10 Jan 2025, 1:14pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Winterwood” by Pat McCabe

Kate’s 2¢: “Winterwood” by Pat McCabe

“Winterwood” by Pat McCabe

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…

  Well this story kept me coming and going as to where the character was and what he was doing. When are facts lies and lies facts? It is if the author had several stories he wanted to tell, wrote them down, then cut them apart and pasted them higgily-piggily.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patrick McCabe (born 27 March 1955) is an Irish writer. Known for his mostly dark and violent novels set in contemporary—often small-town—Ireland, McCabe has been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, for The Butcher Boy (1992) and Breakfast on Pluto (1998), both of which have been made into films.

Biography[edit]

McCabe was born in Clones, County Monaghan.[1] He resides in Clones with his artist wife Margot Quinn[2] and two daughters, Katie and Ellen.[citation needed] Aged 17 he migrated to London and worked as a teacher, returning to Ireland after finding success as a writer.[2]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Winterwood: a novel DB65766

McCabe, Pat. Reading time: 6 hours, 24 minutes.

Read by Alec Volz.

Psychological Fiction

Irish journalist Redmond Hatch returns to his mountain hometown and interviews old fiddler Ned Strange. Hatch’s marriage collapses, and he becomes plagued by memories of his encounters with the fiddler. Strange’s death sends Hatch spiraling downward, exposing disturbing truths about their relationship. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2006.

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10 Jan 2025, 1:13pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Amadeus” by Peter Shaffer  

Kate’s 2¢: “Amadeus” by Peter Shaffer  

“Amadeus” by Peter Shaffer  

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 thoroughly enjoyed this dramatic presentation of this story. Well done, troops!

   I especially like the way selections of Mozart’s works were integrated into the drama. Thank you.

   This selection was included in a cartridge  with six other stories on it.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir Peter Levin Shaffer CBE (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays Equus and Amadeus, the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with a screenplay by Shaffer, for which he won an Academy Award.

Early life[edit]

Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in Liverpool, the son of Reka (née Fredman) and estate agent Jack Shaffer.[1] He grew up in London and was the identical twin brother of fellow playwright Anthony Shaffer.[2]

He was educated at the Hall School, Hampstead, and St Paul’s School, London, and subsequently he gained a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study history. Shaffer was a Bevin Boy coal miner during World War II, and took a number of jobs including bookstore clerk, and assistant at the New York Public Library, before discovering his dramatic talents.[3]

Theatrical career[edit]

Shaffer’s first play, The Salt Land (1955), was presented on ITV on 8 November 1955. Encouraged by this success, Shaffer continued to write and established his reputation as a playwright in 1958, with the production of Five Finger Exercise,[4] which opened in London under the direction of John Gielgud and won the Evening Standard Drama Award. When Five Finger Exercise moved to New York City in 1959, it was equally well received and landed Shaffer the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.

Shaffer’s next piece was a double bill, The Private Ear and The Public Eye, two plays each containing three characters and concerning aspects of love. They were presented in May 1962 at the Globe Theatre, and both starred Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams. Smith won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Leading Actress.[5]

The National Theatre was established in 1963, and virtually all of Shaffer’s subsequent work was done in its service. His canon contains a mix of philosophical dramas and satirical comedies. The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964) presents the conquest and killing of the Inca ruler Atahuallpa by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in Peru, while Black Comedy (1965) takes a humorous look at the antics of a group of characters feeling their way around a pitch-black room – although the stage is actually flooded with light.[6]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:                    

Amadeus DB118172

Shaffer, Peter Reading time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.

Alan Shearman; Jocelyn Towne; Simon Templeman; Brian Tichnell; Mark Jude Sullivan; Darren Richardson; James Callis; Michael Emerson; Steven Brand

Arts

Drama

“Ambition and jealousy – all set to music. Devout court composer Antonio Salieri plots against his rival, the dissolute but supremely talented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. How far will Salieri go to achieve the fame that Mozart disregards? The 1981 Tony Award winner for Best Play. Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in September, 2016.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

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3 Jan 2025, 3:43pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “A Bend In The Road” by Nicholas Sparks  

Kate’s 2¢: “A Bend In The Road” by Nicholas Sparks  

“A Bend In The Road” by Nicholas Sparks  

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 this story, although, the astute reader will discern who the mystery person is.

