticing all the details. It’s hard to pick a favorite McCloskey, but I think of this one every time I pick blueberries. #31 Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (1948) ![]() |