Thursday, September 29, 7pm – New Age

Bente Hansen author of

Edgar Speaks: Inner Transformation, Journey to 2012 and Earth Changes ($14.97)

“Edgar Speaks by Bente Hansen is a great ride. Although she has channeled various light beings for over 10 years, about 15 months ago her energy merged with that of Edgar Cayce and she began channeling him.
This book details Bente’s story of how this happened and what it has meant to her personally as well as in her career as a healer and counselor. The energy transmitted through this book is a high one and is easily felt from the moment you begin to read it. There is astute information about the upcoming earth changes, 2012, and many facets of living consciously in today’s world. I love that Edgar focuses on the fact that what we do right now will determine what happens in 2012 instead of simply telling people what is going to happen. He explains that we determine it as opposed to others who seem to feel something is predestined to happen. There is a section in the book with questions asked by people at various events and just about every issue is discussed from health to sexuality to career. This is a timely book and you will discover great value here even if you have not had prior interest in or knowledge of Edgar Cayce. People need this information right now and Edgar Speaks provides it with great clarity.” – Krysta Gibson, the Co-Founder and Editor of New Spirit Journal

With recent reports of massive earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear chaos, economic changes and other large-scale disasters, many people are beginning to worry if we are truly witnessing the beginning of the end of the world. Spiritual author, teacher and healer, Bente Hansen has a powerful message for those who may be worried or feel afraid. “Don’t worry, live in the moment and just be yourself,” states the self-proclaimed Energetic Channel and author of the book, Edgar Speaks, a book she wrote after and unexpected mystical encounter with the energy of the deceased “Sleeping Prophet” Edgar Cayce (1877-1945). Bente Hansen, who has worked as a healer since 1991, has written several mystical books including, Messages from Beyond (2001), and The New World of Self-Healing (2006). In her new book, a 206-page personal growth manual, Hansen gives step-by-step strategies to help people deal with the fears, worries and concerns that the world is heading for a cataclysmic shift. She also shares her personal journey with the energy of Edgar Cayce as well as powerful messages of healing and hope for the world.

Sunday September 18, 4pm – Non-Fiction

Patricia A. Nugent author of They Live On: Saying Goodbye to Mom and Dad ($12.99)

Nugent has written a series of vignettes portraying the stages of caring for and saying goodbye to a loved one, as seen through the eyes of a daughter and her terminally ill parents.

“We don’t have a secret handshake, but we could. We don’t have a clubhouse or membership dues, officers or bylaws. Yet we are a billion-member secret society with a very steep price for admittance: losing a parent…. Words cannot adequately convey the experience of what it feels like. You can’t even begin to imagine it; you just have to wait until you are inducted. And then long for the days when you were blissfully unaware that the exclusive club even existed.”
– From They Live On: Saying Goodbye to Mom and Dad

“I started reading this book as a physician but soon became a son. It’s a story for each and every one of us with elderly parents. We will share this daughter’s emotional roller coaster of hope, anger, depression, guilt, and gratitude. And universally, we will cry and wonder if it’s too late to change our own relationships.”  -Dr. Steven Leveston, Endocrinologist/Internist

“The transcription of my journal became a series of 300 vignettes portraying the stages of caring for and saying goodbye to a loved one, as seen through the eyes of a daughter and her terminally ill parents. The grieving process is similar for any significant loss, although I believe that the intense grief of an adult losing a parent needs a stronger voice to be appreciated in our culture. Most of us will bear witness to our parents’ final days – a task for which I was woefully unprepared”. -Excerpt from the Prologue to They Live On

Patricia A. Nugent is a 2005 MS graduate of the Rensselaer LL&C program. She worked as a teacher and school administrator, and continues to train and consult on issues related to organizational communication. Although she has been published numerous times in professional journals, this is her first creative nonfiction piece to be made available to the general public.

