Thoth Archiving Network Pilot at Cambridge
Cambridge University Library (CUL) is piloting participation in the Thoth Archiving Network, which will allow small presses to use a simple deposit option to archive their publications in multiple repository locations, creating the opportunity to safeguard against the complete loss of their open books catalogue, should they cease to operate.
This is a pilot repository site hosting open access books by a range of publishers depositing content in Thoth. This site is maintained and managed by the Open Research Systems Team at Cambridge University Library (CUL).
More information about this pilot and the Open Book Futures Project is available at this page.
Open Book Futures
Recent Submissions
Αncient Greek II: A 21st-Century Approach
(Open Book Publishers, 2025-03-31) Peek, Philip S.
In this elementary textbook, Philip S. Peek draws on his twenty-five years of teaching experience to present the ancient Greek language in an imaginative and accessible way that promotes creativity, deep learning, and diversity.
The course is built on three pillars: memory, analysis, and logic. Readers memorize the top 550 most frequently occurring ancient Greek words, the essential word endings, the eight parts of speech, and the grammatical concepts they will most frequently encounter when reading authentic ancient texts. Analysis and logic exercises enable the identification of clitics and full words as well as the translation and parsing of genuine ancient Greek sentences, with compelling reading selections in English and in Greek offering starting points for contemplation, debate, and reflection. A series of thirty entries by James F. Patterson, using a simplified morphophonemic approach to understanding language improve readers’ understanding of word formation, their vocabulary, and their ability to read and understand Ancient Greek.
This combination of memory-based learning and concept- and skill-based learning gradually builds the confidence of the reader, teaching them how to learn by guiding them from a familiarity with the basics to proficiency in reading this beautiful language. Ancient Greek II: A 21st-Century Approach is written for high-school and university students, but is an instructive and rewarding text for anyone who wishes to learn ancient Greek.
Color, Healthcare and Bioethics
(Open Book Publishers, 2025-03-28) ten Have, Henk
This book explores the profound, yet often overlooked, role of color in healthcare and bioethics, arguing that color is far more than a visual or aesthetic element—it actively shapes human experience, perception, and ethical reasoning.
Traditionally regarded as secondary to objective medical observations or rational ethical debates, color has been marginalized in these fields, considered subjective and inconsequential. However, this book reveals that color is critical in diagnostic and therapeutic practices and that it subconsciously influences moral interpretations in bioethics. Through examples like the ‘blue hour’—a time of day associated with melancholy and creativity—readers are invited to consider color not just as a physical phenomenon explained by wavelengths and visual physiology, but as a medium rich with emotional and metaphorical meaning. From ‘feeling blue’ to seeing the world in ‘black and white’, color conveys complex messages that inform our perceptions of health, morality, and identity.
By bridging the gap between science, emotion, and ethics, this book illuminates how colors impact our worldviews, urging readers to consider the subtle yet significant ways that color influences our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Music, Religion and Politics at Worcester Cathedral, 680-1950
(Open Book Publishers, 2025-03-17) Newsholme, Richard
This book provides a comprehensive history of music and liturgy at Worcester Cathedral, from its foundation in the seventh century to the mid-20th century. The author delves into how political shifts, public opinion, and national trends have influenced changes in the cathedral's practices over time, while also highlighting the distinct local dynamics at play.
The book captures the fluctuating significance of liturgy and music across different eras, from the strict, ritualistic practices of Benedictine monks to the rejection of ceremonial traditions by Interregnum Non-Conformists. It traces how the form of worship evolved in response to the beliefs of church leaders, leading to periods of decline and revival in the cathedral’s musical standards. Notably, the study explores Worcester’s role in the development of British polyphony up to the 14th century and the comforting role of the choir during World War I.
With a wealth of surviving Anglo-Saxon charters, medieval liturgical manuscripts, and unique polyphonic fragments, this volume offers rare insights into centuries-old practices. While it focuses on Worcester, the study reflects broader trends in English cathedral history, providing a vital resource for understanding the interplay of music, religion, and politics in the evolution of worship.
Interconnected Traditions: Semitic Languages, Literatures, Cultures—A Festschrift for Geoffrey Khan: Volume 2: The Medieval World, Judaeo-Arabic, and Neo-Aramaic
(Open Book Publishers, 2025-03-07) Hornkohl, Aaron D.; Vidro, Nadia; Watson, Janet C.E.; Coghill, Eleanor; Connolly, Magdalen M.; Outhwaite, Benjamin M.
Geoffrey Khan’s pioneering scholarship has transformed the study of Semitic languages, literatures, and cultures, leaving an indelible mark on fields ranging from Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic dialectology to medieval manuscript traditions and linguistic typology. This Festschrift, celebrating a distinguished career that culminated in his tenure (2012–2025) as Regius Professor of Hebrew in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge, brings together contributions from a vast and representative array of scholars—retired, established, and up and coming—whose work has been influenced by his vast intellectual legacy.
Reflecting the interconnected traditions that Khan has illuminated throughout his career, this volume presents cutting-edge research on Hebrew and Aramaic linguistics, historical syntax, manuscript studies, and the transmission of textual traditions across centuries and cultures. Contributors engage with topics central to Khan’s scholarship, including the evolution of the Biblical Hebrew verbal system, the intricacies of Masoretic notation, Geniza discoveries, Samaritan and medieval Judaeo-Arabic texts, and computational approaches to linguistic analysis.
As Khan retires from his role as Regius Professor, this collection stands as both a tribute and a continuation of his work, honouring his lifelong dedication to understanding and preserving the linguistic and literary heritage of the Semitic world.
Feeling Colour: Chromatic Embodiment in Film Culture, 1950s–1960s
(Open Book Publishers, 2025-03-06) Lameris, Bregt
The shift back from quasi monochrome to coloured motion picture during the 1950s and 1960s famously provided moviegoers the dazzling opportunity to more fully engage their senses, all the while opening new modes of affective possibilities for filmmakers. Set against the intersection of media studies, emotion theory, biology, and digital humanities, Feeling Colour: Chromatic Embodiment in Film Culture (1950s-1960s) delves into the role colour played in the oft-fraught relationship between cinema and its audiences. This transnational analysis of an extensive range of midcentury cinematography examines the multilayered effects which extend beyond the silver screen, offering a high-level theoretical elaboration and in-depth historical exploration of both experimental and mainstream movies.
Lameris takes an interdisciplinary perspective, examining the different ways colour creates—or was believed to create—embodied reactions. From perception theory and 'putting the nerves in motion’, to colour psychology and how to ‘steer’ the spectator, to cross-modal perception (or ‘synaesthesia’), Lameris asks how how colours and feelings in film are entangled in the colour cultures, discourses and beliefs of a particular historical context.
With its influential cultural scholarly contribution and accessible writing style, this book will delight both students and specialists in film and media studies. In addition, those interested in the history and use of color in advertising, neuroscience, gender studies, and emotion will find the book engaging and useful.
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