I'm currently reading Anthony Levi's biography of Louis XIV, and he states that it is extremely unlikely Louis's father was Louis XIII, instead contending (on p. 21) that it "seems virtually certain" that Anne of Austria's favorite, Cardinal Mazarin, was the real father. He's less clear on whether this is true for Louis's younger brother, Philippe.
In my admittedly small number of readings on Louis XIV, I've never come across this theory, though I have read that relations between Louis XIII and Anne were not good, and the younger Louis's birth does seem to come out of nowhere. Levi lists several reasons for supporting his paternity theory. Was this theory current during Louis XIV's lifetime? Or, more broadly, is it currently accepted by historians (aside from Levi) now?

I put a 💥 next to some titles I don't often see for rec's, and that I'd do ANYTHING to read again for the first time! Caution though, as these are more of a trigger warning necessary prior to reading. —Hope you enjoy them if you decide to pick them up ♡
My only outlier alert here, is I do not like Alice Feeney. I know I know, I have tried.. I welcome all suggestions!! This slump has been long and I'm in dire need of a GOOD book!!

Psychological Thrillers	Mystery / Crime Fiction
Look Closer- David Ellis	The Whispers-Ashley Audrain
None of this is True- Lisa Jewell	The Burning Air- Erin Kelly
In The Deep- Loreth Anne White	That Night- Chevy Stevens
On A Quiet Street- Seraphina Nova Glass	Locust Lane- Stephen Amidon💥

Biography / Memoir	Nonfiction
The Sound of Gravel = Ruth Wariner	How I Helped OJ Get Away with Murder- Mike Gilbert 💥
With or Without You- Domenica Ruta	Good Morning, Monster- Catherine Gildner
The Pale Faced Lie- David Crow 💥	With The Devil's Help- Neal Wooten 💥
Running with Scissors ( loved all Burroughs books)	Unmasked- Paul Holes

The second part of Mary's and Elizabeth's story. I learned from last time: This is a draft! You will find some of the sources and the literature at the end (I was trained in Germany, we don't differentiate between primary and secondary sources but sources and literature):
I. Introduction
In the spring of 1554, Elizabeth Tudor was in grave danger. Her half-sister, Queen Mary, had imprisoned her in the Tower of London on suspicion of being involved in the Wyatt Rebellion. The insurrection was against the Queen's plan to marry the Spanish crown prince, Philip, who was a staunch Catholic. Elizabeth was forced to live in the same chambers where her mother, Anne Boleyn, had been held before her execution 18 years earlier.
According to Tracy Borman, the Queen's advisers had already written up Elizabeth’s death warrant. All Mary had to do was sign it. As she held the ink-soaked quill that could end her half-sister's life, her hand hovered over the document. However, she ultimately chose not to sign it.
On May 19, 1554, Elizabeth was released from the Tower and placed under house arrest in the old royal hunting mansion at Woodstock. Until then, Elizabeth did not know whether she was to be allowed to live or had to face execution. It wasn't until the anniversary of her mother's execution that her fate was revealed to her.
During her time at the Tower, Elizabeth learned two valuable lessons that would shape the rest of her life: She should never be replaceable, and she should avoid making decisions until they are unavoidable. These principles guided Elizabeth for the rest of her life.

II. Why Elizabeth was saved
Elizabeth had very few people in Mary's government who were on her side. Only William Baron Paget advocated for Anne Boleyn's daughter. On the other hand, Elizabeth had many enemies. Lord Chancellor Bishop Stephen Gardiner, Mary's cousin Emperor Charles V, and the imperial ambassador Simon Renard all believed that Elizabeth's execution was necessary to ensure the Queen's permanent hold on the throne. There were even rumors that Margaret Douglas, Mary's best friend and potential heir, had spoken in favor of Elizabeth's execution.
However, there was a lack of evidence to support such a decision. The government tried everything to find evidence, or at least to fabricate it. The insurgent leader Thomas Wyatt was at the center of these efforts. He had already been sentenced to death before Elizabeth arrived at the Tower. However, the execution had been postponed. Wyatt, who had initially supported Mary even against Lady Jane Grey at the beginning of her reign, was now being pushed to incriminate Elizabeth as much as possible. As a side note, it wasn't Wyatt's first time being involuntarily held at the Tower. During the reign of Edward VI, he had also been imprisoned there for a few days because he had drunkenly smashed windows.
Wyatt, however, refused to name Elizabeth as the head of the rebellion, only stating that she may have known about the plan. His co-conspirator, Sir James Croft, could say more. Wyatt instead heavily incriminated his co-conspirator, Edward Courtenay. He was the real head of the conspiracy.
Mary's interrogators capitulated: April 11, 1554, was designated as the day of Wyatt's execution. As a resident of the Tower, whose name is not known to us, reports in a private chronicle, there were two peculiarities: First, Wyatt asked to be allowed to speak with Courtenay, who had been imprisoned in the Tower since February 12. Second, his last words were to be interrupted.
Wyatt's request was granted. According to the source, he had to be carried to Courtenay, who was imprisoned in the tower above Traitor's Gate. This shows the massive torture he was most likely subjected to. The two men talked for about half an hour. Unfortunately, the exact content of the conversation has not been handed down.
However, Wyatt's last words give an idea about what was said: he not only withdrew his accusations against Elizabeth but also exonerated Courtenay. In doing so, he probably saved two lives. Henry Weston, who oversaw the execution of Wyatt, interrupted the condemned man, which was highly unusual. According to the tower resident, he spoke this sentence:
"Merke this, my masters, eh sayeth hat that which eh hathe showed to hte counsel ni wryting of ymlady Elizaleth and Courtney ys true."
In this way, he confirmed that Wyatt had not lied to protect his reputation in the public eye, which held Elizabeth in high esteem but secretly incriminated her. It's unclear how Mary's advisers responded. It was a remarkable parallel of history: Wyatt's father had been imprisoned in the wake of the allegations against Anne Boleyn on suspicion of having had an affair with the Queen. The only thing that saved him was his friendship with Thomas Cromwell. Weston's father, Francis, was less fortunate. He was beheaded on May 17, 1536. Now the sons of the two men faced each other – and Weston had to supervise the execution on behalf of the Queen.
Mary herself dealt with the fact that Wyatt had exonerated her half-sister in a surprising way: she confiscated Wyatt's estates because he was a convicted traitor. However, she provided his family with a small pension that allowed them to survive. Among Wyatt's descendants was Wallis Simpson, for whom King Edward VIII abdicated his throne. Wyatt himself was beheaded before being quartered. He thus escaped the worst part of his punishment.
Courtenay, who had betrayed the rebellion before it even started, was released from the Tower and exiled to Venice. Mary's government tried for four more weeks to find any incriminating material against the Queen's half-sister but to no avail. The public grew increasingly resentful of the continued imprisonment of the heir to the throne, especially after Wyatt, who had been visibly tortured, cleared her name. Additionally, Mary's judges informed her that her half-sister could not be found guilty under the current laws.
It is not clear what ultimately led to Elizabeth's release from the Tower and her house arrest in Oxfordshire. While some argue that it was due to the Queen's conscience, which emerged just in time, others point out that between 1554 and 1555, people from Elizabeth's household were repeatedly arrested on suspicion of treason. This suggests that the Queen continued to view her half-sister as a threat. Modern historians have described the Queen as "paranoid about Elizabeth.”
Another thesis uses the popularity of Anne Boleyn's daughter as an argument for why Mary spared Elizabeth's life. Even this justification is not entirely convincing: During the Wyatt Rebellion 20,000 Londoners had volunteered to fight for the Queen. She had just successfully crushed the uprising. It had not found the popular support that its leaders had hoped for.
Elizabeth was likely allowed to live for several reasons. The Queen saw the rebellion as an attack by Protestants on their religion, who were allegedly equipped with "a Spanish cloak to cover their pretended purpose," as she wrote in a letter. She couldn't imagine that Catholics could also be against her marriage to the heir to the Habsburg throne. The rise of English nationalism was not a relevant force in her eyes.
Elizabeth had never made any public comments regarding Mary's plans to get married. Even though she appeared to be a Catholic, attending Mass twice a day, she avoided speaking in support of the Catholic faith. She would often cough or clear her throat to excuse herself from speaking at sensitive points during Mass. Mary had been aware that her half-sister was only pretending to be a Catholic since December 1553. In fact, at that time, Mary had even accused Elizabeth of it.
Despite this, Anne Boleyn's daughter was still valuable to Mary as a symbol. The more Elizabeth was seen attending Mass, the less suitable she was as a leader of Protestantism. However, if Mary were to have her half-sister executed, Elizabeth would become a martyr. Therefore, it was more beneficial for Mary to keep Elizabeth alive and permanently convert her to Catholicism.
On top of that, her wedding to Philip was getting closer and closer. The wedding ceremony had already encountered major issues and difficulties. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was imprisoned for being a heretic. Typically, he would have been the one to conduct the wedding ceremony and crown Philip as the king. However, if Elizabeth remained imprisoned in the Tower during the wedding, it would cast a dark shadow over the connection. Elizabeth was still the heir to the throne. Her execution around the time of the wedding would have been disastrous.
To avoid any potential issues, Elizabeth had to disappear from the public eye. If she wanted to play an active role again, she would have to comply with the Queen's demands. This impression is evident in the sources available. Officially, Mary was done with her half-sister, and Elizabeth's name does not appear in the collection of Mary's State Papers for the rest of the Queen's life. In this situation Mary was a perfect blend of her parents, possessing Katherine's political acumen and Henry's stubbornness.

III. Elizabeth is under house arrest
Mary initially felt vindicated in her decision to keep Elizabeth under house arrest, as it seemed to work in her favor. While over 200 rebel leaders were executed, most ordinary prisoners were pardoned for a fine. This prevented any serious uprisings against Mary for the rest of her reign.
In addition to the emotional significance, Mary's marriage to Philip was also economically beneficial for England. Phillip brought 20 cartloads of American silver to the wedding, which helped to support the weak English economy. The Royal Mint was allowed to mint silver coins for Spain, which marked its first foreign order. Mary proved herself to be a capable ruler in economic matters.
During her reign as Queen of England, Mary made significant strides in modernizing the country, which her predecessors had failed to do. England still adhered to the rules of the late medieval economic system, despite its collapse in the second half of the 15th century. Mary caught up on the overdue reforms, which would benefit her successor for decades to come.
In September 1554, Mary received good news as she gained weight, and her menstruation stopped, leading her doctors and court attendants to believe that she was pregnant. The Queen herself also experienced nausea, which further convinced everyone of her pregnancy. The imperial ambassador even reported back home that there was no doubt that the Queen was carrying a child.
Mary felt empowered and began to take violent action against the Protestants in her kingdom. Just a month after announcing her miraculous pregnancy, she had Bishops Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer burned. Thomas Cranmer, whom she hated, was in prison awaiting his indictment as a heretic.
According to Mary's wishes, Cardinal Reginald Pole was to play a decisive role in this. Her close confidant returned on 23 November 1554 from his exile and assumed the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. Mary's great goal now was for her heir to be born in an England where the Pope would be the head of the Church again.
Parliament supported Mary on this issue. In January 1555, the Second Act of Repeal was passed, which made England a Catholic kingdom again. The law also removed the legal hurdle to prosecute Protestants more severely. Corresponding actions began as early as February 1555.
The unpopular burnings earned the Queen the nickname "Bloody Mary". Nearly 300 of their subjects were to die at the stake. However, historians have debated whether her reputation for cruelty is accurate. The book "Book of Martyrs" by John Foxe, published in 1563, was instrumental in creating the image of Bloody Mary. As a Protestant, Foxe had a strong religious interest in portraying Mary as a monstrous and frightening figure.
Mary viewed the use of burnings as a necessary means to deter Protestants from their faith and was surprised by the number of Protestants who chose death by fire over converting to Catholicism. However, she believed that the most important aspect of her efforts was ensuring that no new Protestant clerics could emerge, hence she strictly monitored seminaries and universities.
During Elizabeth's time of house arrest, she was under the guard of Sir John Williams, who treated her kindly. It is assumed that Elizabeth acted with extreme caution during this time so as not to upset her half-sister. As the announcement of Mary's pregnancy meant that Elizabeth would lose her position in the line of succession, she had to be careful not to do anything that could jeopardize her safety.

IV. Mary's First False Pregnancy and the Fatal Consequences
Mary found herself in a situation similar to her mother's, towards the end of Katherine and Henry's marriage, during the spring of 1555. Mary had a responsibility to produce an heir, as failure to do so would put her position and Catholicism in England at risk. At the time, Mary was fully aware of the potential consequences if Elizabeth was to come to power.
However, it is unclear whether or not the Queen recognized the parallel between her mother's life and her own, or if Mary was trying to break the curse that had plagued her since Anne entered her life. Regardless, Mary followed the customary practice of withdrawing to Hampton Court in the spring of 1555 for the birth of her child. She ordered Elizabeth to be present when her heir to the throne entered the world.
If you want to, you can interpret this order as a gesture of reconciliation between siblings, which must have taken place in 1555, at least on the surface. However, I find it difficult to interpret it as anything other than an attempt to humiliate Elizabeth. The Queen, for instance, stated that the Spanish king, Philip, should be regent for the child, not her half-sister, should she die in childbirth.
As we all know, events took a different turn. The calculated due date came and went, and it was not until July that the Queen resigned amid mocking laughter from the political public. Her abdominal swelling had subsided. The Venetian ambassador, Giovanni Michieli, had recently predicted that the pregnancy would end “in wind”. Philip, much to the Queen's sadness, returned to the mainland just a month later. Most people saw the false pregnancy and Philip's departure as a sign that the Queen would never be able to have children.
Mary was likely struggling with depression during that time. She believed that the events that occurred were "God's punishment" for tolerating heretics in her kingdom. As a result, she took even harsher action against them. One of her most prominent victims was Cranmer, who had renounced Protestantism for fear of being burned at the stake and turned back to Catholicism. Although it was customary for him to be pardoned, Mary did not follow this tradition.
Cranmer was forced to read out his retraction in public shortly before his burning in October 1556. According to reports, he first put the hand into the fire with which he had signed the document by which he turned away from Protestantism. Historians agree that it was primarily an act of personal revenge on the part of the Queen, as Cranmer had annulled her parents' marriage.

V. Philip and Elizabeth
Elizabeth might even have become a threat to Mary’s marriage – at least in the eyes of the monarch. Despite Philip's constant search for new lovers on the continent, there is little doubt that the Queen was truly in love with him. For example, Michieli reported she was "extraordinarily in love."
Philip, however, had already discovered while he was still in England that Elizabeth was, let’s say, of marriageable age. According to Michieli, the Habsburg prince had considered marrying the Queen‘s half-sister in case Mary died giving birth. However, there is some disagreement about how serious these considerations were. In a letter to his brother-in-law Maximilian, Philip expressed doubts about whether Mary was pregnant.
Following the false pregnancy, Philip aimed to establish a positive relationship with Elizabeth, most likely having already supported her while she was under house arrest. Mary’s half-sister was pleased to accept the king's friendship. As per J. E. Neale, she made every effort to integrate herself into Philip's circle of Spanish friends at court.
In October 1555, Elizabeth was permitted to leave Mary's court and return to her household, but it's uncertain whether it was a sign of Queen Mary's confidence in her half-sister. It's more likely that Mary couldn't tolerate Elizabeth's presence anymore. At this point, Mary began focusing on a topic she had never been enthusiastic about: finding a suitable husband for Elizabeth.
Philip advocated for Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, and with good reason. Not only would he ensure a Catholic succession, but he was also Philip's trusted proxy in England. After Mary's death, Philibert would be a suitable puppet. In December 1553, Elizabeth had also agreed to have her name linked with Philibert's. This option was more favorable than making Mary, Queen of Scots the heir, even so she was catholic. Mary, promised to the French Dauphin, was too close to the Habsburgs' greatest enemies.
Elizabeth, however, knew that time was on her side. She was safe as heir to the throne after the disaster of the false pregnancy. Even for the Spaniards she was considered a better alternative than her Scottish great-cousin. She refused all marriage requests. Philip's four-month visit to England, beginning in March 1557, was primarily intended to persuade Elizabeth to change her mind. Mary must have been hurt significantly as she had been urging her husband to come back for a long time.
It seems improbable that Parliament would have approved of such a marriage. Consequently, it gradually distanced itself from Mary. In December 1555, the Queen attempted to seize the assets of 100 Protestants in exile, but her request was denied.
Later, Philip reconsidered the idea of marrying Elizabeth himself. After she ascended the throne, he proposed a corresponding match, but the new English monarch declined the offer.