Monday September 12, 7pm – Non-Fiction

Dr. Akilah t’Zuberi author of 16 Mondays – For People Who Hate Their Jobs

Mondays – for people who hate their jobs is a guide to uncovering the root cause of misery and unhappiness associated with the workplace. The average worker spends over 83,000 hours of their life working. For the majority of workers around the world, these are not happy hours. Unhappiness and misery translate into lost productivity, absenteeism, low morale and conflict resolution. The cost to employers and businesses globally is in the billions. What is even worse is that creativity is stifled. Dr. Akilah t’Zuberi is an author, metaphysician and artist. Her studies and writings focus on the shift in consciousness and the revolution in thought. In her second book 16 Mondays – for people who hate their jobs, Akilah focuses on the relationship between thought, emotions and the workplace experience. In the shift in consciousness, there is an emphasis placed on eliminating unsustainable practices in our relationship with the planet. Now, Dr. t’Zuberi looks at the unsustainable emotion of misery in the workplace environment and suggests a way to eliminate it. By shifting consciousness about the workplace and the relationships that inform it, Akilah suggests that unlimited potential awaits workers and businesses.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Akilah t’Zuberi describes her childhood as ‘nothing out of the normal.’ She was one of seven children born into her working-class family. Life for Akilah is harvesting lesson after lesson. “Usually I have the experience, and not too much later, I learn about the principle or the law which governs it,” says Akilah. “It’s living on the edge.” Akilah studied English at California State University, Sacramento, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition and a Master’s Degree in Women’s Literature. While in the midst of home schooling her three younger children, she decided on a study of theology. She looked at some of the programs offered at main stream universities, but was more impressed by non-traditional studies in metaphysics; the emphasis placed on spirituality as opposed to religion, the emphasis on the unseen and its relationship to all seen-living things. It was then that Akilah decided on a distance learning program offered by The American Institute of Holistic Theology, where she would later earn her Ph.D. Today, t’Zuberi lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, spending most of her time studying and writing on the Global Shift in Consciousness, making art, and teaching English Composition at Bucks Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Wednesday September 7, 7pm -Reading

Granta 116: Ten Years Later

with poet Daisy Fried, author Whitney Terrell and Granta 116 contributor Elliott Woods

A street vendor in Tunisia, a American marine going home and a signals operator on a North Korean fishing trawler. From the battlefields of Afghanistan to the streets of Mogadishu and Toronto, these are just a few of the stories in the new issue of Granta that conjure the complexity and sorrow of life since 11 September 2001. With contributions from the most insightful essayists, fiction writers, poets and visual artists working today.

Daisy Fried is the author of two books of poetry, My Brother is Getting Arrested Again (2006) and She Didn’t Mean to Do It (2000), both from the University of Pittsburgh Press. She was awarded Poetry’s Editors Prize for Feature Article in 2009.

Whitney Terrell is the author of The Huntsman, a New York Times notable book, and The King of Kings County, which was selected as a best book of 2005 by the Christian Science Monitor. He was named one of 20 “writers to watch” under 40 by members of the National Book Critics Circle. His non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Details, The New York Observer, and on National Public Radio.

Elliott D. Woods is an independent writer and photographer from the United Sates. He is the writer, photographer, and multimedia producer behind Assignment Afghanistan which won a 2011 Digital Ellie from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Elliott’s reporting from Gaza in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead– Isreal’s 2009 offensive against Hamas– earned a citation from the Overseas Press Club in 2010. Elliott is the winner of the 2010 Staige D. Blackford Prize for Non-Fiction from VQR, where he is a frequent contributor. His work has also appeared in Mother Jones, GlobalPost, and the Washington Times.

Tuesday September 6, 7pm – Mystery

Gerald Elias author of Death and the Maiden ($25.99 Minotaur Books)

“This latest mystery from Elias (Danse Macabre), featuring almost-too-irascible-to-be-lovable Daniel Jacobus, a brilliant violinist whose career was ended by blindness, has a headline-based premise. In 2005, a violinist fired by the Audubon Quartet sued his former colleagues, causing some to lose their homes and even their instruments. Here, Jacobus’s former pupil Yumi now plays with the New Magini String Quartet, replacing an impossible colleague who had been forced out. The quartet is set to rehearse Schubert’s sublime “Death and the Maiden” for a multimedia event at Carnegie Hall, but first violinist Aaron Kortovsky is missing in action. Jacobus is drafted to find him, though he’s stymied by the musicians’ business-only attitude; even violist Annika hasn’t kept track of Kortovsky, and she’s married to him. Soon, Jacobus is on the phone with a chamber music–loving policeman in Peru, Kortovsky’s last known whereabouts, while worrying about that scorned colleague and the temporary replacement for Kortovsky, a wild Russian who happens to be the cellist’s son. VERDICT Though a few near caricatures might make some readers wince, this fast-paced and punchily written mystery will entertain most fans, even as it delivers a fluid understanding of classical music.” —Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

“As we now know from current education theory, people learn in many distinct ways. Though as a musician my most important tools are my ears, strangely enough I’m most comfortable as a visual and tactile learner. That is why when I was a child the quickest and most comfortable method for me was to copy things by hand, whether books or music. Thus my introduction to “writing” was to copy, word for word, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, which, in the process, I memorized verbatim at the age of seven.

