1. Sydney mother defends decision to take her son to COVID-19 lockdown protest  Daily Mail
2. Coronavirus: Mother ripped away from son during protest | Nine News Australia  9 News Australia
3. 'Leave Mummy alone': Coronavirus protester arrested in Sydney's CBD in front of young son  9News
4. Coronavirus Australia: Dramatic arrest of a mother protesting in Sydney shocks bystanders  NEWS.com.au
5. 'Leave mummy alone': Woman protesting lockdown arrested in front of screaming son  Yahoo News Australia
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. WA coronavirus restriction easing not enough for pubs, beauticians, tourism industry  ABC News
2. Coronavirus crisis: Weekends in Esperance back on the cards  The West Australian
3. WA's decision to keep its mines open amid coronavirus may have saved Australia's economy | ABC News  ABC News (Australia)
4. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Jackie Trad resigns as Queensland's Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Steven Miles and Cameron Dick to take on portfolios  ABC News
2. Poster girl’s fall a shock for the left of politics  The Australian
3. Corruption investigation into Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has potential to unravel Labor Government's five-year reign  ABC News
4. Editorial: Premier, Queensland needs a new treasurer now  Courier Mail
5. Analysis: Latest investigation not a good look for Jackie Trad  Courier Mail
6. View Full coverage on Google News

 When her big chance comes, however, she throws it all away to rescue a teenager drowning off the coast of her island home.
Interacting with a human is strictly forbidden in Diana's culture, let alone saving one and hiding them in a cave.

This, however is no ordinary human. Her name is Alia and unbeknownst to her she is a Warbringer, someone who may be responsible for the greatest war ever to befall the human race.

Using a controversial myth as a guide, Alia and Diana set off to end the curse that Alia has become convinced she carries.

she does her best to stand out.
Full of action, sarcastic wit and strong female characters, Wonder Woman: Warbringer is a great teen read for anyone who loves superhero backstories. Bardugo has created a character with real depth that flies off the page, highly recommend this!
Diana is desperate to prove herself. Surrounded by warriors who make every feat of strength and agility look like a cake walk,

The contest is a deadly one: enter the area of the world known as Piloria, where the dinosaurs are abundant, and retrieve as many dinosaur eggs as possible. The winner will receive health care and food, two things essential in order to survive their daily nightmare.

She's joined on the Trials by Lincoln and Leif, two boys with a lot on the line. As the competition heats up, they must learn to trust each other if they're going to avoid being eaten alive. But as Stormchaser soon learns, you can't really trust anyone in the Extinction Trials and what she finds hiding under the surface of Piloria will change her life forever.

The Extinction Trials is a super fast action adventure that anyone looking for a strong female hero will love. It's got elements of The Hunger Games without a doubt, and that's a good thing because it means it will make my job as a School Librarian all the easier when I promote this book in the coming weeks. And promote it I shall, because it's got some great scenes, fully realised characters and a ton of action. Highly recommended, can't wait for the sequel!

In two weeks last month you purchased over 135 books off the wish list for Ballou as part of our annual book fair. They included everything from novels to biographies to history to a couple of MCAT study guides that were particularly appreciated by this student:

Thank you anonymous for your kind gift to us, we truly appreciate you ????????????????❤️@chasingray @guyslitwire pic.twitter.com/0auZ39B6xS

— Melissa Jackson (@BallouLibrary) November 1, 2017

With millions of people getting ready to shop this weekend, we are hoping to take advantage of your generosity one last time in 2017 and send even more books to Ballou. As you may know, students at the school suffer far too much from poverty and all its accompanying factors. They struggle to stay in school, to stay engaged in their studies and to persevere in the face of the area's violence.  They deserve every chance that we can give them and their librarian, Melissa Jackson, is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to going the extra mile for her students. We want to make it easier for her to do her job and the best way we can do that is to buy the books that those students want and need, (and in some cases positively pine for), to fill her library's shelves.


There are several hundred books on the list at Amazon and for those folks who shopped last month, you will see that several titles have been added in the past few days. They are courtesy the most recent email from Ballou — books the students are excited about and asked if we would add. (And of course we did!) We also moved several books that are on sale to the top of the list as they are excellent bargains right now. We hope that you will take advantage of the low prices and buy one or more of these titles.

