Kate’s 2¢: “The place of tides” by James Rebanks

“The place of tides” by James Rebanks

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This was one of seven books on a cartridge the NLS sent to me.

   Bryan Dick did a good job of narrating this intriguing story about a little known occupation.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Rebanks (born 1974)[1] is an English sheep farmer and author, from Matterdale in Cumbria.[2] His first book, the autobiography The Shepherd’s Life, was published in 2015,[3] and he published English Pastoral in 2020.[4][5] He also published The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd in 2015[6] and The Shepherd’s View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape in 2016.[7]

Early life and educationedit

Rebanks left school at the age of 16 to work on his family’s farm with two GCSEs in woodworking and religious studies.[3] He took A levels at evening classes in Carlisle before studying at Magdalen College, Oxford,[3][8] where he achieved a double first in history.[9]

Careeredit

Following his degree, Rebanks returned to farming, which he continues to do, specialising in Herdwick sheep but moving towards a more mixed farm. He has also run a consultancy based at his farm.[10][11] He was involved in the bid for the Lake District to receive World Heritage status (which was approved by UNESCO in 2017),[12][13] and as of December 2020 had a following of 141,667 on Twitter as “Herdwick Shepherd” (@herdyshepherd1).

In 2018 he resigned from a government panel set up by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove, and also took a break from Twitter after the composition of the panel was criticised by environmentalists as being biased towards the farming community.[14]

In 2019 he appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. His chosen music included tracks by Rachmaninoff, Nina Simone, and Kirsty MacColl (the choice he would rescue from the waves); his chosen book was The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, and his luxury was pen and paper.[1] He has also appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions[15] and Radio 4’s On Your Farm.[16] In December 2021 he guest-edited Radio 4’s Today programme.[17]

In 2021 English Pastoral won the Wainwright Prize in the Nature Writing category.[18]

He spent a season on the island of Færøy in the Vega Archipelago off northern Norway, learning about the traditional practice of caring for wild eider ducks and gathering their down. His book describing this time, The Place of Tides, was shortlisted for the Stanford Travel Book of the Year in 2025.[19][20][21]

From NLS/LOC:

The place of tides DB131482

Author: Rebanks, James

Reading Time: 7 hours, 30 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Bryan Dick

Subjects: Nature and the Environment, Animals and Wildlife, Biography, Travel

“We are all in need of lights to follow. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on. Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly — and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come quickly: her health was failing. And so he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island. This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and of the woman who brought it back to life. It traces the pattern of her work from the rough, isolated toil of bitter winter to the elation of the endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for gathering, like feathered gold. Slowly, Rebanks begins to understand that this woman and her world are not what he had previously thought. What began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness.” — From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : HarperAudio, 2025.

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Kate’s 2¢: “frank sonnets” by Diane  Seuss

“frank sonnets” by Diane  Seuss

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This was one of seven books on a cartridge the NLS sent to me. It was interesting listening to Diane Seuss read her own sonnets.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diane Seuss (born 1956) is an American poet and educator.[1] Her book frank: sonnets won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry in 2022.[2]

Early life, family and educationedit

Diane Seuss was born in Michigan City, Indiana and raised in Michigan in Edwardsburg and Niles.

Seuss received a BA from Kalamazoo College and an Master’s of Social Work from Western Michigan University.[1][3]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

frank: sonnets DB130753

Author: Seuss, Diane

Reading Time: 3 hours, 52 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Diane Seuss

Subject: Poetry

“”The sonnet, like poverty, teaches you what you can do / without,” Diane Seuss writes in this brilliant, candid work, her most personal collection to date. These poems tell the story of a life at risk of spilling over the edge of the page, from Seuss’s working-class childhood in rural Michigan to the dangerous allures of New York City and back again. With sheer virtuosity, Seuss moves nimbly across thought and time, poetry and punk, AIDS and addiction, Christ and motherhood, showing us what we can do, what we can do without, and what we offer to one another when we have nothing left to spare. Like a series of cels on a filmstrip, frank: sonnets captures the magnitude of a life lived honestly, a restless search for some kind of “beauty or relief.” Seuss is at the height of her powers, devastatingly astute, austere, and — in a word — frank.” — From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Prince Frederick : HighBridge, 2023.

