Burro Genio

Bronson Lemer (Author)

The Lonely Veteran's Guide to Companionship

3,In this collection of interrelated essays, Bronson Lemer explores companionship through the lens of a queer veteran, focusing on the difficulty of forming true connections with others, including a "battle buddy" during basic training, the people he meets while teaching in China, and the spirit of a long-dead older sister. Lemer uses lessons from popular culture and literature--the globe-trotting exploits of fictional criminal Carmen Sandiego, the sexual exploration in Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, the expatriate longing in Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, just to name a few--as a means to think more broadly about the role of the outsider and how we navigate aimlessness while searching for stability and meaning. Lemer's distinct take on the veteran's story boldly engages the intersection of military narratives and queer culture, including examinations into the role of thirst traps in contemporary dating culture, the fears of long-term health damage caused by military service, and the ways in which intimate relationships can lead to a loss of self. Taken together, his essays illustrate how one queer veteran managed to carve out a path that led him, however awkwardly at times, closer to ...

Kelvin Fletcher (Author)

Fletchers on the Farm: Mud, Mayhem and Marriage

'We jumped in at the deep end and bought a farm! A reluctant wife, a couple of crazy kids and a husband whose knowledge of farming you could write on the back of a stamp... What could go wrong?!' - Kelvin'Exactly! And the journey has only just begun...' - LizJoin the Fletchers as they navigate the peaks and troughs of life on a lively farm.When Kelvin and Liz Fletcher left their happy home in Oldham for a 120-acre farm in the Peak District, they were totally unaware of the surprises that lay in store. Come along for the ride as they navigate the Mishaps, like shearing sheep in a way that costs more than the price for the wool; the Lessons, such as never turn your back on a flock of sheep - or, put simply, 'always close the gate!' - and the Adventures, going from self-professed 'townies' to farmhands overnight.In Fletchers on the Farm, childhood sweethearts Kelvin and Liz reflect on their history, their future and their daily balancing act of juggling acting careers, four young children and a farmyard full of animals. With wise words on building and nurturing a happy farm and family, this uplifting, heartwarming book is about following your dreams - even if you have no clue how to ...

Anthony Julius (Author)

Abraham: The First Jew

1,The story of Abraham, the first Jew, portrayed as two lives lived by one person, paralleling the contradictions in Judaism throughout its history In this new biography of Abraham, Judaism's foundational figure, Anthony Julius offers an account of the origins of a fundamental struggle within Judaism between skepticism and faith, critique and affirmation, thinking for oneself and thinking under the direction of another. Julius describes Abraham's life as two separate lives, and as a version of the collective life of the Jewish people. Abraham's first life is an early adulthood of questioning the polytheism of his home city of Ur Kasdim until its ruler, Nimrod, condemns him to death and he is rescued, he believes, by a miracle. In his second life, Abraham's focus is no longer on critique but rather on conversion and on his leadership over his growing household, until God's command that he sacrifice his son Isaac. This test, the Akedah (or "Binding"), ends with another miracle, as he believes, but as Julius argues, it is also a catastrophe for Abraham. The Akedah represents for him an unsurpassed horizon--and in Jewish life thereafter. This book focuses on Abraham as leader of the ...