If you can't shop off the list, please help spread the word on social media. Here is the direct link: http://tinyurl.com/BookFairBallouHS. Also follow me (@chasingray) and Melissa Jackson (@Balloulibrary) on twitter for updates.

Lyrical, visceral, and wise, The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz haunts the melancholy middle between heartbreak and hope.



In Sal’s case, he scrapes together every illuminating spark: the tenacity of Fito, the loyalty of Sam, the grace of his father, the serenity of his grandmother. And through the spark of The Inexplicable Logic of My Life and Sáenz’s luminous prose, we learn anew how family is forged by more than blood—and though who we are is our life’s work, identity is never a solitary act.

This has never happened to me before: I enjoyed the sequel more than the original! Be assured, though, My Side of the Mountain

is very good. Young Sam Gribley goes off to live in the wilderness quite comfortably in a huge hollow tree. He trains a young falcon he named Frightful:

"Every day I worked to train Frightful. It was a long process, I would put her on her stump with a long leash and step back a few feet with some meat in my hand. Then I would whistle. The whistle was supposed eventually to mean food to her. So I would whistle, show her the meat, and after many false flaps she would finally fly to my hand. I would pet her and feed her. She could fly fairly well, so now I made sure that she never ate unless he flew to my fist.

"One day at breakfast I whistled for Frightful. I had no food, she wasn't even hungry, but she came to me anyway. I was thrilled. She had learned a whistle meant 'come.'

"I looked into her steely eyes that morning and thought I saw a gentle recognition. She puffed up her feathers as she sat on my hand. I call this a 'feather word.' It means she is content."

I also enjoyed this, from near the end of the book: "I returned to my patch on the mountain, talking to myself all the way. I talk to myself a lot, but everyone does. The human being, even in the midst of people, spends nine-tenths of his time alone with the private voices of his own head. Living alone on a mountain is not much different, except that your speaking voice gets rusty, I talked inside my head all the way home, thinking up schemes, holding conversations with Bando and Dad and Matt Spell...
"I cooked supper, and then sat down by my little fire and called a forum. It is very sociable inside my head, and I have perfected the art of getting a lot of people arguing together in silence or in a forum, as I prefer to call it. I can get four people all talking at once, and a fifth can be present, but generally I can't get him to talk. Usually these forums discuss such things as a storm and whether or not it is coming, how to make a spring suit, and how to enlarge my house without destroying the life in the tree. Tonight, however, they discussed what to do about Matt Spell. Dad kept telling me to go right down to the city and make sure he published nothing, not even a made-up story. Bando said, no, it's all right, he still doesn't know where you live, and then Matt walked into the conversation and said that he wanted to spend his spring vacation with me, and that he promised not to do anything untoward. Matt kept using 'untoward' - I don't know where he got that expression, but he liked it and kept using it - that's how I knew Matt was speaking; everything was 'untoward.'"

What I liked there was that it seemed that author Jean Craighead George described how her stories got generated. Characters in her head interacted, and she transcribed what took place onto paper. I could be wrong, but maybe.

The sequel that I liked even more is called On the Far Side of the Mountain. There's a third book, Frightful's Mountain, but I have not read it yet. It's here at my desk, so it won't be long.

Have you ever formed a time loop while tying your shoes? Probably not. But have you ever read a book or watched a TV show or film where someone experienced a day over and over again? It's more than déjà vu -- it's actually happening on repeat, sometimes with different results, sometimes with the same results, and it seems as if it will never stop repeating - until, of course, the character finds a way to make it stop.

Time loops are not to be confused with time travel, another of my favorite sci-fi plot devices. In time travel, one moves forward or backward in time, willingly or otherwise. Doctor Who has time travel. The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden has time travel. Groundhog Day, however, has a time loop. This film is so well-known that he is often referenced by characters experiencing time loops; more than once, I've read or heard a character say, "This is like Groundhog Day," rather than, "Gee, I'm experiencing a time loop!"

Many movies and television shows have explored time loops. Consider, if you will, the episode "Shadow Play" on The Twilight Zone, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Life Serial," "Monday" on The X-Files, Supernatural's "Mystery Spot," or "And Those We've Left Behind" on Fringe. Some of these loops have been comedic, others dramatic, with the best ones (in my opinion) being those which deftly mix the two.

