Monday, February 8, 2016

The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

By Jane Austen
online access from EBSCOhost (Sense and Sensibility)
online access from EBSCOhost (Pride and Prejudice)
online access from EBSCOhost (Emma)
online access from EBSCOhost (Northanger Abbey)
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Comprises the complete text of: "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice", "Mansfield Park", "Emma", "Northanger Abbey",  and "Persuasion".

Jane Austen is without question, one of England's most enduring and skilled novelists. With her wit, social precision, and unerring ability to create some of literature's most charismatic and believable heroines, she mesmerises her readers as much today as when her novels were first published.

Whether it is her sharp, ironic gaze at the Gothic genre invoked by the adventures of Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey; the diffident and much put-upon Fanny Price struggling to cope with her emotions in Mansfield Park; her delightfully paced comedy of manners and the machinations of the sisters Elinor and Marianne in Sense and Sensibility; the quiet strength of Anne Elliot in Persuasion succeeding in a world designed to subjugate her very existence; and Emma - 'a heroine whom no one but myself will like' teased Austen - yet another irresistible character on fire with imagination and foresight. Indeed not unlike her renowned creator.

Jane Austen is as sure-footed in her steps through society's whirlpools of convention and prosaic mores as she is in her sometimes restrained but ever precise and enduring prose.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)



單身愛之語 (The Five Love Languages for Singles)

蓋瑞.查普曼 (Gary Chapman)
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
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暢銷作家蓋瑞.查普曼博士認為,愛與被愛是人們的基本需求,每個人都有自己主要愛的語言,依個人的成長經驗和需求,可分為:肯定的言詞、接受禮物、服務的行動、精心的時刻,及身體的接觸五種。 因此,用對愛的語言,才能正確表達和接收愛,這也是心靈滿足與否 的關鍵。 

這本特別為單身者寫的書中,作者以自己三十多年來與單身男女互動所得的真實經驗作為範,切合現實的需求。不論你是年少、同事、同學、室友,讓單身者也能享受在雙向的愛之喜悅中。

(摘錄自bolbookstore.com)

Monday, February 1, 2016

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald
online access from Apabi (Chinese)
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The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

春節

姚郁卉 编著
online access from Apabi
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春節是中華民族傳統節日中最為隆重熱鬧的節日,其歷史悠久、習俗源遠流長。而中國又是一個詩歌的國度,從《詩經》到《楚辭》,從漢樂府到唐詩,從宋詞到元曲,詩歌的節奏始終激蕩在我們民族的血脈中。花烏草蟲,萬事萬物均可入詩。而春節作為中國的大年節,自然會引起歷代文人墨客的詩思和詩情,留下許多膾炙人口、流傳千古的名篇佳作。在這些詩篇中,有記錄各種傳統年俗的,有抒發個人情懷的,有描寫喜慶氣象的,可謂異彩紛呈。以詩的語言表達人們對親人的思念、對過去的留戀和對未來美好生活的憧憬,讀來妙趣橫生,又受益匪淺,給春節增添了絢麗多彩的風情。

在我國古代第一部詩歌總集《詩經》當中,就有許多詩篇描述人們歲暮載歌載舞慶豐收的熱鬧場景。 “朋酒斯饗,目殺羔羊,躋彼公堂,稱彼兕觥 萬壽無疆”。《詩經》里的這段描述大概是說古代臘祭時,人們宴飲美酒,宰殺羔羊,相互祝福,歡慶新年的隆重慶祝活動,表達了人們獲得豐收後的喜悅心情。今天的春節源于古代的臘祭,因此在傳統年俗保存相對完好的鄉村,人們通常認為“過了臘八便是年”。在臘八這一天,家家煮粥,不僅自己食用,而且還贈送親友,”今朝佛粥交相饋,更覺江村節物新”。從陸游的詩句可以看出當時過臘八節的盛況。也有人認為,臘月二十三祭灶以後才真正奏響了新年的序曲。範成大的《祭灶詞》中有“男兒酌獻女兒避,酹酒燒錢灶君喜”,從古時祭灶的年俗由此可窺一斑。過年總要有一個煥然一新的環境,清代蔡雲有“茅舍春回事事歡,屋塵收拾號除殘”的詩句,描寫了民間高高興興“掃年”迎新春的習俗。婦女則忙著“巧裁幡勝試新羅”,這樣才能保證新年“小大易新衣”,以嶄新的面貌迎接新年。對于欠債的人來說,過年卻如過”關”,因為民間有“舊賬還潔在此宵,不能再討待明朝”的年俗。“東鄰叩廣西鄰急,若個聞聲膽不消”,這首題為《討年賬》的詩就是對除夕討債躲債情景的生動描述。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, January 25, 2016

