Brief Candle is a humorous biographical fiction about an English professor coming to terms with a mid-life crisis. Jake Boswell, a Victorian born in America during the Jazz Age, discovers that he is deeply in love with a trailerhouse girl. This comes after thirty years of good behavior and marriage to the same woman. Finally at the top of the academic ladder, Jake finds himself facing two enormous problems: at home a wife who has become a dipsomaniac and at work an endless wave of young liberated retreads. Lola, once a lovely and charming companion, has become a migraine disaster; but even so, if Heather Roberts had stayed in her trailerhouse with her two kids and her beer-guzzling and guitar-playing husband, he would (more than likely) have stayed in the rut he had dug for himself. Part of the blame might also be shared by the politicians in Washington who thought up the idea of paying young mothers stuck in trailerhouses to go back to college to learn something besides how to have babies.

Brief Candle: Three Plays brings together the most recent work of Sahitya Akademi award-winner Mahesh Dattani as he continues to explore subjects that need to be addressed but are relentlessly brushed under the carpet of middle-class morality—incest; gender bias and death. The title play is set in a hospital ward where terminally ill patients put up an energetic farce in memory of their friend who died of cancer. The blurring of lines between their romp and the events of their own lives leads to revelations that are both tragic and life-affirming. In the radio play The Girl Who Touched the Stars; Bhavna—now an astronaut ready to take off on a mission into outer space—reflects on her past in this moment of glory; only to confront the bitter truths she has tried to ignore all her life. The fragile fabric of familial relations is ripped apart in Thirty Days in September when memories of a traumatic past return to haunt a mother and her daughter. Playful and poignant; devastating and redemptive; these critically acclaimed plays lay bare the far-reaching consequences of the choices we make; confirming Dattani as one of India’s foremost dramatists.

In this hugely entertaining sequel to the New York Times bestselling memoir An Appetite for Wonder, Richard Dawkins delves deeply into his intellectual life spent kick-starting new conversations about science, culture, and religion and writing yet another of the most audacious and widely read books of the twentieth century—The God Delusion. Called “one of the best nonfiction writers alive today” (Stephen Pinker) and a “prize-fighter” (Nature), Richard Dawkins cheerfully, mischievously, looks back on a lifetime of tireless intellectual adventure and engagement. Exploring the halls of intellectual inquiry and stardom he encountered after the publication of his seminal work, The Selfish Gene; affectionately lampooning the world of academia, publishing, and television; and studding the pages with funny stories about the great men and women he’s known, Dawkins offers a candid look at the events and ideas that encouraged him to shift his attention to the intersection of culture, religion, and science. He also invites the reader to look more closely at the brilliant succession of ten influential books that grew naturally out of his busy life, highlighting the ideas that connect them and excavating their origins. On the publication of his tenth book, the smash hit, The God Delusion, a “resounding trumpet blast for truth” (Matt Ridley), Richard Dawkins was catapulted from mere intellectual stardom into a circle of celebrity thinkers dubbed, “The New Atheists”—including Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett. Throughout A Brief Candle in the Dark, Dawkins shares with us his infectious sense of wonder at the natural world, his enjoyment of the absurdities of human interaction, and his bracing awareness of life’s brevity: all of which have made a deep imprint on our culture.

At 13, Emily is tall, restless and impatient - ladylike she certainly isn't! Emily despises such things as needlework, but she has a vivid imagination and is a keen artist and, along with her talented sister, Charlotte, loves to write. But Emily stumbles upon a real-life story, when she encounters the vagabond Heslington while out walking her beloved dog, Captain, on the Yorkshire Moors. Heslington is hiding out in an abandoned cottage, on the run from someone, but claims he is guilty of nothing. All he can tell Emily is that he is passionately in love with a Miss Martha Holmes, but has been forbidden from seeing her. Martha's family believe Heslington is only after her money, but he is prepared to live like a pauper, he says, if he can only be with the girl he loves. Touched by his story, Emily finds herself drawn into the whole sorry mess, acting as a reluctant go-between for Martha and Heslington, but convinced she is doing the right thing. But when Heslington reveals his dark side, Emily finds herself doubting him, not knowing what to believe. Is Heslington the love-torn romantic hero of her imaginings or he is mad...?

Out, Out, Brief Candle! is the remarkable story of African children who have survived terrible fires and gone on to thrive at Children of Fire, a charity based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Martin Klammer recalls his time helping the children develop their personal writing and rehearse and perform Macbeth. Told with affection and humor, Out, Out, Brief Candle! is an inspiring story of an exceptional African "family." The South African novelist and children's writer Sindiwe Magona says of Out, Out, Brief Candle!: "This is a brave book. The 'voices' of these tender survivors of fire--their struggles, their fortitude--may bring us nearer to becoming more effective in minding the children given to us as a trust. Martin Klammer has brought the unheard cries of those whose lives have been forever altered by the scourge of fire to our ears and eyes. Are we listening? Do we see?"

Brief Candle in the Dark by Geraldine Brooks | Summary & Analysis Preview: Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science by Richard Dawkins is an autobiographical depiction of his experiences as a world-renowned scientist and atheist. Dawkins has experienced an endless amount of notable events in his life, many of which were very public, such as debates, conference, and television appearances. In this second volume of his memoirs, these life experiences have inspired memories of other events, background stories of people he knew, and scientific analysis of Dawkins’ theories of evolution, natural selection, biology, and religion, particularly atheism versus creationism. From 1970 to 1990, Dawkins served as University Lecturer in Animal Behaviour in the zoology department at Oxford University, and from 1990 to 1995, he was promoted to Reader. He also gave tutorials in New College, where he was made a fellow in 1970. He served on a number of committees, including a committee that discussed candidates to invite to attend the school… PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of Brief Candle in the DarkSummary of bookIntroduction to the Important People in the bookAnalysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

THE STORY: Gillian Holroyd is one of the few modern people who can actually cast spells and perform feats of supernaturalism. She casts a spell over an unattached publisher, Shepherd Henderson, partly to keep him away from a rival and partly becaus

Azad's debut YA fantasy is set in a city along the Silk Road that is a refuge for those of all faiths, where a young woman is threatened by the war between two clans of powerful djinn. Fatima lives in the city of Noor, a thriving stop along the Silk Road. There the music of myriad languages fills the air, and people of all faiths weave their lives together. However, the city bears scars of its recent past, when the chaotic tribe of Shayateen djinn slaughtered its entire population -- except for Fatima and two other humans. Now ruled by a new maharajah, Noor is protected from the Shayateen by the Ifrit, djinn of order and reason, and by their commander, Zulfikar.But when one of the most potent of the Ifrit dies, Fatima is changed in ways she cannot fathom, ways that scare even those who love her. Oud in hand, Fatima is drawn into the intrigues of the maharajah and his sister, the affairs of Zulfikar and the djinn, and the dangers of a magical battlefield.In this William C. Morris YA Debut Award finalist novel, Nafiza Azad weaves an immersive tale of magic and the importance of names; fiercely independent women; and, perhaps most importantly, the work for harmony within a city of a thousand cultures and cadences.

For one family the traditional Hanukkah celebration has a deeper meaning. Amidst the food and the festivities, Grandma and Great-Aunt Rose begin their story -- the one they tell each year. They pass on to each generation a tale of perseverance during the darkest hours of the Holocaust, and the strength it took to continue to honor Hanukkah in the only way they could. Their story reaffirms the values of tradition and family, but also shows us that by continuing to honor the tragedies and the triumphs of the past there will always be hope for the future.