Collection of Love Gifts by Helen Steiner Rice

If you need a book in grade to cheer you up, changing the course of your day I would suggest this one by Barbour. I just jope I haven't reviewed this one. I discovered it in a folder classified as EPUB, PDF. I miss and I miss a lot reading and reviewing Barbour books,through NetGalley and I count to sort out the problem of my reader soon.

It's a real Love Gift A Collection of Love Gifts by Helen Steiner

Rice. When I started to read her reflections, her poems I remained surprised by their profoundity, their humanity and delicate touch. Written and dedicated to all of us, these poems and reflections are great because they  inspire only positive vibes, just words of encouragement if you need it. Of course you can read these phrases also when you want more energy, or when you are searching for a most profound connection with life, God, situations. Sometimes life is unfair, other times can be upsetting, although there is no problem that the author hasn't touched for cheer you up leeting you feel not just that you are alive, but important, and taken in consideration by God; your work is important whatever you do, and you life is precious. So let's stay cheerful everyday as suggest the author, because it is a mental state more healthy. Plus, when our heart is cheerful, fear can't stay close to us.

From a chinese proverb:

For you can't do a kindness

without a reward,

not in silver nor gold

but in joy from the Lord ---

You can't light a candle

to show others the way

Without feeling the warmth

of that bright little ray----

And you can't pluck a rose,

all fragrant with dew,

Without part of its fragrance 

remaining with you.

Beautiful, highly suggested to everyone! 

Anna Maria Polidori 

Books for Dogs stellarly on the net

It's with great joy that I can announce to all my local readers that the charity Books for Dogs created several years ago by a bunch of british and Americans ladies located in Umbertide, close to Perugia has a website: booksfordogs.org where you'll find a lot of news, photos of dogs in adoption and much much more.

If you are also curious, you can visit the profile of the various ladies behind this charity, sometimes "lived" as mysterious, because unknown, with a brief biography of some of them. Gill the scones lady, Penny, the founder, Angela, as the name tell that, the messenger of news for all estimators of the charity. 

Not only: the ladies launched themselves and the charity on Facebook creating a page called booksfordogs_libripercani, very well done and where you can post impressions, asking info if you want to adopt a dog or if you need to donate something to the ladies for this good cause.

The ladies are exttremely active and only on 2018 they accumulated more than 12.500 euros for the charity. "Never seen all that money before. It has been a wonderful year." 

At the moment Angela shared with us the news that the charity recently donated 3.100 euros to Ponte Pattoli refuge for various urgent urgently needed things. "We are very pleased to be able to be of help to Lia who runs the refuge and works tirelessly for the dogs in her care" confirms Angela while she sips a warm cup of tea, eating a delicious scone while we are talking.

It's a never-ending job the one of a charity like Books for Dogs, because shelters, refuge, dogs, first of all need constantly something else.

"At the moment we are searching for a new home for Rambo. This dog is 7 years old microchipped, vaccinated, sterilised, and has a passport, if you love to travelling a lot and you don't want to stay too distant from your beloved dog. His previous owner is dead and at the moment the dog is alone waiting for someone else in grade of loving him as his previous owner did."

The ladies are also searching for used books, DVDS, used cloths but in wonderful conditions, puzzles, games of various genre, kitchen items, cups, plates, forks, candlesticks, sofas, chairs, furniture, items for living rooms: whatever you can think at.

So: if you are throwing away something remember that these ladies will be more than happy of accepting your old but good clothes, your books if you can't keep them anymore because too many, DVDS and all the possible stuff you can think at.

These ones the latest books I brought home.

Tell if I don't have a great taste, and if they don't keep great literature. The best store where you can find great books.

I love spending a lot of time in their shop on Wednesday and Saturday. There is also a comfy chair where I can sit and read, while I am choosing the various books; but it's not just books.

If you need warm blankets for the long approaching winter-time you can find them at a cheap price; if you search for hot bottles of water, well, go for them, because they have them. I bought two hot bottle of water and they are of great quality!