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Kate’s 2¢: “The Choice” by Gillian McAllister

“The Choice” by Gillian McAllister

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Katharine Lee McEwan did a good job of narrating this book. Apparently, the author alternated the chapters of the book the fictional character was writing with the reality. I found this rather confusing.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

gillianmcallister.com

Gillian McAllister (born 28 February 1985) is a British author, known for ten novels, all which have been bestsellers. Her works have been translated into 40 languages. Several of her novels have been optioned for television and film. Her works include Everything But The Truth (2017), Anything You Do Say (published as The Choice in North America), No Further Questions (published as The Good Sister in North America), The Evidence Against You, How To Disappear, and That Night which was a Richard & Judy book club pick and Wrong Place Wrong Time which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, Sunday Times Bestseller and New York Times bestseller. Just Another Missing Person and Famous Last Words followed, the latter of which was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. Caller Unknown was selected for the Read With Jenna Book Club in 2026.

Early life and education[edit]

McAllister was born in Sutton Coldfield and raised in Tamworth. After attending Belgrave High School in Tamworth (now known as Tamworth Enterprise College) and receiving A-Levels, McAllister read English at the University of Birmingham, receiving a 2:1 BA Hons.[citation needed] She then converted to law, studying the GDL and receiving a commendation. McAllister received a distinction in her Legal Practice Course (LPC) from The College of Law.

From NLS/BARD/LOC”

The choice DB100135

Author: McAllister, Gillian

Reading Time: 11 hours, 26 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Katharine Lee McEwan

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

Joanna is walking home alone when she hears the sound every woman dreads: footsteps behind her, getting faster. She’s sure it’s him–the man from the bar who wouldn’t leave her alone. So Joanna makes a snap decision. She turns, she pushes. Her pursuer tumbles down the steps and lies motionless. Now what? Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

[New York] : Penguin Audio, 2020.

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Kate’s 2¢: “The foxglove king” Nightshade crown(01 by Hannah Whitten

“The foxglove king” Nightshade crown(01 by Hannah Whitten

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This was one of seven books on a cartridge NLS sent to me.

   I enjoyed listening to Emily Ellet narrate this romantic fantasy enmeshed with necromancy. Since this is book one, there were obvious dangling threads left for the next book to solve, or not.

AI Overview

Hannah Whitten is an international bestselling fantasy author based in Tennessee, known for her atmospheric, romance-heavy, and fairy-tale-inspired novels. She gained widespread acclaim for her dark, botanical-infused fantasy worlds.

The Nerd Daily (+4) – View related links

Her books have been international bestsellers and translated into multiple languages. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, watching horror movies, or chasing …

Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, figured out that what amused her might also amuse …

From NLS/BARDD/LOC:

The foxglove king DB131485

Series: Nightshade crown

Order in Series: 01

Author: Whitten, Hannah

Reading Time: 16 hours, 13 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Emily Ellet

Subjects: Fantasy Fiction, Romance

“When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city. Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die. Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society. But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.” — From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Hachette Book Group, 2023.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Dearest Dorothy, slow down, you’re wearing us out!” by Charlene Ann Baumbich

“Dearest Dorothy, slow down, you’re wearing us out!” by Charlene Ann Baumbich

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This was one of seven books on a cartridge NLS sent to me.

   I enjoyed Cynthia Darlow’s narration of this heart-warming story. All too often, the elderly are portrayed as unable to do much of anything. The author demonstrated a graceful transition into a functioning retirement.  

From the Web:

Charlene Ann Baumbich is an award-winning journalist, author of the Dearest Dorothy series of novels, author of the nonfiction titles The Book of DUH! and How To Eat Humble Pie and Not Get Indigestion, and a motivational speaker who makes frequent media appearances across the country.

