![]() ![]() ![]() What went on in a person's brain a second before the behavior happened? Then Sapolsky pulls out to a slightly larger field of vision, a little earlier in time: What sight, sound, or smell caused the nervous system to produce that behavior? And then, what hormones acted hours to days earlier to change how responsive that individual is to the stimuli that triggered the nervous system? By now he has increased our field of vision so that we are thinking about neurobiology and the sensory world of our environment and endocrinology in trying to explain what happened. ![]() A behavior occurs-whether an example of humans at our best, worst, or somewhere in between. Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: he starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs, and then hops back in time from there, in stages, ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its evolutionary legacy.Īnd so the first category of explanation is the neurobiological one. More than a decade in the making, this game-changing book is Robert Sapolsky's genre-shattering attempt to answer that question as fully as perhaps only he could, looking at it from every angle. ![]()
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![]() ![]() He must decide whether to rebuild the Saxons' strength from his watery base and help them to take on the Vikings once more. Uhtred finds himself torn between his Danish foster brother and the winning Vikings, and his growing respect for the stubborn leadership of Alfred. They seek refuge in Athelney, a tidal swamp to which Alfred's kingdom has shrunk. There, forced to move restlessly to escape betrayal or detection, using the marsh mists for cover, they travel by small boats from one island to another, hoping that they can regroup and find some more strength and support. Defeated comprehensively by the Vikings who now occupy most of England, Alfred and his surviving followers retreat to the trackless marshlands of Somerset. But these two, with Alfred's family and a few of Uhtred's companions, are apparently all that remains of the Wessex leadership after a disastrous truce. But at twenty he is still arrogant, pagan and headstrong, so not a comfortable ally for the thoughtful, pious Alfred. Uhtred, Northumbrian born, raised a Viking and now married to a Saxon, is already a formidable figure and warrior. THE PALE HORSEMAN the compelling sequel to the bestselling THE LAST KINGDOM. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Clare’s audiobooks to date, continues to bring to life these engaging tales with easily distinguished characters while imbuing each scene with the appropriate tension, humor, and attention to tenderness – an absolute requirement for this at-times heart wrenching tale. Pamela Clare doesn’t write wallpaper historicals and Defiant is rich with historical facts blended with tender romance. Defiant Audiobook By Pamela Clare cover art. Although I see Lewis as Iain (the hero of Surrender), the action and politics seen in that movie are present as well as cruel treatment from a Native American tribe – this time the Shawnee.Īt times, it’s tough to listen to Connor and Sarah’s experiences with the tribe (and it reminds me of Clare’s Ride the Fire) but the bigger story lies beyond those trials. Defiant as its meant to be heard, narrated by Kaleo Griffith. ![]() To better visualize this time frame, think Daniel Day Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans. The third in the Mackinnon’s Rangers series, Defiant delivers an above average American Historical tale set during the French and Indian War. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Here we find the courtyard and those humans who are friends at a bit of a crossroads. Hold on to your seats–things are about to get apocalyptic. Things have progressed in a rapid fashion since they started ramping up from book three and our characters find themselves battling for survival here. Maybe it’s just me but I feel like this series just keeps getting better and better. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others-and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs… A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial-both personally and practically.īut not everyone is convinced. Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. ![]() ![]() ![]() With a heart still fermenting with my pain, I asked. She quoted the Apostle's words about the duty of not being "grieved for them that sleep" because only "men without hope" have such feelings. Well, she gave in to me for a little while, like a skilful driver, in the ungovernable violence of my grief and then she tried to check me by speaking, and to correct with the curb of her reasonings the disorder of my soul. But when we were in each other's presence the sight of the Teacher awakened all my pain for she too was lying in a state of prostration even unto death. ![]() My soul was right sorrow-stricken by this grievous blow, and I sought for one who could feel it equally, to mingle my tears with. But his sister the Teacher was still living and so I journeyed to her, yearning for an interchange of sympathy over the loss of her brother. Basil, great amongst the saints, had departed from this life to God and the impulse to mourn for him was shared by all the churches. ![]() ![]() Conflict of Interest and Next of Kin are romantic suspense novels. Backwards to Oregon and Shaken to the Core are historical romances, for example. All of them are romances at their core, but I write across all subgenres of romance. What triggered your inspiration?