HIGH SPIRITS CONTINUED HERE
Category: Writing and Poetry

www.highspiritsbook.com

For readers of historical fiction, mystery, and the paranormal: a novel based on a true story ...

HIGH SPIRITS:

A Tale of Ghostly Rapping and Romance

by Dianne K. Salerni

High Spirits is the story of Maggie and Kate Fox, two teenage girls who, in 1848, shocked the town of Hydesville, New York by conversing with the ghost of a murdered man supposedly buried in the cellar of their house.  The ghost communicated by strange knocking sounds, heard only in the presence of the two girls, aged fourteen and eleven. When the girls' alarmed parents removed them from the house, the knocking sounds followed them.  Was it a case of paranormal ability—a hoax—or a prank gone wrong?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dianne K. Salerni lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania with her husband Bob and two daughters, Gabrielle (10) and Gina (7).  She graduated from St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, Delaware and received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Delaware.  She subsequently earned a Master's in Language Arts Education at the University of Pennsylvania before taking a job teaching in the Avon Grove School District.  She has now been teaching fourth and fifth grade at Avon Grove for 18 years.

Writing has been a life-long hobby, and she frequently shares her work with her students.  Dianne has published a number of educational products with McDonald Publishing, but High Spirits is her first published novel and her first venture into the historical fiction genre.  Her first idea for High Spirits involved a contemporary humorous story about  talent-less spirit mediums, but research into the history of seances led Dianne into discovering the fascinating story of the Fox Sisters and diverted her original plan.  The novel took her two years to write, and at times Dianne could have sworn that the characters were haunting her in a quest to have their story told.  In particular, she blames Dr. Kane for doubling the length of the novel, as he "demanded" more and more opportunities to tell his exciting stories.  Some of her favorite scenes to write included Kane and Leah, whose "spirited" personalities clashed heartily as they battled for control of Maggie's life.

Currently reading : High Spirits: A Tale of Ghostly Rapping and Romance By Dianne K Salerni Release date: 16 May, 2007

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SPOILER ALERT****** HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS DISCUSSION
Current mood: excited

SO I'VE ALREADY FINISHED MY BOOK AND YES I DID CRY LIKE A BIG OL BABY!!!

I LOVED IT AND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WAS THE LAST BOOK, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW, OH RIGHT READ SOME OF THE BOOKS FROM OUR AUTHORS, WHICH I HAVE ALREADY STARTED DOING.

SO ANYWAYS, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BOOK CUZ I CAN'T WAIT TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH OTHERS!!!!!!

CUZ IT'S AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT THE END DID LEAVE SOME THINGS UNANSWERED. I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE MAIN PEOPLE, I WAS KINDA BUMMED THAT THEY DIDN'T DELVE INTO MORE DESCRIPTIONS.

YOU KNOW LIKE AT THE END OF MOVIES HOW THEY HAVE THE LITTLE QUOTATIONS ON WHAT THAT PERSON IS DOING NOW. WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?

Currently reading : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) By J. K. Rowling Release date: 21 July, 2007

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LET'S CONTINUE KITE RUNNER HERE, TIME FOR A NEW BOOK

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Book review written by our own lovely Renee

I give a book three chapters. After the third chapter, if I'm not captivated, I move on. Life is too short. So, The Kite Runner. I thought, "It's about two Arab kids, written by an Arab guy." Ugh. Considering my opinion of Middle Eastern men, this book didn't have a prayer. But, in its defense, it had been a best seller for a while. And I read somewhere that it was the number one book read among doctors. And Diane Sawyer liked it. And I like Diane Sawyer. What the hell.

And I couldn't put it down. And then I didn't want it to end. It made me laugh. Not so amazing. It made me cry. And that's amazing. A year later and I still think about it. It changed how I view Afghanistan and its children.

Amir is the story teller. He was one of those kids who grew up leading a charmed life. Hassan was his best friend. One of those kids who continuously had the cards stacked against him – in looks, status, and life – but always saw the glass half-full. They are of different castes. The socioeconomic power and the engaging power derived from adversity and love. It's the story of an intimacy between two boys even long after they've grown apart. It's the story of the embarrassment, love, pride, and shame that happens in a friendship.

Ahhh, to tell the story would be an injustice. Just give it three chapters.

I gotta admit when Renee told me about this book I was instantly interested and I still have not read it yet!!! So it is our next book for reading and discussion, for others who have read it, send me your mini book review and i'll post them, i want to do a blog of everyone's views on it.