   Jim Zeiger is one of my favorite narrators and he didn’t disappoint with his reading of this story.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, all New York Times bestsellers,[1] and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.[2] Among his works are The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle all of which, along with eight other books, have been adapted as feature films.[3]

Sparks lives in North Carolina, where many of his novels are set.[4]

Early life and education[edit]

Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska.[5] His father, Patrick Michael Sparks, was a business professor and his mother, Jill Emma Marie Sparks (née Thoene), was a homemaker and an optometrist’s assistant.[6] Sparks is of German, Czech, English, and Irish ancestry.[7] He was the middle of three children, with an older brother, Michael Earl “Micah” Sparks (born 1964), and a younger sister, Danielle “Dana” Sparks Lewis (1966–2000), who died at the age of 33 from a brain tumor, an event that inspired his novel A Walk to Remember.[8] As a child, Sparks lived in Watertown, Minnesota; Inglewood, California; Playa Del Rey, California; and Grand Island, Nebraska, before the family settled in Fair Oaks, California in 1974.[7]

In 1984, Sparks graduated valedictorian of Bella Vista High School.[9] He began writing while attending the University of Notre Dame on a track and field scholarship, majoring in business finance and graduating magna cum laude.[10] Sparks wrote his first, never published, novel, The Passing in 1985 and a second unpublished novel called The Royal Murders in 1989. He married Cathy Cote in 1989 and moved to New Bern, North Carolina.[11]

Literary career[edit]

Sparks’ first published book was Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding,[12] a nonfiction book co-written by Billy Mills about Lakota spiritual beliefs and practices, published by Feather Publishing. The book sold 50,000 copies in its first year after release.[13]

In 1995, literary agent Theresa Park secured a $1 million advance for The Notebook from Time Warner Book Group, the book that became Spark’s breakthrough novel.[14] Published in October 1996, the novel made The New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and eventually spent fifty-six weeks there.

In 1998, after the publication of The Notebook, Sparks wrote Message in a Bottle which, in 1999, became the first of his novels to be adapted for film in 1999. In total, eleven of his novels have been adapted as films: Message in a Bottle (1999), A Walk to Remember (2002), The Notebook (2004), Nights in Rodanthe (2008), Dear John (2010), The Last Song (2010), The Lucky One (2012), Safe Haven (2013), The Best of Me (2014), The Longest Ride (2015), and The Choice (2016).[15] He has also sold the screenplay adaptations of True Believer and At First Sight.

Including The Notebook, fifteen of Sparks’s novels have been No. 1 New York Times Best Sellers, and all of his novels have been both New York Times and international bestsellers.[16] Sparks has also often been listed on Forbes annual highest-paid authors lists.[17]

In September 2020, Sparks published his twenty-first novel The Return and followed that up with The Wish in 2021 and Dreamland in 2022, each of which were optioned as films.[18]

Personal life[edit]

Sparks lives in New Bern, North Carolina. He has three sons and twin daughters. In 2015, he divorced Cathy Cote, his wife of 25 years.[19][20]

Philanthropy[edit]

In 2008, Sparks donated nearly $900,000[21] for a new, all-weather tartan track to New Bern High School, where he has also volunteered to coach.[22] The same year, he also donated “close to $10 million” to start a private school, The Epiphany School of Global Studies.[23][24] Sparks has also funded scholarships, internships, and annual fellowships at the University of Notre Dame Creative Writing Program. In 2012, he founded The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a nonprofit that funds global education experiences for students, which has donated more than $15 million to charities, scholarship programs, and other projects.[25]

Novels[edit]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

A bend in the road DB53017

. Reading time: 10 hours, 7 minutes.

Read by Jim Zeiger.

Psychological Fiction

Romance

New Bern, North Carolina. Deputy Sheriff Miles Ryan is still mourning the loss of his wife two years earlier in a hit-and-run accident. Sarah Andrews, his son’s teacher, is coping with a nasty divorce. Miles and Sarah fall in love, but their future is shattered when a secret is uncovered. Some strong language. 2001.

