Audio Books Galore

May 1, 2018April 13, 2018MaryLeave a comment

If you are looking for ways to fit more books into your life, audio books is a great way to do it. You can listen anywhere. Many prefer to listen while driving or exercising. I prefer to listen while knitting or doing housework. Others have shared with me that they listen while working on a puzzle. I would like to invite you to join us at the library to listen to The Essential Agatha Christie Stories on Monday mornings in May at 11AM. It’s a small gathering in our Community room, seated around a puzzle, fresh cup of coffee in hand & tasty cookie, while a central speaker broadcasts some good mysteries as if it were long ago. Sounds pretty relaxing, eh? Not available to join us, keep in mind, Spring is in the air. Maybe you are finding yourself outdoors more often, possibly gardening or walking. Why not catch up on your reading while enjoying the outdoors with an audio book. Below are some recommended titles. Give it a try!

AUDIO BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

AUDIO BOOKS THAT WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD

BEST NARRATED AUDIO BOOKS

THE LATEST AND GREATEST AUDIO PICKS

(GET YOURSELF ON THE HOLD LIST ASAP)

The Dimensions of Paradise

March 29, 2018April 3, 2018LukeLeave a comment

Dimensions of paradise

It’s unfortunate that in recent years the ‘Da Vinci Code phenomenon’ has sensationalized and thereby trivialized the reality of multiple levels of information in ancient texts. Such levels exist. But they are not the sensationalized “code” of national bestsellers or Hollywood scripts. The Dimensions of Paradise by John Michell is a work about the underlying information in the biblical book of Revelation, specifically the 21^st chapter and the measurements of The New Jerusalem. It follows along lines of ancient cosmology and language, not modern superstitions about the end of the world.

Unlike the mistaken way most interpreters grapple with Revelation, i.e. as if it were written to foretell the future, Michell approaches the text with something of the mind of the ancient Hellenistic world. As a student of Platonic philosophy and the religious spirit of that time, he doesn’t make the mistake of reading a text concerned with eternal principles as if it were concerned with mere historical prediction. He doesn’t approach the text as if it were written for the modern mind.

Michell’s interpretation of the symbols in Revelation begins with the ancient alpha-numeric science called “gematria.” Many ancient languages, including the Greek in which Revelation is written, contain alphabets whose characters function not only as phonetic symbol, but numeric value as well. In Greek, for example, there is no separate system of numeration. If an ancient Greek writer wanted to short-hand a numeric value, he would string together a group of appropriate letters. Because of this phenomenon then, every word in the language equates to a number value. This word-number correlation gave rise to a system of encoding information through names, words, and phrases in a text that isn’t visible through the surface story, and is lost entirely in translation. Michell understands this ancient method and uses it to unravel key information from the text. He explains each step as he goes along.

Michell’s major contention is that the measurements of the New Jerusalem reflect a standard set of dimensions applied to numerous physical sites around the world, such as Stonehenge, as well as other mythical sites such as Plato’s imagined city of Magnesia. This standard set of dimensions he terms the “Greek number canon.” He dedicates an entire chapter to the major numbers of this canon and what they symbolize. This canonization of number and proportion was intended to radiate into every aspect of society: art, education, architecture, and law. If followed without deviation, civilization could expect continued health and prosperity.

This book will be more enjoyable for English readers who can read some ancient Greek. It’s not written exclusively for those folks, however, as Michell translates the Greek words and phrase appearing in his book. It’s written for anyone interested in the subjects of ancient cosmology, Greek number science, and biblical symbolism.

Unmasking Egyptian Religion

February 15, 2018LukeLeave a comment

The Kemetic Tree of Life

My fascination with ancient Egypt goes back as far as I can remember. Sculpture, temple ruins, pyramids, animal headed gods, and walls filled with hieroglyphs have always remained a fascination. But it’s been my experience that most books on ancient Egypt scratch only a little below the surface of its cultural remains or long-held conventional conclusions.