VI. Mary joins Philip's war against France and becomes an enemy of the Pope
Philip became King of Spain in 1556. Mary, as his wife, thus became Queen of Spain. The Habsburg, now finally in power, wanted to eliminate Protestantism by all means. War was included. And that's what happened – but against Catholic France.
France had done Philip the great favor of attacking the Spaniards. Mary rushed to her husband's aid and joined the war. Together, they inflicted a heavy defeat on the French at the Battle of Saint-Quentin in August 1557. But the fortunes of the war turned against the English: Calais, the last English mainland base, was lost in January 1558.
Mary is said to have reacted to this message with the following sentence:
"When I am dead and opened, you shall find Calais engraved on my heart".
Pope Paul IV raged over the war. He needed the French to defend him against the Habsburgs in northern Italy. England's participation had ensured that he could hardly expect any significant support. He therefore demanded the return of Pole to Rome in order to appoint a new Archbishop of Canterbury himself who would bring the Queen under control. Mary refused, going against the authority on which she had hitherto guided all her actions.
Later on, this turned out to be helpful, albeit in a cynical way, for Elizabeth. The Pope had spoken out against Anne Boleyn's daughter inheriting Mary's throne. However, the relationship with the English Catholics had become so strained that this was no longer relevant. It was clear that the future of England lay in Elizabeth, and with that, it was expected that Protestantism would return.
Mary still hoped to prevent this from happening. She believed she was pregnant again in 1557. However, this time, there were no preparations for a birth, apart from the fact that she made her will in the spring of 1558. It is tragic to read this from today's perspective:
"Fyrste, whereas I the said Quene have with the good contentment and pleasure of my said most dere belov'd Lorde and husbande the Kyng's Majesty devis'd & made my said last will and testament, beryng date the 30th day of Marche last past, and by the same, for that as I then thowght myself to be with childe did devise and dispose the Imperiall Crowne of this Realme of Englond and the Crowne of Ireland, with my title to France and all the dependances thereof, and all other honours, Castells, Fortresses, Prerogatives and hereditaments, of what nature, kynde or qualitie soever they be, belongyng to this crowne, unto the heires, Issewe and frewte of my body begotten, & the government, order, and rewle of the said heire and Issewe I recommended unto my said most dere Lord and husband duryng the mynoryte of the said heire, accordynge to the lawes of this Realme in that case provided."
"Thinking myself to be with child in lawful marriage between my said dearly beloved husband and Lord, altho' I be at this present (thankes be unto Almighty God) otherwise in good helthe, yet foreseeing the great danger which by Godd's ordynance remaine to all whomen in ther travel of children, have thought good, both for discharge of my conscience and continewance of good order within my Realmes and domynions to declare my last will and testament"
Mary believed she was pregnant and in good health, and even suggested once more her husband be named as regent for the child. This was unrealistic as England had suffered significant losses in the war, while Habsburg had not. The Spanish king was more unpopular than ever. From 1555 to 1558, Mary's kingdom struggled with severe crop failures, leading to hunger and a severe influenza epidemic in 1558. One of Mary's ladies-in-waiting, Jane Dormer, fell ill but later recovered.
The Queen herself may have also fallen sick. When Mary returned to London at the end of August 1558 after her fake pregnancy, she asked Dormer how she was doing. Dormer replied with "reasonably well", to which Mary said, "So am not I". She then retired to her chambers and never left them again.

VII. Battle for the Crown: Mary Must Accept Elizabeth
Mary's health was deteriorating day by day and she was having fever dreams frequently. According to Dormer's later reports, Mary would sometimes wake up and recount seeing small children playing angelically beside her in her sleep. The Queen used these stories to console her close ones by reminding them that whatever happens, God has allowed it.
However, Mary's will posed a problem as it did not name any heir, except a child that was not born. This made her last will not only impractical but also went against the current law of succession. To resolve this, Mary agreed to add a new passage to her will on October 28, 1558:
"Yf yt shall please Almighty God to call me to his mercye owte of this transytory lyfe without issewe and heire of my bodye lawfully begotten, Then I most instantly desire et per viscera misericordiae Dei, requyre my next heire & Successour, by the Laws and Statutes of this Realme, not only to permytt and suffer the executors of my said Testament and last will and the Survivours of them to perform the same."
Elizabeth was only confirmed by the insertion "by the Laws and Statutes of this Realme". However, this was still not enough as Elizabeth was not officially named despite actively preparing for her reign that very same month. Due to this reason, Mary was pushed further.
The Queen finally sent Dormer to her half-sister with three conditions, which she had to meet in order to be allowed to succeed her:

1. It is important for England to remain Catholic.
   
2. Queen Elizabeth should treat Mary's servants well.
   
3. Queen Elizabeth is responsible for paying the Crown's outstanding debts.
   

It is said that Dormer demanded proof on Mary's behalf that Elizabeth was indeed a Catholic. Elizabeth reacted angrily to this, arguing that she had complied with this often enough. However, she accepted the terms. It is mentioned in the literature that Mary also acknowledged Elizabeth as an heiress by name on November 6, 1558, but I couldn’t find a source for this.
Mary passed away between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning on November 17, 1558. Her good friend Reginald Pole survived her by just twelve hours. The diplomat Nicholas Throckmorton was tasked with informing Elizabeth of Mary's death. Six hours after Mary's death, Throckmorton proclaimed Elizabeth as the new Queen. It was then that the coronation ring was brought to Elizabeth, which was extensively checked for authenticity by her ladies-in-waiting.
Mary's funeral was held on December 13, 1558, and her husband was not present. In a letter to his sister Joan, Philip expressed "reasonable regret" over her death. However, there was a scandal during the funeral when Winchester's Bishop John White gave an obituary for Mary and expressed doubts about Elizabeth's abilities as Queen. As a result, Elizabeth had him arrested a day later. With Mary's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, England's generational traumas of Katherine and Anne finally came to an end. Although there were others to follow, such as the "Great Plot" to assassinate Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. But we will not delve into them today.

Examples for literature and sources used for this text (That’s far from being all. I tried to pick those
you can check online yourself for this list):

Borman, T. (2023). Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I.
Edwards, J. (2007). Mary I: England’s Catholic Queen.
Edwards, J. (2018). Mary I: The Daughter of Time. https://www.amazon.de/Mary-Penguin-Monarchs-Daughter-Time/dp/0141988681
Froude, J. A. (2023). The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon
The Story as Told by the Imperial Ambassadors Resident at the Court of Henry VIII.
Lee, S. (1900). Wyatt, Thomas. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Wyatt,_Thomas_(1521%3F-1554))
Lemon, R (1856). Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reigns of Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth and James I, 1547-1625 Preserved in the Stat Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office. https://www.google.de/books/edition/Calendar_of_State_Papers_Domestic_Series/NvsUAAAAQAAJ?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=state+papers+domestic+mary+I&printsec=frontcover
Loades, D. (2016). Elizabeth I: A Life.
Loades, D. (2011). Mary Tudor.
Mayer, T. F. (2000). Reginald Pole – Prince & Prophet. https://www.google.de/books/edition/Reginald_Pole/OqaBq2QGrFEC?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=reginald+pole&printsec=frontcover
Neale, J. E. (1934). Queen Elizabeth. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208607/mode/2up
Nichols, J. G. (editor) (1850). The chronicle of Queen Jane, and of two years of Queen Mary, and especially of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat / Written by a resident in the Tower of London. https://books.google.de/books?id=-cwyHxW4TwEC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Whitelock, A. (2016). Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen.

I have been interested in the Tudors since I was a very young child and until recently kept up with scholarly and popular Tudor biographies and historys. And I still know where to look for important Tudor works. However, the same cannot be said for the Stuarts. Right now, I am particularly interested in scholarly and serious popular biography's of the Stuart monarchs. I have read Lady Somerset's intimate biography of Queen Anne and know that Lady Fraser wrote biographies of Charles I, Cromwell, and Charles II, the last of the which was reccomended to me by a professional scholar who works on the late Stuart court. However, I am completely unaware of recent, or fat that matter historical, scholarly and serious biographies of the Stuart soveriegns. I will list the monarchs I am seeking literature about in order or rank, starting with a tie. 1. Charles II 1. James I 2. James II 2. Charles I 3. Queen Anne 4. Mary II 5. Cromwekk Could someone advise, especially on recent important biographies?

New Releases for May 2024

Data courtesy http://www.bookreporter.com
For more discussion, see the monthly New Releases post.

Title	Author	ReleaseDate
Adventure
Clive Cussler The Heist	Jack Du Brul	May 7, 2024
Clive Cussler Condor's Fury	Graham Brown	May 7, 2024
Empire	Conn Iggulden	May 14, 2024
Tom Clancy Act of Defiance	Brian Andrews	May 21, 2024
Biography
The Last of His Kind	Andy McCullough	May 7, 2024
Feherty	John Feinstein	May 14, 2024
The Call to Serve	Jon Meacham	May 28, 2024
Fantasy
When Among Crows	Veronica Roth	May 14, 2024
The House That Horror Built	Christina Henry	May 14, 2024
Fiction
Retrospective	written by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, translated by Anne McLean	May 7, 2024
Sipsworth	Simon Van Booy	May 7, 2024
The Lover	Rebecca Sacks	May 14, 2024
The Stellar Debut of Galactica Macfee	Alexander McCall Smith	May 14, 2024
All Fours	Miranda July	May 14, 2024
April May June July	Alison B. Hart	May 14, 2024
Blue Ruin	Hari Kunzru	May 14, 2024
Liquid, Fragile, Perishable	Carolyn Kuebler	May 14, 2024
Long After We Are Gone	Terah Shelton Harris	May 14, 2024
Paper Names	Susie Luo	May 14, 2024
Lucky Dogs	Helen Schulman	May 21, 2024
I Want You More	Swan Huntley	May 21, 2024
Lies and Weddings	Kevin Kwan	May 21, 2024
Shae	Mesha Maren	May 21, 2024
The Enchanted Hacienda	J.C. Cervantes	May 21, 2024
The Guncle Abroad	Steven Rowley	May 21, 2024
The Second Coming	Garth Risk Hallberg	May 28, 2024
Historical Fiction
All the Glimmering Stars	Mark Sullivan	May 7, 2024
Daughters of Shandong	Eve J. Chung	May 7, 2024
Disturbing the Dead	Kelley Armstrong	May 7, 2024
Ella	Diane Richards	May 7, 2024
Long Island	Colm Tóibín	May 7, 2024
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying ...	Helen Simonson	May 7, 2024
Fair Rosaline	Natasha Solomons	May 7, 2024
The Stolen Child	Ann Hood	May 7, 2024
Whale Fall	Elizabeth O'Connor	May 7, 2024
The Old Lion	Jeff Shaara	May 14, 2024
Every Time We Say Goodbye	Natalie Jenner	May 14, 2024
Last House	Jessica Shattuck	May 14, 2024
Rednecks	Taylor Brown	May 14, 2024
The Shadow of War	Jeff Shaara	May 14, 2024
This Strange Eventful History	Claire Messud	May 14, 2024
Butcher	Joyce Carol Oates	May 21, 2024
The Lost Letters from Martha's Vineyard	Michael Callahan	May 21, 2024
The Wealth of Shadows	Graham Moore	May 21, 2024
The Passionate Tudor	Alison Weir	May 28, 2024
The Safekeep	Yael van der Wouden	May 28, 2024
The Act of Disappearing	Nathan Gower	May 28, 2024
History
Left for Dead	Eric Jay Dolin	May 7, 2024
Throne of Grace	Bob Drury	May 7, 2024
The Situation Room	George Stephanopoulos	May 14, 2024
Horror
You Like It Darker	Stephen King	May 21, 2024
Humor
Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie	Jackie Lau	May 7, 2024
Swamp Story	Dave Barry	May 7, 2024
The Time Has Come	Will Leitch	May 14, 2024
The Paradise Problem	Christina Lauren	May 14, 2024
I Hope This Finds You Well	Natalie Sue	May 21, 2024
Look on the Bright Side	Kristan Higgins	May 28, 2024
Memoir
Love Is a Burning Thing	Nina St. Pierre	May 7, 2024
The Year of Living Constitutionally	A.J. Jacobs	May 7, 2024
You Never Know	Tom Selleck	May 7, 2024
Animals I Want to See	Tom Seeman	May 14, 2024
Breaking Glass	Patricia Walsh Chadwick	May 14, 2024
A Walk in the Park	Kevin Fedarko	May 28, 2024
Mystery
The Overnights	Ian K. Smith	May 7, 2024
Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure	Lorenzo Carcaterra	May 7, 2024
The Return of Ellie Black	Emiko Jean	May 7, 2024
On Her Watch	Melinda Leigh	May 14, 2024
The Detective Up Late	Adrian McKinty	May 14, 2024
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Why is the Good Lord used by some as a serious scholarly source on John Brown’s life? If someone made a comedy on Anne Frank or Martin Luther King Jr, everyone would be up in arms.
I think that a lot of the people who use the Good Lord Bird or Midnight Rising, as a biography of John Brown, are the same people who live in gentrified neighborhoods, disparage religion, and have a visceral and subtle hatred of non-white people: it’s eerily similar to the mercurial disdain most anti slavery whites held for chattel slavery and as Louis Decaro Jr, an eminent biographer of John Brown, put it, “the black presence.”
A lot of these same people perpetuate this myth of John Brown as a chaotic good, anti hero, because they don’t want to accept the fact he was more comfortable associating with Native Americans and black people more than whites. He did not display a paternalistic condescension towards Native Americans and African Americans, but a Christian sympathy for those who were downtrodden in society.
Brown socialized, lived with, and treated non white people as his brothers and equals. He didn’t read Ibrahim Kendi books and then cross the street to avoid minorities. This is why I think people try to downplay his radical egalitarianism, which cannot be separated from his pious Calvinism he professed.

"Henry VIII: King and Court" by Alison Weir is a detailed and meticulously researched biography that offers readers a vivid portrayal of one of England's most legendary kings. Weir, a renowned historian and author, goes into the life and reign of Henry VIII, covering his rise to power, his marriages and divorces, and his lasting impact on English history.
The book provides insight into Henry's early years as a young prince, his schooling, and his connections with his family members. Weir portrays Henry's complicated nature, from his seductive charm and intellectual curiosity to his cutthroat ambition and explosive temper.
Through thorough research of historical archives and firsthand testimonies, Weir portrays a nuanced picture of Henry's marriages and political connections, including his renowned marriages to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour. She investigates the ecclesiastical and political turbulence of the Tudor court, as well as Henry's role in shaping the English Reformation and the founding of the Church of England.
Weir also investigates Henry's connections with his advisors, courtiers, and subjects, offering light on the dynamics of power and authority in the Tudor court. She covers the cultural and social life of the court, as well as the intrigues and rivalries that molded Henry's reign.
Overall, "Henry VIII: King and Court" is a riveting and detailed biography that offers readers a fuller knowledge of one of history's most fascinating people. Weir's knowledge is flawless, her writing is engaging, and her insights into Henry's life and impact are both illuminating and fascinating. Whether you're a history enthusiast or simply interested in the drama and intrigue of the Tudor age, this book is sure to captivate and instruct.
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I've become interested in the history of the Soviet Union and I'm looking for recommendations. I read Orlando Figes' book on the Russian Revolution and I'm wondering if there's a quintessential book on the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union.
I'd appreciate any recommendations. Is Anne Applebaum any good? Her book "The Iron Curtain" looks interesting.
i should disclose that i'm terrible at finishing biographies, so I don't think a Stalin bio would be a good fit for me.

"Do not Follow where the path may lead.
Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail"
- Muriel Strobe
​
Who Is Muriel Strode? (quotegarden.com)
​
Who Is Muriel Strode?
The author I’m currently reading is Muriel Strode, an amazing woman — strong, gutsy, spiritual, creative, generous, intelligent, talented, and hard-working. Her writing is both down-to-earth and celestial, humble in spirit and yet fiercely, fearlessly ambitious. Her poems run the gamut from blushingly soul-sensual and nature-erotic to mystical and motivating, from poetic positive affirmations and self-discovery to some downright trippy verse.
There is very little information about Muriel on the Web, but I’ve pieced together this brief biography from a few dozen electronic and paper sources, and I’ve updated this article with further information from Muriel’s family for which I’m extremely grateful!
Early life & family. Born Muriel Strode on February 16th 1875 in Bernadotte Township, Illinois, her grandparents were pioneers and she spent her childhood on the farm where they originally settled. Her father William Smith Strode (1847–1934) was a naturalist, teacher, and physician. Her mother Amelia Steele Strode (1849–1888) died young, at age 39. A couple of years after she passed away, William married Julia Yarnell Brown (1866–1954), a periodicals writer. Muriel’s four siblings, all Illinois-born were:

• Winifred Strode Morrison (1872–1916), who had seven children, one of whom was named Muriel Marie
• Walter Lucien Strode (1877–1917), a grocery salesman
• John William Strode (1884–1957), who studied mining then moved to Arizona in 1907. After serving in the military, he served two governors as executive secretary, including Arizona’s first governor, George W. P. Hunt. Later, J. W. was editor of the Miami (Arizona) Silver Belt and president of the Arizona Democratic Association.
• Catherine Joane Brown Strode (1895–1969), half-sister, who graduated young, studied art in Chicago, and moved to California at age 19. She became an established artist using the pseudonym Joane Cromwell.