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3 Jan 2025, 3:39pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Your Utopia” by Bora Chung

Kate’s 2¢: “Your Utopia” by Bora Chung

“Your Utopia” by Bora Chung

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…

   There certainly some weird stories in this book. I actually liked the one with the total demise via a disease whose only symptom is casual cannibalism.

   Greta Jung Did a good job of reading this translation  by Anton Hur.

Bora Chung – Wikipedia

Chung Bora (born 1976) is a South Korean writer and translator. Her collection of short stories, Cursed Bunny, was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.

Chung was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. She was born in Seoul in 1976. She has written three novels and three collections of short stories. Chung has an MA in Russian and East European area studies from Yale University and a PhD in Slavic literature from Indiana University.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Your utopia DB120796

Chung, Bora Reading time: 6 hours, 58 minutes.

Greta Jung

Short Stories

Science Fiction

Supernatural and Horror Fiction

Bestsellers

“Bora Chung’s inimitable blend of horror, absurdity, and dark humor reaches its peak in these tales of loss and discovery, dystopia and idealism, death and immortality. In a thrilling translation by the acclaimed Anton Hur, readers will experience a variety of possible fates for humanity, from total demise via a disease whose only symptom is casual cannibalism to a world in which even dreams can be monitored and used to convict people of crimes. In “The Center for Immortality Research,” a low-level employee runs herself ragged planning a fancy gala for donors only to be blamed for the chaos that ensues during the event in front of the mysterious celebrity benefactors hoping to live forever. In “A Song for Sleep,” an AI elevator in an apartment complex develops a tender, one-sided love for an elderly resident. “Seed” traverses the final frontier of capitalism’s destruction of the planet–but nature always creeps back to life. If you haven’t yet experienced the fruits of Chung’s singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting.”–Page 2 of cover. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

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3 Jan 2025, 3:36pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel” by Daniel Kuhnley

Kate’s 2¢: “The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel” by Daniel Kuhnley

“The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel” by Daniel Kuhnley

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…

   The reader really needs to suspend any pre-conceived notions to enjoy this book.   Daniel Kuhnley andTJ Spehar did a good job of reading this novel.

From Goodreads Author:

I’m Daniel Kuhnley, an American author of Dragon Fantasy and Supernatural Serial Killer stories. Some of my novels include The Dragon’s Stone, Reborn, The Braille Killer, and Rended Souls. I enjoy watching movies, reading novels, and programming. I live in Albuquerque, NM with my wife who also writes.

All of my novels are professionally edited and proofread to ensure you have an enjoyable reading experience.

More information about my novels and sample chapters are available at danielkuhnley.com.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel DB124174

Kuhnley, Daniel. Reading time: 10 hours, 44 minutes.

Read by Daniel Kuhnley; TJ Spehar.

Mystery and Detective Stories

Disability

Women

“Blind at birth, Alice Bergman’s sight has been restored–but her childhood struggles and the assault she endured have never been forgotten. For the last ten years, she’s been secretly receiving letters from her attacker-letters written in Braille. Now a homicide detective, Alice is assigned a murder case. The victim? A blind girl. The scene is preternaturally clean, far more than can be explained in any rational way. Alice is able to relive the girl’s last moments-but she can’t see the girl’s killer. That doesn’t matter, though. Alice knows the killer is the same person who attacked her as a teen.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

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1 Jan 2025, 2:52pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Elmer Gantry” by Sinclair Lewis

Kate’s 2¢: “Elmer Gantry” by Sinclair Lewis

“Elmer Gantry” by Sinclair Lewis

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…

   Jack Hrkach did a good job of reading this lengthy novel. I can see how the discussions of religion might have up-set some people, even in today’s culture.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded “for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters.” Lewis wrote six popular novels: Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), Dodsworth (1929), and It Can’t Happen Here (1935).

