Nonfiction
Yes please
Amy Poehler
eAUDIO
Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor
The actress best known for her work on "Parks and Recreation" and "Saturday Night Live" reveals personal stories and offers her humorous take on such topics as love, friendship, parenthood, and her relationship with Tina Fey.
Near the exit : travels with the not-so-grim reaper
Lori Erickson
eAUDIO
Nonfiction
Near the exit examines how different cultures confront and have confronted death.
I had put “Near the Exit” on hold awhile back when I missed the chance to see Lori Erickson speak at the Iowa Book Festival last year. I finally got my hands on it and it was worth the wait! In this book, Erickson uses in-depth research, spiritual travels, interviews, and personal experience to examine how various cultures view death. I appreciated her curiosity and open-mindedness, and thoroughly enjoyed the insight and the unexpected humor in this read. -Becky
Growing the midwest garden : Regional Ornamental Gardening
Edward Lyon
eBOOK
Nonfiction, Gardening
Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region's climate, soil, and geography. Growing the Midwest Garden, by Edward Lyon, the director of Wisconsin's Allen Centennial Gardens, offers an enthusiastic and comprehensive approach to ornamental gardening in the heartland. This guide features in-depth chapters on climate, soil, pests, and maintenance, along with plant profiles of the best perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and bulbs.
I've got sunshine in my pocket and green grass on my mind. April has been quite a cruel month (thanks, T.S. Eliot!). But there are brighter days ahead. I plan on practicing social distancing by getting dirty in my own yard. Spade? Check. Desire? Check. Plan? Well, let's see... That's what this book is for! Join me in dreaming of greener pastures and brighter flowers. -Melody
Do your om thing : bending yoga tradition to fit your modern life
Rebecca Pacheco
eBOOK
Nonfiction, Sports, Health
I haven’t read this book, but I like the idea of adapting yoga to fit my lifestyle. I’ve been doing yoga to exercise and deal with stress lately, and I want to learn more about it. This book seems like the perfect mix of learning about tradition and learning how to update it. -Hanna
The splendid and the vile : a saga of Churchill, family, and defiance during the blitz
Erik Larson
940.5421 /Larson
Nonfiction, History, Biographies
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers a fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold the country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally-and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports-some released only recently-Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the cadre of close advisers who comprised Churchill's "Secret Circle," including his lovestruck private secretary, John Colville; newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook; and the Rasputin-like Frederick Lindemann. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today's political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when-in the face of unrelenting horror-Churchill's eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."--
I never thought I would laugh out loud reading a Churchill biography, but leave it to Erik Larson to make that happen. A consummate researcher, he has the inscrutable knack for bringing people and past events to life, and with Churchill being, in some ways, a very unique and peculiar person, laugh I did. Not to make light of the topic of interest, which is the very specific time during World War II where Churchill has just been elected PM, France is just getting ready to capitulate to the Germans, and Germany is just about to bomb England. It's intense and overwhelming and imminent. Larson's book is the Churchill/WWII book for those who might have said they'd never read such a book, who might think it's not interesting or too remote. -Candice
Tough mothers : amazing stories of history's mightiest matriarchs
Jason Porath
920.72 /Porath
Nonfiction, Biographies, History
Offers examples of 50 real-life matriarchs who gave everything to protect their children and causes, from Sojourner Truth's legal campaign against slavery to Irena Sender's advocacy on behalf of young Holocaust victims.