Another clarification: Plots such as those in the television series Tru Calling and Seven Days (the latter of which I sadly never saw when it aired) weren't considered to be true time loops: both shows had worked off of a second-chance premise, with Tru repeating a day in attempt to save someone's life, while Frank used the Chronosphere (also known as the Backstep Sphere) to go back in time seven days to "avert disasters."

I really enjoyed Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, an intriguing and inventive novel in which the main character, Samantha (Sam), is killed in an accident only 80 pages into the book - then wakes up in bed, unharmed, only to find that it's not the next day - instead, it's the same day, the morning of her last day. She relives the day, bewildered and disbelieving. That evening, tragedy strikes again. The day repeats again, and again, a few times over. Sam does different things each time, spending one day being more cautious, another throwing caution to the wind, still another being more appreciative. It's an amazing book, and I highly recommend it. (And no, I haven't seen the movie yet.)

Like the novel The Time Traveler's Wife, Before I Fall has no overt sci-fi elements: there are no gadgets or gizmos or time machines that the characters use, accidentally or otherwise. Neither of those books have wizened characters who assist the protagonists with magic or explain the rules of the game to them. Instead, Henry and Sam have to figure things out (or make things up) as they go along. However, while Henry has Clare to confide in, Sam tells no one; while Henry travels through time involuntarily, Sam keeps repeating the same day involuntarily.

The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende, the fantasy novel that has owned a piece of my heart since childhood, also employs a time loop. It is not the main plot, but rather just one of the many pieces of this elaborate and imaginative story. I don't want to give anything away; I'd rather encourage you to pick up the novel and discover things yourself. Whether or not you've seen The NeverEnding Story movie (which I think is wonderful) or the subsequent sequels or other film/TV attempts based on the book (which didn't compare), I implore you to read the original book.

Now, if you want to get technical, I haven't read the original, Die unendliche Geschichte, because it's in German, which I don't know. Instead, I've read the English translation by Ralph Manheim.

But I digress. Time loops are delicate things which not always treated so delicately, nor do they always have to deal with delicate matters. Time loops are not always handled or broken in the same way. Sam's story in Before I Fall is nothing like Phil's in Groundhog Day, and when they finally break their loops, they do so in completely different ways. The parameters and circumstances established by Danny Rubin in Groundhog Day do not apply to Sam. Likewise, though concepts such as chaos theory, the butterfly effect, and fate are discussed to different degrees in many time loop stories, they are never exactly the same - unless, of course, you personally choose to read that book or watch that episode or movie over and over and over again - which, in some cases, I wouldn't blame you for doing! When they're really inventive and strong, time loop stories can be fascinating. Some of these stories benefit from a second reading or viewing, because you notice things you may not have noticed the first time through.

Having a lackluster weekend? Go read or watch someone dealing with a time loop. Afterwards, you'll probably be happy that you are moving in a forward direction . . . or are you?

Caught in an impossible situation, Budi is forced figure out a plan if he's going to protect the ones he loves.


This is a great book, and an important one. I've already written a blog post on it discussing how attractive it is for reluctant and struggling readers which you can read here.

From my recent Locus review of The Disappearances, a WW2 era fantasy that includes a curse, a literary mystery, some grave robbing, and the disappearance of the stars:

As it so happens Justyce's grades have allowed him to gain entry to one of Atlanta's most prestigious private schools where seemingly every teacher has at least three degrees. Most of the students are bright, many come from well to do families such as his best friend Manny whose parents are successful professionals. As you would expect, the campus is not very diverse and some of the students display white privilege (perhaps a bit too predictably by lamenting the fact that minorities have it "easy") Justyce's way of dealing with the many, many changes occurring in his life is to write letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He's studied the Civil Rights leader's speeches in class and is trying to reconcile the words and the values espoused therein with the realities of daily life. As if that isn't complicated enough, there is also the not so small matter of the evolving relationship with his debate partner SJ.

I've read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely and this novel is just as gripping, timely and relevant. Stone does a great job balancing the heavy stuff with some touchy feely stuff so it isn't too hard to digest. Well worth a read.