HERE'S AN EXCERPT FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK. THE LINK IS http://www.khaledhosseini.com/ SO DO TAKE SOME TIME OUT AND LOOK IT THROUGH AS WELL

THE KITE RUNNER

Over two years on the New York Times bestseller list.

Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption.

IF YOU READ THE BOOK WRITE YOUR REVIEWS HERE!! LET'S SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF IT.

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Grave's End
Current mood: awake
Category: Writing and Poetry

ok i read this book called GRAVE'S END: a true ghost story. i read it a while ago and just was too busy to post my book report on it. so i finally got some time to myself to get this done.

this book is written by ELAINE MERCADO, R.N. it's her first time ever writing a book and yes she still does live in this house.

this was such a good book, it didn't get boring at all, eventhough it was just her story and not a book on short stories or anything. it was just her and her family's experience in living in this very haunted house. the things she went through i don't know how she survived through it. but she did, this is a very good book and i recommend it. i couldn't put it down.

i could easily get into the book, she described things very well so it was like i was there too. this house is located in brooklyn, new york and to date still gets some weird paranormal activity. i'm not giving the story away in case someone else wants to read it as well.

i'll give ya a little excerpt from the back of the book

this book is the true story of how one family tried to cope with living in a haunted house. it also describes how, with the help of parapsychologist DR. HANS HOLZER and medium  MARISA ANDERSON, the family discovered the tragic and heart breaking sectrets buried in the house at GRAVE'S END.

read it people, it's gotta be in a public library somewhere

Currently watching : Best of Elmo's World DVD Collection Release date: 01 August, 2006

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Current mood: anxious
Category: Writing and Poetry

ok is anyone else super excited for harry potter and the deathly hallows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i already pre ordered my copy, i can't wait to read it, the final harry potter. will harry die? will ron or hermione die?? no one knows. well here are some fun facts and some news on it.....enjoy

When asked "What does 'Deathly Hallows' mean?" J.K. Rowling responded, "Any clarification of the meaning of 'Hallows' would give away too much of the story - well, it would, wouldn't it? Being the title and all. So I'm afraid I'm not answering.". She also declined to say what her two other shortlisted titles had been, at least until after publication.

Hallow is a word usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". However, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the word hallows appears as a noun. In modern English, the word is used as a noun in "All Hallows' Day" or "All Saints' Day," which is the day after Halloween or "All Hallows' Eve". Hallows can refer to saints, the relics of saints, the relics of gods, or shrines in which the relics are kept. Since the essence of these saints or gods were often considered present at their shrines and in their relics, hallows came to refer to the saints or gods themselves, rather than just their relics or shrines. So, the hallow (relic) of a hallow (saint) is hidden in a hallow (shrine). Hallow is not to be confused with hollow, such as in Godric's Hollow.

SOME KNOWN PLOT DETAILS

******SPOILER WARNING*******

 Rowling wrote the last chapter of the book some time ago, to give her an ending to work up to. The last word of the seventh book, according to Rowling, is currently "scar", but she has also said it may change, along with the whole last chapter she has previously written. This last chapter contains details of what happens to each surviving character:

"This is the thing that I was very dubious about showing you... This is the final chapter of book seven. This is really where I wrap everything up, it's the epilogue. And I basically say what happens to everyone after they leave school - those who survive - because there are deaths - more deaths coming. It was a way of saying to myself, 'Well, you will get it, you will get to book seven one day. And then you'll need this!' So I'd just like to remind all the children I know who come around my house and start sneaking into cupboards that it's not there anymore - I don't keep it at home anymore for very, very, very obvious reasons. So there it is." – J. K. Rowling

• Rowling has stated that there will be no Quidditch matches in Deathly Hallows.

• J. K. Rowling said in 2001 that Harry might get another pet at some point. Although Buckbeak may have filled this role, she also hinted that Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, might have another role.

• We will learn something very important about Lily:

Now, the important thing about Harry's mother - the really, really significant thing - you're going to find out in two parts. You'll find out a lot more about her in book five, or you'll find out something very significant about her in book five, and you'll find out something incredibly important about her in book seven." – J. K. Rowling

• Rowling has long said that the fact that Harry's eyes resemble his mother's is important.

