Angel Limb started her public broadcasting career in 1988 as the receptionist at WEDU Public Television in Tampa, Florida, her hometown. With degrees in Art History and African-American Studies from VCU, she came to WCVE Public Radio in 2003 as the writer and eventual announcer and producer of Artsline, WCVE’s daily arts and cultural events broadcast. Besides Artsline, Angel writes reviews for books she likes for ideastations.org.
A confessed bookaholic, Angel created the “Book Angel” persona who distributes free, age-appropriate books to children and young adults at select WCVE events.
When not working, Angel enjoys Scrabble, walking, reading, literacy projects, international film, and travel. She completed her life goal to set foot on each of the 7 continents in March, 2009 in Vung Tau, Vietnam. With 60 countries under her belt, Angel’s next goal is 100 countries visited by age 75.
21 Ways to a Happier Depression is like a gorgeous gift bag for depression – good things just keep coming out of Seth Swirsky’s small and colorful 112 - page book. A psychotherapist who wrangles with depression and anxiety himself, Swirsky empathetically offers his 21 ideas for feeling better.
Ever had a day that, if it were a fish, you would throw it back? Most of us have those days and experience emotions such as sadness, irritability, anger, and soul-sucking, carb-eating lethargy. Lethargy might be the worst emotion because we know we should do something to help ourselves but don’t know where to start.
As an emerging minimalist, I am interested in how others embrace the lifestyle. The Joy of Less is Amy Newmark and Brooke Burke Charvet’s 2016 book and a part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. The book’s 10 chapters, containing over one hundred short stories by persons who de-cluttered their homes and lives, convincingly extols the “less is more” ethos.
Of all the material things you can give to a child, books may be the most essential. Holding the collective knowledge, opinion, and imagination of humanity, books are reminders of one’s place in the world and can influence positive thought and behavior.
It has been said that dogs are man’s best friend, probably because dogs are intelligent, funny, and loyal. Some dogs also have a discerning, compassionate personality that benefits humans on a deeper level. Julie Strauss Bettinger’s book, Encounters with Rikki: From Hurricane Katrina Rescue to Exceptional Therapy Dog, tells how hurting people found strength in a therapy dog whose only fee was hugs and baby carrots.
Most of us have imagined embarking on a months-long adventure to exotic places, exchanging our familiar routines for immersive living beyond our comfort zones. Television producer, director, and writer John Marshall lived the dream in 2010 as he, his wife, and their two teenagers traveled and volunteered for six months in a few countries. Marshall’s 2015 book, Wide – Open World, is a plain-spoken, no-indignity barred account of his family’s good and bad experiences of low-budget travel and high-intention goals of helping others abroad while renewing their familial ties.
In 2012, Emma Chichester Clark began chronicling the life of her dog in the Plumdog Blog, an illustrated, often cheeky diary in the voice of Plum, her black “…whoosell, a whippet mixed with Jack Russell and poodle.” Plumdog, Clark’s 2015 book, captures all the fun of the blog and is a delight for dog lovers with its engaging illustrations and text that describes a year in the life of London’s busiest, funniest and most world-wise dog.
In 2012, Emma Chichester Clark began chronicling the life of her dog in the Plumdog Blog, an illustrated, often cheeky diary in the voice of Plum, her black “…whoosell, a whippet mixed with Jack Russell and poodle.” Plumdog, Clark’s 2015 book, captures all the fun of the blog and is a delight for dog lovers with its engaging illustrations and text that describes a year in the life of London’s busiest, funniest and most world-wise dog.
In Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles, University of Richmond English and American Studies professor Bert Ashe has written about growing his hair into the long, ropy, matted hairstyle largely associated with Rastafarians, reggae musicians, Whoopi Goldberg, and a fair number of college students.
Sarah McCoy’s The Mapmaker’s Children is a good historical novel involving Sarah Brown, daughter of radical abolitionist John Brown who, with his sons and others, raided the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in October 1859, planning to arm slaves with seized weapons.