Celosvětová pandemie koronaviru, kvůli které nejspíš zkrachují tisíce restaurací, inspirovala koncept švédské restaurace Bord For En (Stůl pro jednoho). Podnik bude servírovat tříchodové menu vždy jen pro jediného hosta. Stolovat se bude venku na louce, s výhledem do zeleně, uvedla ve své reportáži stanice CNN. Restaurace se otevře 10. května a bude v provozu jen přes léto.

Zákon, díky němuž mohou cestovky místo vracení peněz nabízet vouchery, podle ombudsmana Stanislava Křečka nechrání jejich klienty. Poukazuje přitom na případ rodiny, která musí cestovní kanceláři naopak doplácet za dovolenou, která se nejspíš neuskuteční. Podle ministryně Kláry Dostálové může být takové jednání nekalou obchodní praktikou.

Cestovní ruch v mnoha zemích zamrzl, dovolené v zahraničí přesto mohou zdražit. Očekává to místopředseda Asociace cestovních kanceláří Jan Papež. Důvodem je podle něj oslabení koruny kvůli pandemii, kterou nazval tichou intervencí.

Historické centrum Prahy je kvůli vládním opatřením liduprázdné. Skomírají malé provozovny, jen občas je k vidění stánek s trdelníky. Hospodářská komora Prahy 1 se proto obává o osud místních podnikatelů.

It follows criticism that a move away from the "stay at home" slogan could confuse the public.

V družstevních bytech žije přibližně 10 procent českých domácností. Vzhledem k rostoucím cenám nemovitostí je tento typ bydlení oproti osobnímu vlastnictví dostupnější, a zažívá tak další vlnu rozvoje. Družstevní vlastnictví má ale svá specifika. Pokud o koupi družstevního bytu uvažujete, ověřte si své znalosti v dnešním kvízu.

Mensen bewust besmetten met coronavirus is snelste manier om vaccin te testen, maar kunnen we dat risico wel nemen?  Gazet van AntwerpenHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. DFL-preses na coronagevallen bij Dresden: "Geen reden om te twijfelen"  sporza.be
2. Volledige ploeg Dynamo Dresden moet één week voor herstart Duitse competitie in quarantaine: “Kunnen 14 dagen niet spelen”  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. Al 3 spelers besmet: "Niet twijfelen aan de voortzetting 2. Bundesliga"  VoetbalNieuws.be
4. 2 extra besmettingen bij Dresden: team in quarantaine en duel met Hannover uitgesteld  sporza.be
5. Geen twijfels over hervatting Duits voetbal na nieuwe besmettingen: “Vanaf het begin gezegd dat we hierop voorbereid zijn”  Het Laatste Nieuws
6. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. Tubeke krijgt geen licentie en zakt naar tweede amateurklasse  Het Laatste Nieuws
2. Tubeke vangt bot bij BAS en zakt naar tweede amateurklasse  sporza.be
3. Tubeke krijgt geen licentie nationale amateurs en zakt voor het tweede seizoen op rij  Het Nieuwsblad
4. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. Club Brugge vraagt stemming om komend seizoen met 18 clubs af te werken  Het Nieuwsblad
2. De Ketelaere, Doku en Verschaeren, maar ook goudhaantjes van Juventus en Inter: wij gingen op zoek naar de 50 grootste talenten van ons land  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. Club Brugge stuurt voorstel rond: 1A met 18 clubs zonder play-offs  sporza.be
4. Het plan van Club Brugge: 18 clubs in 1A, geen play-offs  VoetbalNieuws.be
5. Club Brugge stuurt mail naar alle profclubs en legt plan voor 1A met 18 en zonder play-offs op tafel  Het Laatste Nieuws
6. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. KBVB wil het BAS buitenspel zetten - Voetbalnieuws  Voetbalkrant.com
2. Voetbalbond hervormt licentieprocedure na “zoveelste debacle...  Het Nieuwsblad
3. Het laatste woord is nog niet gezegd: "Niet ondenkbaar dat KBVB en clubs zich burgerlijke partij stellen in strafonderzoek naar Moeskroen”  Het Laatste Nieuws
4. Ballast v/h BAS: waarom JPL-stemming een zware klus wordt  VoetbalNieuws.be
5. Westerlo wil verdere stappen ondernemen tegen Moeskroen en beslissing BAS - Voetbalnieuws  Voetbalkrant.com
6. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