Venturing out on her own. Muriel left home at age 15 and attended a business school in Denver. At 16 she went to Long Beach, California to earn her living as a stenographer and typewritist. She began writing poetry in the midst of her business career. In 1906 she used her savings to purchase two lots in Signal Hill for $1,000 then moved to New York for a career as a writer.
📷Husband & daughter. In 1908 she married Samuel David Lieberman (1875–1952), the president of an iron and steel firm in Chicago where Muriel had worked. His love interest in her began when he read the inspirational sayings and poems in her first publication, My Little Book of Prayer. He and Muriel had one foster child, Elinore Anne Clifford Austin (1914–2006), born in Colorado and taken in at three years old. The family lived in New York City for several years before moving to California in 1923, when oil was discovered on Muriel’s land and she had suddenly become rich.
Riches & philanthropy. With part of her new riches, Muriel gathered seventeen young wives and mothers, one for each year she had owned the properties, and took them on a shopping spree for beautiful gowns, hats, earrings, undergarments, and other dainty, colorful things. “I was a distributor of wings, I released them into a realization of their beauty. We are all beautiful in our elemental state. We all want to be moon moths in the glowing. But like the flowers, we need petals to show off our beauty. I want to set people free into beauty. I want to take them out of their Cinderella ashes to function as princesses,” she told reporter Ruth Snyder. “It is a poem of pain to feel the urge toward the unfolding of the wings of beauty. It is a song of ecstasy to release it. All my life I have wanted to do something big and useful and beautiful — to help others.”
Shortly thereafter in another display of generosity, she purchased a run-down waterwheel mill in her girlhood Illinois township and with her father, oversaw the restoration of it and its dam as a historic landmark, its surrounding area converted to a public park and playground. At age 80, she wrote in a letter that “I left part of my heart back in Bernadotte years ago and I have never gotten over being homesick.”
Arizona & final years. The Strode–Lieberman family moved to Arizona in 1929 due to Sam’s tuberculosis. They homesteaded on 640 acres fourteen miles east of Tucson, and their home sat atop a ridge overlooking the entire Tucson valley. Muriel’s father, who was then divorced from Julia, had retired and moved in with the Liebermans. They had originally planned to build a solid rock home, every day making three-mile excursions into the desert to collect rocks. The passings of Muriel’s father and husband put a stop to the plan, however, and Muriel lived out the remainder of her days in the original wood-framed home.
In a 1955 letter Muriel wrote, “I have come a devious route to land eventually on these desert acres, as Mr. Lieberman’s business took him traveling and we lived in half the important cities in the United States.” But once in southern Arizona, that is where she stayed. She would sign her letters and books from “the Ranch of the Gorgeous Sunsets, Tucson, Arizona.” Muriel passed away on January 25th 1964 after twelve years’ struggle with a heart ailment.
📷Writing & publications. Her habit was to write her thoughts and ideas every morning, and she continued to work on her writings and manuscripts even into her final years. She had first published in periodicals, mostly The Open Court. The first publication I found her cited in was The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest, from 1901. Later she authored four books:

• My Little Book of Prayer, 1904, “a collection of thoughts on the spiritual side of nature, moral fortitude and other uplifting themes” (Judy Donovan)
• My Little Book of Life, 1912, “a personal philosophy of life that spells courage, cheer, and serenity” (The Open Court)
• A Soul’s Faring, 1921, “tumultuous imagery, mighty seething seas of words, of similes, of metaphors, of themes of love and life and death and the Beyond” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
• At the Roots of Grasses, 1923, “the very rhapsody of an American soul pouring itself forth in songs of the strong” (Charles Fleischer)

In her heyday Muriel was known as “the female Walt Whitman.” She was a member of the Poetry Society of America and The League of American Pen Women. She wrote her entire career under her birth name Muriel Strode, omitting the hyphenated Lieberman on post-marriage publications. One of the books I have is signed “Muriel Strode — Mrs. Sam D. Lieberman.”
Sometimes she received harsh critiques in the newspapers. Some reviewers who did not understand her writing thought it egotistical. In 1923 she explained to a reporter, “When I say ‘I,’ I mean the cosmic ‘I,’ speaking to the cosmic ‘you.’” On reading her books, it seems clear to me that she was not egotistical but mystical. She said in a 1962 interview, “I don’t mind adverse criticism. It doesn’t matter if I’m misinterpreted because not everyone will understand what I’m trying to say.”
Those who did understand her cosmic perspective handed out more favorable reviews. “Muriel Strode has a distinctive touch in free verse rhythms. She uses them to interpret optimistically and broadly the elemental forces of being, and she strikes a high note of endeavor and faith in life without glossing over its inevitable question” (The Kansas City Times, 1921).
“Few poets are as prolific in sheer beauty as Muriel Strode. Her work is marked with richness, the forms she chooses for expression are diverse and through all her work there is the rumbling of the seeker of truth. Miss Strode’s poems are a revelation in inspiration. There seems no end to her philosophic thoughts. There is a virility of beauty in this poet’s work” (Howard Willard Cook, 1923). She “sings of the things elemental in universal nature and in human nature” (Charles Fleischer). During her childhood in Fulton County, Illinois, she “breathed in the beauty and the intense love of nature and the elemental things of life that flame out in her poetry” (The Fulton Democrat).
Names. Other names she was known by include: Muriel Strode-Lieberman, Muriel Lieberman, Muriel S. Lieberman, Mrs. Samuel D. Lieberman, Mrs. S. D. Lieberman, and Mrs. Sam Lieberman. The 1880 census lists “Muray Strode,” but her surviving family is not aware of that nickname so it is possibly a typo or a childhood pet name that didn’t last. 📷
Famous quote & found treasures. There were quite a few newspaper articles about Muriel during her publishing days and when she first got rich from oil, but I can’t find personal references much past her death date. Sadly, she seems to have disappeared from history, excepting her famous 1903 words “I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail,” which around the 1990s had started being widely misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. I am exceptionally pleased to digitally revive this wonderful poetess — I’ve been posting selected quotations from her works to The Quote Garden. Here is a sample gem: “I will have a care lest my burden rest all too long where my wings might have grown.” —Muriel Strode, My Little Book of Life, 1912
Image Information. Photo of Muriel is unknown date, courtesy of Muriel’s family, modified by Terri Guillemets using imikimi app, 2017. Book cover is My Little Book of Life by Muriel Strode, 1912. Muriel’s signature is from the 1934 application for her father’s headstone.
Acknowledgement. I am eternally grateful to Muriel’s family for providing the information to expand this bio, as well as the beautiful photograph and retroactive permission to use her words on my website. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone.
Looking for nice people who would like to join me to see PETduo's debut in the E1 on Saturday the 27th of April (10min walking from Tower Hill).
The plan will be to meet by Tower Hill station, have some drinks by St Katharine Docks and then head to the E1 that is about 10min walking distance.
For those who don't know this will be an electronic music, hard techno event.
For those wondering about PETduo, Anne and David are a well known hard techno and schranz brazilian dj couple based in Berlin whose career spans more than 20 years since the earliest 2000s. Residents in AVA club Berlin, they are well known for their energetic and amazing sets and they have played in many festivals and clubs around Europe. I will leave here their RA bio, the link for the event and a couple of my favourite sets from them. They will be playing alongside belgian dj Jan Vercauteren and british dj Ømen.
See you at the dancefloor!
Tickets: https://ra.co/events/1887426
PETduo bio: https://ra.co/dj/petduo/biography
PETduo @ XTREME Fabrik Madrid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc8uc3fVpeE
PETduo @ Aquasella Festival Spain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEkNBOCA7u0
Feel free to send me a dm if you want to come! Everyone is welcome to join regardless gender, age, sexual orientation etc. The only requisites are to love techno music and wanted to have a good night.
VERY IMPORTANT If you coming to this event please make sure you bring physical ID (drive licence, ID card, passport) otherwise you won't be allowed in even if you have a ticket.

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Release date: 04-12-16
4.5 out of 5 stars704 ratings
Evolution Gone Wrong Audiobook By Alex Bezzerides cover art

1. Evolution Gone Wrong

The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't)
By: Alex Bezzerides
Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
Release date: 05-18-21
4.5 out of 5 stars196 ratings
Transformed Audiobook By Marty Cagan cover art

1. Transformed

Moving to the Product Operating Model
By: Marty Cagan
Narrated by: Marty Cagan
Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
Release date: 03-12-24
4.5 out of 5 stars19 ratings
Regular price: $17.19
The Worst Hard Time Audiobook By Timothy Egan cover art

1. The Worst Hard Time

The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
By: Timothy Egan
Narrated by: Jacob York
Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
Release date: 02-16-22
4.5 out of 5 stars141 ratings
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Your Dog Is Your Mirror Audiobook By Kevin Behan cover art

1. Your Dog Is Your Mirror

The Emotional Capacity of Our Dogs and Ourselves
By: Kevin Behan
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
Release date: 11-03-20
3.5 out of 5 stars446 ratings
The Earth Transformed Audiobook By Peter Frankopan cover art

1. The Earth Transformed

An Untold History
By: Peter Frankopan
Narrated by: Peter Frankopan
Length: 29 hrs and 11 mins
Release date: 04-18-23
4.5 out of 5 stars32 ratings
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Starry Messenger Audiobook By Neil deGrasse Tyson cover art

1. Starry Messenger

Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization
Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
Release date: 09-20-22
5 out of 5 stars3,610 ratings
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Fire Weather Audiobook By John Vaillant cover art

1. Fire Weather

A True Story from a Hotter World
By: John Vaillant
Narrated by: Alan Carlson
Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
Release date: 06-06-23
4.5 out of 5 stars154 ratings
Rewire Your Anxious Brain Audiobook By Catherine M. Pittman PhD, Elizabeth M. Karle MLIS cover art

1. Rewire Your Anxious Brain

How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
By: Catherine M. Pittman PhD, Elizabeth M. Karle MLIS
Narrated by: Susannah Mars
Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 07-29-15
4.5 out of 5 stars1,596 ratings
Regular price: $25.70
Cosmos Audiobook By Carl Sagan cover art

1. Cosmos

A Personal Voyage
By: Carl Sagan
Narrated by: LeVar Burton, Seth MacFarlane, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan
Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
Release date: 05-30-17
4.5 out of 5 stars9,287 ratings

1. Wasteland

The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future
By: Oliver Franklin-Wallis
Narrated by: Chris Harper
Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
Release date: 07-18-23
5 out of 5 stars15 ratings
Regular price: $21.83
Entangled Life Audiobook By Merlin Sheldrake cover art

1. Entangled Life

How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
By: Merlin Sheldrake
Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 05-12-20
5 out of 5 stars3,803 ratings
The Great Unknown Audiobook By Marcus du Sautoy cover art

1. The Great Unknown

Seven Journeys to the Frontiers of Science
By: Marcus du Sautoy
Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy
Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
Release date: 04-11-17
4.5 out of 5 stars175 ratings
The Grieving Brain Audiobook By Mary-Frances O'Connor cover art

1. The Grieving Brain

The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
By: Mary-Frances O'Connor
Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 02-01-22
4.5 out of 5 stars231 ratings
Regular price: $22.49
The Dawn of Everything Audiobook By David Graeber, David Wengrow cover art

1. The Dawn of Everything

A New History of Humanity
By: David Graeber, David Wengrow
Narrated by: Mark Williams
Length: 24 hrs and 13 mins
Release date: 11-09-21
4.5 out of 5 stars2,764 ratings
Regular price: $33.74
The Underworld Audiobook By Susan Casey cover art

1. The Underworld

Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean
By: Susan Casey
Narrated by: Susan Casey
Release date: 08-01-23
5 out of 5 stars77 ratings
Sand Talk Audiobook By Tyson Yunkaporta cover art

1. Sand Talk

How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World
By: Tyson Yunkaporta
Narrated by: Tyson Yunkaporta
Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
5 out of 5 stars528 ratings
The Bomber Mafia Audiobook By Malcolm Gladwell cover art

1. The Bomber Mafia

A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
Release date: 04-27-21
4.5 out of 5 stars8,801 ratings
Regular price: $24.96
I Contain Multitudes Audiobook By Ed Yong cover art

1. I Contain Multitudes

The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
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Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
Release date: 08-09-16
4.5 out of 5 stars3,755 ratings
The Hidden Life of Trees Audiobook By Peter Wohlleben cover art

1. The Hidden Life of Trees

What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World
By: Peter Wohlleben
Narrated by: Mike Grady
Series: The Mysteries of Nature Trilogy, Book 1
Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
Release date: 09-13-16
4.5 out of 5 stars6,234 ratings
Regular price: $23.22
Inspired Audiobook By Marty Cagan cover art

1. Inspired

How to Create Tech Products Customers Love, Second Edition
Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
Release date: 03-20-18
4.5 out of 5 stars2,624 ratings
Thinking in Systems Audiobook By Donella H. Meadows cover art

1. Thinking in Systems

A Primer
By: Donella H. Meadows
Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen
Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
Release date: 07-26-18
4.5 out of 5 stars2,069 ratings
Regular price: $15.59
The Moral Animal Audiobook By Robert Wright cover art

1. The Moral Animal

Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
By: Robert Wright
Narrated by: Greg Thornton
Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 06-29-10
4.5 out of 5 stars1,863 ratings
Regular price: $24.95
A Walk in the Woods Audiobook By Bill Bryson cover art

1. A Walk in the Woods

Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Narrated by: Rob McQuay
Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
Release date: 09-25-12
4.5 out of 5 stars11,492 ratings
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind Audiobook By Julian Jaynes cover art

1. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

By: Julian Jaynes
Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 04-03-15
4.5 out of 5 stars609 ratings
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Audiobook By Rebecca Skloot cover art

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By: Rebecca Skloot
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin
Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 02-02-10
4.5 out of 5 stars16,531 ratings
The Genius of Birds Audiobook By Jennifer Ackerman cover art

1. The Genius of Birds

By: Jennifer Ackerman
Narrated by: Margaret Strom
Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars572 ratings
Regular price: $21.49
Eve Audiobook By Cat Bohannon cover art

1. Eve

How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution
By: Cat Bohannon
Narrated by: Cat Bohannon
Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
Release date: 10-03-23
4.5 out of 5 stars309 ratings
American Buffalo Audiobook By Steven Rinella cover art

1. American Buffalo

In Search of a Lost Icon
By: Steven Rinella
Narrated by: Steven Rinella
Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
Release date: 07-30-19
5 out of 5 stars9,917 ratings
Algorithms to Live By Audiobook By Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths cover art

1. Algorithms to Live By

The Computer Science of Human Decisions
By: Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths
Narrated by: Brian Christian
Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
Release date: 04-19-16
4.5 out of 5 stars17,206 ratings
Through Two Doors at Once Audiobook By Anil Ananthaswamy cover art

1. Through Two Doors at Once

The Elegant Experiment That Captures the Enigma of Our Quantum Reality
By: Anil Ananthaswamy
Narrated by: René Ruiz
Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 08-07-18
4.5 out of 5 stars229 ratings
Scarcity Brain Audiobook By Michael Easter cover art

1. Scarcity Brain

Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough
By: Michael Easter
Narrated by: Michael Easter
Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
Release date: 09-26-23
4.5 out of 5 stars407 ratings
Pale Blue Dot Audiobook By Carl Sagan cover art

1. Pale Blue Dot

A Vision of the Human Future in Space
Narrated by: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars1,923 ratings
The Hidden World of the Fox Audiobook By Adele Brand cover art

1. The Hidden World of the Fox

By: Adele Brand
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
Release date: 10-22-19
4.5 out of 5 stars25 ratings
Regular price: $19.79
The Confident Mind Audiobook By Dr. Nate Zinsser cover art

1. The Confident Mind

A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance
By: Dr. Nate Zinsser
Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
Release date: 01-25-22
5 out of 5 stars411 ratings
The Molecule of More Audiobook By Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, Michael E. Long cover art

1. The Molecule of More

How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity - And Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race
By: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, Michael E. Long
Narrated by: Tom Parks
Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
Release date: 10-01-18
4.5 out of 5 stars2,606 ratings
Regular price: $20.00
Home Waters Audiobook By John N. Maclean cover art

1. Home Waters

A Chronicle of Family and a River
By: John N. Maclean
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
Release date: 06-01-21
4.5 out of 5 stars93 ratings
The Demon-Haunted World Audiobook By Carl Sagan cover art

1. The Demon-Haunted World

Science as a Candle in the Dark
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Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars5,208 ratings
How Emotions Are Made Audiobook By Lisa Feldman Barrett cover art

1. How Emotions Are Made

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By: Lisa Feldman Barrett
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 03-07-17
4.5 out of 5 stars2,420 ratings
In the Form of a Question Audiobook By Amy Schneider cover art

1. In the Form of a Question

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By: Amy Schneider
Narrated by: Amy Schneider
Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars58 ratings
Pests Audiobook By Bethany Brookshire cover art

1. Pests

How Humans Create Animal Villains
By: Bethany Brookshire
Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
Release date: 12-06-22
4.5 out of 5 stars35 ratings
The Good Virus Audiobook By Tom Ireland cover art

1. The Good Virus

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By: Tom Ireland
Narrated by: Ben Deery
Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
Release date: 08-15-23
5 out of 5 stars12 ratings
A Sand County Almanac Audiobook By Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver - introduction cover art

1. A Sand County Almanac

And Sketches Here and There
By: Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver - introduction
Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 04-22-20
4.5 out of 5 stars489 ratings
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All Creatures Great and Small Audiobook By James Herriot cover art

1. All Creatures Great and Small

The Warm and Joyful Memoirs of the World's Most Beloved Animal Doctor
By: James Herriot
Narrated by: Christopher Timothy
Series: All Creatures Great and Small, Book 1
Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
Release date: 12-26-99
5 out of 5 stars7,397 ratings
Regular price: $24.74
This Is Your Brain on Parasites Audiobook By Kathleen McAuliffe cover art