Several of his notable works were critical of American capitalism and materialism during the interwar period.[1] Lewis is respected for his strong characterizations of modern working women. H. L. Mencken wrote of him, “[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade … it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds.”[2]

Early life[edit]

Lewis was born February 7, 1885, in the village of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, to Edwin J. Lewis, a physician of Welsh descent,[3] and Emma Kermott Lewis. He had two older siblings, Fred (born 1875) and Claude (born 1878). His father was a stern disciplinarian, who had difficulty relating to his sensitive, unathletic third son. Lewis’s mother died in 1891. The next year Edwin married Isabel Warner, who young Lewis apparently liked. Lewis began reading books while young, and kept a diary. Throughout his lonely boyhood, the ungainly child—tall, extremely thin, stricken with acne and somewhat pop-eyed—had trouble making friends and pined after local girls. At the age of 13, he ran away from home and unsuccessfully tried to become a drummer boy in the Spanish–American War.[4] In late 1902, Lewis left home for a year at Oberlin Academy (the then-preparatory department of Oberlin College) to qualify for acceptance at Yale University. While at Oberlin, he developed a religious enthusiasm that waxed and waned for much of his remaining teenage years. Lewis later became an atheist.[5] He entered Yale in 1903, but did not receive his bachelor’s degree until 1908, taking time off to work at Helicon Home Colony, Upton Sinclair’s cooperative-living colony in Englewood, New Jersey, and to travel to Panama. Lewis’s undistinguished looks, country manners and seeming self-importance made it difficult for him to win and keep friends at Oberlin and Yale. He did make a few friends among the students and professors, some of whom recognized his promise as a writer.[6]

Career[edit]

Lewis’s earliest published creative work—romantic poetry and short sketches—appeared in the Yale Courant and the Yale Literary Magazine, of which he became an editor. After graduation Lewis moved from job to job and from place to place in an effort to make ends meet, writing fiction for publication and to chase away boredom. In the summer of 1908, Lewis worked as an editorial writer at a newspaper in Waterloo, Iowa. He moved to the Carmel-by-the-Sea writers’ colony near Monterey, California, in September 1908, to work for the MacGowan sisters and to meet poet George Sterling in person. He left Carmel after six months, moving to San Francisco where Sterling helped him get a job at the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. Lewis returned to Carmel in spring 1910 and met Jack London.[7][8]

While working for newspapers and publishing houses he developed a facility for turning out shallow, popular stories that were purchased by a variety of magazines. He also earned money by selling plots to London, including one for the latter’s unfinished novel The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.

Lewis’s first published book was Hike and the Aeroplane, a Tom Swift-style potboiler that appeared in 1912 under the pseudonym Tom Graham.

Sinclair Lewis’s first serious novel, Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man, appeared in 1914, followed by The Trail of the Hawk: A Comedy of the Seriousness of Life (1915) and The Job (1917). That same year also saw the publication of another potboiler, The Innocents: A Story for Lovers, an expanded version of a serial story that had originally appeared in Woman’s Home Companion. Free Air, another refurbished serial story, was published in 1919.

Commercial success[edit]

Upon moving to Washington, D.C., Lewis devoted himself to writing. As early as 1916, he began taking notes for a realistic novel about small-town life. Work on that novel continued through mid-1920, when he completed Main Street, which was published on October 23, 1920.[9] His biographer Mark Schorer wrote in 1961 that the phenomenal success of Main Street “was the most sensational event in twentieth-century American publishing history”.[10] Lewis’s agent had the most optimistic projection of sales at 25,000 copies. In its first six months, Main Street sold 180,000 copies,[11] and within a few years, sales were estimated at two million.[12] Richard Lingeman wrote in 2002, “Main Street made [Lewis] rich—earning him about 3 million current dollars” (almost $5 million, as of 2022).[13]

Lewis followed up this first great success with Babbitt (1922), a novel that satirized the American commercial culture and boosterism. The story was set in the fictional Midwestern town of Zenith, Winnemac, a setting to which Lewis returned in future novels, including Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Gideon Planish and Dodsworth.

Lewis continued his success in the 1920s with Arrowsmith (1925), a novel about the challenges faced by an idealistic doctor. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, which Lewis declined,[14] still upset that Main Street had not won the prize.[15] It was adapted as a 1931 Hollywood film directed by John Ford and starring Ronald Colman which was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Next Lewis published Elmer Gantry (1927), which depicted an evangelical minister as deeply hypocritical. The novel was denounced by many religious leaders and banned in some U.S. cities. It was adapted for the screen more than a generation later as the basis of the 1960 movie starring Burt Lancaster, who earned a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the title role. The film won two more awards as well.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Elmer Gantry DB22114

Lewis, Sinclair. Reading time: 16 hours, 4 minutes.