That being said, none of what you read above is true. Actually, I just like to write, and as you see, fiction comes most easily, though one important turn in my writing career was the result of being a contract negotiator for the musicians of the Boston Symphony and Utah Symphony. In drafting agreements (theoretically nonfiction) with management it was paramount that every word was universally acceptable and understood. Ambiguity in wording inevitably led to disagreements, which could be both devastating to the morale of the whole organization, let alone very expensive. My father, Irving, liked to write letters to the editor of his local papers, inflaming the public’s conscience on social and political issues, and I’ve followed in his footsteps in that regard. He also liked to write witty poems, every pair of lines having to rhyme and having the same sing-song rhythm. These he read with great gusto, but I’ve never gone in that direction.

Rather, I’ve gotten into writing murder mysteries. I’ve always enjoyed reading mysteries and suspense novels. They take me away from the daily grind, and when well-written, are as thought-provoking as the most scholarly tome. Some of my favorite authors in this genre are John LeCarre, Walter Mosley, Lawrence Sanders, and Dick Francis.

My road to published authorship has been very circuitous and could be the subject of a novel itself. But suffice it to say the books I’ve written, about the seamier sides of the classical music world, are, though fiction, nevertheless steeped in reality, dealing with issues of ethics and integrity as well as murder and mayhem. And by writing about murder in the classical music world, as opposed to carrying it out in real life, I’ve saved myself substantial amounts of prison time. The protagonist in each of my novels is a curmudgeonly, blind violin teacher named Daniel Jacobus, and he inevitably gets drawn into life-threatening situations against his will and somehow manages to make things a lot worse before they get better. “ Gerald Elias

Saturday August 27, 2pm
The Brothers Network Presents
Daniel R. Biddle  & Murray Dubin authors of Tasting Freedom ($35.00 Temple University Press – Special to Brothers Network Members Only – $23.00)

The former Philadelphia Inquirer reporters have written a masterful and widely praised book that brings to life the overlooked history of the African American civil rights struggle. In many respects, Octavius Valentine Catto was the Martin Luther King of his day, and had his life not ended prematurely amidst Election Day violence in 1871, we might today speak of him as we do of Frederick Douglass, with whom he shared the stage as an orator. Catto worked to organize black troops to fight for the Union cause, organized black Philadelphians to register to vote, and waged a successful fight in the streets, the legislature and the courts to integrate public transportation in Philadelphia. His Pythians baseball club also struck early blows for equality, playing and beating the best white teams in the era before baseball segregated itself. Tasting Freedom reminds us that the struggle for equality began well before the 1960s and that the leaders of that era stood on the shoulders of giants who came before them.

In Tasting Freedom, Daniel Biddle (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Murray Dubin  painstakingly chronicle the life of this charismatic black leader – a “free” a black man whose freedom was in name only. Born in the American South, where slavery permeated everyday life, he moved north, where he joined the fight to be truly free – free to vote, go to school, ride on streetcares, play baseball, and even participate in Fourth of July celebrations. Catto electrified a biracial audience in 1864 when he called on free men and women to act to educate newly freed slaves, proclaiming, “There must come a change.” With a group of other African Americans, who called themselves a “band of brothers,” he challenged one injustice after another. Tasting Freedom presents the little-known stories of Catto and the men and women who struggled to change America. This book will change your understanding of civil rights history.

Daniel R. Biddle the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Pennsylvania editor, has worked in nearly every phase of newspaper reporting and editing. His investigative stories on the courts won a Pulitzer Prize and other national awards. He has been a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Cynthia Roberts, live in Philadelphia. Murray Dubin was a reporter and editor at the Phildelphia Inquirer for thirty-four years, from 1971 to 2005. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Libby Rosof.

Monday August 15, 7pm – Non-Fiction
Mary Westra author of After the Murder of My Son ($14.95 North Star)

In the summer of 2001, Peter Westra was 24 years old, gregarious, handsome, active, a successful young investment banker working in New York City and London. Dedicated to his family and friends, he had flown home to Minnesota for his grandmother’s 90th birthday party, then hopped on a plane to Atlantic City to meet up with his Middlebury College buddies for a friend’s bachelor party. Just 15 hours later, he was dead. Kicked to death on a sidewalk by bouncers outside a nightclub. This is his mother’s story of the day her life was shattered and the intimate retelling of how she put the shards back together again, to save herself and her family

Tremendous … Blunt and honest. Compelling story-telling. Part mystery and part memoir. A beautiful, powerful tribute to a family s love. –Tim Rumsey, author of Pictures from a Trip

In Mary Westra s story of heartbreak and hope, all of us can see the fragility, the strength, and the love that informs our own lives. This is a very special book. –Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor of The Last Lecture, columnist for The Wall Street Journal