Added by Candice
Fire!! : the Zora Neale Hurston story
Peter Bagge
BIOGRAPHY Hurston, Zora Neale
Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Biographies, History
"Peter Bagge has defied the expectations of the comics industry by changing gears from his famous slacker hero Buddy Bradley to documenting the life and times of historical 20th century trailblazers. If Bagge had not already had a New York Times bestseller with his biography of Margaret Sanger, his newest biography, Fire!!: The Zora Neale Hurston Story, would seem to be an unfathomable pairing of author and subject. Yet through Bagge's skilled cartooning, he turns what could be a rote biography into a bold and dazzling graphic novel, creating a story as brilliant as the life itself. Hurston challenged the norms of what was expected of an African American woman in early 20th century society. The fifth of eight kids from a Baptist family in Alabama, Hurston's writing prowess blossomed at Howard University, and then Barnard College, where she was the sole black student. She arrived in NYC at the height of the Harlem Renaissance and quickly found herself surrounded by peers such as Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman. Hurston went on to become a noted folklorist and critically acclaimed novelist, including her most provocative work Their Eyes Were Watching God. Despite these landmark achievements, personal tragedies and shifting political winds in the midcentury rendered her almost forgotten by the end of her life. With admiration and respect, Bagge reconstructs her vivid life in resounding full-color."--
Added by Candice
The genius of women : from overlooked to changing the world
Janice Kaplan
305.420922 /Kaplan
Nonfiction, Biographies, History
"We tell girls that they can be anything, so why do 90 percent of Americans believe that geniuses are almost always men? New York Times bestselling journalist Janice Kaplan explores the powerful forces that have rigged the system--and celebrates the women geniuses past and present who have triumphed anyway. Even in this time of rethinking women's roles, we define genius almost exclusively through male achievement. When asked to name a genius, people mention Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Steve Jobs. As for great women? In one survey, the only female genius anyone listed was Marie Curie. Janice Kaplan, the New York Times bestselling author of The Gratitude Diaries, set out to determine why the extraordinary work of so many women has been brushed aside. Using her unique mix of memoir, narrative, and inspiration, she makes surprising discoveries about women geniuses now and throughout history, in fields from music to robotics. Through interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and dozens of women geniuses at work in the world today--including Nobel Prize winner Frances Arnold and AI expert Fei-Fei Li--she proves that genius isn't just about talent. It's about having that talent recognized, nurtured, and celebrated. Across the generations, even when they face less-than-perfect circumstances, women geniuses have created brilliant and original work. In The Genius of Women, you'll learn how they ignored obstacles and broke down seemingly unshakable barriers. The geniuses in this moving, powerful, and very entertaining book provide more than inspiration--they offer a clear blueprint to everyone who wants to find her own path and move forward with passion." --
Added by Candice
The national team : the inside story of the women who changed soccer
Caitlin Murray
796.334 /Murray
Sports, Nonfiction
"The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, set record TV ratings, drawn massive crowds, earned huge revenues for FIFA and U.S. Soccer, and helped to redefine the place of women in sports. But despite their dominance, and their rosters of superstar players, they've endured striking inequality: low pay, poor playing conditions, and limited opportunities to play in professional leagues. The National Team, from leading soccer journalist Caitlin Murray, tells the history of the USWNT in full, from their formation in the 1980s to the run-up to the 2019 World Cup, chronicling both their athletic triumphs and less visible challenges off the pitch. Murray also recounts the rise and fall of U.S. professional leagues, including the burgeoning National Women's Soccer League, an essential part of the women's game. Through nearly 100 exclusive interviews with players, coaches, and team officials, including Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Heather O'Reilly, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Pia Sundhage, Tom Sermanni, and Sunil Gulati, Murray takes readers inside the locker rooms and board rooms in engrossing detail. A story of endurance and determination, The National Team is a complete portrait of this beloved and important team."--Page 2 of cover.
Added by Candice
She the people : a graphic history of uprisings, breakdowns, setbacks, revolts, and enduring hope on the unfinished road to women's equality
Jen Deaderick
305.4209 /Deaderick
Nonfiction, History
"A sweeping, smart, and smart-ass graphic history of women's ongoing quest for equality. In March 2017, Nevada surprised the rest of America by suddenly ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment--thirty-five years after the deadline had passed. Hey, better late than never, right? Then, lo and behold, a few months later, Illinois followed suit. Hurrah for the Land of Lincoln! That left the ERA just one state short of the congressional minimum for ratification. One state--and a legacy of shame--are what stand between American women and full equality. She the People takes on the campaign for change by offering a cheekily illustrated, sometimes sarcastic, and all-too-true account of women's evolving rights and citizenship. Divided into twelve historical periods between 1776 and today, journalist, historian, and activist Jen Deaderick takes readers on a walk down the ERA's rocky road to become part of our Constitution by highlighting changes in the legal status of women alongside the significant cultural and social influences of the time, so women's history is revealed as an integral part of U.S. history, and not a tangential sideline"--
Added by Candice
I need a little humor these days! Amy Poehler is such a talented writer and comic actor. When Tina Fey's Bossypants isn't available, I reach for Amy's Yes Please next. -Melody