What if you're living in the wrong reality? Doesn't everyone want the good life these days? Our shopping mall world offers us a never-ending array of pleasures to explore. Consumerism promises us a vision of heaven on earth-a reality that's hyper-real. We've all experienced hyperreality: a candy so 'grape-ey' it doesn't taste like grapes any more; a model's photo so manipulated that it doesn't even look like her; a theme park version of life that tells us we can have something better than the real thing. But what if this reality is not all that it's cracked up to be? Admit it, we've been ripped off by our culture and its version of reality that leaves us lonely, bored, and trapped. But what's the alternative? In The Trouble With Paris, pastor Mark Sayers shows us how the lifestyles of most young adults (19-35) actually work against a life of meaning and happiness to sabotage their faith. Sayers shows how a fresh understanding of God's intention for our world is the true path to happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.
This participant's guide provides images, quotes, text, and questions to help groups and individuals further understand hyperreality's impact on the attitudes of people around the globe, and consider what true satisfaction in Christ might really look like. -- Back cover.
From the New York Times bestselling author of My Paris Kitchen and L'Appart, a deliciously funny, offbeat, and irreverent look at the city of lights, cheese, chocolate, and other confections. Like so many others, David Lebovitz dreamed about living in Paris ever since he first visited the city and after a nearly two-decade career as a pastry chef and cookbook author, he finally moved to Paris to start a new life. Having crammed all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment in the lively Bastille neighborhood. But he soon discovered it's a different world en France. From learning the ironclad rules of social conduct to the mysteries of men's footwear, from shopkeepers who work so hard not to sell you anything to the etiquette of working the right way around the cheese plate, here is David's story of how he came to fall in love with—and even understand—this glorious, yet sometimes maddening, city. When did he realize he had morphed into un vrai parisien? It might have been when he found himself considering a purchase of men's dress socks with cartoon characters on them. Or perhaps the time he went to a bank with 135 euros in hand to make a 134-euro payment, was told the bank had no change that day, and thought it was completely normal. Or when he found himself dressing up to take out the garbage because he had come to accept that in Paris appearances and image mean everything. Once you stop laughing, the more than fifty original recipes, for dishes both savory and sweet, such as Pork Loin with Brown Sugar–Bourbon Glaze, Braised Turkey in Beaujolais Nouveau with Prunes, Bacon and Bleu Cheese Cake, Chocolate-Coconut Marshmallows, Chocolate Spice Bread, Lemon-Glazed Madeleines, and Mocha–Crème Fraîche Cake, will have you running to the kitchen for your own taste of Parisian living.
When Dodsworth and the duck vacation in Paris, they have a grand time despite running out of money and accidentally riding their bicycles in the Tour de France.
"A warm hearted story of the inevitable rollercoaster of romantic love... and the more important task of loving one's self" from #1 international bestselling author Cathy Kelly (Elin Hilderbrand). At the top of the Eiffel Tower, a young man proposes to his girlfriend. In that second, everything changes, not just for the happy couple, but for the family and friends awaiting their return in Ireland. Leila's been nursing a broken heart since her husband suddenly left her, but she's determined to put on a brave face for the bride. Vonnie, a widow, has finally dared to let love back into her life, but a curveball arises that puts another's safety at risk. And Grace, a school principal, finds that her son's impending union brings her ex-husband back into her daily life, and starts to ponder past decisions and wonder if her divorce was in fact a mistake. As these three women gather around the young couple to prepare for the wedding, they'll each have to address their own demons and find a way to move forward, whatever the cost. *Includes reading group guide
#1 Amazon Best Seller in Women's Fiction Friendship, loss, and an enchanting trip to Paris... Amy and Kat had a plan: A secret trip to Paris. Even Amy's husband wouldn't know about it. But when Amy loses Kat to cancer, she knows the plan has disappeared forever. Or has it? Guided by Kat's bold voice and dissatisfaction with her own calorie-counting life in Phoenix, Amy takes the plunge and sneaks off to Paris without telling a soul. Once there, however, she finds that her problems have come right along with her. Through adventures laced with luscious food and a glimpse into an unexpected side of Paris, Amy learns that often in life, love, and friendship, nothing is exactly as it seems. Will she choose her new life in Paris or revive the one she left behind? "Discover a Paris that few casual tourists see" (Paris Voice) in this highly praised "can't-put-down... absorbing adventure" (Kirkus Reviews) Now optioned for film and TV by Papazian-Hirsch Entertainment! Book club discussion guide included. Interview with the AuthorWhat inspired you to write The Paris Effect? This is easy. I am a member of two book groups. We love talking about stories and characters, why we liked or didn't like a novel, what books and reading mean to us. I've done a lot of pondering about what makes a satisfying reading experience. Simply put, I wanted to write a novel that my book groups would enjoy reading and talking about. I love books about Paris! Do you think I will like this book? Yes, I believe so! But this isn't your typical book about Paris. At first it may seem like chick lit (a secret trip to the romantic city of Paris!) or a travel memoir (Amy ventures abroad without telling her husband and ends up on a voyage of self-discovery), though I'd say at its core it's women's fiction: Amy deals with the loss of her best friend and the downward (and sideways) spiral that ensues. She questions herself and her choices. She ultimately has to make some tough decisions. It's an emotional ride. What kind of story is The Paris Effect? Reviewers call it an engrossing adventure that's both funny and touching. Literary types would probably say it's a coming of age story because the main character, Amy (who loves all things French, and is diet-obsessed and believes French women don't get fat), takes the first big risk of her life by running away to France, soon learning the truth of the expression, "Wherever you go, there you are." I call it a tale of self-discovery that for the reader doubles as a virtual mini-vacation to Paris, giving a unique glimpse of Paris life. Many books have been written with Paris as the setting. What sets yours apart? Who doesn't like a Paris love story? For many of us, Paris is the ultimate romantic dream destination. And don't get me wrong-Paris is truly as romantic as it's cracked up to be! But it's also a multilingual, multinational metropolis of street hustlers, diesel fumes, and pickpockets. Amy encounters all of these and more, including some wonderfully kind strangers. She gets to know a Paris that few casual tourists ever see. And so will you. Thanks for reading!
In Complaint! Sara Ahmed examines what we can learn about power from those who complain about abuses of power. Drawing on oral and written testimonies from academics and students who have made complaints about harassment, bullying, and unequal working conditions at universities, Ahmed explores the gap between what is supposed to happen when complaints are made and what actually happens. To make complaints within institutions is to learn how they work and for whom they work: complaint as feminist pedagogy. Ahmed explores how complaints are made behind closed doors and how doors are often closed on those who complain. To open these doors---to get complaints through, keep them going, or keep them alive---Ahmed emphasizes, requires forming new kinds of collectives. This book offers a systematic analysis of the methods used to stop complaints and a powerful and poetic meditation on what complaints can be used to do. Following a long lineage of Black feminist and feminist of color critiques of the university, Ahmed delivers a timely consideration of how institutional change becomes possible and why it is necessary.
An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear. On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was about to begin. Khazzani wasn't expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision-to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone-depended on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith. Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations. The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship and bravery, of near tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength inside themselves at the moment when they, and 500 other innocent travelers, needed it most.