1. This Is Your Brain on Parasites

How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society
By: Kathleen McAuliffe
Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
Release date: 06-07-16
4.5 out of 5 stars1,098 ratings
The Code Breaker Audiobook By Walter Isaacson cover art

1. The Code Breaker

Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Narrated by: Kathe Mazur, Walter Isaacson
Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins
Release date: 03-09-21
4.5 out of 5 stars6,182 ratings
The Many Hidden Worlds of Quantum Mechanics Audiobook By Sean Carroll, The Great Courses cover art

1. The Many Hidden Worlds of Quantum Mechanics

By: Sean Carroll, The Great Courses
Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
Release date: 11-24-23
5 out of 5 stars21 ratings
Regular price: $33.90
Better Living Through Birding Audiobook By Christian Cooper cover art

1. Better Living Through Birding

Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World
By: Christian Cooper
Narrated by: Christian Cooper
Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 06-13-23
4.5 out of 5 stars168 ratings
Solve for Happy Audiobook By Mo Gawdat cover art

1. Solve for Happy

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By: Mo Gawdat
Narrated by: Mo Gawdat
Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
Release date: 03-21-17
4.5 out of 5 stars2,602 ratings
Freakonomics Audiobook By Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner cover art

1. Freakonomics

Revised Edition
By: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Narrated by: Stephen J. Dubner
Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
Release date: 06-14-07
4.5 out of 5 stars12,200 ratings
The Ride of Her Life Audiobook By Elizabeth Letts cover art

1. The Ride of Her Life

The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
By: Elizabeth Letts
Narrated by: Elizabeth Letts, Tavia Gilbert
Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars837 ratings
Biography of Resistance Audiobook By Muhammad H. Zaman cover art

1. Biography of Resistance

The Epic Battle Between People and Pathogens
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Narrated by: Kyle Tait
Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars416 ratings
The Making of the Atomic Bomb Audiobook By Richard Rhodes cover art

1. The Making of the Atomic Bomb

25th Anniversary Edition
By: Richard Rhodes
Narrated by: Holter Graham
Series: Richard Rhodes' Nuclear Histories
Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 02-09-16
4.5 out of 5 stars3,954 ratings
Regular price: $37.49
The Invention of Nature Audiobook By Andrea Wulf cover art

1. The Invention of Nature

Alexander von Humboldt's New World
By: Andrea Wulf
Narrated by: David Drummond
Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 10-20-15
4.5 out of 5 stars2,484 ratings
Regular price: $25.79
A Brief History of Time Audiobook By Stephen Hawking cover art

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By: Stephen Hawking
Narrated by: Michael Jackson
Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
Release date: 05-01-12
4.5 out of 5 stars7,727 ratings
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Skunk Works Audiobook By Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos cover art

1. Skunk Works

A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
By: Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos
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Release date: 07-14-15
4.5 out of 5 stars10,008 ratings
My Penguin Year Audiobook By Lindsay McCrae cover art

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Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
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4.5 out of 5 stars20 ratings
The Spinning Magnet Audiobook By Alanna Mitchell cover art

1. The Spinning Magnet

The Electromagnetic Force that Created the Modern World - and Could Destroy It
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Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
Release date: 01-30-18
4.5 out of 5 stars97 ratings
Waking Up Audiobook By Sam Harris cover art

1. Waking Up

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By: Sam Harris
Narrated by: Sam Harris
Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
Release date: 09-09-14
4.5 out of 5 stars12,003 ratings

Free Audiobook with a free trial of Audible

1. Not That Fancy

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Release date: 10-10-23
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My Beloved Monster Audiobook By Caleb Carr cover art
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1. My Beloved Monster

Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me
By: Caleb Carr
Narrated by: James Lurie
Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
Release date: 04-16-24
5 out of 5 stars1 rating
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1. How to Keep House While Drowning

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1. Bourdain

The Definitive Oral Biography
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4.5 out of 5 stars922 ratings
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Release date: 02-06-01
5 out of 5 stars36,154 ratings
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A Memoir
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Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
Release date: 04-20-21
4.5 out of 5 stars11,327 ratings
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1. How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind

Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets
By: Dana K. White
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Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
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5 out of 5 stars2,950 ratings
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1. Your Dog Is Your Mirror

The Emotional Capacity of Our Dogs and Ourselves
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Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
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3.5 out of 5 stars446 ratings
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Decluttering at the Speed of Life Audiobook By Dana K. White cover art

1. Decluttering at the Speed of Life

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Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
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4.5 out of 5 stars5,093 ratings
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1. Medium Raw

A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
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Release date: 07-06-10
4.5 out of 5 stars11,205 ratings
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Audiobook By Marie Kondo cover art

1. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
By: Marie Kondo
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
Series: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Book 1
Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
Release date: 01-06-15
4.5 out of 5 stars31,980 ratings
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Be Ready When the Luck Happens Audiobook By Ina Garten cover art

1. Be Ready When the Luck Happens

By: Ina Garten
Narrated by: Ina Garten
Length: 14 hrs
Release date: 10-01-24
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All Creatures Great and Small Audiobook By James Herriot cover art

1. All Creatures Great and Small

The Warm and Joyful Memoirs of the World's Most Beloved Animal Doctor
By: James Herriot
Narrated by: Christopher Timothy
Series: All Creatures Great and Small, Book 1
Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
Release date: 12-26-99
5 out of 5 stars7,397 ratings
Regular price: $24.74
Meat Eater Audiobook By Steven Rinella cover art

1. Meat Eater

Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter
By: Steven Rinella
Narrated by: Steven Rinella
Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 04-25-23
5 out of 5 stars267 ratings
The Forever Dog Audiobook By Rodney Habib, Karen Shaw Becker cover art

1. The Forever Dog

A New Science Blueprint for Raising Exceptionally Healthy and Happy Companions
By: Rodney Habib, Karen Shaw Becker
Narrated by: Jean Ann Douglass, Joe Knezevich
Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 10-12-21
5 out of 5 stars329 ratings
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Oliver Audiobook By Steven J. Carino, Alex Tresniowski, Laura Schroff - foreword cover art

1. Oliver

The True Story of a Stolen Dog and the Humans He Brought Together
By: Steven J. Carino, Alex Tresniowski, Laura Schroff - foreword
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Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
Release date: 01-26-21
4.5 out of 5 stars100 ratings
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1. Really Very Crunchy

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By: Emily Morrow
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Release date: 03-12-24
5 out of 5 stars115 ratings
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How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter
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Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
Release date: 01-02-18
4.5 out of 5 stars1,402 ratings
Taste Audiobook By Stanley Tucci cover art

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By: Stanley Tucci
Narrated by: Stanley Tucci
Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
Release date: 10-05-21
5 out of 5 stars4,252 ratings
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How to Raise the Perfect Dog Audiobook By Melissa Jo Peltier, Cesar Millan cover art

1. How to Raise the Perfect Dog

Through Puppyhood and Beyond
By: Melissa Jo Peltier, Cesar Millan
Narrated by: John H. Mayer
Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
Release date: 10-19-09
4.5 out of 5 stars1,324 ratings
Enough Already Audiobook By Valerie Bertinelli cover art

1. Enough Already

Learning to Love the Way I Am Today
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Narrated by: Valerie Bertinelli
Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
Release date: 01-18-22
5 out of 5 stars2,367 ratings
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Audiobook By Samin Nosrat cover art

1. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

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Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
Release date: 08-22-17
5 out of 5 stars1,679 ratings
At Home Audiobook By Bill Bryson cover art

1. At Home

A Short History of Private Life
By: Bill Bryson
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Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
Release date: 10-05-10
4.5 out of 5 stars6,432 ratings
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1. The Omnivore's Dilemma

A Natural History of Four Meals
By: Michael Pollan
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Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
Release date: 01-01-06
4.5 out of 5 stars9,317 ratings
The Purest Bond Audiobook By Jen Golbeck, Stacey Colino cover art

1. The Purest Bond

Understanding the Human-Canine Connection
By: Jen Golbeck, Stacey Colino
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Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
Release date: 11-14-23
5 out of 5 stars36 ratings
Cook, Eat, Repeat Audiobook By Nigella Lawson cover art

1. Cook, Eat, Repeat

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Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
5 out of 5 stars14 ratings
All Things Bright and Beautiful Audiobook By James Herriot cover art

1. All Things Bright and Beautiful

Series: All Creatures Great and Small, Book 2
Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
Release date: 12-27-00
5 out of 5 stars3,369 ratings
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Salt Audiobook By Mark Kurlansky cover art

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Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
Release date: 02-20-03
4 out of 5 stars3,087 ratings
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The French Ingredient Audiobook By Jane Bertch cover art

1. The French Ingredient

Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time: A Memoir
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Release date: 04-09-24
3 out of 5 stars2 ratings
The Botany of Desire Audiobook By Michael Pollan cover art

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Narrated by: Michael Pollan
Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 10-18-22
4.5 out of 5 stars207 ratings
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1. Your Table Is Ready

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By: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
Narrated by: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
Release date: 12-06-22
4.5 out of 5 stars1,030 ratings
Horse Brain, Human Brain Audiobook By Janet L. Jones cover art

1. Horse Brain, Human Brain

The Neuroscience of Horsemanship
By: Janet L. Jones
Narrated by: Helena Harris
Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
Release date: 03-03-23
5 out of 5 stars47 ratings
Regular price: $23.21
Big Macs & Burgundy Audiobook By Vanessa Price, Adam Laukhuf cover art

1. Big Macs & Burgundy

Wine Pairings for the Real World
By: Vanessa Price, Adam Laukhuf
Narrated by: Vanessa Price
Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
Release date: 10-13-20
4.5 out of 5 stars19 ratings

1. All Creatures Great and Small

Narrated by: Nicholas Ralph
Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
Release date: 11-17-20
5 out of 5 stars933 ratings
The Devil in the Kitchen Audiobook By Marco Pierre White, James Steen cover art

1. The Devil in the Kitchen

Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef
By: Marco Pierre White, James Steen
Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 09-29-15
5 out of 5 stars1,325 ratings
Regular price: $19.95
The Upstairs Delicatessen Audiobook By Dwight Garner cover art

1. The Upstairs Delicatessen

On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading
By: Dwight Garner
Narrated by: Christopher P. Brown
Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 10-24-23
4 out of 5 stars8 ratings
Regular price: $17.19
The Rural Diaries Audiobook By Hilarie Burton cover art

1. The Rural Diaries

Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm
By: Hilarie Burton
Narrated by: Hilarie Burton
Release date: 05-05-20
5 out of 5 stars2,935 ratings
Sale price: $6.99 (64% off)
Whiskey in a Teacup Audiobook By Reese Witherspoon cover art

1. Whiskey in a Teacup

By: Reese Witherspoon
Narrated by: Reese Witherspoon
Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
Release date: 09-18-18
4.5 out of 5 stars4,718 ratings
Herbal Antibiotics: What BIG Pharma Doesn't Want You to Know Audiobook By Mary Jones cover art

1. Herbal Antibiotics: What BIG Pharma Doesn't Want You to Know

How to Pick and Use the 45 Most Powerful Herbal Antibiotics for Overcoming Any Ailment
By: Mary Jones
Narrated by: Sherry Granader
Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 07-09-19
4.5 out of 5 stars28 ratings
Regular price: $11.69
The Other End of the Leash Audiobook By Patricia McConnell PhD cover art

1. The Other End of the Leash

Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs
By: Patricia McConnell PhD
Narrated by: Ellen Archer
Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
Release date: 06-01-16
4.5 out of 5 stars1,550 ratings
Regular price: $21.05
Training Your Own Service Dog at Home Audiobook By David Winslow cover art

1. Training Your Own Service Dog at Home

The Easy Step-By-Step Guide to Training Your Own Psychiatric Service Dog with Positive Reinforcement and Fun Games for First Time Owners
By: David Winslow
Narrated by: Russ Jankovitz
Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 02-07-24
5 out of 5 stars55 ratings
Organizing for the Rest of Us Audiobook By Dana K. White cover art

1. Organizing for the Rest of Us

100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control
Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
Release date: 01-11-22
5 out of 5 stars907 ratings
Regular price: $15.29
Second Nature Audiobook By Michael Pollan cover art

1. Second Nature

A Gardener's Education
Release date: 03-12-10
4.5 out of 5 stars1,418 ratings
Regular price: $20.00
In the Weeds Audiobook By Tom Vitale cover art

1. In the Weeds

Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain
By: Tom Vitale
Narrated by: Tom Vitale
Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars774 ratings
Regular price: $19.49
The Last Castle Audiobook By Denise Kiernan cover art

1. The Last Castle

The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
By: Denise Kiernan
Narrated by: Denise Kiernan
Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
Release date: 09-26-17
4.5 out of 5 stars937 ratings
How Dogs Love Us Audiobook By Gregory Berns cover art

1. How Dogs Love Us

A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain
By: Gregory Berns
Narrated by: LJ Ganser
Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
Release date: 10-22-13
4 out of 5 stars1,272 ratings
Regular price: $17.95
Inside of a Dog Audiobook By Alexandra Horowitz cover art

1. Inside of a Dog

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By: Alexandra Horowitz
Narrated by: Karen White
Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 03-22-16
4.5 out of 5 stars796 ratings
Regular price: $17.99
All Things Wise and Wonderful Audiobook By James Herriot cover art

1. All Things Wise and Wonderful

Series: All Creatures Great and Small, Book 3
Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
Release date: 01-05-01
5 out of 5 stars2,740 ratings
Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff Audiobook By Matt Paxton, Jordan Michael Smith - contributor cover art

1. Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff

Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life
By: Matt Paxton, Jordan Michael Smith - contributor
Narrated by: Matt Paxton
Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
Release date: 02-08-22
4.5 out of 5 stars182 ratings
Regular price: $13.50
Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps Audiobook By Mark Van Wye, Zoom Room Dog Training cover art

1. Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps

Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog
By: Mark Van Wye, Zoom Room Dog Training
Narrated by: Mark Van Wye
Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
Release date: 09-24-19
5 out of 5 stars73 ratings

1. All Things Wise and Wonderful

The Warm and Joyful Memoirs of the World's Most Beloved Animal Doctor (All Creatures Great and Small)
Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 12-27-22
5 out of 5 stars85 ratings
The Lord God Made Them All Audiobook By James Herriot cover art

1. The Lord God Made Them All

Series: All Creatures Great and Small, Book 4
Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
5 out of 5 stars2,153 ratings
Outdoor Kids in an Inside World Audiobook By Steven Rinella cover art

1. Outdoor Kids in an Inside World

Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature
Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 05-03-22
5 out of 5 stars1,302 ratings
4 in 1 Bundle Off the Grid Survival Book, Prepper's Survival Bible, How to Survive in the Woods, 10 Essential Tools to Live O

1. 4 in 1 Bundle Off the Grid Survival Book, Prepper's Survival Bible, How to Survive in the Woods, 10 Essential Tools to Live Off-Grid

Off the Grid Living, Survival & Bushcraft
By: Richard Man
Narrated by: Tom Brooks
Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 11-04-22
4.5 out of 5 stars25 ratings
World Travel Audiobook By Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever cover art

1. World Travel

An Irreverent Guide
By: Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever
Narrated by: Laurie Woolever, Shep Gordon, Christopher Bourdain, Jen Agg, Matt Walsh, Bill Buford, Claude Tayag, Nari Kye, Vidya Balachander, Steve Albini
Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
4 out of 5 stars393 ratings
Pappyland Audiobook By Wright Thompson cover art

1. Pappyland

A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last
By: Wright Thompson
Narrated by: Chris Abernathy
Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 11-10-20
4.5 out of 5 stars860 ratings
The Vegetarian Myth Audiobook By Lierre Keith cover art

1. The Vegetarian Myth

Food, Justice, and Sustainability
By: Lierre Keith
Narrated by: Joyce Bean
Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 01-25-12
4 out of 5 stars629 ratings
Upstream Audiobook By Langdon Cook cover art

1. Upstream

Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table
By: Langdon Cook
Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
Release date: 05-30-17
4.5 out of 5 stars37 ratings
Regular price: $20.25
Cork Dork Audiobook By Bianca Bosker cover art

1. Cork Dork

A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
By: Bianca Bosker
Narrated by: Bianca Bosker
Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
Release date: 03-28-17
4.5 out of 5 stars1,597 ratings
Crate Training for Puppies: How to Crate Train Your Puppy in Just 3 Days Audiobook By Ethan Adrian cover art

1. Crate Training for Puppies: How to Crate Train Your Puppy in Just 3 Days

A Step-by-Step Program so Your Pup Will Understand You!
By: Ethan Adrian
Narrated by: Nathan Rooks
Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
Release date: 11-13-18
4 out of 5 stars58 ratings
Regular price: $6.95
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Audiobook By Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp cover art

1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

A Year of Food Life
By: Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
Release date: 04-25-07
4.5 out of 5 stars2,239 ratings
Order from Chaos Audiobook By Jaclyn Paul cover art

1. Order from Chaos

The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD
By: Jaclyn Paul
Narrated by: Vanessa Daniels
Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
Release date: 05-25-21
4.5 out of 5 stars191 ratings
Tidy the F*ck Up Audiobook By Messie Condo cover art

1. Tidy the F*ck Up

The American Art of Organizing Your Sh*t
By: Messie Condo
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
Release date: 06-02-20
4.5 out of 5 stars158 ratings
Regular price: $16.00
Sacred Spaces Audiobook By Susan D. Fay PhD cover art

