Showing results by narrator "Dara" in All Categories

In this Oxford Guide to Film Musicals, author Hannah Lewis gives listeners fascinating new insights into the development, style, and reception of the 2016 film musical La La Land. Directed by Damien Chazelle with music by Justin Hurwitz, the film tells the story of a romance between an aspiring actress and jazz pianist as the two pursue their dreams in Los Angeles. It uses a vintage form to tell a modern story and its blend of nostalgia and realism made it an instant classic even as it prompted a range of critical and audience responses.

Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you’ve got long hours, impossible deadlines, and your dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she’s shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor.

An autumn chill has settled over Busman's Harbor, Maine, but Julia Snowden is warming up the town by offering lobster stew at the local diner. When her landlord discovers a dead body in the walk-in refrigerator, Julia must figure out who ordered up a side of murder. Nothing's colder than a corpse—especially one stashed inside a sub-zero fridge. The victim spent his last night on earth dining at the restaurant bar, so naturally Julia finds herself at the center of the ensuing investigation.

When Thwing is found sleeping with the fishes beneath a local lobsterman's boat, the police quickly finger Julia's brother-in-law Sonny as the one who cooked up the crime. Sure, everyone knows Sonny despised the Mussel King . . . but Julia believes he's innocent. Proving it won't be easy, though. It seems there's a lot more than murder on the menu, and Julia needs to act fast . . .

In Building the Literacy Block, veteran public-school educator Bridget Spackman delivers an insightful, practical discussion on establishing an authentic and purposeful workshop model while integrating reading and writing instruction to create a rigorous environment for all learners. Every chapter of the book focuses on an individual element of your literacy block, provides example activities, and offers practical tips on how to accommodate a variety of classroom environments, ages, and learners.

Russia, 1905: Thirteen-year-old Ruth dreams of growing up to marry the boy next door and living peacefully ever after. But when he and her father are forced to flee to America after the Bloody Sunday Massacre, Ruth and the other female members of the family are left behind amid the violence and chaos of revolutionary Russia.

Are you ready to ace the CDL exam on your first attempt? The CDL Study Guide 2023-2024 Edition is your key to success. This comprehensive guide is designed to provide you with the most up-to-date information, ensuring you are well-prepared for your exam. This book begins with an overview of the CDL exam, giving you a clear understanding of what to expect. It then dives into effective study tips and tricks that will help you retain information and manage your time effectively.

Navigate the world of Agile and Scrum with ease and confidence using this comprehensive guide. This book will introduce you to the basics of Agile and Scrum, two of the most popular and effective project management and software development methodologies.

Overmedication, police brutality, electroconvulsive therapy, involuntary hospitalization, traumas that lead to intense altered states and suicidal thoughts: these are the struggles of those labeled “mentally ill.” While much has been written about the systemic problems of our mental-health care system, this book gives voice to those with personal experience of psychiatric miscare often excluded from the discussion, like people of color and LGBTQ+ communities.

A month after her 24th birthday, Lt. Mary Elizabeth Balster collapses among the rubble of a shelled supply room. On the night of November 30, 1944, holed up in the Heinrich Himmler Barracks in Morhange, France, Lt. Balster's evac receives a typical patient load, but this time one of the admissions is a 19-year-old tanker she'd nursed back to health five months before in Normandy. The charge nurse on Surgical gently informs the lieutenant that the private is critical.

In As You Like It, a wicked Duke expels his virtuous brother, the lawful ruler, from his domains. The banished Duke takes refuge with his followers in the Forest of Arden, where they live as free a life as did Robin Hood and his merry men.

When Glory Bishop is offered a new life by a seemingly altruistic Chicago socialite, there may be more than good intentions at play. Against the advice of trusted friends and family, Glory chooses the protection of Malcolm Porter, her adoring, much older bad-boy-turned-minister fiancé. Thrust into a gilded world of wealth, society, and privilege, Glory struggles to overcome the guilt of loving her new life. The whirlwind of 1980s designer clothing, penthouse views, and first-class travel is a far cry from her former existence.

Los Angeles attorney and pet-sitter Kendra Ballantyne, Esq., has recently taken on a third job masterminding a new reality show. But things get messy when the hot new producer is suspected of murder.

It's been a rough month for Kendra. Her boyfriend and sidekick, Jeff Hubbard, P.I., has gone missing—right after they decided to move in together. It sounds like a case of cold feet until they find his car, submerged and bloody, in a canal. Kendra's panicked inquiries lead her to Jeff's Aunt Lois, an ex-pole dancer and full-time eccentric, who had taken her dog Flisa, a sweet-natured Akita mix, to a company that promised to clone the pup. But poor Flisa never made it out alive. And then, one of the cloners is murdered.

Glory Bishop lives her life in pieces. At work and with her friends, she reads novels, speaks her mind, and enjoys slow dances and stolen kisses with her boyfriend, JT. But at home, Glory follows strict rules and second-guesses every step. Though she dreams of going to college and living like a normal teenage girl, her abusive mother has other ideas. When JT leaves to join the navy, Glory is left alone and heartsick. The preacher's son, Malcolm Porter, begins to shower her with lavish gifts, and her mother pushes Glory to accept his advances.

The petnapping of a puppy and an iguana leads Kendra Ballantyne to her Southern California pet-sitting club, where she learns of other foul play. Then a fellow pet-sitter turns up bludgeoned to death. Kendra has her suspicions, but it soon appears she's barking up the wrong tree.

When Jeff Hubbard's vixen of an ex-wife, Amanda, asks for help avoiding her stalker, it's all Kendra can do not to hiss and scratch. But when that stalker turns up dead in Amanda's home, she makes Kendra an offer she can't refuse: solve the case, and Amanda will take her claws out of Jeff for good.

A merchant of Syracuse has twin sons and buys twin servants for them. His wife, with one twin and one servant, is soon separated from him by a shipwreck, and comes to live in Ephesus. When grown, the other son and his slave start out to find their brothers, and the father, some years later, starts out in turn to find them. Once in Ephesus, an amusing series of errors begins.

Bailey Meadows has just moved into the remote Topanga Canyon home of thriller author Jack Beckham. As his writer-in-residence, she’s supposed to help him once again reach the bestseller list. But she’s not there to write a thriller—she’s there to find Sam Morris, a community leader dedicated to finding missing people, who has disappeared in the canyon surrounding Beckham’s property. The missing woman was last seen in the drought-stricken forest known for wildfires and mountain lions.

The year is already off to a bad start. It’s not enough that Rachel Weiss is stuck in a job she despises and has an unfortunate attraction to men who disappoint her. It’s the Year of Turning Thirty . . . and now her mother won’t stop trying to set up Rachel with the millionaire buying the house next door. Luckily Rachel has amazing friends and their juicy group chat to keep her going. But amid work-mandated therapy, her thirteen gray hairs, and biking in the buff, she can’t help wondering why she isn’t moving forward like everyone else.