I also bought a beautiful red shirt; wonderful color and again great quality. 

If you search for a good used bag, it's the best place where you can find it. 

It's not important the reason why you can stop by at the second hand bazar and bookstore of the ladies of Books for Dogs. I just know that in that place you will find what you are searching for.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Think in Public A Public Books Reader Edited by Sharon Marcus and Caitlin Zaloomis

Think in Public A Public

Books Reader Edited by Sharon Marcus and Caitlin Zaloomis is a new book published by Columbia University Press.

These essays, divided in three parts, Ask in Public, Think in Public and Read in Public are published in www.publicbooks.org 

This association was born years ago for discussing all together important thematic. Books are incredibly relevant, in an age of big ignorance as the one where we are living in, where news can be fake, reality distorted, and culture, real one always more unexistent. But what is culture exactly? 

As also remarked by the editors of this project, a place where everyone must live and nurtur himself/herself, not a place for snobs, not an unaccessible place just for few people. Knowledge must be shared if we want to build a better world. 

These essays are written clearly, because they want to reach everyone and because they want to remark the importance of being understandood, for developing, later, a dialogue with the reader; stimulate new ideas and trying to see where this society is going on is fundamental for a best future. 

Universities sometimes build walls, not just outside the but also inside. It's important, as remark the editors to build bridges both within  "the academy and beyond it if we want to preserve what is essential and expand our collective sense of what is possible." 

Public Books open the doors not just to academics, but to creatives ones of every sorta as well because these first ones can't live anymore without the creativity breathed outside; it inspires the latest "news" from a world sometimes seen as stranger from most of them.

These writers are very young, absolutely unknown to the largest ones. 

Public Books treats essays of the latest published books, but also other themes; for example Elena Ferrante's big success inspired an essay asking: who is writing these books? They are beloved in the USA as well. 

People whisper of two authors, a man and a woman but who knows. 

These essays  take in consideration black literature, but also what global english means for world literature. 

Authors will treat climate change, Silicon Valley and the world created by PCS, moral, an interview with the most beloved writer of sci-fiction Le Guin, but also Kafka and the importance of reading fairy-tales to our children, taking it seriously.

This dad, Daegan Miller read more than 30 books to his two sons in 2200 days and he did it because books at the end of a day brought tranquillity to his children, stimulating their intellect, and the one of the reader, of course;  Miller affirms that at a certain point he started to take that children's books as seriously as the books "I read for my PhD advisors." Why? A children's book means always a big morale that with tranquillity can be adopted by adults. 

A book highly recommended if you want to explore reality in all his meanings.

Friendly, open, written with warmth and accessible to everyone, you can also join the website, so that you will always stay informed reading the latest essays posted by the various contributors.

I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

The Little Queen by Meia Geddes Audiobook

The Little Queen by Meia Geddes

Illustrated by Sara Zieve Miller becomes for whoever is interested also an audiobook. I personally prefer audiobook when I drive somewhere and I can't physically read. It is a pleasant experience.

It's difficult to find another more delicate, precious and tender audiobook than this one by Meia, a trip that the Little Queen, once dead both her parents, attends in her fabulous country. 

There, she  will meet, extravagant, wonderful people in grade of opening her eyes, letting her discover the fascination of reality and dreams mixed together; diversifications and life-experiences of her new friends sure will make the difference in her personal growth.

The universe of Meia in this tale is colored and poetic; colored by dreams, by expectations, by enchantment, by that stunning visual perception of reality that each of us would want to see and read all the time: a commixtion between real and unreal, dreams and opportunities, poetry and life, following our dreams, following our path, but at the same time reinventing and imagining a different world where inclusivity is a reality, where distances are broken, and where people are friendly with everyone.

Some of the characters we will meet?

The dream writer, a man constantly writing down dreams, and be careful because if the dream he is writing is great for you, you will obtain it automatically. Then there is the dream counter, a more problematic character,  but also the book sniffer, the thinker, thinking about...thinking, then there is someone who create special jars putting in them feelings, tastes of the four seasons.

When you'll finish to hear this audiobook, you will be like awaken. Distracted by the beauty of the words used by Meia, by the little and big worlds she imagined, the tenderness she used for describing the world's of the various characters, your self and perception of your reality will change if you'll want it, seeing, mostly, the beauty of this world and how you can make a difference in the world.

This trip, physical and intimate at the same time is a modality for discovering the real self for The Little Queen; she is still unsecure, she doesn't know what direction to give at her life and her country and she is still in great sufferance because her parents passed away, but once the trip will be over she is sure of something: that healing the world will be one of her priorities. 

A glorious audiobook about departures, sufferance, inclusivity, friendship, love, trips, new encounters, friends, and the desire of changing for better this world.

Highly recommended, in audiobook as well.

I thank Meia for the audiobook.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Chronicles Of Old Los Angeles Exploring The Devilish History Of The City Of The Angels by James Roma

Chronicles Of Old Los Angeles Exploring The Devilish History Of The City

Of The Angels by James Roman is the account from the birth to recent times of a special city: the one that created the most lucrative and beautiful activity in the world: cinema. If Los Angeles is now synonime of cinema, stars, showbiz, you must know that the past centuries was a land populated by a lot of Native Americans. They lived peacefully and the arrival of Europeans broke their harmony forever.

Los Angeles, at that time was called Yang-na. These Native Americans were fishermen mainly and they stayed naked all the time. They believed in the afterlife and maybe a tradition adopted by the so-called white man, they practiced cremation; they also loved hallucinogens.

The real big problem appeared when a big colony of catholic imported many dangerous european illness. Native American's bodies were not prepared for them and more than 6000 of them died abruptly.

After this episode, the birth of Los Angeles. A city with a complicated life-story as you will see, but plenty of fascination. The book will drive you at the discovery of the first pioneers of cinema for later offering to you also the fascination of the important love-stories born in Hollywood; one of the saddest episodes of all the times the assassination of Bob Kennedy the brother of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on 1968. That hotel closed forever and then destroyed. 

This book can't end without a complete tour in the city of stars, angels, sun.

Tour One is about El Pueblo and Chinatown; the second Bunker Hill, the third one Hollywood, the fourth Hollywood Heights, then  Sunset Strip and Beverly Hills for ending with Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

A paradisiac guide, pretty informative and historic, for a dreaming city!

I thank Museyon Books for the copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Billie Holiday The Last Interview and Other Conversations with an introduction by Khanya Mtshali

Why reading this book: Billie Holiday The Last Interview and Other

Conversations with an introduction by Khanya Mtshali? Because it is the most authentic portrait that you will obtain thanks to a series of meeting with this beloved singer, real, without filters. Music, life, dreams, her additions, racism, and much more.

Billie Holiday was a complicated person because, just, her life has been complicated; plus she was born black in a world still dominated by white people and where black needed to fight all the times for obtaining equal rights.

Her life started very shockingly: once raped she was sent to Catholic reformatory school for two years and then reunited with her mother, they went to NYC where they started to work in the sex business. Billie Holiday was just 14.

But it hasn't been just a conflictual life because of sex, but also because of her nymerous addictions; alcohol, heroine. She couldn't live anymore without heroine, she confessed once in an interview.

As written in this book: "It would seem to cast judgment on those who, like Holiday, discovered the best and worst versions of themselves at the bottom of a bottle, or the sharpest end of a needle. Addiction is lonely, hard, and exhausting, especially for women addicts born poor or working-class, who are rarely given any real shot at redemption."

Highly recommended.

I thank Melville for the copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Laura Slattery and the Gubbio Project in our city!

I didn't sleep very well that night and I cried for the joy as well. I would have met in fact   in person the ex coordinator of the Gubb

io Project an association located inSan Francisco that I follow from its birth and that I found for casualty on the net more than 14 years ago.

I thought that maybe it was a good idea sharing the news of the arrival of Laura but then we decided that it was better to keep a low profile. I was happy and I thought that, after all, that news was mine, that story followed by me in the past and I just wanted to enjoy the moment. 

2005 I was becoming a journalist. Life sounded great, I was plenty of joy and I was working with enthusiasm. Beautiful and fertile years, I personally was intrigued by all that "international news" in which Gubbio was the main protagonist in the world. 

I searched for the most diversified news. A writer, Emma, from Kent, decided to call one of her children's book Gubbio ; Regina painted corners of our city. I still remember the moment I discovered the Gubbio Project. It was a beautiful and sunny morning. I felt immediately attraction for this Important, wonderful, stunning novelty.

"Wow! Look what they're doing in San Francisco. Should I contact them, Carlo?" Carlo, our vice-chief editor said me immediately to do that.

Father Louie Vitale, from italian origin called the project Gubbio in honor of the city that donated the legend of Saint Francis and the Wolf, a metaphor for telling to people that also a brigant could be tamed using kidnness, help and a gentle spirit. The Gubbio was born on 2004.

Homeless in San Fransisco area  are a large community and at the Saint Boniface a church situated in one of the poorest corners of San Francisco, the Tenderloin they tried to help making the difference. 

Fr.Louie thought that it would have been possible after all to offer a pew where to sleep to all the homeless in search of a place where to sleep in. When I interviewed the first coordinator of the project, Michelle Roder, I  remember that Fr.Louie was still in jail because an activist.

Michelle told me largely of the project and the news appeared in our free press Gubbio7.

With the years I would have folloowed the project always more closely. There was an interruption, a sort ot: "What direction do we want to give at the project?" because of course everything can become more perfect and beauty. Michelle enjoyed so much working for the Gubbio and with the homeless  that she decided, when she married her husband, of inviting also all the homeless in a project of inclusivity and in one of the most important moments of her existences; she really loved it. 

The project started to flying with the arrival as coordinator of Laura Slattery. Laura is an energetic, absolutely stunning character and woman, someone who wants results; she knows how to obtain them, there is to add this.

I had this idea of her and I was right. I did not sleep at all that night, so I was in the city earlier, so I drunk a peach tea waiting for her arrival.I thought at the time passed by, at what it meant having built these contacts so distants from me and I thought at the contraction, positive in this case, of the internet and reality and.. world. In the past no one would have known the Gubbio Project in our city because, simply, there wouldn't never been the possibility. The net, with all its negativities can be splendid sometimes. Laura arrived at big steps and with a warm smile. 

To me it was a dream to seeing her. We exchanged a lot of e-mails in the past and I tried to give a lot of coverage to the Gubbio.

She wore casual clothes and a shirt of the Gubbio Project. She was accompanied by her wife, pretty shy, and we enjoyed a wonderful morning and afternoon. A fearless lady, our meeting under Le Logge dei Tiratori donated us a first tea where we started a conversation about the Gubbio and the importance of wolves in our communities for giving back to the environment the old assetts, sometimes lost thanks to the introduction of other animals. Wolves are not just big sheep eaters.

Laura told me that this one was the second time to her in Italy. The first time she flew in our country she took part at a humanitarian meeting in North of Italy. For her wife this one was the first time. The place where we started the visit of the city was the church of San Francesco and I told to Laura the importance of this city and that old structure, walls still preserved, for Francis. Francis abandoned his family, his social status for the unknown and Gubbio and that friars helped him to trying to figure out what kind of future and aspiration to develop.

It was a revelation.

Then we decided to dedicate time at The Palazzo dei Consoli.

We stopped by at the church of Don Matteo, San Giovanni. Laura found this church more sober. We then went at the Palazzo dei Consoli taking several pictures, although maybe the funniest one at the Bar Ducale where I insisted for  taking a picture of Laura and her wife sat in the table where Don Matteo and the maresciallo Cecchini loved to playing at chees in the beloved fiction. Laura didn't know Don Matteo or Terence Hill. I told her that the series is inspired at Murder she Wrote the masterpiecve with Angela Lansbury but that in this case case the detective is not a writer but a priest. 

"Don't you know Terence Hill?" He spends more time in your country than not in Italy..He lives in New Mexico...".An introduction with pictures, biography, Bud Spencer and Trinità. We visited an art exhibit and then the church of San Domenico, taking pictures in the little bridge of San Martino.

Laura told me during our visits that the American pews of Saint Boniface are positioned differently in comparison of our pews for permitting to the visitors and their so-called sacred sleep a good night. Once in San Domenico she  didn't forget of adding that in the back part of the church the volunteer of the Saint Boniface give to the homeless something to eat in the morning. Laura remarks that the Catholic Church of Saint Boniface doesn't offer breakfasts everyday, while the episcopalian church connected with them, does it. Not only: she also told me that the father of her wife was an episcopalian pastor. 

Laura left the Gubbio because of the poor health situation of her mother. "She lived in Los Angeles. We didn't spend recently a lot of time together, but she was happy that I was there accompanying her in the final trip of the existence." She has a sister. "She lives in Ireland and she is married with a man pretty irish also in his name."

The project with the time became always more important thanks also to the support of Martin and Charlie Sheen, two beloved American actors ."Charlie donated a great amount of money, 250.000 dollar at the Gubbio and when we received his donation, he told us that this one was pocket check. "

Laura insisted for eating something at some point and we found a place at the Cresceria close to the Piazza Bosone where we ate a delicious veggie crescia. Laura wanted also to try the  brustengo a local dish made with white flour, some water and a pinch of salt. You mix all adding it in boiled oil. Once fried, people add salt or sugar on the top of the brustengo enjoying it.

I said her I eat it for dinner and it didn't sound the case because crescia is a robust meal.

Then, immediately after lunch Laura asked me if I could accompany them at the Gola dell'Iridio. It seems that once we also destroyed dinosaurus. Gubbio's got some reputation.

Iridium. Personally living in Gubbio per various years during my teenage age I didn't like that substance. It is known that iridium causes depressions. It's a chemical substance consistently known in the Universe but not in our Planet. We are exclusivist of this stardust.

Laura said me that she is studying bioloogy in the same university where Alvarez works. I felt the sensation of being very little, and plenty of real ignorance. I live here but I remained behind, I told her. Laura didn't dramatize a lot: "New discoveries have been recently added." And naturally, I lost them. Oh well: The competence of Laura was great and she explained us a lot. "When iridium fell on Earth, just a litle quantity, created a sort of film,membrane and nothing, nothing could be found there; not a shell, not the skekleton of a dinosaurus, nothing. There wasn't life anymore." It was as if Earth was in a moment of meditation.

We partially made the walk of the Iridium and Laura and her wife were surprised that there were people enjoying a pic-nic. "San Francisco is warmer. Our good season is shorter and the reason for a walk in this area means also staying outside, before of the arrival of bad weather."

It didn't sound good ending the hours spent together without a visit at the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo. Laura and her wife not only enjoyed  the church but later I also let them show the panorama seen from the bar where I love to spend some time sometimes all alone. "Looking down from this point you breath peace and it seems that all the problems of this world are over." Laura agreed that the panorama  was beautiful and so we stayed there drinking an iced tea, before to return to the city, where I left the ladies in the car park close to the Roman Theater. "You can't miss the chance to visit that site as well" I suggested them.

When I left them, with the promise of keeping alive our contacts, I thought at this connection established by an enthusiastic young reporter 15 years ago. Laura said me  before to leave "I knew that I would have found someone in this city so I decided to afford here." 

Thanks Laura.

Plus, let's remember that the inspiration of the Gubbio Project is our city. A great honor.

Anna Maria Polidori