1. Sacred Spaces

Communion with the Horse Through Science and Spirit
By: Susan D. Fay PhD
Narrated by: Susan D. Fay PhD
Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
Release date: 03-17-22
5 out of 5 stars87 ratings
The Pet I Can’t Forget Audiobook By Karen A. Anderson cover art

1. The Pet I Can’t Forget

Finding Hope and Healing With Signs From the Afterlife
By: Karen A. Anderson
Narrated by: Mandy Grant-Grierson
Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
Release date: 12-16-23
4.5 out of 5 stars9 ratings
The Eighty-Dollar Champion Audiobook By Elizabeth Letts cover art

1. The Eighty-Dollar Champion

Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
By: Elizabeth Letts
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
5 out of 5 stars301 ratings
The Ultimate Book of Fun Things to Do in Retirement: Volume 1 Audiobook By S.C. Francis cover art

1. The Ultimate Book of Fun Things to Do in Retirement: Volume 1

By: S.C. Francis
Narrated by: S.C. Francis
Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
Release date: 06-22-23
5 out of 5 stars43 ratings
Spark Joy Audiobook By Marie Kondo cover art

1. Spark Joy

An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up
Narrated by: Sumalee Montano
Series: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Book 2
Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
Release date: 01-05-16
4.5 out of 5 stars2,831 ratings
Nobody Wants Your Sh*t Audiobook By Messie Condo cover art

1. Nobody Wants Your Sh*t

The Art of Decluttering Before You Die
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
Release date: 02-28-23
4 out of 5 stars35 ratings
The Minimalist Home Audiobook By Joshua Becker cover art

1. The Minimalist Home

A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life
By: Joshua Becker
Narrated by: Joshua Becker
Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
Release date: 12-18-18
4.5 out of 5 stars930 ratings
Nature's Best Hope Audiobook By Douglas W. Tallamy cover art

1. Nature's Best Hope

A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard
By: Douglas W. Tallamy
Narrated by: Adam Barr
Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 05-19-20
5 out of 5 stars425 ratings
The Agent's Edge Audiobook By Jordan Cohen, Mark Tabb - contributor, Sylvester Stallone cover art

1. The Agent's Edge

Secret Strategies to Win Listings and Make Your Fortune Selling Real Estate
By: Jordan Cohen, Mark Tabb - contributor, Sylvester Stallone
Narrated by: Jordan Cohen, Eric Simon, Matt Lionetti
Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
Release date: 06-06-23
5 out of 5 stars66 ratings
The Rooted Life Audiobook By Justin Rhodes cover art

1. The Rooted Life

Cultivating Health and Wholeness Through Growing Your Own Food
By: Justin Rhodes
Narrated by: Justin Rhodes
Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
Release date: 03-01-22
Regular price: $14.81
French Women Don't Get Fat Audiobook By Mireille Guiliano cover art

1. French Women Don't Get Fat

The Secret of Eating for Pleasure
By: Mireille Guiliano
Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
Release date: 12-21-05
4.5 out of 5 stars669 ratings
Wine and War Audiobook By Donald Kladstrup, Petie Kladstrup cover art

1. Wine and War

The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
By: Donald Kladstrup, Petie Kladstrup
Narrated by: Todd McLaren
Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
Release date: 03-27-12
4.5 out of 5 stars416 ratings
Regular price: $15.47
From Scratch Audiobook By Tembi Locke cover art

1. From Scratch

A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
By: Tembi Locke
Narrated by: Tembi Locke
Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
Release date: 04-30-19
4.5 out of 5 stars5,202 ratings
Humble Pie Audiobook By Gordon Ramsay cover art

1. Humble Pie

By: Gordon Ramsay
Narrated by: Gordon Ramsay
Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 10-16-06
4.5 out of 5 stars1,480 ratings
Regular price: $18.87
The Orchid Thief Audiobook By Susan Orlean cover art

1. The Orchid Thief

A True Story of Beauty and Obsession
By: Susan Orlean
Narrated by: Jennifer Meyers
Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
Release date: 08-03-01
3.5 out of 5 stars572 ratings
Regular price: $17.98
Eat a Peach Audiobook By David Chang, Gabe Ulla cover art

1. Eat a Peach

By: David Chang, Gabe Ulla
Narrated by: David Chang
Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
Release date: 09-08-20
4.5 out of 5 stars1,921 ratings
Every Living Thing Audiobook By James Herriot cover art

1. Every Living Thing

The Complete Audio Collection
Release date: 12-01-00
5 out of 5 stars1,128 ratings
Regular price: $14.99
Down and Out in Paradise Audiobook By Charles Leerhsen cover art

1. Down and Out in Paradise

The Life of Anthony Bourdain
By: Charles Leerhsen
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
Release date: 10-11-22
4 out of 5 stars340 ratings
Food: A Love Story Audiobook By Jim Gaffigan cover art

1. Food: A Love Story

By: Jim Gaffigan
Narrated by: Jim Gaffigan
Release date: 10-21-14
4.5 out of 5 stars4,056 ratings
Regular price: $15.75
In the Middle Are the Horsemen Audiobook By Tik Maynard cover art

1. In the Middle Are the Horsemen

By: Tik Maynard
Narrated by: Tik Maynard
Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
Release date: 10-24-22
Regular price: $21.49
Old-Fashioned on Purpose Audiobook By Jill Winger cover art

1. Old-Fashioned on Purpose

Cultivating a Slower, More Joyful Life
By: Jill Winger
Narrated by: Jill Winger, Andrew Eiden
Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
Release date: 09-26-23
5 out of 5 stars78 ratings
Cooked Audiobook By Michael Pollan cover art

1. Cooked

A Natural History of Transformation
Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 04-23-13
4.5 out of 5 stars2,563 ratings
No Ordinary Dog Audiobook By Will Chesney, Joe Layden cover art

1. No Ordinary Dog

My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
By: Will Chesney, Joe Layden
Narrated by: Will Chesney
Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
Release date: 04-21-20
5 out of 5 stars2,263 ratings
Speaking with Nature Audiobook By Sandra Ingerman, Llyn Roberts cover art

1. Speaking with Nature

Awakening to the Deep Wisdom of the Earth
By: Sandra Ingerman, Llyn Roberts
Narrated by: Christa Lewis, Suzie Althens
Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
Release date: 01-08-19
4.5 out of 5 stars135 ratings
The Man Who Listens to Horses Audiobook By Monty Roberts cover art

1. The Man Who Listens to Horses

By: Monty Roberts
Narrated by: Ed Sala
Release date: 05-03-18
5 out of 5 stars247 ratings
The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read Audiobook By Louise Glazebrook cover art

1. The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read

By: Louise Glazebrook
Narrated by: Louise Glazebrook
Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
Release date: 11-18-21
4.5 out of 5 stars62 ratings
Regular price: $15.98
Finding Freedom Audiobook By Erin French cover art

1. Finding Freedom

A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch
By: Erin French
Narrated by: Erin French
Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 04-06-21
5 out of 5 stars1,310 ratings
Raw Dog Audiobook By Jamie Loftus cover art

1. Raw Dog

The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs
By: Jamie Loftus
Narrated by: Jamie Loftus
Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
Release date: 05-23-23
4.5 out of 5 stars180 ratings
Teaming with Microbes Audiobook By Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis cover art

1. Teaming with Microbes

The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web
By: Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis
Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
5 out of 5 stars320 ratings
The Complete Dr. Sebi Diet Cookbook Audiobook By Stephanie Henery cover art

1. The Complete Dr. Sebi Diet Cookbook

Your Essential Guide to Reverse Diabetes and High Blood Pressure Through Dr. Sebi Alkaline Diet
By: Stephanie Henery
Narrated by: Jimmy Allen Fuller
Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
Release date: 06-22-20
My Mother's Kitchen Audiobook By Peter Gethers cover art

1. My Mother's Kitchen

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and the Meaning of Life
By: Peter Gethers
Narrated by: Peter Gethers
Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
Release date: 04-04-17
4.5 out of 5 stars20 ratings
Project 333 Audiobook By Courtney Carver cover art

1. Project 333

The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More
By: Courtney Carver
Narrated by: Courtney Carver
Release date: 03-03-20
4.5 out of 5 stars338 ratings
The Power of Awareness Audiobook By Dan Schilling cover art

1. The Power of Awareness

And Other Secrets from the World's Foremost Spies, Detectives, and Special Operators on How to Stay Safe and Save Your Life
By: Dan Schilling
Narrated by: Dan Schilling
Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
Release date: 06-01-21
4.5 out of 5 stars121 ratings
Good Clean Fun Audiobook By Nick Offerman cover art

1. Good Clean Fun

Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop
By: Nick Offerman
Narrated by: Nick Offerman
Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
Release date: 10-18-16
4.5 out of 5 stars1,606 ratings
Losing a Pet: A Book of Grief & Recovery Audiobook By Emily Newcombe cover art

1. Losing a Pet: A Book of Grief & Recovery

The Pathway to Finding Joy After Pet Loss When You Just Can’t Get Over Losing Your Soul Pet
By: Emily Newcombe
Narrated by: Hillary O'Keefe
Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins
Release date: 04-11-24
5 out of 5 stars16 ratings
Joyful Audiobook By Ingrid Fetell Lee cover art

1. Joyful

By: Ingrid Fetell Lee
Narrated by: Ingrid Fetell Lee
Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 09-04-18
4.5 out of 5 stars701 ratings
Regular price: $21.83
Folks, This Ain't Normal Audiobook By Joel Salatin cover art

1. Folks, This Ain't Normal

A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World
By: Joel Salatin
Narrated by: Joel Salatin
Release date: 10-10-11
5 out of 5 stars2,557 ratings

This program feels, to me, like Tamara Rojo's great introductory fanfare: we are going to do things differently now! This was clear from the moment we walked into the beautiful lobby of the opera house, which was strung up with papel picado and dotted with clusters of bright silk flowers, selling Mexican wedding cookies at the concession stand. The crowd (even at a Saturday matinee) was also immediately, audibly different than usual -- there were a lot, a lot, of little girls speaking Spanish with their moms and older sisters. Inside the theater proper, a beautifully quilted and embroidered scenic curtain by local textile artist Maria Guzmán Capron took the place of the usual gold velvet, and the loge was decorated by more bight artificial flowers. Down in the pit, they'd scooted the harp into the bassoons to allow for a major percussion section.
This is, after all, to my knowledge the United States' first-ever double bill of Latina choreographers, with pieces about Latina subjects, who also, by the way, both happen to be queer women. Just for that, I was and am thrilled. Part of the joy and frustration of the way ballet has thrived on the Internet is to see how other places are doing things, and for many years, I have been in a profound state of relative deprivation thanks to the staid outlook of San Francisco -- San Francisco! -- Ballet, which had never commissioned a full-length work by a female choreographer or had a female AD before Rojo, hired its first Black principal in 2022, and tended generally to tiptoe around the fact that it's in San Francisco and a bit more of the rainbow would be much appreciated on the main stage. Even its much-hoopla'd new choreography festivals tended to be samey. Dos Mujeres, to me, feels like a dramatic and intentional step forward for the whole enterprise.
And so:
CARMEN

• Choreographer: Arielle Smith
• Composer: Arturo O'Farrill
• Runtime: 39 minutes

My cast:

• Carmen: Jasmine Jimison
• Jose: Esteban Hernández (my beloved, SFB forever fave)
• Escamillo: Sasha Mukhamedov
• Gilberto: Myles Thatcher

Unfortunately, Arielle Smith's Carmen is bad! Well, it's not terrible, but it isn't good. C+
Smith takes the admittedly scanty Bizet plot and transplants it to a Cuban restaurant, where a looming projected specter of heterosexuality (Gilberto-visibly-not-played-by-Myles-Thatcher and Unnamed Dead Mother, in a fake-sepia photograph) used to cook. Upon the death of Unnamed Mother, in come Carmen and Jose, her husband, to run the place for Gilberto. In need of a chef, Carmen, Jose, and Gilberto hire Escamillo. Jealousy ensues.
The good:
This ballet has something I have never, ever seen before in a ballet: a butch. A HOT butch. Sasha Mukhamedov as Chefcamillo, complete with black muscle tank, can get it. She was wonderfully strong and sinuous with great stage presence, and her movement style was distinctly different from the other characters, making her feel genuinely apart and special. Of course, she felt wonderfully special to me. I don't think I ever would have dreamed of seeing something like this as a young person. Jasmine Jimison, who was just promoted to principal a few weeks ago, did a lot with what she was given as Carmen.
The bad:
I don't think I've ever said this about anything before, but this needed to be at least 30 minutes longer. The whole ballet is the merest wisp of an idea, like Smith said "well first this happens, and then this happens, and then this happens, and I guess I'll figure the details out when I get there." The plot is gossamer; the characters tissue. Even the choreography feels like the dancers are marking the real steps which will get put in before opening night. Classical ballet is structure: structure in the steps forming structure in the work. Those structures can be hidebound, but they are also how you convince yourself that Odette really loves Siegfried: they meet, then they have a lovely long pas de deus with unique steps about it before the plot moves on. Nobody here gets anything like that level of characterization; Carmen absolutely whizzed by as it tried to stuff a 4-act opera into 39 minutes. The few moments of really good dancing -- Hot Butch Escamillo's introduction; Carmen's pretty chaines… uh, well, I guess the two (2) moments of really good dancing -- get no time to breathe. Plot points are introduced and resolved in seconds; Carmen and Escamillo are kissing within three minutes of the latter's introduction, Jose is waving a knife around within seven, and then the ballet ends. And yes, it's nice to see some queer women kissing onstage at SFB! It's great! Could we perhaps get some feeling in it? Some dancing?
The dancing is a problem. It's uninteresting and muddled. For all the score leans into the Cuban setting, with some hints of Bizet in there for flavor, Cuban dance influence doesn't show up much in the choreography. In fact, the badly used and mustard-yellow corps does a kind of salsa move which, unfortunately, looks significantly more like Fosse than salsa. However, classical ballet is also in absentia, leaving an indistinct muddle of vaguely contemporary movement. (I like contemporary! I like it when it's good.) The corps is forced to do a Ministry of Silly Walks display to "interview" for the position of chef, which was clearly meant to be funny and was met with crickets. Worsening matters was the fact that the set was too small for the dancers. It did not use the whole stage but partitioned it into a smaller square with internal "walls," then filled that space with a large wooden bar and two sets of large wooden tables and chairs, leaving a fairly cramped, semi-triangular opening in the middle where most of the action took place. There was not enough room for the dancers to move around -- Esteban Hernández (light of my life) has to do a tormented coupé jeté manège at some point and is literally unable to do so because of all the random chairs and extra walls of the set. It may or may not be symbolic, but it's actively impeding the dancing, so sometimes the signified does actually have to take precedence over the signifier, sorry.
The ballet ends incoherently -- the program notes led me to believe Smith thinks it's a happy ending, but I think it's a perfectly fine reading of what actually appears onstage to assume that Carmen did, in fact, die of stabbing at the hands of Esteban Hernández. If it's a happy ending, I am not sure what it even is to be happy about it. It also has the unintended consequence of making everything that came before feel even more paper-thin, because it all seems to go away so lightly and easily.
A nitpick: Myles Thatcher is a handsome young guy, and given ballet companies presumably employ professional old people Principal Character Dancers for a reason, the role and purpose of the father character would have been much better served by casting an actual older man, especially since he didn't do any dancing you would need a young dancer to do.
There's also the insoluble problem that Esteban Hernández is intensely charismatic, full of ballon, and lithely graceful, and the plot isn't doing any of the necessary work to make him truly feel like a horrible, murderous jealous husband, so you kind of would rather get to see him keep dancing. Or at least, I did. I also wanted him and Sasha Mukhamedov to have a jealous PDD together and a jealous pas de trois with Carmen. But no time! No time for anyone!
Alas. I shall treasure the memory of Sexy Butch Sasha Mukhamedov forever.
​
BROKEN WINGS

• Choreographer: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
• Composer: Peter Salem, “La Llorona” sung by Chavela Vargas
• Runtime: 48 minutes

My cast:

• Frida: Nikisha Fogo
• Diego: Nathaniel Remez
• Cristina, Frida's Sister: Jihyun Choi
• Alfonso, Frida's Boyfriend: Esteban Hernández
• The Doe: Pemberley Ann Olson
• Trees and birds: the female corps
• Ten Fridas: the male corps
• Skeletons: corps members

