A Pen Named Man: Our Purpose

A Pen Named Man: Our Purpose
Author: John W. Newton
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2011-12-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1610978064

We achieve immortality by living. Every minute of our lives, every thought of our minds, and each action we perform no matter how insignificant are recorded immemorial. We are living entities and the story of our lives can never be taken away. The most significant feature of this book is how it captures our innermost sensitivity to life. A Pen Named Man: Our Purpose appeals to anyone who has ever wondered about his or her purpose in life. This book describes the underlying nature of reality, meaning to life, and value of the human experience on Earth. The book tells us what God is made of. The essence of Existence is described as consisting of three constituents, i.e., the domain, substance, and quality of being. Reality is examined from a top-down approach with the Animate Form of Life identified along with its major component, the universe of galaxies, stars, and planets. Every organism has a role to play in the story of animate life. Throughout the book, the human species is examined relative to the subject matter under review. That is, man's relationships to God, the universe, the world, and other species of life are evaluated. This book tells us why we are here. The importance of the human experience is emphasized with man identified as God's representative on Earth and assigned the role of gardener and governor of Nature.

A Pen Named Man: Our Destiny

A Pen Named Man: Our Destiny
Author: John W. Newton
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2013-07-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1625640064

Important goals of mankind, such as eliminating injustice and attaining a higher quality of life, are achievable. To achieve them, however, requires a will and a way. God provides the will. The focus of A Pen Named Man: Our Destiny is to illustrate the way. The route to social fulfillment is through the establishment of universal institutions designed to enable man to serve as God's representative on Earth and automatically satisfy his purpose in life. Family is the most important institution of mankind. It forms the nucleus of social living and fosters a deep sense of love and commitment among biologically related people who live together in an emotionally secure environment. Religion ties human behavior to morality and serves as the pathway between an individual and his God. Government establishes a standardized code of equality and fairness. Where the goal of the institution of religion is a moral world, the role of government is a just world. Employment is the institution that opens the door to attaining one's purpose in life. A restructured universal institution of employment provides every individual with the opportunity to contribute his time and resources toward the betterment of mankind. By working in an occupation that makes a product or provides a service useful to society, a person is able to earn the necessities of life for himself, attain psychological fulfillment, and provide support to those who are physically or mentally unable to take care of themselves.

A Pen Named Man: Our Essence

A Pen Named Man: Our Essence
Author: John W. Newton
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2012-09-21
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1620323788

A person cannot create a butterfly out of non-living components and breathe life into it. Neither can he construct a star like our sun nor a magnificent celestial body like planet Earth. God, however, can do these things and more! Although a human being cannot create a butterfly, he can live a good and decent life and serve as God's representative on Earth by becoming the gardener and governor of Nature. The one thing we know of our spiritual element, or soul, is that it's derived from God and sustains our biological and non-biological realms. In A Pen Named Man: Our Essence we focus on the worldly components of man, that is, those components we can sense, touch, and feel. Hence, we identify and discuss the physical side of man with its several body systems as well as the mental side with its rational and emotive elements. A central theme involves the need to synthesize the physiological and psychological components into a compatible and workable union, such that the drives and needs of neither realm dominate one's behavior in an unrealistic, unattainable manner. Human values are debated relative to being permanent and good for all time vs. temporary and adjusted with time and circumstance. Two significant values under review deal with the justification for taking another person's life and the morality of sexual involvement inside and outside of marriage. The emotion of love is discussed in detail.

The Addison Collection

The Addison Collection
Author: John W. Newton
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 89
Release: 2019-09-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1532688121

The Addison Collection provides thoughts and observations designed to encourage us to think about philosophical, social, and political issues of interest. “It’s a Buck” describes a teenage boy’s thoughts and feeling while experiencing the initial frustrations and then unexpected rewards of being a first-time, successful deer hunter. “Retreats of Stones and Mosses” is a short story about a population of tiny minnows that find and experience a temporary utopia in their country stream. It illustrates how an absence of daily challenges, which are found in a mainstream environment, can lead to apathy and prolonged despair. “Space Visitors” involves aliens who arrive on Earth and provide insight on our perception of time and space travel. They state that the emphasis we place on an ideal life in the hereafter shouldn’t cause us to overlook the importance and beauty of contemporary life. The treatise, “Our Model Nation,” suggests that the basic values and character of America serve as a forerunner to how the world of the future will be structured. It addresses issues specific to crime and punishment, threats of aggression, natural vs. institutional government, and social destiny. The reader should find this collection interesting, enjoyable, and thought-provoking.

