The blind-hostile DMV: Blind pedestrian safety questions scarce on drivers tests

If the ideas mentioned in the following book were utilized with a greater degree of frequency by urban planners, perhaps, more communities would be more pedestrian friendly thus benefiting both blind and sighted alike!

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, RC 52208, by Andres Duany and others.

Three planners offer ways to "once again build and inhabit places worth caring about." They use examples of old and new communities (including two revitalized by their firm) to explain the differences between suburban sprawl and traditional neighborhoods. Discusses how many aspects that make older communities more livable are often against code.

Coming to My Senses: An enjoyable VI-related book

Coming to My Senses, RC 56381, by Pam Rice

Details from Amazon

To learn more about The Talking Book Program mentioned in my blog, visit www.loc.gov/nls.

The Kingdom of Hawaii--through young eyes

Kaiulani: The People's Princess, RC 57440, by Ellen Emerson White.

Princess Kaiulani begins her diary in 1889 in Oahu as she learns her
royal duties in preparation for leading the Hawaiian people. At thirteen she is sent to England to study. Meanwhile rebel Americans conspire to make the islands their own. For grades 5‑8. 2001.

Bittersweet: The Story of Sugar: A book review

Bittersweet: The Story of Sugar, RC 57299, by Peter Macinnis and read by Bill Wallace

Sample quote: "If we need sweetness in our food, perhaps, we should seek other ways of finding it; because right now our joint human sweet tooth looks set to cause a nasty absyss in the environment."

Also see Raising Cane, freelance writer Patricia Gannon's sugar story in the Dec. 22, 2004 issue of the Times: Acadiana's Weekly Newspaper, in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Yep, they do sugar in Louisiana. All is not sweetness about the Central American Free Trade Agreement--which would knock down sugar tariffs, aiding consumers but costing local jobs.

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For those interested in reading a fictionalized account of the 5th or 6th century circumnavigation of Africa, see the following:

Fleet surgeon to Pharaoh, RC 12129

Historical novel about the first sea voyage that takes place in the sixth century B.C. when a Phoenician fleet sails from Egypt around Africa. The central character is a Jewish physician and priest, who goes to Egypt to learn more about the art of medicine after the death of his wife.

The vocab game

Ethan Frome chatcast tonight

From academic librarian Tom Peters--whom you can contact for further details:

The Meting of the Minds Online Book Discussion Group at 7 p.m. CST today will discuss the classic 1911 novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton. This is a tale of retribution about a discouraged New England farmer and his hypochondriac wife. Their empty lives are suddenly changed when her cousin, a young girl who still finds joy in life, comes to live with them.

Because Ethan Frome is in the public domain, numerous online versions can be downloaded free of charge. There also are numerous study guides and group discussion questions available online. For example, a guide in the Spark Notes series contains information about the characters, plot, action, symbols, themes, etc.

Click on the "Meting" link above to reach Tom's virtual auditorium. The chat software will install automatically. It does not contain any spyware.

The sponsor of Meting is the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center. While the discussions are for the blind visually imparied, anyone is welcome to join the chatcast. The more particpants, the better, so don't feel you're imposing. Also, you can just listen and enjoy the program without asking questions.

A blind-hostile commercial?

The princess (continued)

With the royals: A princess with BPD?

When a loved one has borderline personality disorder

The Sky So Big and Black: A book review

Below, see a list of books I want to read in 2005.

Books I want to read in 2005

Click here for David F's list of books to read in 2005. It starts with Midge Decter's An Old Wife's Tale: My Seven Decades in Love and War.

Unabridged: Digital audio books for the blind

From Tom Peters, coordinator of Unabridged, an audio e-book service for the blind:

Today libraries serving blind, visually impaired, and physically handicapped readers in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Oregon, as well as the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), part of the Library of Congress, announce a new service, Unabridged, that provides digital audio books for print-impaired readers. A full press release is available.

Top books, 2004: Part II

Top books, 2004: Part I

Hornet Flight.
RC 55279.
by Ken Follett.
read by David Hartley-Margolin.
3 cassettes.
Denmark, 1941. Eighteen-year-old Harald Olufsen discovers a
secret Nazi radar installation on his island home. With the
help of his brother's English fiancée, Hermia--a spy--and
the Danish resistance movement, Harald attempts to cross the
North Sea to warn the British. Some descriptions of sex,
some violence, and some strong language. Bestseller 2002.
RC 55279.
##

Belle and the Beau.
RC 55426.
by Beverly Jenkins.
read by Laura Giannarelli.
2 cassettes.
In 1859 sixteen-year-old Belle Palmer escapes from slavery
in Kentucky to Michigan, where she is hidden by the freedmen
Best family. Belle falls in love with their son, Daniel,
although he has been promised to another. For senior high
readers. 2002.
RC 55426.
##
Good historical info. I liked that Belle bought a Singer sewing
machine on the installment plan.