I am a firm believer in the power of story (short or book-length, funny or insightful, real or fiction) to accomplish my …

Charlene Ann Baumbich writer from www.charleneannbaumbich.com

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Dearest Dorothy, slow down, you’re wearing us out! DB131059

Series: Dearest Dorothy

Order in Series: 02

Author: Baumbich, Charlene Ann

Reading Time: 7 hours, 53 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Cynthia Darlow

Subjects: Humor and Humorous Fiction, Religious Fiction

“In her late eighties, Dorothy Wetstra is still going strong — getting around in her 1976 Lincoln Continental (nicknamed “The Tank”), playing bunco with friends, and catching up on local events while sitting at the counter at Harry’s.” — Amazon. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Prince Frederick, Md. : Recorded Books, Inc., 2003.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Cutting For Stone” by Abraham Verghese

“Cutting For Stone” by Abraham Verghese

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I down-loaded this book from BookShare™, so it was electronically read.

   Verghese did an excellent job of integrating fact and fiction as he crafted this moving and tragic saga of a pair of Ethiopian twins.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.abrahamverghese.org

Abraham Verghese (born May 30, 1955) is an Ethiopian-American physician and author. He is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair for the Theory & Practice of Medicine, and Internal Medicine Clerkship Director at Stanford Medical School.[1][2][3] He is also the author of four best-selling books: two memoirs and two novels. He is the co-host with Eric Topol of the Medscape podcast Medicine and the Machine.[4]

In 2011, Verghese was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine.[5] In 2014, he received the 19th Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities.[6] President Barack Obama presented him with the National Humanities Medal in 2015.[7][8] In 2023, Verghese was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[9] He has received seven honorary doctorate degrees.[1][10]

Backgroundedit

Verghese was born on May 30, 1955, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,[11] to Malayali Malankara Orthodox Christian parents from Kerala, India, who worked as teachers.[12] As a child, Verghese was an avid reader, and it was reading that introduced him to the world of medicine.[13]

He has three children: two sons from his first marriage and a third from his second marriage. His elder brother, George Verghese, is an engineering professor at MIT,[14] and his younger brother, Phil Verghese, is a former software engineer at Google.[15]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Cutting for Stone

Abraham Verghese

Book cover of Cutting for Stone

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Synopsis

A masterly debut novel, visceral in its power, heartbreaking in its tenderness. Transporting the reader from the 1940s to the present, from a convent in India to a cargo ship bound for the Yemen, from a tiny operating theatre in Ethiopia to a hospital in the Bronx, Cutting for Stone is a thrilling epic of conjoined twins, doctors and patients, temptation and redemption, home and exile–and a riveting family story, irresistibly charged with strange happenings, humour and pathos, that grabs you from its harrowing opening and never lets go. Marion and Shiva Stone are twin sons of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon at Missing hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother s death in childbirth and their father s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the brothers come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics their passion for the same woman that tears them apart and forces Marion to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as a surgical intern at an underfunded, overcrowded hospital. When the past catches up with him, Marion must trust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him, and the brother who betrayed him. Cutting for Stone is both an unforgettable story of lives cut in half and a gripping evocation of the power, intimacy, danger and curious beauty of the ancient art that is at its heart.

Details

Copyright Date

2009

Publisher

Vintage Books

ISBN-13

9780307271341

Related ISBNs

9780375714368

Edition

Kate’s 2¢: “The Forest of Lost Souls” by Dean Ray Koontz

“The Forest of Lost Souls” by Dean Ray Koontz

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed listening to MacKenzie Beyer narrate this magical realism story. I like the stories that aren’t so far out that you can’t believe it really might happen.

   I’ve read other Koontz books and enjoyed them, also.  There is biographical information about the author at the end of the book.

A few take aways:

–signs and portense are to be taken seriously.

–truth can’t be repressed forever.

–Myths are lessons by which we learn how to think about the world we can see and the world we can’t…The new ways of thinking they teach us.

–the past, present, and future exisist simultaneously.

–use the powerful tools of technology to shape everyone into like-mindedworker bees….into an obedient oneness.

–Those with common sense…feel Technology has grown beyond  humanity’s ability to assess its impact.

–…all watched over by machines with loving grace

–Not to cling to what was…embrace what can be.

–Look with kindness on those who suffer; who struggle against difficulties; who drink unceasingly the bitterness of this life.