The Kemetic Tree of Life is for the serious seeker after the symbolism and mysticism of ancient Egypt. It is an exploration of the oldest of the several major religious systems to come out of ancient Egyptian culture. These several systems were in no way opposed to each other. Rather, each one focused on a different aspect of the Egyptians’ concept of Immanent Reality. The Kemetic Tree discusses the tradition that arose in the city of Anu, or the “Anunian Theurgy.”

“Kemetic” is an anglicized form of the ancient Egyptians’ term for their own country, the land of Khem.

Popular nonfiction works on ancient Egypt tend to be academically guarded and unwilling to offer conclusive specifics concerning Egypt’s spiritual systems, or they talk about Egyptian spirituality with constant reminders – subtle or otherwise – about its superstitious and primitive nature. The latter is simply modern arrogance. Dr. Ashby’s depth is refreshingly different. He doesn’t approach the remnants of ancient Egypt as an academic, but as a practitioner of its spiritual science. He appears to have a command of hieroglyphic symbol and the ancient Egyptian language. His text incorporates approximations of the Egyptian vocabulary – key words and phrases relevant to an understanding of the Anunian Theurgy specifically and Egyptian spirituality generally. I had to start a file to keep them straight. In this way, his book parallels many Western works on Eastern philosophy and religion, e.g. Hinduism, where ancient Sanskrit terms are incorporated throughout. He also does not use the classic Hellenized names for Egypt’s gods – Osiris, Isis, Horus, Anubis, etc., but instead retains the Egyptian approximations – Asar, Aset, Heru, Anpu, etc. The Kemetic Tree also includes many figures of hieroglyphic images and mythological scenes. Essentially, the book is intended to initiate the reader into living this spiritual science. Its chapters include lectures, questions and answers, and sections to promote meditative journaling.

A drawback to the text is that it’s poorly proofread, if at all. The author writes in a very conversational style which often sets an enjoyable pace for reading. But it lends itself to run-on sentences, strange phrasings, and numerous grammatical errors that can grind that enjoyable pace to a halt. Since Dr. Ashby is in something of a class by himself in presenting such profound and sophisticated teachings in an easily readable and digestible way, I wish the text’s final grammatical form were in pristine condition. It would make The Kemetic Tree even more enjoyable.

Even though the style of writing is non-academic, as a seeker I enjoy seeing sources for the information presented, especially when an author makes claims and presents information very few others have offered. The information Ashby presents is in no way outlandish, although it may certainly seem so to someone reading him without the proper background in ancient religious systems and symbols – the very different mentality of antiquity relative to the present day. But nonetheless, the boldness and intricacy of Ashby’s statements seems to demand numerous and varied sources for credibility. Unfortunately, he does not offer many sources outside his own writings. He’s written prolifically; and The Kemetic Tree is not the first book he’s written. Perhaps sources outside his own research and intuitive recognition are given in some of his other works.

African American History Month- Resources at the Library

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018GregLeave a comment

Below we have a selection of materials available here at Rocky River Public Library.

For more materials at Rocky River Public Library please click here.

Cover image for Black fortunes : the story of the first six African Americans who escaped slavery and became millionaires

“The astonishing untold history of America’s first black millionaires–former slaves who endured incredible challenges to amass and maintain their wealth for a century, from the Jacksonian period to the Roaring Twenties–self-made entrepreneurs whose unknown success mirrored that of American business heroes such as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Thomas Edison.”

An African American and Latinx history of the United States

“An intersectional history of the shared struggle for African American and Latinx civil rights. Spanning more than two hundred years, An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a revolutionary, politically charged narrative history arguing that the “Global South” was crucial to the development of America as we know it. Ortiz challenges the notion of westward progress, as exalted by widely taught formulations such as “manifest destiny” and “Jacksonian democracy,” and shows how placing African American, Latinx, and Indigenous voices unapologetically front and center transforms American history into the story of the working class organizing against imperialism.”