The Islamic State: A Brief Introduction

Charles R. Lister
online access from ebrary
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An authoritative guide to the rise of the Islamic State and its senior leadership.

How did the Islamic State grow from regional terrorist group to a brutal multinational bureaucratic machine? What are its goals? How can it be stopped?

In 2014 the Islamic State seemingly appeared out of nowhere, routing Iraqi forces, conquering Iraq's second-largest city, boldly announcing the establishment of a caliphate, and declaring itself the Islamic State (IS). Today, IS controls thousands of square miles and is attempting to govern millions of people.

In this definitive guide to the Islamic State and its senior leadership, Charles R. Lister traces its roots from the release of its notorious father figure, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, from a Jordanian prison and the group's formation in Afghanistan in the late-1990s, and finally to its stunning maturation in Iraq and Syria.

The West knows IS through its unrelenting propaganda war, with its deft use of social media and videos of horrific acts. Lister shares details of IS's sophisticated revenue machine, attempts at governing, and its formidable military.

With IS knocking on the doors of Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, Lister's portrait helps us understand what to expect next and recommends a course of action to defeat IS, extinguish extremism, and encourage a tolerant Islam across the Middle East.

This book includes a Who's Who in the Islamic State's senior leadership.

From the foreword by Ahmed Rashid
"The Islamic State is the best basic understanding available of the ISIS phenomena and how to deal with it."

(Excerpt from amazon.com)


三島由紀夫文學の旅

陳銘磻
online access from AiritiBooks
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閱讀之外,更在旅行地景中品味經典文學,
尋訪連日本人都看不到的文學感動!

文學旅行作家陳銘磻如此描述:「火燒金閣寺出現在小說中,使得被人生疏遠的主角溝口變得更為非凡,『被無盡的美包圍著時,怎麼能染指人生呢?』於是,作者讓自己的眼睛『變成了金閣寺的眼睛』,然後藉由書中患有口吃的見習僧人,對於人生是美或不完美,以及疏離與被疏離,以不得不的姿態,在化為永恆之美的幻象前驚恐不安起來。來到鹿苑寺,易於感染到『被無盡的美包圍著』的氛圍,也的確因為這座在日光底下彰顯美的象徵的『金閣殿』,而使人惶惶不安起來。金閣遙遠可見,她在樹叢搖曳的包圍下,一動不動的矗立著,但絕不是在酣睡中,好像是夜的守護神。」

他帶著對日本文史的熱愛,多次往返台日之間,走訪日本文學地景,從事相關資料收集及鑽研,以對日本經典文學的獨到見解,書寫出連日本人都看不到的文學感動;期盼在日本311震災後,讓身在台灣的讀者,依舊可以透過作家之眼,再現文學地景,依循著細膩文字,看見日本經典文學中的感動與美麗,走一趟感官之旅、文化之旅、文學之旅……。

三島由紀夫:一個集「神童」、「奇才」和「鬼才」於一身的文學家!