įirst of all, I don’t like to pigeonhole myself into writing just one genre. So I asked her a few questions to dig deeper into the depths of her shape-shifter stories.ġ) You are a writer of slow-burn romance, but in 2009, you wandered into supernatural territory and penned two novels ( Second Nature, and True Nature in 2013), one novella ( Manhattan Moon in 2012) and some short stories ( Natural Family Disasters in 2013), and you promised more. I was surprised when she told me she wasn’t a supernatural writer, even though I knew she had a twisted sense of humour. The first book by Jae I ever read was ‘Second Nature’. ![]() ![]() ![]() “Then start going for straight cash,” she says, smacking on a stick of gum. “I keep getting gift cards to Starbucks, but I have to sell them to get the cash.” “What should I ask for?” I snap a few test pictures, trying to look sexy and far happier than I feel. Mary, who I’m talking to over video chat, gives me a thumbs up. ![]() The Daddies cream themselves over a hint of nipple.” I tug at the top of my tank and rub my thumb over my nipple. ![]() Things might be a lot easier for me if I were. I won’t pretend like I’ve got the biggest tits in the world, but I’m not totally flat, either. Gnawing at my fingernail, I ask, “What about this one?” Trigger Warning: this book contains graphic abuse, dub/non-con, intense bullying, and other uncomfortable situations.īefore you go! Please join our Reader Group! Killian Payne, Dimitri Rathbone, and Tristian Mercer are evil, spoiled, entitled, complicated, terrible people. If you think Heston Wilcox, from Devil May Care, is bad and teeters the edge of appropriateness then turn back now. If you have read other Angel Lawson books this is different. More so than anything else we have written. We’ll never be able to look you in the eye over dinner again.įor everyone else this book is dark. If you are a friend or family member turn back now. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The underground insurgency in the last book broke the empire’s grip on the Solar System and High Consul Winston Duarte, the protomolecule-ridden emperor, has taken off to parts unknown, leaving only the disturbing comment that he was thinking too small when he created the empire, but now he’s on the right track.įor High Admiral Trejo, getting the High Consul back is the most important thing in the universe, and he sends his most trusted asset, Colonel Aliana Tanaka, with the biggest blank check in the universe out to do the job. ![]() The Rocinante has been on the run for a year after scooping Holden up from his imprisonment at the heart of the Laconian empire, as well as helping the emperor’s daughter escape. ![]() Corey and the crew of the Rocinante bring it all together in a finale that makes all that’s come before worthwhile and gives us closure on the saga. Elvi, the scientist we first met on Illus in Cibola Burn, is on a research ship in the middle of nowhere trying to get information from the Ring Founder’s library artifact, and watching the fabric of space unravel bit by bit as the Founder’s nemesis closes in.Īfter almost 3 years of waiting, the much-anticipated final Expanse novel is finally here, and the anticipation was totally justified. If she’s lucky, she’ll get to kill Holden in the process. The Laconian empire is cracking apart, the mad emperor is missing, his heir is hiding out on the Rocinante with Holden and the gang, and Laconian Colonel Aliana Tanaka is out to find both daughter and emperor. ![]() ![]() ![]() My domination will not survive the day when I cease to be strong and therefore feared.” Half a million men had fallen in the past six years to reaffirm Napoleon’s hold on power, and yet by the end of the year the emperor’s much-vaunted Grande Armée was virtually back where it had started when the emperor first seized control of his country’s destiny in 1799 and made all of Europe tremble at his name. As he would later tell Austrian peace envoy Prince Clemens von Metternich, “Your sovereigns born on the throne can let themselves be beaten twenty times and still return to their capitals. His hold on France depended entirely on his success on the battlefield. ![]() ![]() After his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte desperately needed to reassert his military dominance over Europe. ![]() ![]() ![]() Ruins of the ancient city of Aquincum, in modern Hungary – one site where Marcus Aurelius worked on Meditations. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs. The work has no official title, so "Meditations" is one of several titles commonly assigned to the collection. It is unlikely that Marcus Aurelius ever intended the writings to be published. Some of it was written while he was positioned at Aquincum on campaign in Pannonia, because internal notes reveal that the first book was written when he was campaigning against the Quadi on the river Granova (modern-day Hron) and the second book was written at Carnuntum. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. Meditations ( Koinē Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, romanized: Ta eis heauton, lit.'things to one's self') is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. ![]() |