Read by Jack Hrkach.

Classics

A brazen ex-football player enters the ministry and, through his charisma, his half-plagiarized sermons, and his genius for promotion, becomes a powerful evangelist. This carefully researched novel, published in 1927, created a scandal by its attack on religious hypocrisy.

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1 Jan 2025, 2:51pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The Hour Before The Dawn” by William Somerset Maugham

Kate’s 2¢: “The Hour Before The Dawn” by William Somerset Maugham

“The Hour Before The Dawn” by William Somerset Maugham

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…

   My Mother used to belong to a Book-of-the-Month Club and had many books in her library. I remember there were several of William Somerset Maugham’s books, but I don’t remember reading any of then. That is why I down-loaded this book.

   I enjoyed the character development, descriptions of the estate, and contrasting the life on the estate versus life in London during the war. I did not like the ending, though.  

   Graeme Malcolm did a great job of narrating this story.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Somerset Maugham[n 2] CH (/mɔːm/ MAWM; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965)[n 1] was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. He became a medical student in London and qualified as a physician in 1897. He never practised medicine, and became a full-time writer. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897), a study of life in the slums, attracted attention, but it was as a playwright that he first achieved national celebrity. By 1908 he had four plays running at once in the West End of London. He wrote his 32nd and last play in 1933, after which he abandoned the theatre and concentrated on novels and short stories.

Maugham’s novels after Liza of Lambeth include Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), The Painted Veil (1925), Cakes and Ale (1930) and The Razor’s Edge (1944). His short stories were published in collections such as The Casuarina Tree (1926) and The Mixture as Before (1940); many of them have been adapted for radio, cinema and television. His great popularity and prodigious sales provoked adverse reactions from highbrow critics, many of whom sought to belittle him as merely competent. More recent assessments generally rank Of Human Bondage – a book with a large autobiographical element – as a masterpiece, and his short stories are widely held in high critical regard. Maugham’s plain prose style became known for its lucidity, but his reliance on clichés attracted adverse critical comment.

During the First World War Maugham worked for the British Secret Service, later drawing on his experiences for stories published in the 1920s. Although primarily homosexual, he attempted to conform to some extent with the norms of his day. After a three-year affair with Syrie Wellcome which produced their daughter, Liza, they married in 1917. The marriage lasted for twelve years, but before, during and after it, Maugham’s principal partner was a younger man, Gerald Haxton. Together they made extended visits to Asia, the South Seas and other destinations; Maugham gathered material for his fiction wherever they went. They lived together in the French Riviera, where Maugham entertained lavishly. After Haxton’s death in 1944, Alan Searle became Maugham’s secretary-companion for the rest of the author’s life. Maugham gave up writing novels shortly after the Second World War, and his last years were marred by senility. He died at the age of 91.

Life and career[edit]

Background and early years[edit]

William Somerset Maugham came from a family of lawyers. His grandfather, Robert Maugham (1788–1862), was a prominent solicitor and co-founder of the Law Society of England and Wales.[5] Maugham’s father, Robert Ormond Maugham (1823–1884), was a prosperous solicitor, based in Paris;[6] his wife, Edith Mary, née Snell, lived most of her life in France, where all the couple’s children were born.[n 3] Robert Maugham handled the legal affairs of the British Embassy there, as his eldest surviving son, Charles, later did.[8][9] The second son, Frederic, became a barrister, and had a distinguished legal career in Britain – The Times described him as “a great legal figure” – serving as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1935–1938) and Lord Chancellor (1938–1939).[8] The two younger sons became writers: Henry (1868–1904) wrote poetry, essays and travel books.[5]

exterior of grand building in neo-classical style

Maugham’s birthplace: the British Embassy in Paris

Shortly before the birth of the Maughams’ fourth son the government of France proposed a new law under which all boys born on French soil to foreign parents would automatically be French citizens and liable to conscription for military service. The British ambassador, Lord Lyons, had a maternity ward set up within his embassy – which was legally recognised as UK territory – enabling British couples in France to circumvent the new law, and it was there that William Somerset Maugham was born on 25 January 1874.[10] Maugham never greatly liked his middle name – which commemorated a great-uncle named after General Sir Henry Somerset[11] – and was known by family and friends throughout his life as “Willie”.[12]

