volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Echoes of Love’s House by William Morris. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 9th, 2011. William Morris was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts throughout his life. Today, Morris's poetry is little-read. His fantasy romances languished out of print for decades until their rediscovery amid the great fantasy revival of the late 1960s following the phenomenal success of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But his textile and wallpaper designs remain a staple of the Arts and Crafts Revival of the turn of the 21st century, and the reproduction of Morris designs as fabric, wrapping paper, and craft kits of all sorts is testament to the enduring appeal of his work. The William Morris Societies in Britain, the US, and Canada are active in preserving Morris's work and ideas....

Advice, Instruction, Literature, Philosophy, Romance, Poetry

volunteers bring you 19 recordings of Tact by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for April 22, 2012. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States. ( Summary by Wikipedia )...

Advice, Instruction, Politics, Poetry

Notes on Nursing was published in 1859 and is a fascinating view into the theories underpinning the early development of modern nursing and public health reform by the Lady with the Lamp, Florence Nightingale. Emphasising common sense and thought for the patient's care in many more ways than just administering physician-prescribed medicines, this is still a very relevant book for those interested in health or caring for the sick and infirm today. Summary by Cori Samuel....

Instruction, Advice, Science

The turmoil of the world we cannot avoid, but the disturbances of mind we can overcome. The duties and difficulties of life claim our attention, but we can rise above all anxiety concerning them. Surrounded by noise, we can yet have a quiet mind; involved in responsibilities, the heart can be at rest; in the midst of strife, we can know the abiding peace. The twenty pieces which comprise this book, unrelated as some of them are in the letter, will be found to be harmonious in the spirit, in that they point the reader towards those heights of self-knowledge and self-conquest which, rising above the turbulence of the world, lift their peaks where the Heavenly Silence reigns. (Summary from Above Life's Turmoil )...

Advice, Philosophy

We cannot ignore the fact that we must eat, and that much as we dislike to acknowledge it, we are compelled to think a great deal about filling our stomachs. This is especially true these days, when prices have soared and soared and taken along with them, far out of the reach of many of us, certain articles of food which we heretofore have always felt were quite necessary to us. About ten years ago the idea of writing a little cook book had its birth. We were in Almora that summer. Almora is a station far up in the Himalayas, a clean little bazaar nestles at the foot of enclosing mountains. Dotting the deodar-covered slopes of these mountains are the picturesque bungalows of the European residents, while towering above and over all are the glistening peaks of the eternal snows. The people of India since Vedic times have eaten curry and always will. (Excerpt from text.)...

Cookery, Advice, Instruction

volunteers bring you 23 recordings of An Old Man's Thought of School by Walt Whitman. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 12, 2012. Whitman claimed that after years of competing for the usual rewards, he determined to become a poet. He first experimented with a variety of popular literary genres which appealed to the cultural tastes of the period. As early as 1850, he began writing what would become Leaves of Grass, a collection of poetry which he would continue editing and revising until his death. ( Summary from Wikipedia )...

Advice, Instruction, Philosophy, Teen/Young adult, Poetry

A fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature. The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive, gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about sexual health, and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. It gives lists of names for the penis and vagina, has a section on the interpretation of dreams, and briefly describes sex among animals. Interspersed with these there are a number of stories which are intended to give context and amusement....

Advice, Erotica, Instruction, Romance

Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was of Spanish origin, being born about 35 A.D. at Calagurris. At Rome he met with great success as a teacher and was the first rhetorician to set up a genuine public school and to receive a salary from the State. He left behind him a treatise On the causes of the decadence of Roman oratory (De causis corruptae eloquentiae), some speeches and his magnum opus, the only one to survive to our days. His Institutio Oratoria, despite the fact that much of it is highly technical, has still much that is of interest to‑day, even for those who care little for the history of rhetoric. (Summary adapted from the translator's preface) This first volume covers books 1 to 3....

Advice, Ancient Texts, Classics (antiquity), Instruction

Back in the day before automobiles, a good horse trainer and veterinarian was the equivalent of “Mr Goodwrench”. A badly behaving or unhealthy equine was equivalent to breaking down on the highway or running out of gas on a lonely stretch of highway somewhere in Utah. My sources tell me that most of the training methods are ok, but stay away from the medical tips unless you are prepared to become the poster boy or girl for the local SPCA. Listen with tongue in cheek, and check with a professional before attempting any of these techniques on a real animal. Mike Vendetti, narrator...

