Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies

Author: William Golding

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2012-09-20

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 0571290582

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A plane crashes on a desert island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. As the boys' delicate sense of order fades, so their childish dreams are transformed into something more primitive, and their behaviour starts to take on a murderous, savage significance. First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is one of the most celebrated and widely read of modern classics. Now fully revised and updated, this educational edition includes chapter summaries, comprehension questions, discussion points, classroom activities, a biographical profile of Golding, historical context relevant to the novel and an essay on Lord of the Flies by William Golding entitled 'Fable'. Aimed at Key Stage 3 and 4 students, it also includes a section on literary theory for advanced or A-level students. The educational edition encourages original and independent thinking while guiding the student through the text - ideal for use in the classroom and at home.

The Dressmaker
The Dressmaker

Author: Rosalie Ham

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2015-08-11

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0698194802

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A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture—now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Author: Mark Haddon

Publisher: Anchor Canada

Published: 2009-02-24

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 0307371565

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A bestselling modern classic—both poignant and funny—narrated by a fifteen year old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions. Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. At fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbour’s dog Wellington impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer, and turns to his favourite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As Christopher tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers into the workings of Christopher’s mind. And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotions. The effect is dazzling, making for one of the freshest debut in years: a comedy, a tearjerker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

Writing Exercises from Exercise Exchange
Writing Exercises from Exercise Exchange

Author: Charles R. Duke

Publisher:

Published: 1984

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13:

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Reflecting current practices in the teaching of writing, the exercises in this compilation were drawn from the journal "Exercise Exchange." The articles are arranged into six sections: sources for writing; prewriting; modes for writing; writing and reading; language, mechanics, and style; and revising, responding, and evaluating. Among the topics covered in the more than 75 exercises are the following: (1) using the Tarot in the composition class; (2) writing for a real audience; (3) writing and career development; (4) teaching the thesis statement through description; (5) sense exploration and descriptive writing; (6) composition and adult students; (7) free writing; (8) in-class essays; (9) moving from prewriting into composing; (10) writing as thinking; (11) values clarification through writing; (12) persuasive writing; (13) the relationship of subject, writer, and audience; (14) business writing; (15) teaching the research paper; (16) writing in the content areas; (17) writing from literature; (18) responding to literature via inquiry; (19) precision in language usage; (20) grammar instruction; (21) topic sentences; (22) generating paragraphs; (23) writing style; (24) peer evaluation; and (25) writing-course final examinations. (FL)

The Lifecycle of Software Objects
The Lifecycle of Software Objects

Author: Ted Chiang

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781596063174

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What's the best way to create artificial intelligence? In 1950, Alan Turing wrote, "Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. This process could follow the normal teaching of a child. Things would be pointed out and named, etc. Again I do not know what the right answer is, but I think both approaches should be tried." The first approach has been tried many times in both science fiction and reality. In this new novella, at over 30,000 words, his longest work to date, Ted Chiang offers a detailed imagining of how the second approach might work within the contemporary landscape of startup companies, massively-multiplayer online gaming, and open-source software. It's a story of two people and the artificial intelligences they helped create, following them for more than a decade as they deal with the upgrades and obsolescence that are inevitable in the world of software. At the same time, it's an examination of the difference between processing power and intelligence, and of what it means to have a real relationship with an artificial entity.

Past the Shallows
Past the Shallows

Author: Favel Parrett

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2012-08-30

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 184854751X

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Shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award, PAST THE SHALLOWS is a powerful and hauntingly beautiful novel from an extraordinary new Australian writer who is compared with Cormac McCarthy and Tim Winton. 'If you read only one book this year, make sure it's this' Sunday Times 'I loved Past the Shallows' Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds Everyone loves Harry. Except his father. Joe, Miles and Harry are growing up on the remote south coast of Tasmania. The brothers' lives are shaped by their father's moods - like the ocean he fishes, he is wild and unpredictable. He is a bitter man, with a devastating secret. Miles does his best to watch out for Harry, the youngest, but he can't be there all the time. Often alone, Harry finds joy in the small treasures he discovers, in shark eggs and cuttlefish bones. In a kelpie pup, a mug of hot chocolate, and a secret friendship with a mysterious neighbour. But sometimes small treasures, or a brother's love are not enough.

Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels
Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels

Author: Alexander Heidel

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1949

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780226323985

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Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas.

The Ark Before Noah
The Ark Before Noah

Author: Irving Finkel

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2014-03-25

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 0385537123

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The recent translation of a Babylonian tablet launches a groundbreaking investigation into one of the most famous stories in the world, challenging the way we look at ancient history. Since the Victorian period, it has been understood that the story of Noah, iconic in the Book of Genesis, and a central motif in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, derives from a much older story that existed centuries before in ancient Babylon. But the relationship between the Babylonian and biblical traditions was shrouded in mystery. Then, in 2009, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum and a world authority on ancient Mesopotamia, found himself playing detective when a member of the public arrived at the museum with an intriguing cuneiform tablet from a family collection. Not only did the tablet reveal a new version of the Babylonian Flood Story; the ancient poet described the size and completely unexpected shape of the ark, and gave detailed boat building specifications. Decoding this ancient message wedge by cuneiform wedge, Dr. Finkel discovered where the Babylonians believed the ark came to rest and developed a new explanation of how the old story ultimately found its way into the Bible. In The Ark Before Noah, Dr. Finkel takes us on an adventurous voyage of discovery, opening the door to an enthralling world of ancient voices and new meanings.