Maugham’s mother died of tuberculosis in January 1882, a few days after his eighth birthday. He later said that for him her loss was “a wound that never entirely healed” and even in old age he kept her photograph at his bedside.[13] Two and a half years after his mother’s death his father died, and Maugham was sent to England to live with his paternal uncle Henry MacDonald Maugham, the vicar of Whitstable in Kent.[14]

After spending the first ten years of his life in Paris, Maugham found an unwelcome contrast in life at Whitstable, which according to his biographer Ted Morgan “represented social obligation and conformity, the narrow-minded provincialism of nineteenth-century small-town English life”. He found his uncle and aunt well-meaning but remote by contrast with the loving warmth of his home in Paris; he became shy and developed a stammer that stayed with him all his life. In a 2004 biography of Maugham, Jeffrey Meyers comments, “His stammer, a psychological and physical handicap, and his gradual awareness of his homosexuality made him furtive and secretive”.[15] Maugham’s biographer Selina Hastings describes as “the first step in Maugham’s loss of faith” his disillusion when the God in whom he had been taught to believe failed to answer his prayers for relief from his troubles. In his teens he became a lifelong non-believer.[16][n 4]

From 1885 to 1890 Maugham attended The King’s School, Canterbury, where he was regarded as an outsider and teased for his poor English (French had been his first language), his short stature, his stammer, and his lack of interest in sport.[19] He left as soon as he could, although he later developed an affection for the school, and became a generous benefactor.[20] A modest legacy from his father enabled him to go to Heidelberg University to study. His aunt, who was German, arranged accommodation for him, and aged sixteen he travelled to Germany. For the next year and a half he studied literature, philosophy and German. During his time in Heidelberg he had his first sexual affair; it was with John Ellingham Brooks, an Englishman ten years his senior.[21] Brooks encouraged Maugham’s ambitions to be a writer and introduced him to the works of Schopenhauer and Spinoza.[5] Maugham wrote his first book while in Heidelberg, a biography of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, but it was not accepted for publication and the author destroyed the manuscript.[22]

After Maugham’s return to Britain in 1892, he and his uncle had to decide on his future. He did not wish to follow his brothers to Cambridge University,[23] and his stammer precluded a career in the church or the law even if either had attracted him.[24] His uncle ruled out the civil service, believing that it was no longer a career for gentlemen after reforms requiring applicants to pass an entrance examination.[22] A family friend found Maugham a position in an accountant’s office in London, which he endured for a month before resigning.[25] The local physician in Whitstable suggested the medical profession, and Maugham’s uncle agreed. Maugham, who had been writing steadily since he was 15, intended to make his career as an author, but he dared not tell his guardian.[25] From 1892 until he qualified in 1897, he studied medicine at St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School in Lambeth.[5]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The hour before the dawn: a novel DB62946

Maugham, W. Somerset, (William Somerset). Reading time: 6 hours, 38 minutes.

Read by Graeme Malcolm.

Classics

Literature

The trials of the aristocratic Henderson family during early World War II. Eldest son Roger works for British intelligence while his neglected wife falls for another man. But it is the relationship of Roger’s brother Jim, a conscientious objector in love with an Austrian refugee, that leads to tragedy. 1941.

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1 Jan 2025, 2:50pm
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Bright burning things” by Lisa Harding

Kate’s 2¢: “Bright burning things” by Lisa Harding

“Bright burning things” by Lisa Harding

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¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   Parts of this story was hard to listen to. Lisa Harding

Did a good job of reading her novel.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lisa Harding is an Irish writer, actress, and playwright whose work spans on fictional novels, play, anthologies and journals. She is considered an important voice in contemporary Irish literature, with her works contributing to discussions around social issues. Her novels engage readers with compelling stories while prompting reflection on the lives of those on the margins of society.[1][2][3][4]

Early life and education[edit]

Harding was raised in Dublin, Ireland, where she initially pursued a career in acting before focusing on writing. She completed an MPhil in creative writing from Trinity College Dublin in 2014, marking the beginning of her transition from acting to writing.[5][6][7]

