There's nothing wrong with needing a little help, and as tomorrow, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day, we're sharing this list of five encouraging reads to give you a lift during uncertain or unprecedented times.
Category: Science & Technology
‘The Fragile Earth’- The Book to Read Right Now on Climate Change
David Remnick and Henry Finder have gathered an insightful collection of the New Yorker's most integral reporting on climate change, from years past to present and, of course, years to come in The Fragile Earth.
Actress and Longtime Activist Jane Fonda to Release Book on Climate Action
The purpose of the climate change conversation has always transcended making someone at the dinner table uncomfortable; Jane Fonda knows this, and she has plenty to say about it.
A seasoned activist and no stranger to commanding the attention of a room (says her 50+year-old career on the big screen and her wildly famous exercise tapes), Jane Fonda penned What Can I Do?: My Path From Climate Despair to Action after being brought to her feet by organizers like Greta Thunberg, Naomi Klein, Jansikwe Medina-Tayac, and student climate strikers. In this thorough recount of her participation in green activism (including speeches by climate scientists and community leaders), Fonda gives her audience the tools to join the fight for environmental sustainability, in hopes that we may become successfully and knowledgeably involved.
Reminiscent of when she moved from her quiet farmhouse in France back to the American hotbed of Vietnam War protests and civil rights demonstrations back in1968, Fonda moved to Washington D.C. in the Fall of 2019 in order to lead weekly protests on Capitol Hill. These “Fire Drill Fridays” are nonviolent demonstrations where celebrities use their platforms to lobby for sustainable environmental legislation, and to empower climate change activists.
“Change is coming by design or by disaster. A green new deal that transitions off fossil fuels provides the design,” Fonda states on her Fire Drill Fridays website.
So far, Jane Fonda has been arrested five times during her weekly protests, once while accepting a BAFTA Britannia award. Among other Hollywoodites who have been arrested at these events are Fonda’s Grace & Frankie co-stars Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterson, and Martin Sheen, Steel Magnolias’ Sally Field, and The Good Place’s Ted Danson.
What Can I Do?: My Path From Climate Despair to Action will be available for purchase as of September 29th, 2020, and 100% of the proceeds will go to Greenpeace.
Feature image via Greenpeace
A Case For KenKen (And The Best Books To Get Started)
Kenken puzzles are a great way to keep your brain active and challenged. And the best part?. There's tons of books to choose from!
Joanna Cole, Creator of ‘Magic School Bus,’ Passes at Age 75
Joanna Cole, cherished author and creator of The Magic School Bus series, passed away at age 75 this past Sunday. The cause was reported to be due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
A former elementary school librarian in Brooklyn, Cole was inspired to create The Magic School Bus based upon her own love for science and a science teacher from her childhood who acted similarly to Ms. Frizzle. Many of Cole’s books received various accolades, making it on the ALA Notable list and winning NSTA/CBC Non-fiction awards. Last month, it was announced that a live-action version of The Magic School Bus was in preparation, to be produced by and starring Elizabeth Banks.
Dick Robinson, CEO of Scholastic, remembers Cole fondly.
In the world of children’s books, it is not often necessary for illustrator and writer to actually meet, but there were conundrums with [Magic School Bus]. Every page was so complicated we had to make decisions: how to make it work. Could it work? And we did. Together. And we became friends. What Joanna has meant to the world, what there is in the world because of her, is well known. What she meant to me I can’t describe. Everyone who knew her, worked with her, loved her, knows what a loss it is.
Cole will be deeply missed, and the knowledge and heart she brought to all of us will live on forever through her art. As the beloved author once stated:
People ask me, ‘Are you like Ms. Frizzle?’ And, as you can see, I don’t dress like Ms. Frizzle and I don’t have hair like Ms. Frizzle. But in one way we are alike. We both like to explain things. And so if you’re with me, you’re going to learn a lot of stuff that you may not even want to know about – because I’ll tell you.
