The Inside Scoop: Stories by Global Activists

I have been reading Anodea Judith’s book Waking the Global Heart: Humanity’s Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love, this week. It is a thoroughly original look at human/cultural evolution that blends history, mythology, psychology and chakra energy systems to explain the collapse of our institutions and material world, and provide insight for developing a new story for humanity that is life-affirming. She argues that since humans are now capable of influencing the trajectory of evolution, we are faced with a tremendous responsibility which is calling forth a maturity of the heart so that each of us can choose how, or whether, to take part in the creation of a more livable world.

Many people are already engaged in creating a more livable world and their stories are being told more, and more. While each of these stories centers on personal experience with human or environmental misery, I offer them up as hopeful antidote to the doom and gloom so prevalent these days, because of the courage, creativity and action they portray.  May you too find ways to share your concern and your gifts with the global community

 More than good intentions: how a new economics is helping to solve global poverty, by Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel.

 And still peace did not come: a memoir of reconciliation, by Agnes Kamara-Umunna and Emily Holland.

 Rat island : predators in paradise and the world’s greatest wildlife rescue, by William Stolzenburg.

 It happened on the way to war : a marine’s path to peace,  by Rye Barcott.

 How sportsmen saved the world : the unsung conservation efforts of hunters and anglers, by  E. Donnall Thomas Jr.

 When Johnny and Jane come marching home: how all of us can help veterans, by Paula J. Caplan

Short and Bittersweet

 Finding it hard to find time to read these days? In that case, I’ve got a tiny dose of tiny bittersweet novels for you. They’re small enough to nearly read in one sitting. And so compelling that you’ll want to.  — Laura T.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway  (235 pgs)
During the siege of Sarajevo, a man watches from his window as 22 of his friends and neighbors are killed by a single shell while waiting in line for bread. He quietly puts on his tux, picks up his cello, and plays in the wreckage for 22 days. From there, the narrative shifts between three other survivors in the war zone, one of them a sniper charged with keeping the cellist alive during his “concerts.” A moving novel without veering towards maudlin or sappy. It’s a haunting look at how hope sustains people during war and how sometimes survival means creating your own hope.

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville       (203 pgs)
As Matt and his pregnant wife Marissa await their first child, Marissa develops an obsession with the antique cradle she used as a child. But her absentee mother took it when she abandoned the family years ago. At Marissa’s insistence, Matt sets off on a quest to track the cradle down. The journey quickly becomes less about the cradle and more about the journey itself as Matt contemplates his impending fatherhood.

The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger    (250 pgs)
When Lady Duff Gordan journeys to Egypt to seek relief from her tuberculosis symptoms, her maid Sally accompanies her. Duff Gordan was a real life figure who wrote of her experiences in Egypt in the 1800s. Pullinger imagines the life of the maid, about whom little is known. Once in Egypt, Sally experiences freedoms she never knew in London and finds herself happier than she ever dreamed possible. But those freedoms can’t last forever, and the price she has to pay may prove too high.

Festival of the Birds this Saturday

Festival of the Birds Saturday May 8th 9am-3pm FREE
Sellwood Park, just south of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

This Saturday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the City of Portland and Portland Audubon are sponsoring a festival celebrating the migratory birds that make Portland their home part of the year. This free family friendly event includes guided bird tours of Oaks Bottom, bird-related crafts and activities, live storytelling and music, and a chance to meet live birds of prey up close.

Portland Opera 2009/10 Season

The Portland Opera 2009/10 season began this week, with the theme of Love & Marriage.  As they say:

“You’re invited to a season that spins, dances, soars & celebrates with Love & Marriage”

It’s a great line-up beginning with La Boheme by Puccini, then moving on to Orphee by Philip Glass, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, a work by Leonard Bernstein called Trouble in Tahiti, and finishing with The Barber of Seville by Rossini. If you can’t make it to the performances, check out the many recordings Washington County has of these great operas:

La Boheme performances
Orphee (coming soon)
Cosi Fan Tutte performances
Trouble in Tahiti performances
The Barber of Seville performances

Banned Books Week

Celebrate your freedom to read- with banned books.

Every year the American Library Association and libraries across the country take a week to bring attention to the practice of book banning.  The ALA compiles a yearly list of books challenged by individuals and groups who want to remove books from schools and public libraries. Reading should be an individual choice, and libraries support freedom of access to materials. We believe that everyone should have the freedom to choose what to read, and that no one individual shouldn’t have the ability to decide what is right for all.

At Cedar Mill Library, there is a display of banned & challenged books available for checkout. Cedar Mill & Bethany have many of the books that were banned or challenged elsewhere. Take a look- you may be surprised at what you find. A brochure, available here,  lists the books that were banned or challenged in 2008-2009, why they were challenged and by whom, and what decision the reviewing entity made. The history of banned books from previous years is available at the CML Adult Reference desk.

While they last, there are bookmarks and “I read banned books” buttons, free for the taking.  New this year, there is also a “name the quotes” contest at both Cedar Mill and the Bethany branch. Quotes from famous banned books are displayed & everyone can enter to win a prize. Come into the library to see how many quotes you can identify.