The New Negro : the life of Alain Locke

“In The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, Jeffrey C. Stewart offers the definitive biography of the father of the Harlem Renaissance, based on the extant primary sources of his life and on interviews with those who knew him personally. He narrates the education of Locke, including his becoming the first African American Rhodes Scholar and earning a PhD in philosophy at Harvard University, and his long career as a professor at Howard University. Locke also received a cosmopolitan, aesthetic education through his travels in continental Europe, where he came to appreciate the beauty of art and experienced a freedom unknown to him in the United States. And yet he became most closely associated with the flowering of Black culture in Jazz Age America and his promotion of the literary and artistic work of African Americans as the quintessential creations of American modernism. In the process he looked to Africa to find the proud and beautiful roots of the race. Shifting the discussion of race from politics and economics to the arts, he helped establish the idea that Black urban communities could be crucibles of creativity. Stewart explores both Locke’s professional and private life, including his relationships with his mother, his friends, and his white patrons, as well as his lifelong search for love as a gay man.”

Smoketown : the untold story of the other great Black Renaissance

“The other great Renaissance of black culture, influence, and glamour burst forth joyfully in what may seem an unlikely place–Pittsburgh, PA–from the 1920s through the 1950s. Today black Pittsburgh is known as the setting for August Wilson’s famed plays about noble but doomed working-class strivers. But this community once had an impact on American history that rivaled the far larger black worlds of Harlem and Chicago. It published the most widely read black newspaper in the country, urging black voters to switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party and then rallying black support for World War II. It fielded two of the greatest baseball teams of the Negro Leagues and introduced Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pittsburgh was the childhood home of jazz pioneers Billy Strayhorn, Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner; Hall of Fame slugger Josh Gibson–and August Wilson himself. Some of the most glittering figures of the era were changed forever by the time they spent in the city, from Joe Louis and Satchel Paige to Duke Ellington and Lena Horne.”

I am not your Negro

“Master documentary filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and a flood of rich archival material. A journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter.”

American experience. Freedom riders

“In 1961, the Civil Rights Movement in America was at a turning point — while the Supreme Court had ruled that racial segregation was illegal, in many parts of the South public facilities were still divided into areas for blacks and whites, and while president John F. Kennedy spoke out in favor of civil rights, his administration had done little to practically remedy the situation. So a group of student activists stepped forward to force the issue of desegregation — dozens of college students, both black and white, began traveling together by bus through the segregated South, and simply by sitting together, eating together and sharing motel rooms, they raised controversy (often followed by violence) for flouting conventions that had been held for generations. The young civil rights activists became known as “Freedom Riders,” and as their actions became national news, they played a vital role in finally putting an end to Jim Crow laws in the South and eliminating the “separate but equal” doctrine. Filmmaker Stanley Nelson combines newsreel footage, rare photos and new interviews with the activists who faced danger to fight prejudice in the documentary Freedom Riders, which was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. “~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Against the odds the artists of the Harlem Renaissance

“Part social engineering, part artistic happening, the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s brought the accomplishments of African-Americans to the forefront of popular culture. Against All Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance remembers the glory days of the New York neighborhood. Spurred by efforts from the NAACP and the Urban League, black Americans were urged to step up creatively after the 1919 race riots. The result was a blossoming of talent through theatre, music, dance, and art. Harlem became a place of intrigue as people recognized the heightened activity. This one-hour presentation traces the history of this important American movement. “~ Sarah Ing, Rovi

African American History Month-Art in Cleveland

February 10, 2018February 9, 2018GregLeave a comment

Today we are featuring the rich history of the arts in Northeast Ohio. Below are different opportunities to see and support the arts within our community.

The Memory Project highlights the work of artists who were featured in:

Each in Their Own Voice: African-American Artists in Cleveland, 1970-2005

An exhibition at Cleveland State University Art Gallery which ran from from January 23 to March 7, 2009.

Current has on displayed

AFRICAN AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: PERMANENT COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

On view November 24, 2017 – March 4, 2018.

The GoogleDoodle celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was created by Cleveland-based artist Cannaday Chapman in collaboration with the Black Googlers Network (BGN) and was featured on Cleveland.com.