AI overview:

Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is a prolific American author best known for his suspense thrillers. His works frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, and satire. Having sold over 450 million copies worldwide, he is a staple on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Born in Everett, Pennsylvania, Koontz grew up in poverty under the tyranny of a violent, alcoholic father. Seeking existential answers, he converted to Catholicism in college. He put himself through university, initially working as an English teacher at Mechanicsburg High School before transitioning to full-time writing in 1967.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The forest of lost souls DB125187

Author: Koontz, Dean R. (Dean Ray)

Reading Time: 12 hours, 14 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: MacKenzie Beyer

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

“Raised in the wilderness by her late great-uncle, Vida is a young woman with an almost preternatural affinity for nature, especially for the wolves that also call the forested mountains home. Formed by hard experience, by love and loss, and by the prophecies of a fortune teller, Vida just wants peace. If only nearby Kettleton County didn’t cast such a dark shadow. It’s where Jose Nochelobo, the love of Vida’s life and a cherished local hero, died in a tragic accident. That’s the official story, but Vida has reasons to doubt it. The truth can’t be contained for long. Nor can the hungry men of power in Kettleton who want something too: that Vida, like Jose, disappear forever. One by one they come for her, prepared to do anything to see their plans through to their evil end. Vida is no less prepared for them. Vida, the forest, and its formidable wonders are waiting. She will not rest until goodness and order have been restored.” — Provided by publisher. Violence and some strong language.

Seattle, Washington : Thomas & Mercer, 2024.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Follow Me Down” by Sherri Smith

“Follow Me Down” by Sherri Smith

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed listening to Cecelia Riddett narrate this story of a twin’s love for the other twin. The author let us into what Mia was “over thinking” each time a new character was introduced and how that character might have abducted her brother.

   The ending certainly had quite a twist.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lifeedit

Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois. Since then she has moved around all of the three coasts: New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles.

After high school, she went to college to study film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Broadcast Journalism, an M.S. in Business, and a M.A. in Humanities. She also has a certificate in “enchantivism” from the Pacifica Graduate Institute.[2]

Smith worked in stop-motion animation for Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!. She worked for three years at Disney TV Animation. After leaving Disney, Smith worked with a construction company at Los Angeles International Airport. This is where she began work on her first novel. After that, she spent nine years working at Bongo Comics.

Sherri teaches at Goddard College and Hamline University. She is a member of the Two Trees Writers’ Collaborative.

Smith lives in Los Angeles with her partner and her cat. She is writing novels for young adults, including Flygirl,[3] Sparrow,[4][5] Orleans,[6] and Lucy the Giant. She is on the faculty of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing Program and Hamline University’s MFA in Children’s Writing Program.

Themesedit

Sherri L. Smith’s novels frequently explore themes of identity, resilience, and the challenges of adolescence. Her works often feature protagonists confronting personal and societal obstacles, including issues of family dynamics, social inequality, and cultural displacement. In Orleans, for example, she examines the long-term effects of natural disasters on marginalized communities, highlighting the resilience and agency of young characters.[7]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Follow me down DB93296

Author: Smith, Sherri

Reading Time: 12 hours, 52 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Cecelia Riddett

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

Pharmacist Mia Haas rushes to her hometown when she learns her twin brother Lucas is suspected of murdering one of his students and has disappeared. Mia faces her dysfunctional childhood and her drug addiction as she frantically searches for the truth. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2017.

New York : Forge, 2017.

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Kate’s 2¢: “

“

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This was included on the cassette of 7 books sent to me by NLS.

   It was fun to listen to this broadcast of “King Lear”, but it was helpful to know the story before hearing the spoken script.

From the web:

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner (“sharer”) of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men after the ascension of King James VI of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613) he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, which are considered to be among the finest works in English. In the last phase of his career, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances), such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of Shakespeare’s plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623 John Heminges and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare’s, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare’s dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its preface includes a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, who hailed Shakespeare with the now-famous epithet: “not of an age, but for all time”.