• Severus Snape has been an important and enigmatic character throughout the books, as his true loyalty has always remained unclear. It is to be anticipated that as a surviving major character, his loyalty will be settled in the final confrontation of the book.

Questioner: There's an important kind of redemptive pattern to Snape.

Rowling: He, um, there's so much I wish I could say to you, and I can't because it would ruin. I promise you, whoever asked that question, can I just say to you that I'm slightly stunned that you've said that and you'll find out why I'm so stunned if you read Book Seven. That's all I'm going to say.

• She has stated we will learn more about Peter Pettigrew and Dumbledore and their respective families.

• At the Edinburgh book festival, Rowling mentioned that something more would be revealed about Petunia Dursley. Nothing of note occurred in book 6, so this remains to be discovered.

"..there is a little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye...She is not a squib, although that is a very good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly indiscreet."

Rowling repeated this comment at the Radio City charity reading in August 2006. She clarified by stating that Aunt Petunia will not perform magic.

• Rowling has said that some non-magical character will perform magic late in life under desperate circumstances. However, Petunia will not be the one to perform magic.

• Also at Edinburgh, Rita Skeeter was mentioned: "She is loathsome . . . but I can't help admiring her toughness. . . . There is more to come on Rita"

• On Dolores Umbridge, "It's too much fun to torture her not to have another little bit more before I finish"

• Rowling has said that Ginny Weasley is quite powerful, that we have seen a taste of that in the past, and we will see it again.

• Viktor Krum is set for a reappearance.

• Kreacher, the former Black Family house elf which passed to Harry's ownership with the death of Sirius Black, may make an appearance. Rowling told the filmmakers of Order of the Phoenix to include the character in the movie, because he is "very important".

• The two-way mirror given to Harry by Sirius Black and his flying motorbike will return. In fact, Rowling has mentioned in one of her FAQs that the two way mirror "will help more than you think". Rowling refused to comment whether Sirius himself might in some way reappear, but she has also said that there was a reason why he had to die.

• Rowling refused to comment when asked whether the locked door in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic would feature in the final book.

• Dumbledore was said to have a "gleam of triumph" in his eyes when told that Voldemort had restored his body using Harry's blood, at the end of Goblet of Fire (Ch. 36). Rowling has confirmed that this is "still enormously significant".

• Someone from Harry's class, not Harry or Ron, and not "the one you think", will become a Hogwarts teacher. This seems to indicate that Hogwarts will indeed re-open, though possibly not until after the main events of Deathly Hallows have occurred.

• In an interview after the completion of the Prisoner of Azkaban film, she commented that director Alfonso Cuarón had "put things in the film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books. So I really got goosebumps when I saw a couple of those things, and I thought people are going to look back on the film and think those were put in deliberately as clues."

• There are indications that at least two of the main characters will die. In a June 2006 interview about the previously-written ending, Rowling stated that:

"One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die...A price has to be paid. We are dealing with pure evil...They go for the main characters... well, I do".

• When further questioned in June 2006 about authors who kill off their main characters, Rowling said "I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, well, I'm going to kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels'".

• Rowling clarified that "Dumbledore is definitely dead", when asked by Salman Rushdie and others at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Rowling answered the same question three times, each time with increasing conviction. However, on the set of the Order of the Phoenix film, she remarked; "Dumbledore's giving me a lot of trouble". When asked "But isn't he dead?" by Daniel Radcliffe, she explained; "Well, yeah, but it's more complex ...".

• When asked what questions she should have been asked, she admitted that "the final book contains a couple of pieces of information that I don't think you could guess at", and declined to explain further. On 13 September 2006 she updated her website saying that when she was asked that question, her mind went blank. Since she couldn't make amends, she created a NAQ section of her website, in tribute to the girl who asked the question. In her NAQ section, she states:

"Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?"

On 29 September 2006, she revealed that Severus Snape was not under the cloak the night of the Potters' death in the Rumors Section.

• Asked which five of her characters she would like to invite to dinner, she chose Harry, Hermione and Ron, but then hesitated before choosing her last characters, saying "See... I know who's actually dead", unsure whether she was permitted to invite those who are 'dead'.
• Lord Voldemort was voted best villain at the Big Bad Read poll. Responding to the news Rowling commented:

"I hope those of you who voted for him in the big bad read enjoy reading about him in book seven, where he finally gets the leg room for which he has been aching all those years in exile.

