Ravenweb Blog

There are so many books out now focusing on some aspect of the environment, including climate change, sustainability, green business initiatives, and many other concerns. Please share any books you've recently read in the Comments that relate to Earth Day or the environment. In case you're looking for something to read, here are a few titles relating to the environment that I'd recommend: Unbowed by Wangari Maathai Unbowed is compelling the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner and Green Belt founder Wangari Maathai's devotion to natural balance and sustainability. Read Full Review In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan Food may not come to mind immediately when considering Earth Day topics, but Pollan's messsage is as much about ecological sustainability as it is about nutrition. Read Full Review Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen Fruitless Fall explores the perilous state of honey bees, which in recent years have been dying at unprecedented levels. Read ...

I was in the bookstore this evening, and there were a number of displays featuring famous works by prominent black authors. The spread included titles by Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. While all of these writers are great -- and I encourage you to read them all -- it got me thinking about which black authors and titles by black authors I would recommend. After some deliberation and a decision to focus on lesser-known and genre writers, I came up with the following short list of recommended titles by black authors. Happy reading. The Chaneysville Incident by John Bradley The Chaneysville Incident is a well-honed and affecting story of historian John Washington's attempt to discover what happened to thirteen runaway slaves in Chaneysville, Pennsylvania. The protagonist's efforts to reconstruct the past elevate the narrative, through various rhetorical devices and an interesting contrast that plays out thr...

So I'm traveling to Japan on Sunday and I'm looking for recommendations for a really long book for the flights. The kind of book that is fun and rewarding but might be intimidating to start due to its length. Basically, the kind of book you need to take a running start at. Can anyone offer any suggestions? Keep in mind that I'm looking for something that's fun and that will keep me riveted. I'm certainly not trying to fill in one of the many gaps in my reading of the classics (no Proust, thank you very much). The book also shouldn't be so huge in size that it doesn't pack well.