Life

Main article: Life of William Shakespeare

Early life

File:William_Shakespeares_birt…

John Shakespeare’s house, believed to be Shakespeare’s birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon

William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover (glove-maker) originally from Snitterfield in Warwickshire, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning family that was influential in the Recusant Catholic community.[3][4][5] He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was baptised on 26 April 1564. His date of birth is unknown but is traditionally observed on 23 April, Saint George’s Day.[1] This date, which can be traced to William Oldys and George Steevens, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on the same date in 1616.[6][7] He was the third of eight children, and the eldest surviving son.[8]

Although no attendance records for the period survive, most biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King’s New School in Stratford,[9][10][11] a free school chartered in 1553,[12] based about a quarter-mile (400 m) from his home in Stratford’s guildhall.[13] Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but grammar school curricula were largely similar: the basic Latin text was standardised by royal decree,[14][15] and the school would have provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors.[16]

At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaway’s neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage.[17] The ceremony may have been arranged in some haste; the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times.[18][19] Six months after the marriage, Anne gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May 1583.[20] Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585.[21] Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596.[22]

File:William-Shakespeare_CoA_1…

Shakespeare’s coat of arms, from the 1602 book The book of coates and creasts. Promptuarium armorum. It features spears as a pun on the family name.[d] William King Lear

King Lear DB131130

Author: Shakespeare, William

Reading Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Corin Redgrave, David Troughton, Geraldine James, Robert Glenister, Kika Markham, Justine Waddell, John Carlisle, William Houston, Clive Francis, John Rowe, Paul Copley

Subjects: Literature, Classics, Drama

“In this BBC full-cast production, King Lear tests his three daughters’ love, with disastrous consequences. Some of the most stirring scenes Shakespeare ever wrote resonate powerfully in this dramatic radio production. Tortured madness, pure evil and the fatal struggle for power grip the listener until the final, shockingly tragic conclusion. Starring Corin Redgrave as King Lear, with Justine Waddell as Cordelia, Robert Glenister as Edgar, Geraldine James as Goneril and Kika Markham as Regan. BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.” — Amazon. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

London : BBC Audio, 2004.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Cutting For Stone” by Abraham Verghese

“Cutting For Stone” by Abraham Verghese

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I down-loaded this book from BookShare™, so it was electronically read.

   Verghese did an excellent job of integrating fact and fiction as he crafted this moving and tragic saga of a pair of Ethiopian twins.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.abrahamverghese.org

Abraham Verghese (born May 30, 1955) is an Ethiopian-American physician and author. He is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair for the Theory & Practice of Medicine, and Internal Medicine Clerkship Director at Stanford Medical School.[1][2][3] He is also the author of four best-selling books: two memoirs and two novels. He is the co-host with Eric Topol of the Medscape podcast Medicine and the Machine.[4]

In 2011, Verghese was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine.[5] In 2014, he received the 19th Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities.[6] President Barack Obama presented him with the National Humanities Medal in 2015.[7][8] In 2023, Verghese was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[9] He has received seven honorary doctorate degrees.[1][10]

Backgroundedit

Verghese was born on May 30, 1955, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,[11] to Malayali Malankara Orthodox Christian parents from Kerala, India, who worked as teachers.[12] As a child, Verghese was an avid reader, and it was reading that introduced him to the world of medicine.[13]

He has three children: two sons from his first marriage and a third from his second marriage. His elder brother, George Verghese, is an engineering professor at MIT,[14] and his younger brother, Phil Verghese, is a former software engineer at Google.[15]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Cutting for Stone

Abraham Verghese

Book cover of Cutting for Stone

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Synopsis

A masterly debut novel, visceral in its power, heartbreaking in its tenderness. Transporting the reader from the 1940s to the present, from a convent in India to a cargo ship bound for the Yemen, from a tiny operating theatre in Ethiopia to a hospital in the Bronx, Cutting for Stone is a thrilling epic of conjoined twins, doctors and patients, temptation and redemption, home and exile–and a riveting family story, irresistibly charged with strange happenings, humour and pathos, that grabs you from its harrowing opening and never lets go. Marion and Shiva Stone are twin sons of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon at Missing hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother s death in childbirth and their father s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the brothers come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics their passion for the same woman that tears them apart and forces Marion to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as a surgical intern at an underfunded, overcrowded hospital. When the past catches up with him, Marion must trust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him, and the brother who betrayed him. Cutting for Stone is both an unforgettable story of lives cut in half and a gripping evocation of the power, intimacy, danger and curious beauty of the ancient art that is at its heart.

Details

Copyright Date

2009

Publisher

Vintage Books

ISBN-13

9780307271341

Related ISBNs

9780375714368

Edition