Must Love Otters

Must Love Otters
Author: Eliza Gordon
Publisher: Jennifer Sommersby Young
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2020-05-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1777179416

Hollie Porter is the chairwoman of Generation Disillusioned. At 25, she’s saddled with a job she hates, a boyfriend who’s all wrong for her, and a vexing inability to say no. She’s already near her breaking point, so when one caller too many kicks the bucket during Hollie’s 911 shift, she cashes in the Sweethearts’ Spa & Stay gift certificate from her dad and heads to Revelation Cove, British Columbia. One caveat: she’s going solo. Any sweethearts will have to be found on site. Hollie hopes to find her beloved otters in the wilds of the Great White North, but instead she’s providing comic relief for staff and guests alike. Even Concierge Ryan, a former NHL star with bad knees and broken dreams, can’t stop her from stumbling from one (mis)adventure to another. Just when Hollie starts to think that a change of venue doesn’t mean a change in circumstances, the island works its charm and she starts to think she might have found the rejuvenation she so desperately desires. But then an uninvited guest crashes the party, forcing her to step out of the discomfort zone where she dwells and save the day ... and maybe even herself in the process.

Sleight

Sleight
Author: Jennifer Sommersby
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2018-04-03
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1443418870

The greatest treasure, a most dangerous magic. Growing up in the Cinzio Traveling Players Company, Genevieve Flannery is accustomed to a life most teenagers could never imagine: daily workouts of extravagant acrobatics; wild animals for pets; and her mother, Delia, whose mind has always been tortured by visions—but whose love Geni never questions. In a world of performers who mystify and amaze on a daily basis, Delia’s ghostly hallucinations never seemed all that strange . . . until the evening Geni and her mother are performing an aerial routine they’ve done hundreds of times, and Delia falls to her death. That night, a dark curtain in Geni’s life opens. Everything has changed. As they reel from the tragedy, the Cinzio Players are also grappling with the circus’s new owner: a generous, mysterious man whose connection to the circus—Geni suspects—has a dark history. And with the discovery of an otherworldly inheritance and her perilous mission to protect it, Geni is suddenly stumbling into a new reality of her own, her life interrupted daily by the terrors only Delia used to see. As the visions around her grow stronger, and her magical legacy becomes even more menacing, Geni is not sure who she should trust or love. Worst of all, she’s starting to question whether she can trust her own mind.

Lowboy

Lowboy
Author: John Wray
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2009-03-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 142991453X

Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-yearold paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Like most people he knows, Will believes the world is being destroyed by climate change; unlike most people, he's convinced he can do something about it. Unknown to his doctors, unknown to the police—unknown even to Violet Heller, his devoted mother—Will alone holds the key to the planet's salvation. To cool down the world, he has to cool down his own overheating body: to cool down his body, he has to find one willing girl. And he already has someone in mind. Lowboy, John Wray's third novel, tells the story of Will's fantastic and terrifying odyssey through the city's tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope, and of Violet Heller's desperate attempts to locate her son before psychosis claims him completely. She is joined by Ali Lateef, a missing-persons specialist, who gradually comes to discover that more is at stake than the recovery of a runaway teen: Violet—beautiful, enigmatic, and as profoundly at odds with the world as her son—harbors a secret that Lateef will discover at his own peril. Suspenseful and comic, devastating and hopeful by turns, Lowboy is a fearless exploration of youth, sex, and violence in contemporary America, seen through one boy's haunting and extraordinary vision.

DIY MFA

DIY MFA
Author: Gabriela Pereira
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2016-07-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1599639343

Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a "writer's eye" to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career.

A Million Reasons Why

A Million Reasons Why
Author: Jessica Strawser
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021-03-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250241634

"Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this astute exploration of the bonds and limitations of family is a perfect book club pick.” – New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson A Most Anticipated by Goodreads * SheReads * E! News * Frolic Jessica Strawser's A Million Reasons Why is "a fascinating foray into the questions we are most afraid to ask" (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author)--the story of two women who discover a bond between them that will change both their lives forever. When two strangers are linked by a mail-in DNA test, it’s an answered prayer—that is, for one half sister. For the other, it will dismantle everything she knows to be true. But as they step into the unfamiliar realm of sisterhood, the roles will reverse in ways no one could have foreseen. Caroline lives a full, happy life—thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn’t have scripted it better. Except for one thing: She’s about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong. Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother, always her closest friend, unexpectedly passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time. She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half sister and may also be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears—and one misstep could destroy it all. "A thrilling story of what happens when a long-held family secret comes to light...[Strawser] shows that no one is ever truly a villain or a hero, but instead, we are all a beautiful and messy mix of both." - Associated Press review