INFO TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG

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The Death of Ivan Ilych
Category: Life

Tolstoy's ''Smert Ivana Ilyicha'' (''The Death of Ivan Ilych'') was widely acclaimed when it was published in 1886 and remains a compelling narrative for contemporary readers. It is significant for its universally powerful portrayal of a man's physical deterioration and subsequent spiritual rejuvenation at the moment of death, and because it is the first fiction which Tolstoy published after his conversion to radical Christianity. Several critics note a shift in his writing after his spiritual breakdown in the 1870s, which inspired him to write primarily on religious and philosophical issues while repudiating his earlier works. Tolstoy's Voina i mir (1869; War and Peace) and Anna Karenina (1877) are almost unanimously praised as compelling documents of human existence and are lauded as excellent examples of the realistic novel. Devoting his life to introspection and excelling not only as a writer but as a scholar and philosopher, Tolstoy has influenced a wide range of writers and philosophers, from Ernest Hemingway to Martin Heidegger. He has been hailed by a variety of writers as one of the most important figures in modern literary history, successfully animating his fiction with the dynamics of life. Fyodor Dostoyevsky called him ''a sublime artist''; Virginia Woolf claimed him as ''the greatest of all novelists''; and Marcel Proust honored him as ''a serene god.'' Due to Tolstoy's relentless examinations of psychology and society, he has won the admiration of multitudes of writers and still affects readers with his stark portrayal of human life. ''The Death of Ivan Ilych'' perfectly demonstrates this introspection as it magnifies a man's struggle with how to live his life.

Thank you enotes.com for this summary http://www.enotes.com/death-ivan/

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Madam Bovary

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Celebrating Gustave Flaubert's Famous Work

Madame Bovary is one of the most important French novels of the 19th century.  It is vastly regarded as Flaubert's most important work, and is also considered socially relevant because it inadvertently served to inspire, if not signal the dawn of feminism.  Flaubert's adulterous heroine, the author's alter-ego of sorts, was happy in her transgressions, her actions seemingly justified by her dull and lifeless marriage. Madame Bovary is the story of Emma Bovary, an unhappily married woman who seeks escape through forbidden relationships with other men.  The book could be viewed as an expose of the situation of women in the 19th century; women who had not yet been emancipated and were expected to obey their husbands, to stay in their homes while the men went to work, or left for months on end to fight in wars.  Emma Bovary also serves as a voice for Flaubert, who patterned the character's personality after his own.  Emma Bovary's "rebellious" attitude against the accepted ideas of the day, reflects Flaubert's views of the bourgeoisie.  Ultimately, Madame Bovary's indiscretions and her obsession with Romance lead to her downfall, which not only appeases the guardians of morality, but shows us Flaubert's view of the world wasn't one of naive optimism.

thank you to http://www.madamebovary.com/ for this information

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Remembering the Future

This is the very first book we are reading!! Sarah and I had a chance to go to her seminar and meet her, she is a wonderful person and truly gifted. So get her book and read it along with us. Remembering the Future - The Path to Recovering Intuition "Colette Baron-Reid is a talented seer. I honor her gift." — Marianne Williamson, the author of A Return to Love Inspiration, divine guidance, purpose, freedom, prosperity, profound connection, inner peace—these are the results of the intuitive life. In Remembering the Future, join world-renowned spiritual intuitive Colette Baron-Reid as she invites you to remember, recover, accept, and develop your own natural gift of intuition—the sixth sense meant to link humanity to the realm of the soul. Discover the 7 Spiritual Keys that unlock the secrets to complete and purposeful living, and follow Colette's simple, fun, yet life-altering program with exercises based on proven results from her experience of 17 years as successful seminar leader, and as an intuitive counselor whose practice has attracted a client base spanning 29 countries. You'll be amazed at all you can be! In this lively and powerful book, Colette begins by sharing her extraordinary yet very human journey through personal stories from her own often-turbulent life. She candidly recounts her dramatic experiences with prescient visions and forbidden insights, sexual assault, and drugs and alcohol . . . through to a profound spiritual awakening that led to the life of service that has helped thousands worldwide. A magical read for those ready to taste enlightenment with a dollop of humor and a pinch of hope and fairy dust. (this book description taken from her website) her website is www.colettebaronreid.com, you can go there to get audio meditations to help you with the meditations in the book, it's free to sign up and there's all kinds of fun things there.

6:02 PM - 3 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment