Mindfulness and music
Build the Life You Want by Arthur C Brooks and Oprah Winfrey is a book on happiness that suggests that you can change your life incrementally towards the life you want - through family relationships, friendships, work/service, spiritual path, and teaching others. The book includes information on the science of happiness, stories, examples, history, life... Continue Reading →
A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: From Alchemy to Avatars, is a children's book about the history of lifespan extension - ranging from mythology to religion to stories to science and beyond. The book is brief, but is a guide to all the different ways humans have thought about living longer or defying death, or even... Continue Reading →
This graphic novel adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera tis unusual in its drawings and reminds me of old black-and-white abridged comic versions of classic books. The scenes were moving and brought tears to my eyes (like Frankenstein does!). If you are a fan of the show and the music, you will enjoy this.
Flickr - Attr No Derivs I recently finished Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," which is in the top 100 books. I love dystopian futuristic tales, and this one does not disappoint. It's now, of course, also a movie and a modernized TV show, and touches on themes of feminism, race, gender identity, totalitarian government, even... Continue Reading →
The book "The Faithful Spy" by John Hendrix is a graphic novel that tells the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who grappled with his own sense of what was right, his desire for peace, and the atrocities perpetrated by Hitler. The book questions the place of religion, and for me was a refresher... Continue Reading →
This book, Indian Classical Music and Dance, is a full history and deep dive into Indian classical arts - particularly music. I love pulling out pieces of interesting history for context in lessons, or adding color to an explanation of a song, to help students picture and place the composition. The book makes an interesting... Continue Reading →
I'm currently reading Star Maps for Beginners by Levitt and Marshall. In this day of apps and digital tools, it might seem backward to use a paper book to look up at the night sky. But this book is a classic, and includes things you might never consider: use a red light filter to look... Continue Reading →
The graphic novel How I Survived Four Nights on the Ice is a great example of resilience, indigenous wisdom, and the importance of traditional skills and Transition-like sharing of information, as well as the critical role of community. It shows that while we can have a lot of inner wisdom passed on from our elders... Continue Reading →
A Glance Backward is a graphic novel, with an eerie vibe, but the story is sensitive and intricate, sharing inner feelings about loneliness and growing up, our internal anxieties and basic struggles in life, through dream-like imagery, all without words. The pages are painted beautifully, but the story will leave you wrenched - be prepared... Continue Reading →
Image by Phghvvcftyyufj from Pixabay Recently I gathered various books on home design and beautification - when feeling like there's too much, I like a little inspiration. If you're trying to find books at the library: find the area (I like to just look up one book, then go to that shelf and browse the... Continue Reading →
Okachiko - Sit There 