A triumph. A! If I was being truly harsh, an A-, but why would I be when I am so thrilled this is now in the rep?
From the moment the beautiful scenic curtain lifted, I was riveted. The score, the sets, the costumes, the staging, the choreographers, and the wonderful cast came together in a masterstroke. It is wildly creative and distinctive and, most importantly, it is not the slightest bit kitsch. Lopez Ochoa obviously thought deeply and consistently about which of Frida Kahlo's qualities and works she wished to prioritize and represent, and the result is a serious analysis of her artwork and biography which also happens to be moving and beautiful in its own right. If you're at all desensitized to Frida Kahlo thanks to the sad commercialization of her image(s), I think this is the perfect antidote.
The story is highly stylized and condensed. The through-lines are artistic inspiration, disability, and Kahlo's relationship to Diego Rivera, and the timespan stretches her from youth through her death. The structure of the ballet as a whole mirrors one of the key choreographic motifs, which is the contraction and then wide expansion of the body in pain and release. The work as a whole is governed by motif, which feels appropriate. Some of the major ones are the nicho box that provides the main set element, the corps of Fridas in their voluminous faldas folklóricas and tall headdresses, the fantastical characters of Frida's paintings (especially birds and trees), the wounded deer, and the skeletons.
The corps is wonderful. The skeletons in particular stood out. They are full of character, always somewhere on stage, even if it is just one lounging off to the side, looking on attentively at the action. They vacillate between humor and menace, sometimes joking and horsing around, sometimes restraining Frida and dragging her around the stage and between stages of her life. She plays with them, hits them, wrestles with them. In one truly chilling moment, one of them presides over a miscarriage. For being fully masked, they are immensely expressive and a true achievement for Lopez Ochoa as choreographer.
The Fridas figure in much of the promotional material and are worth the attention. Played by male corps members, they are made up as so many simplified versions of Frida from her paintings: the lace ruff, the macaws, the braids, many others. The maleness of the dancers may be a reference to Self Portrait with Cropped Hair, or they may just be used practically for their relative size and strength; they often surround Frida to hide her, carry her, and provide contrast against her, and their effect is very androgynous. Frida interacts with them in a variety of ways which made me in the audience switch back and forth between seeing them as muses and reflections or reduplications of her self, sometimes very quickly, which seems apt, as the piece as a whole seems to be making an argument about Frida Kahlo's painting which rests on the interpretation that Kahlo's muse was herself. Kahlo of course had a lot more to say in her paintings, about postcolonialism, subjectivity, marginality, and on, but for a single one-act ballet, I think this particular theme is an effective choice for conveyance via dance. A particular moment where the motif felt powerful was when Frida is first seducing Diego Rivera -- she has three other Fridas with her and poses them seductively, displaying their bodies to him as she runs between them and moves their legs and hips with her hands.
The wounded deer and the fantastical creatures also play major roles and heighten the sense of marvelous real about the whole ballet -- they come and go and interact with the "real people" of the action in a variety of choreographically creative ways. Their figures and shadows interact with the inert parts of the set as well as with the live dancers, and each "subset" of corps has its own movement quality which nonetheless meshes with the others. The wounded deer walks delicately on pointe; the Fridas move with heavy, monumental rhythm, the trees clatter their fingers and feet, the birds are always turning and creating spirals and circles through the other dancers. The impression of them all when the stage is full is truly like one of Kahlo's most detailed paintings, a window into a fantastical world.
The set contributes to this impression too. The lighting and backdrops were perfect: very simple but intense color-washes behind black curtains which opened and closed to change the whole lightscape and mood of scenes. These too seemed freighted with symbolism, while fitting seamlessly with the whole and never obstructing vision, cutting light to a murky level, or clashing with the other bright colors on stage. The nicho box, however, is the star of the set: plain and battered gray from the outside, it opens again and again to display a variety of interiors: mirrors, a hospital bed, splashes of blood, excerpts from Kahlo's own diaries. I never predicted what it would open onto, and I was never disappointed.
Then also, the cast was fantastic. Nikisha Fogo was splendid in everything she did, from the fireworks of Frida's first entrance to the grounded, jerky wrestling of her last appearance. She has to speak in this role, albeit briefly, which I don't think is ever a great choice for a ballet; however, when she did, it felt natural. Nathaniel Remez did a wonderful job playing older here; he gave Diego Rivera a believable sense of gravity and fascination. Pemberley Ann Olson as the wounded deer was delicate and otherworldly. Her brief duets with Frida made me hold my breath, they seemed so unearthly.
I do have a few complaints. I understand the urge to highlight Rivera, but I think they focused on him a little too much -- he could have come and gone a little more, instead of taking up a fairly solid block in the middle. I also understand the urge to have Chavela Vargas sing for a long time, but in a short ballet, the whole of "La Llorona" is a long time. (Also, though she's there audibly, it would have been nice to have Vargas there there -- so too Georgia O'Keeffe, Josephine Baker, Kahlo's other female lovers.) The, say, ten minutes before the final tableau became a bit overlong; a slight tune-up could have done wonders. The dramaturgy falters a little as the scene as a whole becomes more surreal, which is an artistic choice, but one which I felt could have been handled to make the ending feel less abrupt. In particular, I think more directed corps dancing with Frida at the center could have made the transition to that final scene cleaner. This isn't quite a complaint, because I think the theatricality was perfectly apt and did a good job, but a lot of the later corps dancing in particular was not particularly distinctive in terms of steps or memorable phrases -- others' mileage may vary. The first third or two thirds, however, were perfect. The striking opening tableau of the skeletons, the joy and lightness of young Frida's dance with Esteban Hernández, the funny send-up of the four cygnets skeleton-style, the clever introduction of the male Fridas and the bus accident, the power of the miscarriage scene -- I would not change one single thing. I hope they restage this many, many times.
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The last thing I will say is that the whole bill, but Broken Wings especially, felt like a grand, openhearted gesture to the city of San Francisco. SF has its own close relationship to Kahlo and Rivera, and seeing them onstage, in a theater explicitly made over to honor them and local Latine artists of the present day, felt like a proper coming-home. If there's any way for you to make it to SF, Broken Wings is well worth the ticket price and having to watch Carmen first. If you can see it live, do, because the stage magic is so very magical, but a search suggests you can find the ENB version online, and if you can't make it to SF in person, then I do think it would be better than nothing! What a wonderful show.

Let me say right away that I love Mick, he is probably my favorite member of the band.
Mick's biggest character flaw imho is his poor relationship with women. This exerpt found here is a pretty good overview of some of his early relationships:

The Edith Grove hellhole having at last been abandoned during the summer of 1963, Mick and Keith relocated to a Kilburn flatshare with Andrew Oldham. Brian moved in with yet another new girlfriend’s family in Windsor. Charlie was desperate to marry his fiancée Shirley, but Mick and Andrew denied him permission. Who did they think they were?! They must have taken their lead from Brian Epstein, who forced John Lennon to conceal both his marriage to pregnant girlfriend Cynthia Powell and the birth of their baby Julian, because news of both would ‘damage the reputation’ of the Beatles. Likewise, a married Stone was an oxymoron, and something that could only be disastrous for their image. There wasn’t much that they could do about Bill, already a husband when he came on board. But he was only an auxiliary member, so blind eyes were turned.
Keith seemed to be take-it-or-leave-it about women most of the time, except when they were on the road with irresistible females such as Phil Spector’s Ronettes. Mick, on the other hand, was shameless, having his cake and eating it wherever he could. While projecting as footloose and fancy-free to the band’s hoards of hopeful, hysterical fans, and getting his end away with as many of them as possible, he had for some time been embroiled in a semi-covert, tempestuous affair with his first love. She may only have been a trainee secretary, but his pretty wannabe model and actress Chrissie came with an impressive pedigree. Her sister was Jean Shrimpton, ‘the Shrimp’, famous model and partner of celebrity photographer David Bailey. Mick had met his posh-totty builder’s daughter at John Mansfield’s Windsor Ricky Tick club, on 11 January 1963.
‘Chrissie had been a fan of Mick’s for several months, having seen them play at Ealing,’ said John. ‘Not happy to be at the back (the venue being packed by the time she made it there, through arctic conditions), she climbed on to a table and clambered into the fish nets dangling from the ceiling. Over the heads of the fans, she proceeded to crawl towards the band, helped onwards by those underneath paddling her towards the stage with their hands. This was “crowd surfing” before it had been invented. As she reached her goal, the net finally gave way and Brian had to catch her. She had literally fallen for Mick!’
The couple moved in together. But home life was not harmonious, thanks to Mick’s relentless womanising. She’d find out about the latest, he’d weep and wail at her feet, she would take him back and he would do it again. He wrote ‘Under My Thumb’ about her. What drove him to be unfaithful? We know what: biology, novelty, ego, immaturity, commitment phobia, curiosity, opportunity, you name it. Because he was who he was, and therefore could.1 If girls just wanna have fun, dirty dogs just wanna have sex, willy-nilly, with as many partners as possible. Because fame and fortune are nothing if not aphrodisiacs. Because what kind of man could Mick call himself if he didn’t rise to the occasion and take advantage of all who were dropping in his lap and falling at his feet? Don’t go there. Poor Chrissie, who only wanted happily-ever-after. With a rock star. I mean. But she was young, innocent and starry-eyed. She couldn’t have known better. They got engaged, Mick’s proposal undoubtedly prompted by yet another humiliating infidelity.
Chrissie got a job at the Stones’ label Decca, going on to work for Andrew in the band’s own management office. So that she could keep an eye on her wayward fiancé? As their popularity increased, and as female fans continued to invade their privacy and even their apartment, the relationship started to crumble. It would be destroyed, ultimately, by a girl Mick had first set eyes on at a party, when she was still a Reading convent schoolgirl on the verge of sitting her A levels. Brian, Keith and Andrew Oldham were all at the same party. Andrew waded in, visions of self-reinvention as the new Phil Spector with his own impressive stable of artists dancing in his head, and declared that he was going to make a star of the innocent seventeen-year-old. ‘I saw an angel with big tits,’ he famously said, ‘and signed her.’
Marianne Faithfull was taken at the time, by Cambridge undergraduate John Dunbar. She had a post-exam plan to follow Dunbar to university, to read English Literature, Philosophy and Comparative Religion, and then to pursue a career in the theatre. Floored by her fragile beauty, her eye-popping architecture, her raspy voice and insouciant elegance, daringly eye-shadowed Oldham proffered his calling card, which bore the words ‘Andrew Loog Oldham, darling’. He enquired, ‘Can she sing?’, didn’t bother to wait for an answer and offered her a recording contract.
Marianne’s debut was one of Mick’s and Keith’s first toddles into songwriting, the Elizabethan-flavoured ballad ‘As Tears Go By’. It was inspired by ‘As Time Goes By’, the famous song from the 1942 Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman picture Casablanca. Andrew changed ‘time’ to ‘tears’, of course he did. The twelve-string acoustic guitar on her rendition was played by future Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page. Recorded at Olympic Studios under the watchful eyes of Mick and Keith, and released on 24 August 1964, it shot to No. 9 and proved several of Oldham’s points. Marianne would later claim that Mick and Keith wrote the song for her. She would eventually admit that they probably didn’t. The Stones recorded it themselves a year later. Marianne re-recorded it when she was forty, twenty-three years after her first attempt: ‘ … and at that moment I was exactly the right age and in the right frame of mind to sing it,’ she wrote in her memoir Faithfull. ‘It was then that I truly experienced the lyrical melancholy of the song for the first time.’ The newly minted pop singer quit school, deserted her mother, and abandoned herself to relentless, gruelling, sexually abusive pop tours masquerading as stardom.
Two things about Marianne, apart from the obvious, made her irresistible to Mick. One, she had exotic and aristocratic roots, which impressed him, as he was already hobnobbing with gentry and royalty, and hoicking himself up in the world. Two, she was somebody else’s, therefore a prize to be pilfered and won.
She was descended on her mother’s side from Leopold Baron von Sacher-Masoch, author of Venus in Furs who lent his name to the syndrome masochism.2 Her mother Eva, whose name matched that of Mick’s mother, was Austro-Hungarian Baroness Erisso. Eva had danced in Berlin during the 1920s Weimar Republic era, returned to Vienna during Adolf Hitler’s climb to power, was active during the resistance, and like her Jewish mother had been raped by occupying Russian Red Army troops. She met and married British army major Glynn Faithfull, a closet eccentric of Welsh descent, and returned with him to live in England, where they welcomed their only child. But Marian Evelyn’s mismatched parents separated when she was six. Her father joined a commune, leaving mother and child to fend for themselves. A bitter divorce and greatly reduced circumstances led to her mother, who maintained delusions of grandeur, becoming a boarding school dance teacher, and subsequently scraping a living as a shoe shop assistant, a bus conductress and a café waitress.
Her first face-to-face with Mick occurred at a Ready Steady Go! party, when the inebriated rocker approached her and emptied his champagne flute down her low-cut dress. If that was all he could think of to gain her attention, he failed to impress. Marianne was on the road with Roy Orbison when Dunbar travelled to see her, and proposed to her ‘on Wigan Pier’.4 Weighed down with guilt as a result of tour affairs with Gene Pitney, Allan Clarke of the Hollies and others, Marianne seized the opportunity to redeem herself. She was desperate to draw a line under her promiscuous lifestyle. ‘The sixties and the to-hell-with-what-they-think attitude hadn’t happened yet,’ she reflected. ‘Feminism wouldn’t affect me for another fifteen years. There was John who I loved and wanted to marry … He knew me very well, and he knew that if he asked me to marry him I would just say yes … I had a child with the right man, and it was the best thing I ever did.’ Does she still think that now?
Having aborted Gene Pitney’s child, at a time when abortion was still illegal, Marianne was desperate for a baby to cleanse herself of both the sin and the crime.5 Her wish was granted in April 1965, when she discovered that she was pregnant again. But while Dunbar was back at Cambridge sitting his finals, Bob Dylan landed in London. ‘I wasn’t simply a fan,’ she admitted. ‘I worshipped him … I was quite aware that the tribute traditionally laid at the feet of pop stars by their female fans was sex. I was incredibly ambivalent. I was pregnant, I was about to be married … and what [John] didn’t know might not hurt him …’ The fantasy lingered for a bit. Bob was writing a poem about her, he told her. That old chestnut. She informed him she was with child and immediately regretted it. He threw her out, perhaps fearful that she might be planning to pin the deed on him. She married John in Cambridge the following month. His best man was Peter Asher. They honeymooned, predictably, in Paris. Just before the bride’s nineteenth birthday, she gave birth to their baby Nicholas. How fucked up was all this, how drugged, how detached, how dismally sixties?
And, wait, this is where it gets complicated. Brian Jones is by now with Anita Pallenberg, a consuming, exotic, alien creature who lures Marianne under her wing. Marianne, bored and trapped by young motherhood, who is still recording and performing though her heart is hardly in it, who resents having to be the family breadwinner, who is fed up with tripping over the bodies of John’s junkie pals all over the floors of their flat, spends less and less time at home with her husband and baby, and more and more time with Brian and Anita at their place. Keith Richards comes too. Anita is away one time, they are doing a ton of drugs, and Brian finds his way into Marianne. He is so high on Mandrax that he cannot perform. Marianne crushes on ‘beautiful, gorgeous’ Keith, with whom she is falling in love, if she’s not there already. Poor baby Nicholas is forgotten at home with his nanny, surrounded by drug addicts. Then Mick, who is still co-habiting with Chrissie, starts finding his way round to Brian’s.
‘There were lots of things I could have done at the age of nineteen that would have been more healthy than becoming Mick Jagger’s inamorata,’ wrote Marianne. ‘In the end it doesn’t matter that hearts got broken and that we sweated blood. Maybe the most you can expect from a relationship that goes bad is to come out of it with a few good songs.’
The last two standing in Mick’s hotel room in Bristol one night after a Stones gig and an impromptu after-show, they wondered about getting it together and went for a walk to decide. Inevitably, they made love. She returned to London, then took off with Nicholas and nanny to a rented villa in Positano, Italy. She arrived to find a pile of messages from Jagger. When she decided to wend her way home, motherhood was clearly not her priority. She left the nanny to drive Nicholas back. That’s a long drive for a young girl, from Positano to London. More than a thousand miles. With a baby in the back. In an unreliable car, which broke down, no one could get parts, there were no mobile phones, they didn’t speak English, the child’s wellbeing was endangered and all. But, hey.
On 15 December, when Chrissie and Mick were due to depart on holiday, she discovered that her boyfriend had disappeared. Chrissie phoned the Stones office, only to be told that their flights had been cancelled. Not even then did she twig that he must be with Marianne. But all alone in their palatial Harley House, Regent’s Park apartment with her menagerie of pets – half a dozen cats, a dog and a cageful of birds – the devastated twenty-one year-old knew that he had deserted her. She gulped back a bottle of sleeping pills, not as a cry for help, she would later protest. Without Mick, her life was over, she said. She really wanted to die. This was the first attempt at suicide that would dog Mick’s footsteps. It was by no means the last. When Mick wrote ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’, was he oblivious?
Chrissie would never get to the bottom of what happened next. Maybe it was Mick who found her, and saved her life by getting her to St George’s Hospital. She came to, only to find nursing sisters addressing her by a pseudonym. Whoever got her to hospital had taken the precaution of furnishing her with an alias, to throw the press off the scent. Perhaps the realisation that Mick’s public image was more prized than her life was Chrissie’s first step on the road to recovery.
She had little say in the way things unravelled. Wheelchaired into a truck, she was conveyed to a private clinic in North London, drugged to the false eyelashes and subjected to sleep therapy. She eventually managed to contact her parents, who came to the rescue and carried her home. Only then did she read in the papers about Marianne Faithfull. When she composed herself sufficiently to return to Harley House to collect her things, she found that the locks had been changed.
But what was the old slut Mick on? Nothing more potent or more disastrous than testosterone. It controlled him, that much is obvious. Behind Marianne’s back, he tracked Chrissie down to her new address and started turning up at all hours, demanding sex. Perhaps convincing herself that he loved her after all, and not recognising that she was being used – women crave romance, men just want breasts – she put up no fight. But whenever their paths crossed at parties, he simply ignored her. Drained of pride and confidence, she said nothing. When he stopped coming round after a year or so, the blessing was mixed.
Did Chrissie find her happily-ever-after? Kinda sorta. After falling for another rocker, Steve Marriott of the Small Faces – once bitten, forever smitten, if only by the lifestyle – she withdrew from the swinging London scene that was growing a bit threadbare and boring anyway. She married a normal guy, and had a couple of normal kids. She studied sociology, perhaps in an attempt to make sense of the everywhere and nowhere years. Did she follow Mick’s phenomenal career down the decades, watch the fantasy unravel and lament to herself, ‘All that and more could have been mine’? Or did she thank her lucky stars that she’d had a lucky escape? I want to say the latter.
Marianne, too, would be discarded. Not just yet. When someone told her that Mick had actually wanted to get with the actress Julie Christie, and set his cap at Miss Faithfull only when he found out he couldn’t have Julie, she was neither surprised nor miffed. She put it down to his ‘Dolly Fixation’. It suggests the strong possibility, more or less proven since, that ordinary-mortal females would never satisfy him. Only the most exaggerated specimens of beauty and femininity were good enough for Jagger. It speaks volumes about his personal insecurity. He would thenceforth wear his women the way a woman flaunts a designer handbag: rare, gorgeous, impossibly stylish, outrageously expensive, the best that money can buy. Only a real man loves a woman for qualities other than her reflection. Only a confident, carefree woman settles for (and admits to) the thirty-quid fake.
Life with Mick had its compensations. He was a ‘genuine haven’, Marianne said. He was ‘affectionate, interesting, funny and very attentive. He called me constantly. He wasn’t fucked up like Brian, and he didn’t do drugs (those came later). You could actually lead a life with Mick.’ She acknowledged that his money helped: she no longer had to work, not for the dosh, anyway. She dared to reconsider her theatrical aspirations. In quiet, contemplative moments, she had her misgivings. Certain things she had found disturbing about Andrew, she was beginning to recognise in Mick.
‘[They] were birds of a feather. [Mick] was camp and he wore make-up, at a time when this was still very unusual. I had an inkling that there was a sexual undercurrent between them. I think I knew in some part of my mind that Mick was bisexual … but what I somehow thought that meant was that he would be nicer to me. “Real men” scared me, but Andrew didn’t, and Mick felt safe and easy to be around.’
You see where she was going with this. She actually wanted a ‘real man’. The one that she wanted was Keith. She turned to the Stones’ new business manager Allen Klein for advice, inexplicably, and confessed that her heart lay elsewhere. Rottweiler Klein warned her that Mick would be destroyed by such betrayal. Klein was unlikely to have been prioritising Mick’s personal wellbeing as he articulated those words. If she dumped Mick for his boyhood pal, bandmate and crucially his songwriting partner, she would kill the Rolling Stones. Persuading Marianne to stick with Mick and leave Keith well alone was in Klein’s best interests, not hers.
Marianne, oblivious of financial implications, heeded Klein’s words. Still, one for the road, baby, shall we? Why not? She wound up at Brian and Anita’s. The cat was away. She dropped acid with Brian, Keith and Tara Browne, their friend the Guinness heir, fully aware that they all wanted to have sex with her. She fumbled with Brian, but something made her get the hell out. She found her way back to the marital abode. And then the phone rang. It was Keith. He picked her up in a cab, and they went back to the May Fair Hotel, where Marianne had been staying prior to the acid trip.
And that, she said, ‘was the night I ended up with Keith. It was a wonderful night of sex. As a matter of fact, that night with Keith was the best night I’ve ever had in my life … It was sublime. I was in heaven. I had always been in love with Keith, but very shyly. Now I was totally bowled over.’
But the over-endowed cherub’s ecstasy was short-lived. As he was dressing to leave the next morning, the guitarist uttered unforgettably crushing words: ‘You know who really has it bad for you, don’t you? … Go on, love, give him a jingle, he’ll fall off his chair. He’s not that bad when you get to know him, you know.’
And she simply accepted it. Passed like a box of Turkish Delight from Brian to Mick to Keith, then back to Mick, Marianne became the first unofficial Stones broad. Had she been a little older, a lot wiser, she would have told Keith in no uncertain terms that she loved him. Perhaps she was wiser than she knew. Something stopped her. She must have known already that Keith was in love with Brian’s girlfriend Anita. He would screw whoever he liked, but he had eyes only for her.
Marianne and Mick moved from Harley House into a place on Chester Square, and eventually into an impressive mansion on Cheyne Walk, beside the River Thames. She furnished it lavishly, on money her parsimonious partner was loath to spend. They did a lot of drugs – she worked her way from cannabis to cocaine before she got to heroin – had a lot of sex, and did a lot of talking – though not so much about meaningful, personal things; and only when Mick was not otherwise engaged with his endless stream of sycophantic visitors. She told him almost everything. Her lesbian affairs she mostly kept to herself. Mick’s homoerotic fantasies about Keith, he shared with her openly, to her astonishment. It disturbed her because she was still in love with the guitarist. In 1968, when Mick decided to become a movie star and got involved with directors Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg on the notorious film Performance, Marianne’s gut told her that she needed to distance herself from the ‘seething cauldron’ that the production rapidly became. She relocated to Ireland with her mother and three-year-old Nicholas. Now pregnant with Mick’s baby, a daughter they named Corrina, she was determined that the child would have the best start possible, away from the madness that was consuming her partner in London. But she failed to carry the baby to term, and miscarried at seven months. Both she and Mick were devastated.
Any miscarriage is a terrible experience. But to lose a baby at such a late stage is a trauma from which it can be impossible to recover. Marianne would have been approximately twenty-eight weeks along, if she had calculated her dates correctly. Given that a full-term pregnancy lasts around forty weeks, and that a loss can only be termed a miscarriage up to twenty-four completed weeks of pregnancy, she technically suffered a stillbirth. When a baby dies before she is born, it is usual today for an obstetrician or midwife to induce labour. Marianne did not say whether she gave birth to Corrina naturally. Nor did she describe what happened afterwards. Was Mick with her? Did they get to see, even hold, their dead baby? Did they take photographs, keep the blanket that she was wrapped in, register her birth and give her a funeral (all of which are recognised aids to recovery)? Did her parents receive bereavement support? It seems unlikely. Marianne has indicated that she and Mick never discussed it. His way of dealing with it was to immerse himself in work, and in his affair with American actress Marsha Hunt. To add insult to injury, it was Marsha who would bear Mick his first child, in November 1970, their daughter Karis.
Mick and Marianne stayed together for four years. She knew that it was only a matter of time before her life, emotions and habits would become fodder for Stones’ songs, just as Chrissie’s had. Not only for songs, but for newspaper column inches and full-scale media speculation. Where Chrissie had seemed to lap up the attention, Marianne hated it. But she acknowledged that Mick’s affairs inspired some classic hits.
They were the most beautiful couple of the 1960s. Marianne was Mick’s muse. She beefed up his basic knowledge of dance, classical music and literature. She sophisticated him, and raised his game. It was she who gifted him a copy of Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita: a controversial work of philosophy that dissects the concepts of good and evil and their impact on human life, concluding that the two are inter-dependent. It inspired the song that many regard as the Stones’ finest and most defining hour, ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. She stood by Mick throughout his 1967 drugs trial and brief imprisonment. But she was deeply disturbed by a double betrayal, by both her partner and her best friend Anita Pallenberg … who had left Brian and was by then Keith’s girlfriend. What happened? Anita, Mick’s co-star in Performance, had slept with Mick for real (as opposed to ‘just acting’). With three Stones notched on her bedpost, she had by default superseded Marianne as the band’s unofficial broad. More of which, coming.
Marianne’s depression was compounded by the mental frailty of Brian Jones, who never got over the betrayal by his bandmate. Brian’s death by drowning in July 1969 seemed to tip Marianne over the edge. Like Anita and Keith, she and Mick stayed away from his funeral. Guilt? Fear? Couldn’t be bothered? All three? The Jaggers set off for Sydney, Australia, where Mick was about to begin filming the doomed biopic Ned Kelly.6 A hallucination of Brian drove Marianne to attempt suicide. She would have hurled herself from the window of their fourteenth-floor suite, but couldn’t get it open because the wooden frame was sealed with paint. So she swallowed 150 Tuinal barbiturates, a highly addictive depressant, washed down with hot chocolate. Mick found her just in time, and rushed her to hospital. He had been here before, hadn’t he. Marianne’s mother flew down to assist. The last rites were administered at Marianne’s bedside by a Roman Catholic priest. Mick wasn’t there for that bit. He was back on set, going on with the show. He was also writing passionate letters to Marsha Hunt, while his suicidal girlfriend was recuperating.
Back in London, against steep odds, Marianne won the role of Ophelia in a Roundhouse production of Hamlet, opposite Anthony Hopkins as Claudius. Her understudy was Anjelica Huston. The leading lady took smack before she went on. She couldn’t stand that Mick was still seeing Marsha, and was tormented by the gossip about him and Anita. So she started an affair of her own, with Italian artist Mario Schifano. Jagger was incensed. He turned up at the Berkshire cottage he had purchased for Marianne’s mother Eva to find the lovers ensconced. A scrap ensued, which Jagger won. It was Mick who slept in the bed with Maid Marianne that night. Mario left at dawn. Era finito.
She left Mick in 1970. Helplessly addicted to heroin, she lost custody of Nicholas. She slept rough for two years in St Anne’s Court, Soho, in those days the location of one of the world’s most famous recording studios.7 The Chinese restaurant in that cut-through, which we journalists used to frequent, served lethal cocktails in plastic washing-up bowls with a straw for each person. They kindly allowed her to wash her clothes on their premises. A stallholder nearby used to bring her cups of tea. She was on an NHS drugs programme at the time, and had to present in person daily at a local chemist’s to get her twenty-five jacks of heroin. According to Catherine James, the American model whom Mick moved into Cheyne Walk soon after Marianne moved out, she tried desperately to get Mick to take her back. What baffles me is his callousness and meanness. How was he able to wash his hands of her and walk away?
Whatever. Their love affair was over. The woman who had inspired ‘Wild Horses’, ‘Dear Doctor’ and ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ was left penniless.
Marianne married punk rocker Ben Brierly in 1979, but they divorced seven years later. She submitted to treatment for her drug addiction in 1985, at Minnesota’s Hazelden Clinic, where Eric Clapton had been a patient, and fell into a relationship with fellow inmate Howard Tose. When she told him it was over, he jumped to his death from the window of their Boston apartment. Her three-year third marriage, to American writer Giorgio Della Terza, also ended in divorce. In 2009, she separated from her lover of fifteen years, French record and film producer François Ravard, who had helped nurse her through her 2005 bout of breast cancer. He continued to act as her manager. She would recall a night when she lay recovering from cancer surgery in a Paris hospital room, when the phone rang at around two in the morning. ‘This voice came on,’ she said. ‘ “Hello, Marian, how are you?” I’d know that voice anywhere, he’s the only one who ever called me “Marian”. We had a chat. It was lovely.’ It was the first time in thirty-five years that Jagger had called her.

