Brené Brown, in Dare to Lead , advises us to admit to experiencing shame or admit that we’re sociopaths. Just the word shame is uncomfortable. It has more control over our lives they less we talk about it. It’s easy to let the crowd get in our head and hijack our efforts. Without clarity of values, anywhere else to look or focus, or a light above to remind us why we are here, cynics and critics can bring us to our knees. We need our values to remind us why we went in wheneve

In Emma , by Jane Austin, the quietness of a game makes it eligible to Mr. Woodhouse. The letters of a word are used as a vehicle for gallantry and trickery. Frank Churchill proposes, with a glance to Jane, to pass a word to Emma. Mrs. Weston is convinced that it must be a relief to Miss Fairfax to be able to speak of Miss Fairfax’s engagement. Miss Fairfax admits that since her engagement she has not experienced a single tranquil hour. Emma questions if Miss Fairfax consider

In Emma , by Jane Austen, Mr. Knightley tells Emma that he said to himself that even Emma would think that Harriet Smith and John Martin were a good match. Emma asserts that Martin is her societal inferior. Mr. Knightly questions how it could be a degradation to her illegitimacy and ignorance to be married to a respectable, gentleman farmer. Looking back on her interactions with Mr. Elton, Emma assures herself that his manners must have been unmarked, wavering, or doubtful fo

When the Darweesh family makes the trip down to Alamaxa by rail in The Daughters of Izdihar , by Hadeer Elsbai, Nehal’s father doesn’t look at her the entire ride. Knowing she is in Alamaxa when she steps of the rail, she wonders how women in the city wear such heavy attire when it is so damn hot all the time. When Nehal starts to peel the robe from her shoulders, her mother tugs it back on. Giorgina finds solitude nowhere to be found. There is something vaguely familiar abou

In Designing Data-Intensive Appilications , Martin Kleppman points out that you don’t need to operate at Google scale. Developers need to be aware of the constraints and trade-offs that occur in a distributed system. He goes into issues that arise when data is distributed. In Parts I and II , the discussion concerning all the major considerations that are involved in a distributed database assume there is only one database in an application. Applications commonly use a combin

In When the Tides Held the Moon , by Venessa Vida Kelley, Río lies with his head against driftwood. Two months of Brooklyn’s tap appears to be too much for a merman’s power of purification. Benny whispers to his amor to see if he is awake.  In Tom Sawyer Abroad,  by Mark Twain, Tom says the professor is so quiet that he must be asleep, and pauses when he says they better. Huck asks, “Better what?” Tom replies that they better slip back to the professor, tie him up, and land t

In Brigands and Breadknives , by Travis Baldree, Bradlee asks Fern if she just absconded in the night. Finding it weird to talk to sentient cutlery, Fern claims it was a accident, to which Bradles says it “seems like a pretty long-running accident.” In a later scene, a pile of planks and pulled nails lie beside a door. The room smells pungently of goats. A brown-and-white-spotted nanny regards the group with disdain. It’s still getting hard to get used to the daylight shift.

In Dayspring , by Anthony Oliveira, the disciple whom Jesus loved introduces himself and tells his story. In Brigands and Breadknives , by Travis Baldree, Fern will bet everything that Viv’s face is one she really knows. Customers bustle to and fro with drinks and nibbles. Fern contemplates the unfamiliar bitterness on the sides of her tongue. Riding on Astrix’s back, Fern notes that the elf doesn’t come with any built-in cushions. It does beat stinging thorns and flesh-eatin

In Fairydale , by Veronica Lancet, Darcy spends the day preparing nice food for Amon. She winces as she thinks of him eating dead rats for her. When she arrives at Amon’s quarters, he is waiting for her. Thousands of years prior, the man in Sela’s garden asks her what her name is. She whispers to him, “Please don’t hurt me.” She never thought the violence happening in the world would visit her in her own home. Later, Meli tells Sela that she brought the extra stuff she reques

In Fairydale , by Veronica Lancet, Darcy doubts Fairydale is a popular destination for millionaires. The town is historic and located in northeastern Massachusetts. When she tells Allison that she’ll probably have to split the inheritance with the decedant’s other children who are probably more deserving, Allison tells her to stop what she’s saying. After a spooky night at the church, a shiver goes down Veronica’s back. She refuses to believe she imagined what she experienced

In the book In Deeper Waters , by F. T. Lukens, doors help to temper the chill and strength of breezes. Tal doesn’t put it past his mother to know about Shay’s crush. Tal’s mother tells him that whoever he chooses for his potential spouse would be lucky to have him. Tal and Garrett pass several guards on the way to Kest’s bedchamber. Tal tells Kest there are more assassins. Vanessa’s handmaiden had told the mercenaries that she had paid for more than one. In Mate , by Ali Haz

In “The Beauty of the Head,” author May Swenson notices how she breathes to the shift of the lake. Her group will sleep on deck. Little...

In Katabasis , by R. F. Kuang, Alice wonders if Peter is the most dangerous kind of rival. Everyone says Peter is annoying as all hell....

In “Not Bleak,” by Casey Plett, Carla realizes that bathroom sinks are worth money when some girl stole her and Liam’s bathroom sink....

In “Other Women,” by CaseyPlett, Mark aplogizes to Sophie for the bag of Old Dutch Ketchup chips. Sophie tells him he’s nice. Once she...

In The Entanglement of Rival Wizards , by Sara Raasch, Orok hauls Seb to several parties. Seb finds himself himself flung into...

In Death of the Author , by Nnedi Okorafor, when Ankara enters Cross River City they hear no signals indicating automation has survived...

In Death of the Author , Nnedi Okorafor a provides poetic narrative from the perspective of artificial beings who have outlived humanity....

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction in Stinson v Fayetteville School District No. 1....

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , by Mark Twain, Tom heaves a great sigh as little girl wending her way toward a house puts her foot on...