Q: CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.

THE VISIBLE MADONNA.

The crowd had no sooner passed onward than Romola descended to the street, and hastened to the steps of San Stefano. Cecco had been attracted with the rest towards the Piazza, and she found Baldassarre standing alone against the church-door, with the horn-cup in his hand, waiting for her. There was a striking change in him: the blank, dreamy glance of a half-returned consciousness had given place to a fierceness which, as she advanced and spoke to him, flashed upon her as if she had been its object. It was the glance of caged fury that sees its prey passing safe beyond the bars.

Romola started as the glance was turned on her, but her immediate thought was that he had seen Tito. And as she felt the look of hatred grating on her, something like a hope arose that this man might be the criminal, and that her husband might not have been guilty towards him. If she could learn that now, by bringing Tito face to face with him, and have her mind set at rest!

"If you will come with me," she said, "I can give you shelter and food until you are quite rested and strong. Will you come?"

"Yes," said Baldassarre, "I shall be glad to get my strength. I want to get my strength," he repeated, as if he were muttering to himself, rather than speaking to her.

"Come!" she said, inviting him to walk by her side, and taking the way by the Arno towards the Ponte Rubaconte as the more private road.

Answer the following questions:
1. Where was Baldassarre standing?
2. who moved towards him?
3. was Baldassare muttering to himself?
4. who was he talking to?
5. who did she want him to see?
6. what did she offer him?
7. did she move slowly or quickly to San Stefano?
8. where did Cecco go?
9. what was Baldassare holding?
10. who did she think he was?
11. was he waiting for her?
12. what was his expression like?
13. did she feel hated?
A: 1. alone against the church-door
2. Romola
3. No, but talked as if he was
4. Romola
5. Tito
6. shelter and food
7. quickly
8. towards the Piazza
9. A horned-cup
10. the criminal
11. yes
12. caged fury
13. She felt a look of hatred
Q: When we asked Oprah to pick the 10 books she's read in the past decade that have mattered to her most, she was momentarily stumped. For someone who describes herself as --inspired, challenged, and sustained by books, it was almost impossible for Oprah to stay within our limit of 10. Still, she offered up the following, but she emphasized that it was only a sampler of delightful titles that have also managed to teach her -- and all of us -- a few things.

1. Discover the Power Within You

By Eric Butterworth

256 pages; Harper One

Advice from the internationally known spiritual teacher.

2. A New Earth

By Eckhart Tolle

316 pages; Plume

There's a reason Oprah picked this for her Book Club in 2008 -- and that she gave audience members Post-it pens along with their copies.So much wisdom, so little time! A real-life guide to living your best life.

3. The Poisonwood Bible

By Barbara Kingsolver

576 pages; Harper Perennial

This novel is about a family involved in the political trouble of postcolonial Africa. It established Kingsolver as one of our wisest observers of history, politics, and human nature.

4. Night

By Elie Wiesel

120 pages; Hill and Wang

A memoir of a childhood suffered in concentration camps during the Holocaust. It's horrific butuplifting. --I gain courage from his courage,|| Oprah says.

5. A Fine Balance

By Rohinton Mistry

624 pages; Vintage

A Dickensian novel about India during the Emergency. Like the aftermath of September 11, it teaches us about cultures we haven't understood. "It takes us out of our own little shell and exposes us to a whole other world out there." Oprah say.

6. East of Eden

By John Steinbeck

608 pages; Penguin

This classic is about good and evil as played out in a late-19th-century California ranch family. If you didn't read it in high school, read it now. If you did, reread it!

7. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

By David Wroblewski

576 pages; Harper Collins

A kind of Hamlet on the prairie, this is the wrenching story of a mute boy and his dog. Oprah compares it to East of Eden and To Kill a Mickingbird.

8. The Pillars of the Earth

By Ken Follett

973 pages; Penguin

About the challenges of building cathedrals in 12th-century England. This novel couldn't be more different in setting, time, and plot from the author's breakthrough success, Eye of the Needle. Oprah declares it simply "great".

9. The Bluest Eye

By Toni Morrison

224 pages; Penguin

How to choose among the great Morrison's novel? Start with this one about a girl who thinks she has to have blue eyes to be beautiful. Oprah considered it one of the best in a crowded Morrison field.

10. The Known World

By Edward P. Jones

400 pages, Harper Collins

When this book was published in 2003, it shocked everybody with its description of slave-owning blacks before the Civil War. A daring, unusual examination of race.

Answer the following questions:
1. Whose book club was it?
2. Was she asked to choose 12 books to highlight?
3. How many, then?
4. Were these all the ones she loved?
5. Were these all from the last year?
6. Does every one chosen have a different writer?
7. Which one was #3?
8. What was the title?
9. How many subjects is the writer described as being wise on?
10. Which title is also a physical attribute?
11. Who wrote it?
12. How long is it?
13. Is there many works by this writer?
14. Which title was chosen in 2008?
15. Who wrote it?
16. What were readers given alongside it?
17. Which title is similar to Shakespeare?
18. How long is that one?
19. What company put it out?
20. Which Shakespeare is it compared to?
A:
1. Oprah's
2. no
3. 10
4. no
5. no
6. yes
7. Barbara Kingsolver
8. The Poisonwood Bible
9. Three
10. The Bluest Eye
11. Toni Morrison
12. 224 pages
13. Yes
14. A New Earth
15. Eckhart Tolle
16. Post-it pens
17. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
18. 576 pages
19. Harper Collins
20. Hamlet