Articles by: Mary Woodbury

Paradise Lost

Author: John Milton License: In the public domain. February 1992 Project Gutenberg release. Original Publication Date: 1667 Excerpt from Book V His wonder was to find unwakened Eve With tresses discomposed, and glowing cheek, As through unquiet rest: He, on his side Leaning half raised, with looks of cordial love […]

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Only the Animals, Ceridwen Dovey

Ten tales are told by the souls of animals killed in human conflicts in the past century or so, from a camel in colonial Australia to a cat in the trenches in World War I, from a bear starved to death during the siege of Sarajevo to a mussel that […]

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All the Birds, Singing–Evie Wyld

From one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists, a stunningly insightful, emotionally powerful new novel about an outsider haunted by an inescapable past: a story of loneliness and survival, guilt and loss, and the power of forgiveness. Goodreads Reviews Back to Goodreads

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The Natural Way of Things, Charlotte Wood

Another Australian author, Charlotte Wood, does not shy away from ecological themes in her critically acclaimed text The Natural Way of Things. A novel that provokes anger, unease and repulsion, among other mixed emotions, this work of what some would call horror (although not of the supernatural kind) is based […]

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Birder Murder Mystery Series, Steve Burrows

Steve Burrows has travelled the world on birdwatching adventures. He’s turned his passion into an award-winning crime series. His latest, A Shimmer of Hummingbirds, takes police inspector Domenic Jejeune on a birding trip to the rainforest, where he hopes to uncover clues about his fugitive brother’s manslaughter case. –CBC Books […]

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Rokit, Loranne Vella

On one hand it’s [Rokit] about travelling back to one’s roots. Petrel’s grandmother was Maltese, so he leaves Croatia, where he’s been living for the past seven years, to learn more about her country. It is also about the fragmentation of Europe – Petrel is travelling at a time when […]

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What Remains, Angie Abdou

“I was going to write a typical ghost story but it will be more about the way we are haunted by our ancestors mistakes – environmental and genocidal,” said Abdou. “I’ve been collaborating with the Ktunaxa to get to use their name and their language. That’s been very interesting.” Abdou’s […]

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Black Wave, Michelle Tea

It’s 1999 in San Francisco, and as shockwaves of gentrification sweep through Michelle’s formerly scruffy neighborhood, money troubles, drug-fueled mishaps, and a string of disastrous affairs send her into a tailspin. Desperate to save herself, Michelle sets out to seek a fresh start in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, climate-related disruptions and […]

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Splinterlands, John Feffer

Part Field Notes from a Catastrophe, part 1984, part World War Z, John Feffer’s striking new dystopian novel, takes us deep into the battered, shattered world of 2050. The European Union has broken apart. Multiethnic great powers like Russia and China have shriveled. America’s global military footprint has virtually disappeared […]

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The Jungle

Author: Upton Sinclair License: In the public domain Original Publication Date: 1906 *Warning: May Contain Graphic Material* Excerpt from Chapter 2 One could not stand and watch very long without becoming philosophical, without beginning to deal in symbols and similes, and to hear the hog squeal of the universe. Was […]

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Cities of Salt, Abdul Rahman Munif

Translated by Peter Theroux. Set in an unnamed Persian Gulf kingdom in the 1930s, this remarkable novel tells the story of the disruption and diaspora of a poor oasis community following the discovery of oil there. The meeting of the Arabs and the Americans who, in essence, colonize the remote […]

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Climate Change Author Spotlight–Ursula K. Le Guin

Back to the series In this portion of our climate change spotlight series, which began last October, we’ll look at Ursula K. Le Guin, a favorite author of mine since I was a young teenager, particularly after I read The Left Hand of Darkness for a class, and then began […]

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Interview with Cory Doctorow, Walkaway

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger―the co-editor of Boing Boing and the author of the bestselling Little Brother, which was recently optioned by Paramount, with Don Murphy (Natural Born Killers, Transformers) producing. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and […]

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Descriptions of Heaven

Authors: © Randal Eldon Greene Publisher: Harvard Square Editions Publication Date: November 22, 2016 Type: Fiction Ordering: Amazon Social Media: Author website, Facebook, Twitter, Reviews, Goodreads, Press Kit\ Back to the Dragonfly Library As a child, I shinnied the coarse trunks of trees, carrying a book in a backpack or […]

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The Marshlanders, Part I. Infinite Games

Authors: © Annis Pratt Publisher: Iuniverse Publication Date: May 20, 2010 Type: Fiction – Series Social Media: Author website, LinkedIn, Amazon author page, Facebook, Twitter Note: We’ll be posting the series excerpts one at a time in the next several months. Part IV is being published by Moon Willow Press […]

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