Lilah

By Marek Halter
Translated from the French by Howard Curtis
2006

Third in the series which includes Sarah and Zipporah, this is a tragedy.
Lilah is the sister of Ezra, and encourages him to lead the exiled Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. At great personal cost she accompanies him.
As the story moves from Susa to Jerusalem via Babylon and its ziggurat, hope gives way to despair. Zealotry and the desire to be pure to please Yahweh lead to the tragic ending.
As with the other stories in this series, Biblical stories are brought to life and ancient cultures described in a way that adds colour.

UML A Beginner's Guide

Jason T. Roff
2003

Knowing nothing about UML, other than a rough idea of what it is, I found this a very useful reference book and am ordering a copy for school from Fishpond.
Each module follows a similar format, addressing the topics of

• defining the type of diagram described
• explaining why the type of diagram is used
• identifying the components of the diagram type
• demonstrating how to make the diagram

Each module then offers a project that follows the "how to" steps, and then shows a model answer.
The book is supported by online diagram files (click the Code link on this page to download a zipped folder of the project diagram files).

Love Without Hope

By Rodney Hall 2007

Madness - or insanity, or even lunacy - are these set and scientific states, or are they labels applied to suit personal agendas?
In this book, an elderly lady is put into an institution controlled by the "Master in Lunacy". Other residents wear coir head protectors in case of epileptic fits. An equally elderly alcoholic doctor comes to a dramatic rescue, and there is a bull involved.
Quotes I liked:
"You are not dying because you are ill. You are dying because you are alive." Montaigne
And, describing a view from the main character's bedroom, when she thinks she can hear a storm approaching:
" Each tree stands in its customary pot of shadow. Upright remains upright. Reflections on the dam lie flat. And down at the sea's edge sculpted dunes expose flanged and sensuous curves to the sun. Grasshoppers swarm unharmed and unswept from the sky till the non-impeded birds swoop among them for a mid-air harvest."

Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic

Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic by Petroutsos et al
2008
978-0-470-10188-9

I found this book by chance on the library shelf and have ordered a copy to use with my second and third year programming students this year - coincidentally we have just made the move from VB 6 to VB 2005, which is the version used by this book. I have read as far as Chapter 8 and have found the explanations and examples to be pitched right to make sense. It is also good to see a student website that supports the book with pre-tests, post-tests and files to download.

Dragonsbane

Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
1985
ISBN0345349393

I started reading the third book in this series, and realised that I needed to go back to the beginning to make sense of it. I am glad that I made the effort to request Dragonsbane and now look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Themes include magic, power and the secret desires of mages, dragons, gnomes and humans. And it is a great story, with vivid descriptions. There are very strong female characters.
If you want to know more about this book read this comprehensive review or get the book yourself.

Note that I am not posting so often now as I am back at work again!