日本評論家村松剛:「三島由紀夫的每一本小說都是一場絢爛豪華的夢。」

日本著名比較文學研究家千葉宣一認為:「三島與普魯斯特、喬伊斯、托馬斯.曼齊名,是二十世紀四大代表作家之一」。

三島一生寫了40部小說,18個劇本與20篇短篇小說,主要著作有《假面的告白》、《金閣寺》、《禁色》、《美德的徘徊》、《近代能樂集》與《愛的饑渴》……等,堪稱二十世紀最重要的作家之一,曾二度獲諾貝爾文學獎提名,雖與諾貝爾獎無緣,依然是日本文學成就最高的作家;亦是著作被外國翻譯最多的當代作家!有人讚譽他為「日本的海明威」。

正值創作的高峰期,三島卻於1970年11月25日剖腹自殺(年僅45歲),此事被稱為:「日本戰後史上最大的謎團」……

本書帶你走進三島「毀滅與至美」並存的文學世界!

本書特色

三島由紀夫的出生背景與成長
一九四五年對三島來說,是最傷痛的一年,八月十五日,日本宣佈敗戰,向盟軍投降;四天之後,《文藝文化》的好友蓮田善明,以陸軍中尉的身分在馬來半島自殺。十月二十三日,妹妹美津子因為傷寒病逝,時年僅十七歲。種種打擊,使得三島的情緒陷入最低潮。……這種從年輕時代即萌生的死亡意識,分明了了,竟成為成就三島文學作品重要的素材;死亡與文學、文學與滅絕,無不深刻的被他寫入小說中,發展成隱晦、華麗、陰沉、孤傲,相互交錯的極端個人特色。

.三島式的死亡美學
三島認為「死的美學」是:人應該為自己而活,為慾望而死的都不算堅強;人為自己的理想而活,則死而無憾!三島式的死亡美學,是建築在自戀的基礎上,「我終於愛上自己的腋窩」。這就如同他在《金閣寺》藉由見習僧人溝口心中對金閣之美的妒火,而把美麗的金閣燒燬,用以滿足他的「滅絕之美」。

.三島由紀夫的文學創作與小說中的人格特質
三島在文學上探索多種藝術,集浪漫、唯美與古典主義於一身,特別是擷取日本古典主義與希臘古典主義結合的美學象徵,尤其描寫男性生與死之美所獲取的藝術成就,為各方所公認。在美學的追求上,三島著力於對深層心理的挖掘,並積極從隱晦的頹唐中探索人性的真實面。

.現象界虛幻無常的象徵《金閣寺
《金閣寺》出版至今已然超過半個世紀,三島在這部盛年時期完成的小說中,創造不可思議的獨特性,他不僅將罪犯行為藝術化,而且透過華麗又優美的文筆美化金閣寺,讓這一座被患有口吃的見習僧人溝口形容為,美到「非將金閣燒燬」的寺院,化成美的永恆幻影。

.伊勢灣彌漫著淳樸之美的《潮騷
三島曾說:「《潮騷》是以《塔夫尼斯與克蘿婀》為藍本,去尋覓被文明隔絕,卻瀰漫著淳樸美學的小島。」《塔夫尼斯與克蘿婀》是古希臘晚期作家朗戈斯田園詩式的愛情小說,全書著墨刻劃主角戀愛中的歡樂和痛苦,甚且謳歌樸素和真摯的愛情;而《潮騷》則對應男主角新治的苦難生活和愛情歷程,挑動讀者的心弦。

.憂鬱含蓄與淒絕的《春之雪
《春之雪》是三島生前最後的長篇鉅著《豐饒之海》四部曲的第一部。小說描繪大正時代,侯爵家公子松枝清顯和伯爵家千金綾倉聰子之間的愛戀,在三島筆下顯得古雅哀怨、細膩纖秀,充滿日本王朝文學之美,同時,三島更在這部小說中詮釋了個人對生與死的輪迴轉世見解。

.深陷在虛實輪迴中的《天人五衰
這部屬於三島畢生文學創作的壓軸之卷,他將個人淒絕的生死美學發揮到了極致,是夢、是死、是輪迴,更是他無盡滅絕的死亡美學之作。


(摘錄自博客來網路書店)