   Harding’s literary debut came with the novel Harvesting in 2017, which received critical acclaim for its exploration of human trafficking and forced prostitution. The novel follows the lives of two young girls, one Irish and the other Moldovan, offering an emotional look at their exploitation. “Harvesting” won the 2018 Kate O’Brien Award and was shortlisted for an Irish Book Award and the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year.[7][9][10]

Her second novel, Bright Burning Things, published in 2021, addresses themes of addiction, motherhood, and redemption. The story is told through Sonya, a struggling actress battling alcoholism and the challenges of raising her son. Critics praised the book for its raw portrayal of addiction and its impact on family dynamics.[1][2][11][12]

Harding’s work is characterized by its emotional depth, complex characters, and exploration of difficult subjects such as addiction, exploitation, and redemption. Her background in acting contributes to her vivid portrayals and intense narrative voice.[8]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Bright burning things DB106123

Harding, Lisa. Reading time: 8 hours, 0 minutes.

Read by Lisa Harding.

Family

General

Psychological Fiction

Haunted by her failed acting career and lingering trauma from her childhood, Sonya fell deep into an alcoholic abyss. What kept her from losing herself completely was Tommy, her son. But her love for Tommy rivaled her love for the bottle. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “

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…

FROM nls/bard/loc:

Camino ghosts DB121568

Grisham, John. Reading time: 10 hours, 20 minutes.

Read by John Grisham; Whoopi Goldberg.

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

“On Camino Island, popular bookseller Bruce Cable tells Mercer Mann an irresistible tale that might be her next novel. A giant resort developer is using its political muscle and deep pockets to claim ownership of a deserted island between Florida and Georgia. Only the last living inhabitant of the island, Lovely Jackson, stands in its way. What the developer doesn’t know is that the island has a remarkable history, and locals believe it is cursed… and the past is never the past…”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The Lost Coast: A Novel” by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman  

Kate’s 2¢: “The Lost Coast: A Novel” by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman  

“The Lost Coast: A Novel” by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman  

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…

   Dennis Boutsikaris did a good job of narrating this story. The author had a variety of droll humorous comments by characters and the subtleness wasn’t lost on him as he read.

   I enjoyed the plot and narrative arc, but the ending was unfortunate, with so much bloodshed.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jonathan Seth Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consults for the Los Angeles Police Department.[1]

Born on the Lower East Side of New York City, his family relocated to Los Angeles when Jonathan was nine years old.[2]

Kellerman graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with a doctor of philosophy degree in psychology in 1974, and began working as a staff psychologist at the USC School of Medicine, where he eventually became a full clinical professor of pediatrics.[2] He opened a private practice in the early 1980s while writing novels in his garage at night.[3]

His first published novel, When the Bough Breaks, appeared in 1985, many years after writing and having works rejected. He then wrote five best-selling novels while still a practicing psychologist. In 1990, he quit his private practice to write full-time. He has written more than 40 crime novels, as well as nonfiction works and children’s books.[3]

Life and career[edit]

Kellerman was born in New York City, son of David, an aerospace engineer and inventor, and Sylvia, a dancer and office manager. He attended Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) before his family relocated to California. He grew up in Los Angeles and received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at UCLA in 1971. He worked his way through college as a cartoonist, illustrator, journalist, and editor, as well as by teaching guitar. As a college senior, he co-wrote an unpublished novel that garnered a Samuel Goldwyn writing award. That prize has served as a stepping stone to film writing for other writers, but Kellerman deliberately avoided the world of screenwriting and enrolled in a PhD program in clinical psychology at USC. He received his doctoral degree in psychology from USC in 1974. His doctoral research was on attribution of blame for childhood psychopathology, and he published a scientific paper on that topic, his first, at the age of 22. He is currently a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine.[4]

Kellerman’s externship, internship, and postdoctoral fellowship were at the Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles/USC School of Medicine, where he became founding director of the psychosocial program, Division of Hematology-Oncology. Kellerman’s initial position at CHLA was conducting research into the effects of psychological isolation in germ-free “plastic bubble” rooms on the emotional and intellectual development of children with cancer.

