Maria Finn's husband was cheating. First she threw him out. Then she cried. Then she signed up for tango lessons. It turns out that tango has a lot to teach about understanding love and loss, about learning how to follow and how to lead, how to live with style and flair, take risks, and sort out what it is you really want. As Maria's world begins to revolve around the friendships she makes in dance class and the milongas (social dances) she attends regularly in New York City, we discover with her the fascinating culture, history, music, moves, and beauty of the Argentine tango. With each new dance step she learns—the embrace, the walk, the sweep, the exit—she is one step closer to returning to the world of the living. Eventually Maria travels to Buenos Aires, the birthplace of tango, and finds the confidence to try romance again. As exhilarating as the dance itself, the story whirls us into the center of the ballroom dancing craze. And buoyed by the author's humor and passion, it imparts surprising insights about how to get on with life after you've lost in love. From Publishers WeeklyShaken by the discovery that her Cuban husband and salsa partner was having an affair, Finn, a contributor to New York magazine, embarked on learning to tango as a way of healing her broken heart, and chronicles her journey in this rather dry memoir. In tango, an Argentinean dance form originating in the immigrant neighborhoods and brothels of Buenos Aires, she tapped the sources of human sorrow and human happiness and found a safe comfort and intimacy among strangers. From standing on the sidelines watching the elegant, accomplished couples to plunging into her initial lessons at the South Street Seaport and attending her first milongas, or social dances, Finn had to connect with a series of constantly changing partners, some better at leading than others, and some more forgiving than others about her mistakes. Finn organizes her memoir around the tango steps—from la salida (the basic) through la caminata (the walk), la volcada (the fall), el boleo (the throw), all the way to el abrazo (the embrace)—which also cleverly mirror her stages of grief, from anger to acceptance. Sadly, her foray remains journalistically stilted rather than tango sensuous, and rarely warms the reader. Along with her personal story, involving a trip to a wedding in Buenos Aires and documenting there the gay tango scene, she nicely elucidates the evolution of the dance, through the music of Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel, and traces briefly its flashpoints across the globe, from America to Finland and Turkey. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistWhen she discovered her husband was cheating on her, New York City resident Finn wallowed in anger and grief—but not for long. She realized the quickest path to recovery was to get off her duff and dance. Finn was drawn to the tango from the moment she happened upon a cluster of dashing dancers strutting their stuff in Central Park. She soon found her date book filled with nightly milongas (social dances). Tango, Finn learned, had its own vast vocabulary of steps, from El Gancho (The Hook) and El Boleo (The Throw) to El Abrazo (The Embrace). Its themes of sorrow and heartbreak meshed well with her melancholy frame of mind. The tango eventually gave Finn the confidence to begin dating again. Most of her matchups were a bust, but she didn’t give up hope. When she traveled to Buenos Aires (on a trip originally planned with her husband), she realized that her life wasn’t over; it had only begun. Finn has penned a lively debut memoir, brimming with tango history and lore. --Allison Block Views: 24
One more step ...One more secret ...One more timeSean is in Nepal on a trek through some of the most beautiful - and dangerous - country in the world. His path takes him to the spectacular Annapurna Mountains, and deep into territory filled with Maoist guerrillas challenging the Nepalese government.Yet the local people are friendly, the air is clear, and it′s easy to become accustomed to the national dish of dal bhat.With each step, however, Sean′s thoughts turn towards home and his family in Dublin, and it becomes clear that the obstacles he faces are greater than guerrillas demanding ′donations′ or the reckless behaviour of fellow travellers.Why did he leave Ireland so hurriedly? What makes people regard him so strangely? And what about the beautiful Serena, last seen on an idyllic beach in India, who has inspired him to take this journey?As Sean travels through Nepal, events run out of his control.If he is to survive he must find the courage to let his secret go. Views: 24
It's school spirit day at Blossom Hill School, and everyone's enjoying the fun. Especially Abby Hunter's teacher, Miss Hershey. She does all sorts of wacky things, like wearing her clothes backward. And there's the new girl at school with a BIG secret. Leslie Groff—with bright red pigtails—dares Abby's class to guess her secret. In just one school day! Can the Cul-de-sac Kids do it? Or will spunky Leslie outsmart them all? Views: 24
When a baby girl is abandoned at the gate of a monastery in ancient China, the monks have no choice but to adopt her into their exclusively male society of world-renown masters of the art of kung fu. She is raised within the monastery with a small group of boys, watching the monks beautiful training exercises during the days and listening to recounts of glorious battles of great kung fu masters at nighttime. Her favorite stories are those of the grand tournament battles between the monastery grand master, Bai Chen, and the legendary Black Dragon, an unknown masked competitor with unequaled prowess in the art of kung fu.Although the monks try to fulfill her physical and emotional needs, the girl becomes increasingly aware that she is treated differently than the male children, and develops a feeling of being unloved. She becomes increasingly isolated, and develops a deep yearning to become a great master of kung fu, dreaming of the day that she will be called to train in the art.When the time comes for the children to begin their initiation into the art, the girl is crushed to learn that she will not be allowed to participate, and flees from the monastery without any thought as to the consequences. She wanders through the rugged countryside for days, tired and hungry, until she chances upon an old man on the bank of a green pond. The old man offers to take the girl into his home, promising to teach her the art of kung fu. Could this wrinkled old figure really teach her anything about kung fu? She doubts this to be true, but faced with another hungry evening, she readily accepts the invitation.Thus begins the lifelong journey of Black Cat toward the only goal she can imagine: to compete in the Grand Tournament of ancient China and become a great master of the art of kung fu. She quickly discovers, however, that not only is her new master highly adept at the art of kung fu, but that her training is not as glorious as she had anticipated... Black Dragon, Black Cat is an ambitious saga of devotion, betrayal, and redemption, instilled with the philosophical wisdom of the old master and breathless scenes of epic battles set in ancient China. It can be enjoyed by all readers who are seeking adventures in ancient civilizations and cultures, as well as poignant character portrayals of unique individuals. And of course, there is non-stop action...About the AuthorBrian Edwards is Professor and Associate Head of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he has taught courses as a faculty member for ten years. He has authored books in several categories, including technical non-fiction, literary fiction, and action-adventure, and has written and illustrated children's books. His academic research is directed at the theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, which is quite useful from a practical, engineering perspective but rather dry to write about. His seminal textbook in this area, ‘Thermodynamics of Flowing Systems,’ was the first thermodynamics monograph to sell over 5,000,000 copies in his own imagination. When he isn’t wasting his time pondering deep thoughts about that stuff, he is doing other things, like writing novels about other strange, desperate people, because he goes certifiably nuts if he isn’t constantly doing something. Views: 24
Meggy has found an ad on the Internet for a relationship that she never dreamed possible. The ad is from David, who wants to play being "Daddy" to a big "girl". And she knows she has to meet him. Daddy-David is everything Meggy could have hoped for. Loving, kind, gentle, yet super strict when his bad little girl needs it. And he knows everything bad girls need, super-duper hairbrush spankings when they swear or are sulky, old fashioned temperatures and hurty enemas when they pretend to be sick. But the day comes when Meggy must leave and become Meg again, while she decides if she wants to stay with Daddy-David forever. It`s the hardest thing either of them has ever had to face. Views: 24