Advice, Animals, Instruction, Nature

Kalimát-i-Maknúnih (کلمات مکنونه) or The Hidden Words is a book written in Baghdad around 1857 by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. This work is written partly in Arabic and partly in Persian. The Hidden Words is written in the form of a collection of short utterances, 71 in Arabic and 82 in Persian, in which Bahá'u'lláh claims to have taken the basic essence of certain spiritual truths and written them in brief form. Bahá'ís are advised by `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of Bahá'u'lláh to read them every day and every night and to implement its latent wisdom into their daily lives. He also said that The Hidden Words is a treasury of divine mysteries and that when one ponders its contents, the doors of the mysteries will open. The text of the Hidden Words is divided up into two sections: one from Arabic, and another from Persian. Each consist of several short, numbered passages. The Arabic has 71 passages, and the Persian has 82. This audiobook only contains the Persian section. Each passage begins with an invocation, many of which repeat. Some common invocations include O Son of Spirit, O Son of Man, and O Son of Being. Bahá'í pr...

Advice, Philosophy, Religion

Summary from The Path of Prosperity: I looked around upon the world, and saw that it was shadowed by sorrow and scorched by the fierce fires of suffering. And I looked for the cause. I looked around, but could not find it; I looked in books, but could not find it; I looked within, and found there both the cause and the self-made nature of that cause. I looked again, and deeper, and found the remedy. I found one Law, the Law of Love; one Life, the Life of adjustment to that Law; one Truth, the truth of a conquered mind and a quiet and obedient heart. And I dreamed of writing a book which should help men and women, whether rich or poor, learned or unlearned, worldly or unworldly, to find within themselves the source of all success, all happiness, all accomplishment, all truth. And the dream remained with me, and at last became substantial; and now I send it forth into the world on its mission of healing and blessedness, knowing that it cannot fail to reach the homes and hearts of those who are waiting and ready to receive it....

Advice, Philosophy

Bennett asks us to consider our brains as the most wonderful machine, a machine which is the only thing in this world that we can control. As he writes: I am simply bent on calling your attention to a fact which has perhaps wholly or partially escaped you -- namely, that you are the most fascinating bit of machinery that ever was. As ever, his prose is honeyed, his thoughts inspired, and his advice as relevant today as when it was written....

Advice, Essay/Short nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychology

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, over half are in dialect. His famous works include Little Orphant Annie and The Raggedy Man. (summary from Wkipedia)...

Advice, Instruction, Philosophy, Poetry

A collection of articles from Good Housekeeping magazine, The Good Housekeeping Marriage Book focuses on the subject of marriage. With instructions and advice from courtship to raising children, this collection aims to assist those with questions and concerns surrounding marriage and the ensuing relationship. Published in 1938. (Summary by Robin Cotter)...

Essay/Short nonfiction, Advice, Instruction

This is an unusual story of the English Civil War. There is a good account of the Battle of Newbury, and many historic figures appear: Cromwell (very prominent), Ireton, Prince Rupert, Charles I, Fairfax, and Lambert. The setting for this tale of men and arms is taken from the stirring days of the Bavaliers and the Roundheads, of Puritans and the so-called malignants; but the machines of war are rather in the background, while in the spotlight is a witching woman, a conqueror of hearts and a marker of destinies. The story tells of a woman's ambition that urges valiant men to perilous deeds. (Summary by Barnes & Noble)...

Historical Fiction, Advice

Bob Brown, after living thirty years in as many foreign lands and enjoying countless national cheeses at the source, returned to New York and summed them all up in this book. Born in Chicago, he was graduated from Oak Park High School and entered the University of Wisconsin at the exact moment when a number of imported Swiss professors in this great dairy state began teaching their students how to hole an Emmentaler. After majoring in beer and free lunch from Milwaukee to Munich, Bob celebrated the end of Prohibition with a book called Let There Be Beer! and then decided to write another about Beer's best friend, Cheese. But first he collaborated with his mother Cora and wife Rose on The Wine Cookbook, still in print after nearly twenty-five years. This first manual on the subject in America paced a baker's dozen food-and-drink books, including: America Cooks, 10,000 Snacks, Fish and Seafood and The South American Cookbook. (Summary from the book jacket)...

Cookery, Advice, Instruction

From the Preface of The Speaking Voice: principles of training simplified and condensed : This book offers a method of voice training which is the result of a deliberate effort to simplify and condense, for general use, the principles which are fundamental to all recognized systems of vocal instruction. It contains practical directions accompanied by simple and fundamental exercises, first for the freeing of the voice and then for developing it when free. Parts I and II of the book comprise advice on vocal production and techniques, while some chapters in Part III provide detailed guidance on the vocal interpretation of various literary genres, including the essay, various types of poetry, short stories, dramatic monologues and plays. Some chapters comprise mainly examples for practice, and include complete poems and stories. The reader has endeavoured to follow the author's instructions, but makes no guarantee as to her success, especially in the poetic realm....