New Releases for April 2024

Data courtesy http://www.bookreporter.com
For more discussion, see the monthly New Releases post.

Title	Author	ReleaseDate
Adventure
A Short Walk Through a Wide World	Douglas Westerbeke	April 2, 2024
I Cheerfully Refuse	Leif Enger	April 2, 2024
The Underhanded	Adam Sikes	April 2, 2024
A Calamity of Souls	David Baldacci	April 16, 2024
Biography
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarian...	James Patterson	April 8, 2024
Ian Fleming	Nicholas Shakespeare	April 9, 2024
LeBron	Jeff Benedict	April 9, 2024
This Fresh Existence	Cindy Rasicot	April 9, 2024
Everest, Inc.	Will Cockrell	April 16, 2024
My Beloved Monster	Caleb Carr	April 16, 2024
The Rulebreaker	Susan Page	April 23, 2024
Crime
Circle in the Water	Marcia Muller	April 23, 2024
Granite Harbor	Peter Nichols	April 30, 2024
Essays
A View from the Stars	Cixin Liu	April 2, 2024
We Loved It All	Lydia Millet	April 2, 2024
Fantasy
Disquiet Gods	Christopher Ruocchio	April 2, 2024
The Familiar	Leigh Bardugo	April 9, 2024
A Letter to the Luminous Deep	Sylvie Cathrall	April 23, 2024
Dragon Rider	Taran Matharu	April 23, 2024
Fiction
Such Kindness	Andre Dubus III	April 2, 2024
The Half Moon	Mary Beth Keane	April 2, 2024
Choice	Neel Mukherjee	April 2, 2024
Habitations	Sheila Sundar	April 2, 2024
The Cemetery of Untold Stories	Julia Alvarez	April 2, 2024
The Stone Home	Crystal Hana Kim	April 2, 2024
A History of Present Illness	Anna DeForest	April 2, 2024
Village Weavers	Myriam J. A. Chancy	April 2, 2024
Mania	Lionel Shriver	April 9, 2024
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers	Samuel Burr	April 9, 2024
Negative Space	Gillian Linden	April 16, 2024
The Late Americans	Brandon Taylor	April 23, 2024
Lucky	Jane Smiley	April 23, 2024
888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers	Abraham Chang	April 30, 2024
Colton Gentry's Third Act	Jeff Zentner	April 30, 2024
Crow Talk	Eileen Garvin	April 30, 2024
Real Americans	Rachel Khong	April 30, 2024
Gothic
The House on Biscayne Bay	Chanel Cleeton	April 2, 2024
The Garden	Clare Beams	April 9, 2024
Historical Fiction
Max's War	LibFischer Hellmann	April 2, 2024
All We Were Promised	Ashton Lattimore	April 2, 2024
Ash Dark as Night	Gary Phillips	April 2, 2024
Clear	Carys Davies	April 2, 2024
Table for Two	Amor Towles	April 2, 2024
The Murder of Mr. Ma	John Shen Yen Nee	April 2, 2024
The Titanic Surviviors Book Club	Timothy Schaffert	April 2, 2024
The Strange Case of the Pharaoh’s Heart	Timothy Miller	April 2, 2024
The Widow Spy	Megan Campisi	April 9, 2024
A Killing on the Hill	Robert Dugoni	April 9, 2024
The Clock Struck Murder	Betty Webb	April 9, 2024
The Beautiful People	Michelle Gable	April 16, 2024
The Fourth Enemy	Anne Perry	April 16, 2024
The Evolution of Annabel Craig	Lisa Grunwald	April 16, 2024
Thorn Tree	Max Ludington	April 16, 2024
Miss Morgan's Book Brigade	Janet Skeslien Charles	April 30, 2024
Only the Brave	Danielle Steel	April 30, 2024
The Girl from the Grand Hotel	Camille Aubray	April 30, 2024
History
All You Need Is Love	Peter Brown	April 9, 2024
The Wide Wide Sea	Hampton Sides	April 9, 2024
The First Lady of World War II	Shannon McKenna Schmidt	April 9, 2024
To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth	Phil Keith	April 9, 2024
Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I	Tracy Borman	April 16, 2024
An Unfinished Love Story	Doris Kearns Goodwin	April 16, 2024
Your Presence Is Mandatory	Sasha Vasilyuk	April 23, 2024
Horror
The Gathering	C. J. Tudor	April 9, 2024
Indian Burial Ground	Nick Medina	April 16, 2024
Humor
Just for the Summer	AbJimenez	April 2, 2024
Wedding Issues	Elle Evans	April 2, 2024
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell	Abbi Waxman	April 16, 2024
Funny Story	Emily Henry	April 23, 2024
Truly, Madly, Deeply	Alexandria Bellefleur	April 30, 2024
Memoir
My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy	Clint Hill	April 2, 2024
This Familiar Heart	Babette Fraser Hale	April 2, 2024
Fi	Alexandra Fuller	April 9, 2024
The Wives	Simone Gorrindo	April 9, 2024
A Book of Days	Patti Smith	April 16, 2024
The Light We Carry	Michelle Obama	April 16, 2024
Did I Ever Tell You?	Genevieve Kingston	April 16, 2024
Knife	Salman Rushdie	April 16, 2024
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City	Jane Wong	April 30, 2024
Mystery
Murder, She Wrote	Jessica Fletcher	April 2, 2024
Nosy Neighbors	Freya Sampson	April 2, 2024
The Sicilian Inheritance	Jo Piazza	April 2, 2024
The Rope Artist	Fuminori Nakamura	April 2, 2024
Daughter of Mine	Megan Miranda	April 9, 2024
Toxic Prey	John Sandford	April 9, 2024
A Fondness for Truth	Kim Hays	April 16, 2024
Close to Death	Anthony Horowitz	April 16, 2024
Feline Fatale	Rita Mae Brown	April 16, 2024
It Had to Be You	Mary Higgins Clark	April 16, 2024
Pay Dirt	Sara Paretsky	April 16, 2024
While We Were Burning	Sara Koffi	April 16, 2024
A Spy Like Me	Kim Sherwood	April 23, 2024
Lost Birds	Anne Hillerman	April 23, 2024
Next of Kin	Samantha Jayne Allen	April 23, 2024
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies	Catherine Mack	April 30, 2024
Missing White Woman	Kellye Garrett	April 30, 2024
Romance
Sandcastle Inn	Irene Hannon	April 2, 2024
The Reaper Follows	Heather Graham	April 2, 2024
How to End a Love Story	Yulin Kuang	April 9, 2024
The Finders Keepers Library	Annie Rains	April 16, 2024
Science Fiction
Stan Lee's The Devil's Quintet	Jay Bonansinga	April 30, 2024
Short Stories
A Kind of Madness	Uche Okonkwo	April 16, 2024
Suspense
Matterhorn	Christopher Reich	April 1, 2024
Rogue Justice	Stacey Abrams	April 2, 2024
The End of the Road	Andrew Welsh-Huggins	April 2, 2024
The Father She Went to Find	Carter Wilson	April 2, 2024
City in Ruins	Don Winslow	April 2, 2024
Don't Turn Around	Harry Dolan	April 2, 2024
She's Not Sorry	Mary Kubica	April 2, 2024
A Better World	Sarah Langan	April 9, 2024
One of Us Knows	Alyssa Cole	April 16, 2024
The Murder Inn	James Patterson	April 16, 2024
Nothing But the Bones	Brian Panowich	April 16, 2024
You Know What You Did	K. T. Nguyen	April 16, 2024
Assassin Eighteen	John Brownlow	April 23, 2024
Extinction	Douglas Preston	April 23, 2024
Safe and Sound	Laura McHugh	April 23, 2024
Home Is Where the Bodies Are	Jeneva Rose	April 30, 2024
With My Little Eye	Joshilyn Jackson	April 30, 2024
Thriller
Darling Girls	Sally Hepworth	April 23, 2024
True Crime
Behold the Monster	Jillian Lauren	April 30, 2024
Women's Fiction
The Lies Among Us	Sarah Beth Durst	April 1, 2024
The Husbands	Holly Gramazio	April 2, 2024
The Marriage Sabbatical	Lian Dolan	April 2, 2024
Things I Wish I Told My Mother	Susan Patterson	April 2, 2024
The Limits	Nell Freudenberger	April 9, 2024
Fire Rush	Jacqueline Crooks	April 16, 2024
The Paris Novel	Ruth Reichl	April 23, 2024
The Summer We Started Over	Nancy Thayer	April 23, 2024
Must Love Flowers	Debbie Macomber	April 23, 2024
Days of Wonder	Caroline Leavitt	April 23, 2024
Within Arm's Reach	Ann Napolitano	April 30, 2024
Carmen and Grace	Melissa Coss Aquino	April 30, 2024

