by Richard Subber | Sep 17, 2023 | Book reviews, Books, History, World history
Samarkand…been there?
Book review:
A Short History of the World in 50 Places
by Dr. Jacob F. Field
London: Michael O’Mara Boos Limited, 2020
288 pages
Field’s intriguing approach to history is a success.
Probably you don’t know much about the great city of Samarkand, south of the Aral Sea in Asia. Its history begins in the 7th century BC, and it was an important commercial stop on the Silk Road until the 15th century AD. Samarkand is one of the 50 places.
A Short History is a broad sweep that’s appealing, easy to read, and a lot to learn.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
On the Beach by Nevil Shute (book review)
It isn’t out of date…
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My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems with 53 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Sep 12, 2023 | My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
in the moment…
quickie
…wait for a verse to come,
wait for a verse to come,
and let its style surpass itself,
and let it sing for two hearts,
let it fling off care,
let it be our newest way
to murmur love.
June 6, 2023
We have these moments…
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
“…I walk in mirabilibus supra me…”
C. S. Lewis knows the weight of glory…
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As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Sep 9, 2023 | Theater and play reviews
slum kids can dance, too…
Movie review:
Billy Elliot
2000, rated R, 111 minutes
Starring Jamie Bell as Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot (2000, rated R, 111 minutes) is about aspirations, with clap-your-hands dancing and a helping of human kindness.
Jamie Bell pretty much flawlessly plays 11-year-old Billy, the son of a widowed struggling coal miner in County Durham in northern England. Billy suddenly realizes that dancing is more interesting than boxing.
You won’t be surprised by the obstacles that Billy overcomes to get accepted at the Royal Ballet School in London.
You will be delighted to watch Billy dancing when he’s happy and when he’s mad as heck. You will want to hug Billy’s dad when he finally realizes that dancing isn’t shameful, and that his son has a talent that just won’t quit.
Not least important, you’ll be reminded that a kid who can be a great dancer is born every day in a slum, somewhere.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
Book review: Lord of the Flies
Never more relevant…
by William Golding
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Seeing far: Selected poems with 47 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Sep 7, 2023 | Joys of reading, Language, My poetry, Poetry
…let the chorus turn you…
Symphony
A new book
somehow sings a siren’s song,
a symphony of words
that make a new tune,
such delight to open any page,
and hear the mezzo’s lilt,
the soprano’s tear-stained kyrie,
and nod as the basso
closes a chapter
with words worth repeating,
and let the chorus turn you
to another page,
for more words
that suddenly are not strangers,
such old words
that make a new song.
Rumford, RI
May 30, 2023
Let yourself watch your 12-year-old granddaughter with a new book…does this poem occur to you?
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
The Scarlet Letter, victim of Hollywood
the Nathaniel Hawthorne version is best
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As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Sep 5, 2023 | Book reviews, Books, History, World history
more than one Christianity…
Book review:
Christendom:
The Triumph of a Religion, AD 300-1300
by Peter Heather (b1960
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2022
704 pages
Christendom is not a cheerleading book written by a true believer.
Heather makes it plain that Christianity never had an unchallenged inside track to be the dominant religion in the Western world, although it has predominated for centuries.
There was more than one variety of Christianity from the beginning, and papal leadership was not established until the 11th century.
Christian leadership is a largely manmade circumstance.
The reader has the opportunity to learn much about the Christian church and Christendom that was unacknowledged until historians started to dig deeper in the modern era.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
Book review: Seven Gothic Tales
by Isak Dinesen,
lush and memorable stories…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 73 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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