The Red Rose Box.
RC 56079.
by Brenda Woods.
read by Erin Jones.
1 cassette.
In 1953, Leah's Aunt Olivia sends her a red rose traveling case for
her tenth birthday and train tickets from New Orleans to Los
Angeles, where there are no Jim Crow laws. A hurricane changes
Leah's life and ideas about home and family. For grades 4-7.
Coretta Scott King Honor Book. 2002.
RC 56079.
##

Blind Sighted.
RC 55570.
by Peter Moore.
read by Erik Sandvold.
2 cassettes.
Eleventh-grader Kirk Tobak is moody and bored with school,
his alcoholic mother, and druggie friends. His job reading
for an independent young blind woman, with whom he discusses
his problems, gives Kirk new insights. Some descriptions of
sex and some strong language. For senior high and older
readers. 2002.
RC 55570.
##

An American Summer.
RC 55568.
by Frank Deford.
read by Erik Sandvold.
2 cassettes.
Summer, 1954; Baltimore. Fourteen-year-old Christy meets a
wealthy and beautiful twenty-three-year-old neighbor named
Kathryn. She has been paralyzed and confined to an iron lung
due to polio, yet helps Christy master his swimming
technique and cope with growing up. Some descriptions of sex
and some strong language. 2002.
RC 55568.
##
"A lot of life is dumb luck."


The Devil Wears Prada.
RC 56233.
by Lauren Weisberger.
read by Martha Harmon Pardee.
3 cassettes.
Unfashionable Ivy League graduate Andrea Sachs lands a prized job
as assistant to legendary fashion editor Miranda Priestly. After
almost a year of working fourteen-hour days performing personal
services for her intolerable prima donna boss, Andrea has to choose
between servitude and her true self. Strong language. Bestseller
2003.
RC 56233.
##

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution.
RC 55887.
by Paul Hawken and others.
read by Jake Williams.
4 cassettes.
Framework for transforming industrial development according
to economically rational and ecologically sound principles.
The authors maintain that "natural capitalism" can provide
"more meaningful family-wage jobs, a better worldwide
standard of living to those in need, and a dramatic
reduction of humankind's impact upon the environment."
Examines auto industry's successful application of "resource
productivity." 1999.
RC 55887.
##

The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the World-Wide Energy
Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth.
RC 56321.
by Jeremy Rifkin.
read by Tom Burch.
2 cassettes.
Bestselling author and social critic envisions a future
fueled by hydrogen that will change the nature of economic,
social, and political institutions worldwide. Rifkin
emphasizes the inevitable depletion of harmful fossil fuels
and explores new technology that uses hydrogen as a clean
and renewable energy source. 2002.
RC 56321.
##

Tropic of Night.
RC 55874.
by Michael Gruber.
read by Jill Fox.
4 cassettes.
Miami Afro-Cuban detective Jimmy Paz is investigating a series of
gruesome murders when he encounters anthropologist Jane Doe. While
in
Africa, Jane and her husband had discovered a secret village where
they learned witchcraft. Now Jane is hiding from her husband, who
is using his magic powers for evil. Violence and strong language.
2003.
RC 55874.
##

Thursdays at Eight.
RC 54737.
by Debbie Macomber.
read by Mitzi Friedlander.
2 cassettes.
Four women friends from a writing class meet weekly for
breakfast and companionship. Despite their age differences,
Clare, Liz, Karen, and Julia find support and solace during
difficult times that include divorce, death, career
decisions, and motherhood. 2001.
RC 54737.
##
Journaling may bother me because it quantifies mortality. It
recognizes the passage of time and of what you have left undone.
visit www.debbiemacomber.com

The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient
Japan.
RC 56609.
by Ivan Morris.
read by Gordon Gould.
3 cassettes.
Presents the cultural context of the eleventh-century
literary masterpiece _The Tale of Genji (RC 53582)_, whose
central figure is known as the Shining Prince. Discusses the
Heian era of aristocracy and civilization in ancient Japan
from about 950 to 1050 CE. 1964.
RC 56609.
##

Orbital Resonance.
RC 57085.
by John Barnes.
read by Erin Jones.
2 cassettes.
Space, 2025. Melpomene Murray is a typical teenager who
happens to live on an asteroid colony. When classmate
Theophilus Harrison arrives from the devastated Earth, she
begins to care about the future of her ancestral planet
while some plans for her future develop. Some strong
language. For senior high and older readers. 1991.
RC 57085. Wonder if there is a sequel.

Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food
Preserving Changed the World.
RC 55479.
by Sue Shephard.
read by Kerry Cundiff.
3 cassettes.
Interweaves a chronicle of the development of preserved,
portable food with a discussion of how it enabled people to
evolve from hunter-gatherers to become explorers, settlers,
and world traders. Uses facts and anecdotes to explain the
connection between society's evolution and techniques for
drying, smoking, pickling, potting, canning, freezing, and
dehydrating. 2000.
RC 55479.
##

Rereads

Acquired Tastes

River of Dreams

Thunder at Twilight

Dolores Claiborne:

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman

You win some, you lose some