The Hugo Readalong is back and ready to dive in to some 2024 finalists. As regulars have likely heard, there was more than a bit of controversy in last year's awards, and many Hugo voters (including most of us) are convinced the votes were not correctly counted. So why are we doing this again? Two reasons. First of all, those responsible for last year's catastrophe have been removed from positions of leadership, and the Glasgow Worldcon has committed to a transparency they've already begun to demonstrate in the release of 2024 finalists. Second, it's a whole lot of fun to get together and talk about books. We're doing this for us. And for you. Honestly, the more the merrier.
For those who have not participated in the past, let me provide a little background. Our habit is to spend about three months reading and discussing the Hugo Award finalists in the Novel, Novella, Novelette, and Short Story categories. This year, with the exception of one holiday week, we'll be dedicating Mondays to novels and novellas and Thursdays to short fiction. In addition, because of the relatively early release of the shortlist, we will be able to discuss a bonus category, and so six of our Thursday sessions will spotlight selections from the six finalists for Best Semiprozine.
This is very much a drop-in book club, and while you'll see some regulars, anyone is welcome to come discuss books with us as much or as little as they like. There will be one discussion session each for the novels and novellas, whereas the shorter fiction will feature 2-3 stories per discussion session.
This is the schedule we plan to follow:

Date	Category	Book	Author	Discussion Leader
Thursday, April 11	Novelette	On the Fox Roads and Ivy, Angelica, Bay	Nghi Vo and C.L. Polk	u/onsereverra
Monday, April 15	Novella	The Mimicking of Known Successes	Malka Older	u/sarahlynngrey
Thursday, April 18	Semiprozine: khōréō	Dragonsworn, The Field Guide for Next Time, and For However Long	L Chan, Rae Mariz, and Thomas Ha	u/picowombat
Monday, April 22	Novel	Some Desperate Glory	Emily Tesh	u/onsereverra
Thursday, April 25	Short Story	How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub, The Sound of Children Screaming, The Mausoleum’s Children	P. Djèlí Clark, Rachael K. Jones, Aliette de Bodard	u/fuckit_sowhat
Monday, April 29	Novella	Thornhedge	T. Kingfisher	u/Moonlitgrey
Thursday, May 2	Semiprozine: GigaNotoSaurus	Old Seeds and Any Percent	Owen Leddy and Andrew Dana Hudson	u/tarvolon
Monday, May 6	Novel	The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi	Shannon Chakraborty	u/onsereverra
Thursday, May 9	Semiprozine: Uncanny	The Coffin Maker, A Soul in the World, and The Rain Remembers What the Sky Forgets	AnaMaria Curtis, Charlie Jane Anders, and Fran Wilde	u/picowombat
Monday, May 13	Novella	Mammoths at the Gates	Nghi Vo	u/Moonlitgrey
Thursday, May 16	Novelette	The Year Without Sunshine and One Man’s Treasure	Naomi Kritzer and Sarah Pinsker	u/picowombat
Monday, May 20	Novel	The Saint of Bright Doors	Vajra Chandrasekera	u/lilbelleandsebastian
Thursday, May 23	Semiprozine: Strange Horizons	TBD	TBD	u/DSnake1
Monday, May 27	No Session	US Holiday	Enjoy a Break	Be Back Thursday
Thursday, May 30	Novel	Witch King	Martha Wells	u/baxtersa
Monday, June 3	Novella	Rose/House	Arkady Martine	u/Nineteen_Adze
Thursday, June 6	Semiprozine: Escape Pod	TBD	TBD	u/sarahlynngrey
Monday, June 10	Novel	Starter Villain	John Scalzi	u/Jos_V
Thursday, June 13	Novelette	I Am AI and Introduction to the 2181 Overture, Second Edition	Ai Jiang and Gu Shi (translated by Emily Jin)	u/tarvolon
Monday, June 17	Novella	Seeds of Mercury	Wang Jinkang (translated by Alex Woodend)	u/Nineteen_Adze
Thursday, June 20	Semiprozine: FIYAH	TBD	TBD	u/Moonlitgrey
Monday, June 24	Novel	Translation State	Ann Leckie	u/fuckit_sowhat
Thursday, June 27	Short Story	Better Living Through Algorithms, Answerless Journey, and Tasting the Future Delicacy Three Times	Naomi Kritzer, Han Song (translated by Alex Woodend), and Baoshu	u/picowombat
Monday, July 1	Novella	Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet	He Xi (translated by Alex Woodend)	u/sarahlynngrey
Thursday, July 4	No Session	US Holiday	Enjoy a Break	Wrap-ups Next Week
Monday, July 8	Pro/Fan/Misc	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/tarvolon
Tuesday, July 9	Short Fiction	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/Nineteen_Adze
Wednesday, July 10	Novella	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/Nineteen_Adze
Thursday, July 11	Novel	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/tarvolon

Let me finish with a couple notes:

• You may have noticed three sessions marked "TBD." While we were easily able to find stories we wanted to highlight from three of the Semiprozine finalists, the Hugo Readalong organizers have read a little bit less from the last three, and we wanted to avoid repeating a discussion from Short Fiction Book Club (which read Strange Horizons' Nebula finalist back in February), given that the entirety of SFBC leadership is also Hugo Readalong leadership. We're happy to consider suggestions for the Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, and FIYAH spotlights, and if the annual Hugo Voter Packet is released sufficiently early, we will give extra consideration to the works highlighted there. We will make sure announce the stories up for discussion at least two weeks prior to the session.
• The short fiction that is available for free online is linked here. I Am AI is currently being sold as an ebook for $2.99, and many of the Chinese-language stories are translated in the anthology Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers. We expect but cannot guarantee that these will be provided to Hugo voters in the Hugo Voter Packet. Non-voters who wish to participate in discussions should explore options to buy or borrow the relevant books.
• One story, "Tasting the Future Delicacy Three Times" by Baoshu, does not appear to currently have an English translation. We hope but cannot guarantee that it will be translated before our scheduled discussion on June 27. If not, our lack of Chinese speakers will limit our ability to discuss that particular story.
• Because the Short Fiction Book Club organizers are also Hugo Readalong organizers, Short Fiction Book Club will be on hiatus for the months of April, May, June, and July. We will still post our monthly discussion thread on the last Wednesday of every month, but the short fiction discussions in the Hugo Readalong will take the place of our regular SFBC meetings.

I've seen some people post screenshots of the game's bibliography, but I hadn't found a plain text version (which would be much easier to work from), so I put together a complete typed version - citation style irregularities included. I checked through the full list and found that only four of the forty sources can't be found easily through a search engine. One has no English translation and I'm not even close to fluent enough in German to be able to actually translate an academic article, so I can't help there. For the other three (an old museum exhibit book, a master's thesis, and portions of a primary source that has not been entirely translated into English), I tracked down links to accessible versions, which are included with their entries on the list.
If you want to read one of the journal articles but can't access it due to paywalls, try out 12ft.io or the unpaywall browser extension (works on Firefox and most chromium browsers, I think). I have very little expectation that people will actually be reading through this whole ass bibliography, but if there's something you do have interest in but can't track down, let me know, and I can try to help! I'm very good at finding things lmao
Okay, happy reading, love you bye
...
Beach, Alison I. Women as Scribes: Book Production and Monastic Reform in Twelfth-Century Bavaria. Cambridge Univeristy Press, 2004.
Berger, Jutta Maria. Die Geschichterder Gastfreundschaft im hochmittel alterlichen Monchtum: die Cistercienser. Akademie Verlag GmbH, 1999. [No translation found.]
Blickle, Peter. The Revolution of 1525. Translated by Thomas A. Brady, Jr. and H.C. Erik Midelfort. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.
Brady, Thomas A., Jr. “Imperial Destinies: A New Biography of the Emperor Maximilian I.” The Journal of Modern History, vol 62, no. 2., 1990. pp.298-314.
Brandl, Rainer. “Art or Craft: Art and the Artist in Medieval Nuremberg.” Gothic and Renaissance Art in Nuremberg 1300-1550. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. [LINK]
Byars, Jana L., “Prostitutes and Prostitution in Late Medieval Bercelona.” Masters Theses. Western Michigan University, 1997. [LINK]
Cashion, Debra Taylor. “The Art of Nikolaus Glockendon: Imitation and Originality in the Art of Renaissance Germany.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art, vol 2, no. 1-2, 2010.
de Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. Phaidon Press Limited, 1986.
Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose. Translated by William Weaver. Mariner Books, 2014.
Eco, Umberto. Baudolino. Translated by William Weaver. Mariner Books, 2003.
Fournier, Jacques. “The Inquisition Records of Jacques Fournier.” Translated by Nancy P. Stork. Jan Jose Univeristy, 2020. [LINK]
Geary, Patrick. “Humiliation of Saints.” In Saints and their cults: studies in religious sociology, folklore, and history. Edited by Stephen Wilson. Cambridge University Press, 1985. pp. 123-140
Harrington, Joel F. The Faithrul Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.
Hertzka, Gottfired and Wighard Strehlow. Grosse Hildegard-Apotheke. Christiana-Verlag, 2017.
Hildegard von Bingen. Physica. Edited by Reiner Hildebrandt and Thomas Gloning. De Gruyter, 2010.
Julian of Norwich. Revelations of Divine Love. Translated by Barry Windeatt. Oxford Univeristy Press, 2015.
Karras, Ruth Mazo. Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others. Routledge, 2017.
Kerr, Julie. Monastic Hospitality: The Benedictines in England, c.1070-c.1250. Boudell Press, 2007.
Kieckhefer, Richard. Forbidden rites: a necromancer’s manual of the fifteenth century. Sutton, 1997.
Kuemin, Beat and B. Ann Tlusty, The World of the Tavern: Public Houses in Early Modern Europe. Routledge, 2017.
Ilner, Thomas, et al. The Economy of Duerrnberg-Bei-Hallein: An Iron Age Salt-mining Center in the Austrian Alps. The Antiquaries Journal, vol 83, 2003. pp. 123-194
Lang, Benedek. Unlocked Books: Manuscripts of Learned Magic in the Medieval Libraries of Central Europe. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008
Lindeman, Mary. Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Lowe, Kate. “’Representing’ Africa: Ambassadors and Princes from Christian Africa to Renaissance Italy and Portugal, 1402-1608.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society Sixth Series, vol 17, 2007. pp. 101-128
Meyers, David. “Ritual, Confession, and Religion in Sixteenth-Century Germany.” Archiv fuer Reformationsgenshichte, vol. 89, 1998. pp. 125-143.
Murat, Zuleika. “Wall paintings through the ages: the medieval period (Italy, twelfth to fifteenth century).” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, vol 23, no. 191. Springer, October 2021. pp. 1-27.
Overty, Joanne Filippone. “The Cost of Doing Scribal Business: Prices of Manuscript Books in England, 1300-1483.” Book History 11, 2008. pp. 1-32.
Page, Sophie. Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occullt Approaches to the Medieval Universe. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2013.
Park, Katharine. “The Criminal and the Saintly Body: Autopsy and Dissectionin Renaissance Italy.” Renaissance Quarterly, vol 47, no. 1, Spring 1994. pp. 1-33.
Rebel, Hermann. Peasant Classes: The Bureaucratization of Property and Family Relations under Early Habsburg Absolutism, 1511-1636. Princeton University Press, 1983.
Rublack, Ulinka. “Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Female Body in Early Modern Germany.” Past & Present,vol. 150, no. 1, February 1996.
Salvador, Matteo. “The Ethiopian Age of Exploration: Prester John’s Discovery of Europe, 1306-1458.” Journal of World History, vol. 21, no. 4, 2011. pp.593-627.
Sangster, Alan. “The Earliest Known Treatise on Double Entry Bookkeeping by Marino de Raphaeli.” The Accounting Historians Journal, vol. 42, no. 2, 2015. pp. 1-33.
Throop, Priscilla. Hildegarde von Bingen’s Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing. Healing Arts Press, 1998.
Usher, Abbott Payson. “The Origins of Banking: The Brimitive Bank of Deposit, 1200-1600.” The Economic History Review, vol. 4, no. 4. 1934. pp.399-428.
Waldman, Louis A. “Commissioning Art in Florence for Matthias Corvinus: The Painter and Agent Alexander Formoser and his Sons, Jacopo and Raffaello del Tedesco.” Italy and Hungary: Humanism and Art in the Early Renaissance. Edited by Peter Farbaky and Louis A. Waldman, Villa I Tatti, 2011. pp.427-501.
Wendt, Ulrich. Kultur and Jagd: ein Birschgang durch die Geschichte. G. Reimer, 1907.
Whelan, Mark. “Taxes, Wagenburgs and a Nightingale: The Imperial Abbey of Ellwangen and the Hussite Wars, 1427-1435.” The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 72, no. 4, 2021, pp.751-777.
Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Yardeni, Ada. The Book of Hebrew Script: History, Palaeography, Script Styles, Calligraphy & Design. Tyndale House Publishers, 2010.

Note: Names may or may not change later on.
I’m posting for the names first. Short story and biography of the characters will be some other time.
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• Jax — Glen Stewart: Don’t really much of a reason for the first name. I was just trying to think of the dorkiest name to ever give him. (Bc I like to imagine Jax as a bullied loser in the real world.) As for the surname, again, not much reason. So, I think I might change it soon.
  
• Pomni — Courtney Freeborn: I didn’t want her name to start with P. But, I also wanted it to be 2 syllables too. And then I randomly thought “Hey! The name Courtney has ‘ni’ just like Pomni, and they’re both 2 syllables. So, why not?”
  

And the surname, there are 2 reasons why I made it that:

One; I thought it would be a funny reference to Pomni’s VA Lizzie Freeman.
Two; because of the cypher thing.
Pomni - Remember
XDDCC - Out
And the other set of letters that were peeking out just above “xddcc”, which I heard was a cypher for “GET”. So, in a specific order, it would say: “Remember, get out.” Or “Get out. Remember.”
So, I thought giving her real-world self a surname with the word “free” in it, would be funny.

• Ragatha — Anne Hart: “Anne”, Raggedy “Anne”. Need I say more? The last name… irdk… Hart was pronounced as “Heart” and Ragatha is a sweetheart so— Yeah, I’m gonna shut up now.
  
• Zooble — Alex _____: I’m working on it…. I don’t know that much gender neutral names. This is sort of just a default until I find a good one. No last name yet. I’m sorry, I love Zooble but their such an unreadable character. It’s hard for me to find a good name. 😭
  
• Gangle — Violetta Sallow: There was this one character in an anime who is completely unrelated to TADC, that Gangle reminded me of. She was cute and timid. Her name wasn’t Violetta but it WAS a nickname given to her. So, I used that as Gangle’s name. Surname was just because, I thought it rolled off the tongue really well with Violetta.
  
• Kinger — Henry Kingston: I couldn’t be any more obvious with this one.
  
• Queenie — Charlotte or Elizabeth (and is under the same last name as the one above): Both names mean or are related to Queen. So…..
  

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I wanted to come up with a Kaufmo name, but just like Zooble, it’s difficult to think of one. So….