Untitled

Looking for a local way “to celebrate, stimulate, and encourage the study of works created by African and African American artist”? Think about joining Friends of African and African American Art.

What we’re reading now..

February 9, 2018SaraCLeave a comment

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

Cover image for August, a worldly anthropologist, has returned to New York to bury her father, but after running into an old friend at the subway station, she is flooded with childhood memories. At a young age, August’s father has moved her & her younger brother from Tennessee to Brooklyn. Once settled into Brooklyn, August finds her best girlfriends in Angela, Gigi and Slyvia. Angela and Gigi are from fractured families, and Sylvia has over bearing parents with high expectations. The four girls together navigate growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970’s. The girls find comfort, happiness and security in their friendship within turbulent times nationally and in their own neighborhood. The effects of the Vietnam war, white flight, drug abuse, poverty, absent mothers and predatory men are intertwined with their adolescent years. Tragedy ultimately pulls at their friendship. A beautiful and poetic coming of age story about girlhood, friendship, dreams and loss. Mary

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

Cover image for I’ve been listening to this trilogy on audiobook and really loving it. The books are The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Right now I’m near the end of The Subtle Knife. Although the novels are often considered young adult literature, they can really appeal to young and old alike. There’s a great blend in the books of realistic and fantastic elements, and the characters are compellingly and convincingly drawn. The books are so absorbing! Listening to them, and being entranced by them, reminds me of my experience reading books as a kid – the way you can really get pulled into the story and experience in a really intense way the magic of reading. Andrew

Hellraiser Omnibus. Volume One by Clive Barker

Cover image for So one thing that may be coming very clear is I am a big fan of horror, specifically supernatural horror. This month I have decided to review a graphic novel I finished recently, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Omnibus. Volume One. This volume contains issues Hellraiser #1 to #20 and Hellraiser Annual #1 which seem to pick up years after the second film. (One note is that these comics were originally published between 1989-1993 so the comics contained don’t reference the films past those dates.) Pinhead is of course in this collection but the stories told here wildly expand the Hellraiser universe with new characters, cenobites, and new views of hell/horror. The best thing about this volume is it combines many out of print collections of comics into one handy volume. If you are a fan of horror and the Hellraiser world this is a don’t miss. Greg

Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau

Cover image for Chris Guillebeau provides a handbook for developing an effective alternative source of income in his book by giving practical applications for finding extra income while pursuing a passion. I found the example scenarios inspiring, and it has helped me to start searching for my side hustle opportunity hidden in my daily activities. Beth

In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami (Ralph McCarthy, Translator)

Cover image for Kenji, an unlicensed guide for foreign tourists, makes his living providing tours for those looking to experience the seedier side of Tokyo nightlife. So when his current client Frank’s behavior seems strange and troublesome, it isn’t because Kenji is naïve that he begins to wonder what Frank’s real intentions are. An unnerving psychological thriller. Trent

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Cover image for The positive buzz and awards earned by this book are amazing. However, it is the dramatic historical fiction story, which reminds me a bit of the multigenerational miniseries Roots, and the “what if” aspect of the Underground Railroad in this telling being a real subterranean train that made me add it to my reading list. When Colson Whitehead appeared at a marketing conference in Cleveland last year giving a talk about storytelling, I picked up a copy of this book. I have high expectations for it and so far it is not disappointing. The humanity and lack of humanity in the slave experience comes across powerfully through Whitehead’s language. Byron

Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict

Cover image for A recent immigrant from Ireland, Clara Kelley, assumes the identity of a fellow passenger who died during the voyage. She secures a position as lady’s maid to Margaret Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie’s mother. Clara’s goal is to send money back to her struggling family in Ireland. Andrew is attracted to Clara, and they secretly spend time together. Andrew shares some of his business expertise with Clara and welcomes her suggestions until Clara disappears when Mrs. Carnegie learns of her deceptions. For lovers of historical fiction. Emma

Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller

Cover image for This book is an extension of a column Kelsey has been putting out every Monday since November 2013 called “The Anti Diet Project.” In the column—and, to a greater extent, in the book—Kelsey commits to unlearning disordered eating and distorted body image. With the help of an Intuitive Eating coach, she figures out how to eat based on her body’s instincts and how to exercise rationally and sustainably. All throughout this process, she examines how her relationship with food and her body was impacted by family, friends, and significant others. I am listening to the audiobook, and Kelsey is hilarious, sharp-as-a-whip, and wholly relatable. I highly recommend this book for any person who has been made to feel shame for their body shape or food choices. It is a liberating and empowering read (or listen). Lyndsey

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Cover image for This novel by author of The Dry takes us once again to a remote area of Australia as Federal Agent Aaron Falk investigates the disappearance of an important whistleblower in one of his cases. Five colleagues from a family-owned business are forced to take a “team-building” nature excursion as part of a corporate retreat, but when one doesn’t return, Agent Falk suspects that some of her co-workers know more than they are telling. This book gives a look into the complex relationships between co-workers, lovers, friends and family. Sara

The Red Clocks by Leni Zuma

The Red Clocks is The Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation. Four women in a small Oregon town struggle with new laws that grant personhood to embryos and make IVF and abortions illegal. Ro is a single woman in her forties desperately trying to get pregnant. Susan is an unhappy housewife and mother. Mattie, one of Ro’s best students, is facing an unwanted pregnancy. Their lives intersect when Gin, a reclusive homeopath with connections to all three, is arrested. The Red Clocks is an audacious and unapologetic cautionary tale. Megan

-The African American History Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society- African-American History Month

February 7, 2018GregLeave a comment

Our next featured local resource is the African American Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Established in 1970, the archives mission is to “collect, preserve and make accessible historic documents, photographs, memorabilia, art, and artifacts pertaining to African American life, history and culture in Northeast Ohio.” Online you can browse through their catalog to see the archive’s holdings and its location within the Historical Society. Additionally they offer an useful subjects tab that lets you narrow your search results. It should be noted that there are materials that cover national history as well.

For information on the African American Archives Auxiliary or to find out how to support its work, contact:

Sherlynn Allen-Harris
African American Archives Auxiliary, Acting President
Western Reserve Historical Society, Board of Directors, Ex-Officio Member
sallenharris@ameritech.net

Additional programs at the Western Reserve Historical Society:

-Cleveland Historical- African-American History Month

February 5, 2018February 5, 2018GregLeave a comment

Our first featured local resource is Cleveland Historical: “Developed by the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University, Cleveland Historical lets you explore the people, places, and moments that have shaped the city’s history.”

There is an amazing wealth of information on landmarks and events telling the story of life in Cleveland. This site offers pictures, recorded oral history, news clippings, and cited sources to continue your own research. They organize topics by “Tours” which is centered around a single topic and the different Below is a link to African Americans in Cleveland, a Tour spanning over a 100 years of public and personal accounts.

African Americans in Cleveland

Curated by The Cleveland Historical Team

Euclid-East 105th Area, 1946 ID: 6240

Adonees Sarrouh and J. Mark Souther, “Cleveland’s Second Downtown,” Cleveland Historical, accessed February 5, 2018, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/49.

African-American History Month

February 2, 2018February 5, 2018GregLeave a comment

In observance of African-American History Month we will be highlighting local African-American history and research from the Cleveland and the Northeast Ohio area. To start off we have an article from two years ago by the Plain Dealer which was the source material for the text I used in the display in our library.

43 notable African-Americans with ties to Cleveland:

Celebrating

Black History Month

blackhistory month

-Greg

New Year, New You?

January 16, 2018DoriLeave a comment

So many advertisers and self-help gurus turn the New Year into an opportunity to make us all feel guilty about our lives and I am the first to admit that I am not immune to these siren calls. Would I like to improve a few things? Sure! And using the New Year as a starting point, a clean slate, is a very useful tool. But all that pressure can make us feel even worse and even backslide. Let’s not let that happen people! Let’s make this a journey, not a race.

One trip to the library and you can find a wealth of information to guide you on any journey you’d like to begin. Here are a few suggestions to get you started: