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Speech from the Stars: Audiobook Recommendations

Speech from the Stars: Audiobook Recommendations

When I was thirteen and wishing that Orlando Bloom would read me the phonebook (it was 2003, that’s the only excuse I have), I could never have dreamt that there would be so many books read by celebrities to choose from.

June 20, 2017

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Interview: Vaseem Khan on elephants, India, and the fourth book in the Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series

Interview: Vaseem Khan on elephants, India, and the fourth book in the Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series

Vaseem Khan is author of the crime series Baby Ganesh Detective Agency. The novels are set in Mumbai, India and the detective on the case is accompanied by a baby elephant!

June 12, 2017

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Reading classic novels in an era of climate change

Reading classic novels in an era of climate change

There is a strange and troubled kind of intimacy between our own moment of climate change and 19th century Britain. It was there that a global, fossil fuel economy first took shape, through its coal-powered factories, railways, and steamships, which drove the emergence of modern consumer capitalism. 

May 30, 2017

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How robots can help us embrace a more human view of disability

How robots can help us embrace a more human view of disability

When dealing with the otherness of disability, the Victorians in their shame built huge out-of-sight asylums, and their legacy of “them” and “us” continues to this day. Two hundred years later, technologies offer us an alternative view. The digital age is shattering barriers, and what used to the norm is now being challenged.

May 22, 2017

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Local and Community History Month: Book recommendations

Local and Community History Month: Book recommendations

May is Local and Community History Month - a great time to find out a little more about how your village, town or city grew up into what it is today. The more you dig, the more you'll find that people, events and buildings all have fascinating pasts.

May 8, 2017

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#ThanksforTyping: the women behind famous male writers

#ThanksforTyping: the women behind famous male writers

It started when an American academic noticed how frequently the acknowledgements sections of weighty academic tomes featured a male author thanking his nameless wife for typing. 

May 2, 2017

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Why you don't need to write much to be the world's bestselling author

Why you don't need to write much to be the world's bestselling author

By the estimation of award-winning author Donal Ryan, there are times when 300 sales might be enough to make a chart topper – the bestseller mantle tends to have more promotional than monetary value. Of course there are the literary blockbusters — titles like Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code — books that ship hundreds of millions of copies. But combine the sales of JK Rowling and Dan Brown, even throw in John Grisham, and you’re still lagging behind the sales figures of the world’s true bestselling author — James Patterson. 

April 18, 2017

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Why children’s books that teach diversity are more important than ever

Why children’s books that teach diversity are more important than ever

If you think back to your childhood, what sticks with you? For many people, it’s those cosy times when they were cuddled up with a parent or grandparent, being read a story

March 27, 2017

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What brain regions control our language? And how do we know?

What brain regions control our language? And how do we know?

When you read something, you first need to detect the words and then to interpret them by determining context and meaning. This complex process involves many brain regions.

March 20, 2017

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My disabilities do not define me. I am Jim

My disabilities do not define me. I am Jim

I am an educator of educators. I teach others how to be the best teachers. But, I’m also different. I have learning challenges. I found my way and my life’s calling thanks to dedicated educators. As we celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I am reminded of my personal journey. My disabilities could have defined me. But they did not. I do not consider myself dyslexic or learning-disabled. I am Jim. And here’s the story of how I overcame my challenges and the educators who helped me along the way.

February 27, 2017

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