Raven's Space

The Daily Stoic: Episode Four: How To Prevent Evil #RavensReads

Evil will always triumph when good men do nothing. That’s the theme of this episode’s reading and discussions. There are numerous examples of evil incidents having the time and space to manifest (and multiply) when good people, who don’t do evil or bad acts, choose not to act to prevent the wrongdoing. Watch as Charles and I discuss why we think good people like ourselves don’t take action when…

Personal: Avid Readers and Massive Football Fans #MUFC #EPL #FemaleFutebolFan #EPL

Recently, there was some speculation on Charles’ Facebook page about what team I support in the English Premier League. John’s speculation about me really being a Chelsea fan, and Charles forcing me to wear a Manchester United shirt. With the start of the 2021-2022 Premier League season upon us, I wanted to share some facts about myself and settle any rumours going around on social…

Review: For The Love of Men From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity by Liz Plank (@feministabulous) Buy a copy: https://geni.us/ftlom #RavensReads @giov_honey #booktwitter

Throughout history, many men have been [and continue to be] celebrated for some emotions that are stereotypically labelled as feminine. Jesus Christ- Love. Mohammed- Peace [be upon Him]. Martin Luther King Jr. – Equality and Justice. Mahatma Gandhi- Kindness. Interestingly, today’s traditional masculinity norms abhors the man from freely expressing similar emotions. A man risks being considered…

Barack Obama Meets Marcus Rashford | In Conversation with Penguin Books UK #RavensReads #MUFC #Rashford

Two great men had a chat recently hosted by Penguin Books UK. If you know us personally, you probably know that Charles and I are big Manchester Untied fans. We were super excited to see that one of our star players, Marcus Rashford was spending time away from the training ground to bring invaluable attention and awareness to combating childhood hunger and improving childhood literacy. Charles &…

Many of us are struggling with feelings of guilt having lived prosperous lives at the expense of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and as readers we're looking for ways to educate ourselves on the situation here in Canada. #IndigenousHistoryMonth #RavensReads

Last month, Charles and I were appalled to learn about the recent discovery of the remains of 215 children in a mass grave at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia. With this discovery brought sadness and anger; such things should never have happened. As a Canadian born to immigrants of this land I benefit from the atrocities carried about by the settlers and…

Review: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Photo by Erik Scheel from Pexels To every little snail that I accidentally stepped on as I walked to school on a rainy day – I am sorry. The Sound of A Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey This book by Elisabeth Tova Bailey is a short memoir about Bailey’s years living with an extremely rare viral infection which left her bedridden. During that time, her friend brought he a wild snail…

The Daily Stoic: Episode Three: Count Your Blessings

Welcome to Raven’s Reads – “The Daily Stoic”. Raven’s Reads The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday, and Stephen Hanselman. The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known…

Personal: Covid-19 Reunion My Grandma and I recently got to visit each other outside of her LTC home. We shared about our experience together on CBC Toronto's Metro Morning.

After almost a year apart due to Covid-19 restrictions, last weekend I got to reunite with my grandmother. My grandma and I got the opportunity to share about our relationship and our reunion on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning in Toronto. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-39-metro-morning/clip/15845030-after-year-apart-grandmother-grand-daughter-describe-emotional-visit Reunited with my Grandma…

Spoken Word: Ego Is The Enemy. An original piece inspired by the book by Ryan Holiday.

“Whether you’re aspiring, failing, or succeeding, your worst enemy already lives in you- Ego is the enemy” – Ryan Holiday On the day you take your first baby step towards documenting your aspirations,I’ll be right by your sideI will walk with you through the corridors of the fears that will threaten your faithIn the face of your own objections,I’ll make you a witness to the power of your…

Little Fires Everywhere #RavensReads

Celeste Ng’s sophomore novel, Little Fires Everywhere blew up in popularity thanks to the selection into Reese’s (Witherspoon) Book Club and later the Hulu limited series starting Reese herself and Kerry Washington. I hadn’t heard about the book until I began watching the series on television. I should have probably stopped watching after the first episode, purchased a copy of the book, read it…

The Daily Stoic: Episode Two: Fear Is A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy https://youtu.be/qFlq58HgZAM

Episode Two: Fear Is A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Welcome to Raven’s Reads – “The Daily Stoic”. Raven’s Reads The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday, and Stephen Hanselman. The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or…

Raven Read 70 Books in One Year And How You Can Too!

In 2020 I originally set a goal of reading 30 books. I had the same goal in 2019 and slightly exceeded it, so I thought in 2020 that I would aim for the same. Once the Covid-19 pandemic reached the level of concern that lockdowns were implemented in mid-March, I found myself with a lot of extra free time and I filled that time with reading more. Some of the habits I employed to more than double…

The Daily Stoic: Episode One: For The Hot-Headed Man. Join our discussion on Youtube - https://youtu.be/TnjMPc05ZUU #RavensReads #Stoics #AngerManagement #MarcusAurelius #RyanHoliday

Welcome to Raven’s Reads – “The Daily Stoic”. Raven’s Reads The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday, and Stephen Hanselman. The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known…

I share my review of "Can You Hear Me Now" by @iamcelinacc This memoir is a beautiful story & reminds us why we need more representation of black women in leadership roles. Thank you @Netgalley & @penguinrandomca for the ARC #RavensReads #blackreads

By Celina Caesar-Chavannes Review: 4/5 stars Summary: Celina Caesar-Chavannes digs deep into her childhood and her life as a young Black woman entrepreneur and politician, and shows us that effective and humane leaders grow as much from their mistakes and vulnerabilities as from their strengths. Celina Caesar-Chavannes, already a breaker of boundaries as a Black woman in business, got into…

“Birds fly, Readers Are Fly” It’s been 381 days already since I arrived in Canada, a country of maple The full year +16 days have borne lessons, nuances, and discoveries in plentiful I had arrived, 2 degrees hotter, as friends had once quipped following my MSc But soonest than sooner, I learnt: nothing is promised- Positives can be negated, dreams can be frozen, even the clock goes back some…

Review: Crazy Rich Asians, Books 1 & 2

Author Kevin Kwan brings to life the outrageously, lavish lifestyles of the richest Asians in his trilogy of Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems. The first novel was 416 pages (depending on the edition you have) and the sequel 496 pages. Each felt like 200 pages too long for me. There were so many characters to remember, with their various family trees and business…