She felt that her African-American classmate was annoyed with her because Adichie didn't share her anger - but she didn't have the context to understand why. "I remember sitting there thinking, 'But what's so bad about watermelons? Because I quite like watermelons,' " Adichie tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. A student had said something about watermelon to an African-American classmate, who was offended by the comment. Adichie recalls, for example, an undergraduate class in which the subject of watermelon came up. The learning process took some time and was episodic. Race as an idea became something that she had to navigate and learn. As a black African in America, Adichie was suddenly confronted with what it meant to be a person of color in the United States. That changed when she arrived in the United States for college. When the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was growing up in Nigeria she was not used to being identified by the color of her skin. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Americanah Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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It won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, was a finalist for the John W. In 2005, the novel won the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction given by the Society of American Historians. The novel depicts the Weequahic section of Newark which includes Weequahic High School from which Roth graduated. The novel received praise for the realism of its world and its treatment of topics such as antisemitism, trauma, and the perception of history. Roth based his novel on the isolationist ideas espoused by Lindbergh in real life as a spokesman for the America First Committee, and on his own experiences growing up in Newark, New Jersey. The narrator and central character in the novel is the young Philip, and the care with which his confusion and terror are rendered makes the novel as much about the mysteries of growing up as about American politics. The novel follows the fortunes of the Roth family during the Lindbergh presidency, as antisemitism becomes more accepted in American life and Jewish-American families like the Roths are persecuted on various levels. Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by Charles Lindbergh. It is an alternative history in which Franklin D. The Plot Against America is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004. Berliner’s traits and attitudes feel more at home in a cozy crime or a quirky, light-hearted detective novel, one with humorous character quirks and whimsy aplenty. With the introduction of protagonist Berliner, however, the novel shifts. The wide cast of Daylesford locals introduced in the lead-up to the discovery of the murder is reminiscent of The Luminaries, which is, of course, a great compliment. The novel starts as a dark, expansive crime story, an exploration of character and the seedy underbelly of a small town. This book has a great deal to recommend it, but suffers from one main flaw: it seems to be two very different books in one, with both tones and styles competing for attention rather than supporting one another. First book in a new crime series, The Unfortunate Victim follows Prussian detective Otto Berliner as he solves the murder of 17-year-old Maggie Stuart in 1860s Daylesford. As shockwaves rippled throughout the NFL system, the very legitimacy of one of the league's most popular teams and their star quarterback began to erode, even as the Patriots and Brady went on to win that year's Super Bowl. As evidence began to build, however, a full on NFL investigation was launched, exploding an unsubstantiated rumor into an intense scandal that would lead news coverage for weeks. In January 2015, rumors circulated that the New England Patriots - a team long suspected of abiding by the "if you ain't cheating you ain't trying" philosophy - had used under-inflated footballs in their playoff victory against the Indianapolis Colts. “The thrilling behind-the-scenes account of how the NFL's most sensational scandal culminated in sports history's greatest comeback, featuring dozens of exclusive interviews with Patriots players - including Tom Brady himself. What the person did and the nature of his relationships speaks volumes about what the person is like. The story is used to segue into the concept of the ‘wake.’ As a boat leaves behind a wake while cruising through the waters, a person who goes through a company leaves a wake as well. When the picture is painted as such, it’s pretty clear that this guy needs to be fired. Consider the cost of replacing those 2 key executives.Consider the amount of financial settlements needed on top of the attorney fees in dealing with the man’s problem. Consider the lost opportunity on the account of dealing with problems created by this guy.
Again, though, I took notes! Like, a ridiculous amount of notes. Read, and discover a book whose pop culture references, humorous asides, and bracing doses of discernment and common sense convey Yagoda’s unique sense of the “beauty, the joy, the artistry, and the fun of language.”Īnother book I read on vacation and have be slack in my reviewing. Laugh when Yagoda says he “shall call anyone a dork to the end of his days” who insists on maintaining the distinction between shall and will. Marvel at how a single word can shift from adverb (“I did okay”), to adjective (“It was an okay movie”), to interjection (“Okay!”), to noun (“I gave my okay”), to verb (“Who okayed this?”), depending on its use.Īvoid the pretentious preposition at, a favorite of real estate developers (e.g., “The Shoppes at White Plains”). Learn how to write better with classic advice from writers such as Mark Twain (“If you catch an adjective, kill it”), Stephen King (“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs”), and Gertrude Stein (“Nouns. Read If You Catch an Adjective, Kill It and: Not since School House Rock have adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions, interjections, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs been explored with such infectious exuberance. In his waggish yet authoritative book, Ben Yagoda has managed to undo the dark work of legions of English teachers and libraries of dusty grammar texts. What do you get when you mix nine parts of speech, one great writer, and generous dashes of insight, humor, and irreverence? One phenomenally entertaining language book. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself – but first she has to make it there, alive. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. Genre – Science-Fiction, Novella & Fantasy "And looking out at the Hollywood Bowl tonight, it still feels like there's nothing bigger than Willie Nelson." "As a kid growing up in Texas, it seemed like there was nothing bigger than Willie Nelson," said Owen Wilson, one of the evening's emcees along with Helen Mirren, Ethan Hawke and Jennifer Garner. The moment came three hours into the first of a two-night celebration of the country legend at the open-air Los Angeles amphitheater, where generations of stars sang his songs in tribute. "I want to thank all the artists who came out tonight to help celebrate whatever it is we're celebrating," said Nelson, feigning senility and getting a laugh. Nelson sat in a chair - one of the few onstage concessions he's made to age - and joined Young for the rest of their 1985 duet, "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" Providing an instant answer, Willie Nelson, wearing a cowboy hat and red-white-and-blue guitar strap, slowly strolled on to the stage on his 90th birthday, bringing the crowd of more than 17,000 to its feet. LOS ANGELES - "Are there any more real cowboys?" Neil Young sang Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl on a rare evening when he was neither the headliner nor, at age 77, even close to the oldest artist on the bill. Richard Shotwell/Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP FILE - Willie Nelson performs at the Producers & Engineers Wing 12th Annual Grammy Week Celebration at the Village Studio in Los Angeles, on Feb. The Valdez character romanticizes a very real phenomenon-the painstaking process of tending and harvesting a coffee crop. And the invention of the still ubiquitous Juan Valdez in a 1960 ad campaign caused name recognition for Colombian coffee to skyrocket within months of its introduction. In 1952, a campaign by the Pan American Coffee Bureau helped institutionalize the coffee break in America. Coffee advertising, he shows, played a major role in expanding the American market. Pendergrast focuses on the influence of the American coffee trade on the world's economies and cultures, further zeroing in on the political and economic history of Latin America. His wide-ranging narrative takes readers from the legends about coffee's discovery-the most appealing of which, Pendergast writes, concerns an Ethiopian goatherd who wonders why his goats are dancing on their hind legs and butting one another-to the corporatization of the specialty cafe. Caffeinated beverage enthusiast Pendergrast (For God, Country and Coca-Cola) approaches this history of the green bean with the zeal of an addict. I suspect I'll be doing that again in ten more years if I live that long. Seriously though, I look back at the stuff I wrote long ago and just cringe. Know any others? Message #scifi and let your friendly mods know!ĭid you just call me old? I'm still in my forties, thank you very much!
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