Advice, Instruction, Poetry, Short stories

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890-1964) was a leading American socialist and feminist. Her book Sabotage, the conscious withdrawal of the workers' industrial efficiency was written to explain the utility and legality of sabotage. (Summary by Enko)...

Politics, Advice

How to live on 5 cents a day! How to survive financial ruin without losing your house! How to keep to a bare bones budget and still have money left over to buy books! Tough questions! They were tough questions even in the 1870’s, when Sarah Elizabeth Harper Monmouth penned her quirky memoir, the subtitle of which was “How a Lady, Having Lost a Sufficient Income from Government Bonds by Misplaced Confidence, Reduced to a Little Homestead Whose Entire Income is But $40.00 per Annum, Resolved to Hold It, Incurring no Debts and Live Within it. How She has Lived for Three Years and Still Lives on Half a Dime a Day.” Sarah Elizabeth (‘Lizzie‘) Monmouth, born in 1829, was a Civil War widow, living on a run-down small farm in New Hampshire, when her investments imploded. She awoke one morning to find herself poor--an old roof above her, “dearer than life,” but “not a dollar of money left.” For months she was “paralyzed with cold, clammy terror . . . stunned and knew not what to do.” Then her “mind stepped to the front with a bold standard displayed.” She said to herself “Understand, once for all, that I rule and make your plans accordingly....

Advice, Memoirs

Originally from the Opera 'Clari, Maid of Milan,' 'Home! Sweet Home!' is John Howard Payne's most famous work. Written in 1823 it has been widely quoted and referenced in other works ever since. This is the Weekly Poetry project for the week beginning November 13th 2011. (Summary by Lucy Perry)...

Advice, Instruction, Memoirs, Nature, Philosophy, Poetry

Rufus Estes was born a slave in 1857 in Tennessee, and experienced first hand the turmoil of the Civil War. He began working in a Nashville restaurant at the age of 16, and in 1883 took up employment as a Pullman cook. In 1897, he was hired as principal chef for the private railway car of U.S. Steel magnates (the fin-de-siecle equivalent of today's Lear Jets for corporate travel). There he served succulent fare for the rich and famous at the turn of the 20th century. (Summary by Denny Sayers)...

Cookery, Advice, Instruction

This is the authoritative book written by Montessori to describe her methods. It gives an overview of the Montessori Method as developed for 3 to 6 year olds. It is a short work, intended as a manual for teachers and parents, detailing the materials used as well as her philosophy in developing them. As a result of the widespread interest that has been taken in my method of child education, certain books have been issued, which may appear to the general reader to be authoritative expositions of the Montessori system. I wish to state definitely that the present work, the English translation of which has been authorized and approved by me, is the only authentic manual of the Montessori method ... M. Montessori in the Preface ( Summary by Phil Chenevert )...

Advice, Instruction, Children, Psychology

The Keepsake, or, Poems and Pictures For Childhood and Youth, is a collection of twenty pastoral poems published as one collection in London, 1818. The topics are moral encouragement for children, young and old alike. (Summary by Sam Stinson)...

Children, Advice, Poetry

Dole briefly sketches the history of life, and shows how it has a definite direction - toward the survival of the kind and gentle people. It's a challenging, and quite persuasive argument, and also a much needed one in light of the dog-eat-dog theories out there. Dole shows that in our evolving society, our traditional understanding of survival of the fittest needs to be updated. A book that was way ahead of its time, yet so suited to it. Some may argue that - since he was writing The Coming People before the first two world wars - that he was obviously wrong. However, his argument remains valid given current scientific evidence cited in such books as Evolution and Empathy, and The Age of Empathy, and it's noteworthy that he wrote another book after World War I (see, A Religion for the New Day, 1920, where he states that while society is still quite barbaric, he retains his powerful conviction that it is improving and improvable. ). Also, Dole points to the many flaws of his time (and ours too), and stresses the need to fix them in a peaceful, intelligent manner. Many of the issues he grappled with remain just as strong today, and h...

Advice, Philosophy, Politics, Religion

The Broken Vase and Other Stories; for Children and Youth, Compiled by a Teacher FITCHBURG: PUBLISHED BY S. & C. SHEPLEY. 1847. WM. J. MERRIAM, PRINTER, FITCHBURG. (Summary from the Frontspiece)...

Adventure, Advice, Children, Fiction, Instruction, War stories