Shakespeares Sonnets have caused endless debate & speculation: who is the dark lady; who is the only begetter; & what light do the poems shed on the life of the poet? Yet the sonnets themselves can be enjoyed for their lyricism rather than their intention. Written as a form of personal confession
- of love of grief of anger of jealousy & of lust
- the sonnets encompass a huge range of human emotion beautifully expressed within the restrictions of the form. Some such as Shall I compare thee to a summers day" or " Let me not to the marriage of true minds" will be instantly familiar to readers while others equally rich in imagery are less well known. Together they form a powerful meditation on the nature of love marriage beauty & time."

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Lily Bard has started over in the quiet town of Shakespeare Arkansas as a cleaning lady. She works out her anger & the pain of her past with martial arts. For Lily the gym is a place to get away from her troubles not find more of them. But when she stumbles on the corpse of a local bodybuilder his neck broken with a barbell the town's underlying racial tensions begin to boil over. The white victim was connected to two unsolved murders of black residents in Shakespeare & a dogged policeman is determined to stop the killing. Lily may have to decide whether to stay & fight for justice or run away one more time. ...

Cleaning woman & karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Trying her best to cope with her terrifying memories she decides to join a therapy group in her adopted hometown of Shakespeare Arkansas. As it turns out the group members' feelings aren't the only things that need sorting out as they assemble for a session only to find a woman dead left on display to send a twisted message. Lily soon finds herself embroiled in the murder & its aftermath. Some of her own terrible secrets have been dredged up & she may not be able to rest until she can untangle the 'who' & the 'why' of this terrible crime. But can she do so before the killer strikes again
- & before her own nightmares send her over the edge?
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Welcome to Shakespeare Arkansas Disguising herself with short hair & baggy clothes Lily Bard has started over as a cleaning lady in the sleepy town of Shakespeare where she can sweep away the secrets of her dark & violent past. However her plan to live a quiet unobserved life begins to crumble when she discovers the dead body of her nosy landlord. Lily doesn't care who did it but as the suspicion of the police & local community falls on her she soon realises if she doesn't unmask the murderer her life might not just crumble: it might also end. ...

Shakespeare's sonnets are revered the world over for perfectly capturing the torments & joys of love unrequited or otherwise in just fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. Twenty-nine of the bard's most romantic sonnets are included in this beautiful hardcover all of them lovingly illustrated by the talented Caitlin Keegan. Pretty & contemporary the illustrations tastefully accentuate the depth of sentiment in each sonnet. A brilliant sun rises over the 17th Sonnet (' Shall I Compare thee to a summer's day?') & a graceful animal adorns the 19th Sonnet (' Devouring time blunt thou the lion's paws'). Available just in time for Valentine's Day but appropriate for any spontaneous expression of love this is an ideal sophisticated gift for the legions of Shakespeare fans. ...

Shakespeare Arkansas is home to endless back roads historic buildings colourful residents
- & the occasional murder. It is also
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Authoritative surprising evocative & original Shakespeare: staging the world" offers a completely new approach to one of the most exceptional creative imaginations in history. While matters of religion trade & war were being contested the role of the playwright developed to inform persuade & provoke debate on the concerns of the day. This richly illustrated book presents an extraordinary collection of objects from the British Museums unrivalled collection as well as key pieces from Britain & elsewhere. Simon Formans diary of 1611 gives a vivid account of attending a contemporary performance of "A Winters Tale"; a dagger fished from the Thames gives new resonance to the gang violence of " Romeo & Juliet"; while Guy Fawkes lantern illustrates the Catholic counterculture revealed through the failed Gunpowder Plot which was later to prove the inspiration for " Macbeth". " Shakespeare: staging the world" is a fascinating view of the early modern world through the eyes of Shakespeare his players & audiences. "A fascinating account of Shakespeares cosmopolitan world illustrated with breathtaking images that bring to life the rich material culture that shaped Shakespeares writings & his age. This is a superb volume one that will have pride of place on my bookshelf." (Professor James Shapiro author of 1599 & Contested Wil)." ...

6 days 13 hours & 37 minutes to go.. . At the end of The Prodigal Daughter Florentyna Kane is elected President
- the first woman
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Michael Krupa was born into a poor family in south-west Poland & in his teens was accepted into a Jesuit seminary. He ran away before taking his final vows & joined the army. Soon afterwards the German tanks rolled into Poland & easily defeated her antiquated forces
- the Polish cavalry were armed with sabres. Krupa survived Hitlers invasion but was arrested in Soviet-occupied eastern Poland & accused of spying. After enduring torture in Moscows notorious Lubianka prison he was sentenced to ten years corrective labour & deported to the Pechora Gulag. Most prisoners there were worked & starved to death within a year. But Krupa managed again to escape & in the chaos following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union made one of the most extraordinary journeys of the war
- from Siberia to safety in Afghanistan. Krupas Jesuit training had given him an inner strength & resilience which enabled him to survive in the face of appalling brutality & cruelty. Luck & the kindness of strangers helped him complete his epic journey to freedom. The story of the suffering inflicted on millions in Stalins camps has been told before
- but Krupas story is remarkable & uni


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In this ground-breaking & compelling book Nicholas Carr argues that not since Gutenberg invented printing has humanity been exposed to such a mind-altering technology. The Shallows draws on the latest research to show that the Net is literally re-wiring our brains inducing only superficial understanding. As a consequence there are profound changes in the way we live & communicate remember & socialise
- even in our very conception of ourselves. By moving from the depths of thought to the shallows of distraction the web it seems is actually fostering ignorance. The Shallows is not a manifesto for luddites nor does it seek to turn back the clock. Rather it is a revelatory reminder of how far the Internet has become enmeshed in our daily existence & is affecting the way we think. This landmark book compels us all to look anew at our dependence on this all-pervasive technology.
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