Warren University has long stood amongst the ivy elite, built on the bones—and forbidden magic—of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright, no matter the cost to those lost along the way.

From the critically acclaimed author of Atlas of Unknowns and Aerogrammes, a tour de force set in South India that plumbs the moral complexities of the ivory trade through the eyes of a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and, in a feat of audacious imagination, an infamous elephant known as the Gravedigger.

Orphaned by poachers as a calf and sold into a life of labor and exhibition, the Gravedigger breaks free of his chains and begins terrorizing the countryside, earning his name from the humans he kills and then tenderly buries. Manu, the studious younger son of a rice farmer, loses his cousin to the Gravedigger's violence and is drawn, with his wayward brother Jayan, into the sordid, alluring world of poaching. Emma is a young American working on a documentary with her college best friend, who witnesses the porous boundary between conservation and corruption and finds herself in her own moral gray area, a risky affair with the veterinarian who is the film's subject. As the novel hurtles toward its tragic climax, these three storylines fuse into a wrenching meditation on love and betrayal, fact and myth, duty and sacrifice.

With lyricism and suspense, Tania James animates the rural landscapes where Western idealism clashes with local reality; where a farmer's livelihood can be destroyed by a rampaging elephant; where men are driven to poaching by extreme poverty; where elephants are seen as both god and menace. In James's arrestingly beautiful prose, The Tusk That Did the Damage tells a wholly original and unforgettable story about our relationship with an animal that has mesmerized us for centuries.

A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

bookclub_dw

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

• Avalanche v. Kings: I'm glad Anze Kopitar gets one last playoff series. However, I feel like this years' Avs are pretty similar to the 2013 Blackhawks - a runaway train. Good luck with that.


• Stars v. Wild: This is where Bettman's current playoff scheme really sucks. Both Dallas and Minnesota have more points than any team in the Pacific Division and it's not even close. Dallas should be playing Utah and Minnesota should be playing the Ducks. I'm hoping Dallas gets through, obviously.


• Golden Knights v. Mammoth: A playoff matchup that has never happened in the history of the NHL, even if you count the Mammoth previously being the Coyotes. Hard to call this one - Vegas just changed coaches a week or two ago, which is really weird because they were in the playoffs at the time. They have since won the Pacific, so idk.


• Oilers v. Ducks: At least this is a new matchup - these teams have not met in the playoffs in recent memory. Connor McDavid versus Joel Quenneville. I think the Oilers will get through.

• Hurricanes v. Senators: Ottawa is in the playoffs for the first time in a while, maybe since the COVID cup. Carolina won the conference, and I expect them to have no issues with Ottawa.


• Penguins v. Flyers: The Battle of Pennsylvania rekindled once again. Another ride for Sid and Geno. Hard to say who will prevail, but Crosby & Co have buckets of playoff experience compared to the baby Flyers - that will probably be important.


• Sabres v. Bruins: No one saw this coming. The way Buffalo is playing - it might be a slaughter. I'm certainly rooting for them because they deserve nice things.


• Lightning v. Canadiens: This one is a total coin flip. I have no idea. I give the slight edge to Tampa for the same reason I give it to Pittsburgh - playoff experience.

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century better than the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald—the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes.

But on November 10, 1975, as the “storm of the century” threw 100 mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the Mighty Fitz found itself at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century.

In The Gales of November, award-winning journalist John U. Bacon presents the definitive account of the disaster, drawing on more than 100 interviews with the families, friends, and former crewmates of those lost. Bacon explores the vital role Great Lakes shipping played in America’s economic boom, the uncommon lives the sailors led, the sinking’s most likely causes, and the heartbreaking aftermath for those left behind—"the wives, the sons, and the daughters,” as Gordon Lightfoot sang in his unforgettable ballad.

Focused on those directly affected by the tragedy, The Gales of November is both an emotional tribute to the lives lost and a propulsive, page-turning narrative history of America’s most-mourned maritime disaster.

First published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows is a literary classic which details a fantasy-esque adventure of four anthropomorphic animals (Toad, Rat, Badger and Mole) as they travel throughout their forest home. It is a classic novel that expertly details many large themes surrounding the human condition. Heavy with metaphor and symbolism, it is regarded as one the greatest books ever penned, not just for its thrilling subject matter and beautiful imagery, but also for its larger commentary on human emotions, social interaction and morality.

1. What was the reason you began a Dreamwidth or LiveJournal account (or both)? I was reading Aragorn/Boromir fanfic on sites like Green Emeralds and The Fellowship and I followed the authors back to Livejournal, especially cruisedirector and ribby. I think Cruise might have given me the access codes for LJ. Then I bought a paid account in 2003. I came to Dreamwidth when it first started after Strikeout 2007 and posted both places for many years. In 2017, I deleted my original LJ and then a year later created a new one that has very minimal posting, never anything personal. I update it once a year to keep it going: raederle_of_an.



2. How many DW or LJ communities do you subscribe to? On LJ, it's only 7 at the moment. And none of them seem to post except the spn_j2_bigbang. On DW, the number is 131.



3. Do you have a favorite community or one you check out often to see what's new? I have divided the communities up into areas of interest using filters, so it depends on what I'm in the mood for. Right now, I'm most involved with bookclub_dw as I'm modding that and trying to get it launched.



4. How did you pick your user name? I originally wanted it to be 'Raederle' for my favorite fictional female character but that was already taken, so I tried 'Moonheart' for a beloved book, but that was also taken, so I substituted 'selene' for 'moon' and came up with Seleneheart. I didn't think about doing Raederle-of-An until much later.



5. If you could change your user name, would you? Eh, probably not at this point. Between LJ and DW, it's been 'seleneheart' for 23 years.


The following bonus questions are brought to you by the fact that I (anais_pf) have been unable to access any page of LiveJournal for more than a week (and therefore cannot post to The Friday Five there):


6. If you have a LiveJournal, are you currently able to access it?
   Yes.



7. Do you have any information about why one would be unable to access LiveJournal?
   I don't know - Russian shenanigans?

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.

Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.

In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake's vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as the "Wood Wide Web," to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision.

Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life's processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms--and our relationships with them--are changing our understanding of how life works.

bookclub_dw

Ember & Ice follows two fae princes, Dane and Finn, from rival kingdoms, Solari and Lunare. It becomes clear that the two are more than just adversaries, though, as listeners become “an intimate observer to every moment of tension, longing, and intimacy between Dane and Finn.”

Set in a richly imagined fantasy world shaped by history, duty, and forbidden desire, Ember & Ice follows Dane and Finn, two fae princes from the rival Solari and Lunare kingdoms. At its core, Ember & Ice is a story about choosing love in defiance of expectation.”