Book Bites are quick, five minute looks at a book from readers. Try a new book this week!
Today’s book is Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Cave on Earth, by James M. Tabor.
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We’re sharing some books that investigate the ways music can impact your brain and mental well-being.
This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by David Levitin
“Whether you load your iPod with Bach or Bono, music has a significant role in your life—even if you never realized it. Why does music evoke such powerful moods? The answers are at last be- coming clear, thanks to revolutionary neuroscience and the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Both a cutting-edge study and a tribute to the beauty of music itself, This Is Your Brain on Music unravels a host of mysteries that affect everything from pop culture to our understanding of human nature.”
Music Medicine: The Science and Spirit of Healing Yourself With Sound by Christine Stevens
“With Music Medicine, music therapist Christine Stevens presents an information-packed resource, filled with scientifically-based practices for accessing and attuning to the natural healing properties of music.”
Tune In: A Music Therapy Approach to Life: Use Music Intentionally to Curb Stress, Boost Morale, and Restore Health by Jennifer Buchanan
“Tune In is a mix of personal stories, real-life examples, interactive exercises, tips, and checklists all designed for the person who is looking for inspiration and a boost to feeling better. When we experience the right music, in the right way, transformation can happen – improved wellness, a boost in motivation, overall feelings of happiness, and stronger communities.”
The Tao of Music: Sound Psychology by John Ortiz
“Just about everyone likes to listen to music to put them “in the mood,” and these techniques get you “out” of a mood! The “Tao” part is about accepting what you’re feeling, and dealing with it, by using Dr. Ortiz’s methods. Includes musical menus that you can use to create your own program for dealing with issues, koans for meditation, and various other fun exercises to make music a part of your holistic health program.”
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
“Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music.”
In the middle of the state where CMLE is located, things are pretty flat. But if you venture north or south, you can find some pretty impressive waterfalls to admire! If you need something to tide you over in the meantime, here are some books (not necessarily all based in MN) to read or recommend:
Waterfalls of Minnesota by Lisa Crayford
“Let Master Photographer Lisa Crayford guide you to the top-ranked waterfalls in the state, as well as her “secret waterfalls.” Your bucket list should definitely include these 117 gorgeous locales that decorate Minnesota’s landscape, including bridge views, short hikes, secluded waterfalls in urban areas and hidden gems along the North Shore.”
Waterfalls of Minnesota’s North Shore: A Guide for Sightseers, Hikers, and Romantics by Eve Wallinga
“Let the Wallingas lead you along scenic pathways to the magnificent waterfalls of Lake Superior’s North Shore. The Wallingas have explored the rivers and creeks flowing into Lake Superior and have provided maps and directions to over 130 waterfalls.”
Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash
“Les, a long-time sheriff nearing retirement, contends with the ravages of poverty and crystal meth in his small Appalachian town. Nestled in a beautiful hollow of the Appalachians, his is a tight-knit community rife with secrets and suspicious of outsiders.
Becky, a park ranger, arrives in this remote patch of North Carolina hoping to ease the anguish of a harrowing past. Searching for tranquility amid the verdant stillness, she finds solace in poetry and the splendor of the land.
A vicious crime will plunge both sheriff and ranger into deep and murky waters, forging an unexpected bond between them. Caught in a vortex of duplicity, lies, and betrayal, they must navigate the dangerous currents of a tragedy that turns neighbor against neighbor—and threatens to sweep them all over the edge.”
Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren
“Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds…until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.
Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.”
A New Path to the Waterfall by Raymond Carver
“Raymond Carver, author of Where I’m Calling From, is widely considered one of the great short story writers of our time. A New Path to the Waterfall was Carver’s last book, and shows a writer telling the truth as best as he knows how in the time left to him. The sixty-odd poems in this collection are linked by Carver with selections from other writers, most notably Chekhov, whose work was an inspiration and a guide, and by the cumulative force of the life and death questions he poses in them.”
Whooo!!!! We like to read! And it’s pretty cool that the Freedom To Read Foundation (FTRF) is celebrating their 50th anniversary!!!
If you want to get involved, and get cool stuff, you can support their Kickstarter program now!! (I just did, and am very excited for it to get finished and send me my book!) Check out all the info, and prepare to get excited too!
The Freedom to Read Foundation is celebrating its 50th anniversary and we’re publishing a book to commemorate the work of the foundation!
“Reading Dangerously” commemorates the Freedom to Read Foundation’s fifty years of advocacy, education, and litigation through essays, oral histories, images, and book excerpts. “Reading Dangerously” will feature a forward by author Neil Gaiman and an essay by former director James LaRue that looks forward to the foundation’s next 50 years.
All proceeds from this Kickstarter will support the creation of the book and further FTRF’s mission to advocate, educate and litigate for freedom of expression.
As a thank you for supporting our campaign we are giving away some amazing rewards that include: A Freedom to Read Bracelet, Nadine Strossen’s, HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship, Neil Gaiman’s, Art Matters, and an autographed Neil Gaiman poster featuring his famous quote ” A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.”
The Freedom to Read Foundation is a nonprofit legal and educational organization founded in 1969 to promote and protect the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press; protect the public’s right of access to information and materials stored in the nation’s libraries; safeguard libraries’ right to disseminate all materials contained in their collections; and support libraries and librarians in their defense of First Amendment rights by supplying them with legal counsel or the means to secure it.
In addition to its litigation and legal advocacy in defense of First Amendment freedoms, the foundation supports projects and programs to educate librarians and the public about the importance of defending the right to read and speak freely by providing grants to libraries, schools, and community institutions across the country. FTRF also supports and funds initiatives and scholarship programs to improve intellectual freedom education for LIS professionals and students.
For additional information regarding the 50th Anniversary Celebration, please visit www.ftrf.org/page/FTRF50
Dreams are just so mysterious, it makes sense there are tons of books out there about them. Here are just a few to choose from, if you’re interested in the topic!
Queen of Dreams by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Rakhi, a young painter and single mother, is struggling to come to terms with her relationship with ex-husband Sonny, a hip Bay Area DJ, and with her dream-teller mother, who has rarely spoken about her past or her native India. Rakhi has her hands full, juggling a creative dry spell, raising her daughter, and trying to save the Berkeley teahouse she and her best friend Belle own. But greater challenges are to come.”
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
“George Orr is a man who discovers he has the peculiar ability to dream things into being — for better or for worse. In desperation, he consults a psychotherapist who promises to help him — but who, it soon becomes clear, has his own plans for George and his dreams.”
The Book of Dreams by Nina George
“Henri is about to meet his teenage son, Sam, for the first time. But as Henri crosses Hammersmith Bridge, an accident happens. Sam reads about it in the newspaper – his father is a hero, now in a coma in hospital. So their first meeting takes place there, alongside the hospital’s neurologist, whom the staff name God and is the first person to treat Sam as an equal in intelligence. And that’s because Sam, due to a condition called synaesthesia, can sense things the doctors can’t – he can see the colors of his father’s thoughts and dreams, and many relationships build from this.”
Matthew’s Dream by Leo Lionni
“Matthew the mouse lives in a dreary corner of a dusty attic. But a trip to the museum helps him to see his surroundings in a new way. With brush in paw, Matthew sets out to paint “the shapes and colors of joy.” A cleverly told and beautifully illustrated tale of self discovery from four-time Caldecott Honor winner Leo Lionni.”
That Is My Dream! by Langston Hughes, illustrated by
Daniel Miyares
“Follow one African-American boy through the course of his day as the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice comes into vivid focus. But the boy dreams of a different life–one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun.”