The details of Peter s murder are chilling. But the years long pursuit of justice proves downright maddening. What redeems this tragedy and makes this book a page-turner of a story is Mary Westra s sustained and ultimately successful effort to discuss much more than her son s murder … [She] has given readers a living, breathing, authentic, gutsy, and unforgettable demonstration of how to endure and survive the unthinkable. –Stephen Schwandt, author of Siren Song and The Last Goodie

In Mary Westra s story of heartbreak and hope, all of us can see the fragility, the strength, and the love that informs our own lives. This is a very special book. –Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor of The Last Lecture, columnist for The Wall Street Journal

The details of Peter s murder are chilling. But the years long pursuit of justice proves downright maddening. What redeems this tragedy and makes this book a page-turner of a story is Mary Westra s sustained and ultimately successful effort to discuss much more than her son s murder … [She] has given readers a living, breathing, authentic, gutsy, and unforgettable demonstration of how to endure and survive the unthinkable. –Stephen Schwandt, author of Siren Song and The Last Goodie

Tuesday August 9, 7pm – Book Event with Channeling
Bente Hansen author of Edgar Speaks: Inner Transformation, Journey to 2012 and Earth Changes

Australian Rev. Bente Hansen has been publicly channeling the energy of Edgar Cayce since late 2008. Since that time she has channeled a great deal of relevant and inspiring information at many gatherings in the north east. Edgar Speaks: Inner Transformation, Journey to 2012 and Earth Changes was released in March 2011. It records her journey with the energy of Edgar Cayce, provides strategies for helping people deal with the fears, worries and concerns that the world is heading for a cataclysmic shift as well as providing profound insights into how we are actually undergoing a powerful and transformative shift in consciousness. This book shares the wisdom of Edgar Cayce in a powerful and uplifting way, filled with messages of love, support and inspiration. This event will combine book reading/sharing along with a short channeling. Join us for an enlivening gathering. Come prepared with questions as Edgar always ends the channeling session with a question and answer segment.

Australian Rev. Bente Hansen is an inspirational speaker, energy healer, channel, spiritual counselor, medical intuitive, author, radio host and teacher. She co-hosts Manifesting Wellness Show on www.manifestingwellnessshow.com. She has published Messages From Beyond (2001), The New World of Self Healing (2006) and Edgar Speaks: Inner Transformation, Journey to 2012 and Earth Changes (2011). Bente can be contacted at www.edgarspeaks.com, www.dynamicenergyhealing.net and bhansen9@hotmail.com

Krysta Gibson, Editor of the New Spirit Journal, says: “Edgar Speaks is a great ride…. The energy transmitted through this book is a high one and is easily felt from the moment you begin to read it. There is astute information about the upcoming earth changes, 2012, and many facts of living consciously in today’s world…. This is a timely book. People need this information right now and Edgar Speaks provides it with great clarity.”

Wednesday August 3, 7pm – Non-Fiction
Versandra Kennebrew author of Thank God for the Shelter: Memoirs of a Homeless Healer

Versandra Kennebrew is the author of Thank God for the Shelter: Memoirs of a Homeless Healer, homeless advocate, self-improvement teacher and national speaker. After more than 20 years in the retail industry, downsizing and the economic stump triggered by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 crippled this entrepreneur, landing her in a Detroit area shelter for women. Neither depression nor poverty could keep her down. Today, she speaks at colleges and universities across the country and can absolutely help reinvent how you overcome life’s challenges, change your perspective on what it really means to hit “rock bottom” and leverage the power of your potential to create the life you want.

“Several years ago, life’s imminent struggle had placed Kennebrew between a rock and a hard place, leaving her homeless, broke, cold, and hungry. Faced with crippling despair, no resources, emotionally bruised by the wicked wrench that life had thrown into the spokes of her once prosperously spinning wheel, Kennebrew eventually fastened her bootstraps, restructured her life, got it together, and made a vicious comeback. Today, Kennebrew is quickly becoming a successful business owner and an acclaimed holistic health educator and healer. She recently returned to school, founded the ‘Touch is Great Campaign’, and joined a vibrant network of other women with similar goals to heal, motivate, and uplift. Recently inducted into the International Honor Society, Kennebrew says that part of her mission is “to encourage each of my friends to reach, fight, strive for their goals in life but never forget that education opens the door to true freedom.” So, Kennebrew’s paperback story is a good one because it grapples with an issue that is often overlooked, and the book actually engages the community and provides relief and comfort to those dealing with similar issues. On that note, everyone loves a winner’s tale, and in these perilous times of economic and spiritual conflict, Kennebrew’s book is just what the doctor ordered. And that is why Thank God for the Shelter: memoirs of a homeless healer is a necessary and worthwhile read.” Push Nevahda