Simultaneously, he was assigned to minimize the destructive consequences of such intense treatment by developing a multidisciplinary clinical approach. The success of that endeavor led to the expansion of psychosocial services to all oncology patients at CHLA, and the program developed by Kellerman and his staff was the world’s first attempt to provide comprehensive, systematic, emotional support to pediatric cancer patients and their families, and served as the template for what is now considered appropriate care. Kellerman’s experiences at CHLA led him to publish his first book in 1980, a medical text that he edited, titled Psychological Aspects of Childhood Cancer. He is himself a survivor of thyroid cancer.

During Kellerman’s time at CHLA, he also conducted research and published in the areas of disease impact and adolescence, disease-related communication and its effect upon emotional adjustment, pediatric pain management, sleep and anxiety disorders, the treatment of childhood encopresis, and the neuropsychological effects of central nervous system chemotherapy and radiation.

Kellerman’s extensive work with anxiety disorders led him to publish a book for parents, Helping the Fearful Child, in 1981. Four years later, his first novel, When the Bough Breaks, was published, became a bestseller, and was adapted as a TV movie. He has published one, or occasionally two, bestselling thrillers every year since. During his tenure as a practicing psychologist, he came into contact with the legal system as a consultant and expert witness, and some of those experiences have impacted his novels.

Jonathan Kellerman lives in Los Angeles with his wife Faye Kellerman, herself a well-known best-selling crime writer. They have four children. Their oldest, Jesse Kellerman, is a best-selling novelist and award-winning playwright. Their youngest, Aliza Kellerman, co-wrote Prism, a young adult novel published in 2009, with her mother.

Jonathan Kellerman has publicly spoken out against what he calls the “misguided” release of severely mentally ill people into the community, where they must fend for themselves instead of receiving proper care. He has stated that such people should receive counseling and psychotherapy as well as medication,[5] as opposed to today’s model in which they receive only medication and no other care at all.

Faye and Jonathan Kellerman’s decades of philanthropy include endowments at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Division of Hematology-Oncology, where a yearly lecture has been named after Jonathan, and USC’s department of psychology and Thornton School of Music. They have also contributed to numerous educational institutions, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s musical instrument department, the Georgia Okeeffe Museum, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

   Jesse Oren Kellerman (born September 1, 1978) is an American novelist and playwright.[1] He is the author of the novels Sunstroke (2006), Trouble (2007), The Genius (2008), The Executor (2010), and Potboiler (2012). He has co-authored numerous books with his father Jonathan Kellerman, including The Golem of Hollywood (2014).

Life and career[edit]

Kellerman was born in Los Angeles, California, the oldest child and only son of the bestselling mystery novelists Faye Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman. His first published title co-authored with his father was their 1994 book of children’s poetry, Daddy, Daddy, Can You Touch the Sky?

Kellerman studied psychology at Harvard and playwriting at Brandeis University. For a time he served as lead guitarist for the L.A.-based indie rock band Don’t Shoot the Dog.

His 2004 play Things Beyond Our Control was honored with a Princess Grace Award, which recognizes emerging talent in theater, dance, and film in the US. Kellerman is also a recipient of the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle.

His essay “Let My People Go to the Buffet” was chosen for Penguin’s annual anthology The Best American Spiritual Writing in 2011.[2] His 2012 book Potboiler was nominated for that year’s Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Kellerman is an Orthodox Jew, as are his parents. He resides in Berkeley, California, with his wife, Gabriella Sarah (Rosen),[1] and their three children.[3][4]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The lost coast: a novel DB123155

Kellerman, Jonathan; Kellerman, Jesse. Reading time: 8 hours, 22 minutes.

Read by Dennis Boutsikaris.

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

“It’s been almost a year since Clay Edison was forced out of his job at the coroner’s bureau. Now he’s on his own, working as a private eye…Clay is brought a fraud case that begins with a man surprised to learn that he’s been named the executor of his grandmother’s estate. Her accounts are a mess, and not everything is adding up…As Clay dives deeper into a decades-old scheme targeting the vulnerable, his investigation leads him to a bizarre town buried in the remote California wilderness. The residents don’t care much for outsiders. They certainly don’t like Clay asking questions. And they’ll do just about anything to shut him up.”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Downloaded: November 4, 2024

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