Boer Tristan zorgt voor allereerste 'Boer zkt Man': “Tuurlijk zitten er veel collega's in de kast”  Het Laatste NieuwsHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. Zijn hitlijst was lang, zijn invloed op latere iconen zoals The Beatles en Prince immens: flamboyant rock-'n-rollpionier Little Richard (87) is niet meer  Het Nieuwsblad
2. Rock-n'-rollpionier Little 'Tutti Frutti' Richard (87) overleden  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. Rock 'n' roll-pionier Little Richard is overleden, herontdek zijn grootste hits  VRT NWS
4. Little Richard drukte zware stempel op de rock-'n-roll  De Tijd
5. Muzieklegendes over Little Richard: “Als ik zijn muziek beluisterde, kon ik God horen”  Het Laatste Nieuws
6. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. Deze onlinegames zijn nu veel beter dan bij hun lancering en ideaal in corona-tijden  AD.nl
2. Deze onlinegames werden veel beter met de tijd  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

Samsonite plant ontslagronde in Oudenaarde  De TijdHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

Elon Musk wil Teslafabriek verhuizen uit protest tegen lockdown  De TijdHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

KMI waarschuwt met 'code geel' voor onweer in groot deel van het land  Het Laatste Nieuws

Experts luiden noodklok over misbruik coronasteun  Het Belang van LimburgHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. Fauci en twee andere leden van coronateam Witte Huis in quarantaine  De Standaard
2. Meer dan 4 miljoen coronabesmettingen in de wereld  De Tijd
3. Live: Reproductiegetal Duitsland stijgt tot 1,1 | Al drie leden coronateam Witte Huis in quarantaine  Volkskrant
4. Drie leden coronateam Witte Huis in quarantaine  RTL Nieuws
5. Aantal coronadoden in de VS stijgt met ruim 1500  Telegraaf.nl
6. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

Italiaanse vrijwilligster 1,5 jaar na ontvoering in Kenia bevrijd  De MorgenHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. Voormalige TVL-kok 'Chef Moke' overleden (Wellen) - Het Belang van Limburg Mobile  Het Belang van Limburg
2. Wellense chef Moke Karmaoui overleden: “Je blijft ons grote voorbeeld en onze held”  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. Limburgse chef Moke Karmaoui (50) overleden: “Je blijft ons grote voorbeeld en onze held”  Het Laatste Nieuws
4. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

75 nieuwe coronadoden, 83 nieuwe ziekenhuisopnames  De Standaard

Zes vriendinnen schrijven elk hun levensverhaal: “Ik was beschaamd en heb hier met niemand over gepraat. Tot nu”  Het Nieuwsblad

LIVE. Laatste 24 uur 75 overlijdens gerapporteerd en 83 nieuwe ziekenhuisopnames  Het Laatste Nieuws

1. Als de viroloog “nee” zegt en de handelaar “ja”: moet je maandag al meteen gaan winkelen?  Het Nieuwsblad
2. Het dilemma: moet ik maandag gaan winkelen?  De Standaard
3. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

LIVE. Curve daalt verder, aantal nieuwe ziekenhuisopnames opnieuw ruim onder de 100  Het Laatste Nieuws

1. Medium-intensity earthquake strikes Delhi, adjoining areas; 3rd amid Covid-19 lockdown  Hindustan Times
2. Earthquake of magnitude 3.5 hits Delhi-NCR  Times of India
3. Earthquake in Delhi: Tremors felt in national capital region  The Financial Express
4. Magnitude 3.4 Earthquake Strikes Delhi, Epicentre Near UP Border  News18
5. Breaking news live : Eathquake tremors felt in Delhi, adjoining areas  Times of India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

The Kansas City Chiefs will look to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2020, but their regular season schedule won't offer any concessions.

NASCAR will make its return to the track on May 17 at Darlington Raceway – but that doesn't mean fans have been without racing for the past two months.

Mary Pratt, who played for the Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, has died

There are mixed feelings among executives about the idea, ranging from frustration to begrudging acceptance.

Kicks, punches and grunts echoed through the empty arena

WATCH: Dalls wins Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final vs. Buffalo | Stars CLASSICS

WATCH: Stars Take Game 3 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final | Stars CLASSICS