Nonfiction
The art of the wasted day
Patricia Hampl
818.5409 /Hampl
Nonfiction, Literary Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel
In an effort to discover the value of daydreaming and leisure, the author sets out on a journey that will take her to the homes of people who famously wasted time daydreaming, but were better for it, including Gregor Mendel.
So you want to talk about race
Ijeoma Oluo
305.8 /Oluo
Nonfiction
"A current, constructive, and actionable exploration of today's racial landscape, offering straightforward clarity that readers of all races need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide. In So You Want to Talk About Race, Editor at Large of The Establishment, Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don't dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans. Oluo is an exceptional writer with a rare ability to be straightforward, funny, and effective in her coverage of sensitive, hyper-charged issues in America. Her messages are passionate but finely tuned, and crystalize ideas that would otherwise be vague by empowering them with aha-moment clarity. Her writing brings to mind voices like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay, and Jessica Valenti in Full Frontal Feminism, and a young Gloria Naylor, particularly in Naylor's seminal essay "The Meaning of a Word.""--
Learn how to effectively talk about race, privilege, police brutality, and other extremely important current issues with both white people and people of color -Anne W
Chasing Hilary: ten years, two presidential campaigns, and one intact glass ceiling
Amy Chozick
324.973 /Chozick
Nonfiction, Biographies
The dishy, rollicking, and deeply personal story of what really happened in the 2016 election, as seen through the eyes of the New York Times reporter who gave eight years of her life to covering the First Woman President who wasn't.
Adding this book to me "to read" list. I cataloged this book when it came in, and I couldn't take my eyes off the sections on what it was like to be a political reporter covering candidates while they were in Iowa. The journalist details her times in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, writing about how different candidates were perceived at the State Fair. It's a book published by a mainstream publisher, and it mentions the butter cow! -Melody
Become the Force : 9 lessons on how to live as a Jediist master
Daniel (Daniel M.) Jones
299.93 /Jones
Nonfiction, Religion, Self Help
"Daniel M Jones founded the Church of Jediism in 2007 following the Jedi Census phenomenon of 2001; it now has over 500,000 members around the world. This is the book his fans have been waiting for. In it, Daniel outlines the Jedi perspective and provides practical tools for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how to use the Force in everyday life. A metaphor for the universal life energy that connects us all, the Force can be both light and dark, good and bad. Now, more than ever, it is our responsibility to overcome the Dark Side. This book does not aim to convert, but to inspire its readers to live a life of meaning and purpose according to the universal spiritual teachings of 'the way of the Jedi'"--Amazon.com.
Yes, lessons for life based on the holy text of Star Wars. Seemingly combines elements of Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism, among others, and useful in a number of 'self help' ways. Plus, light sabers. -Candice
Knights in training : ten principles for raising honorable, courageous, and compassionate boys
Heather Haupt
248.845 /Haupt
Religion, Nonfiction
"In an age when respect and honor seem like distant and antiquated relics, how can we equip boys to pursue valor and courageously put the needs of others before their own? This book helps parents to inspire their boys by captivating their imagination and honoring their love for adventure. Heather Haupt explores how knights historically lived out various aspects of the knights' Code of Chivalry, as depicted in the French epic Song of Roland, and how boys can embody these same ideals now. When we issue the challenge and give boys the reasons why it is worth pursuing, we step forward on an incredible journey towards raising the kind of boys who, just like the knights of old, make an impact in their world now and for the rest of their lives." - Book Jacket.
An addition to the recent number of books on raising kind children, this one focuses on the idea of chivalry and manners. -Candice
The disaster artist : my life inside The room, the greatest bad movie ever made
Greg Sestero
eBOOK
Nonfiction
"In 2003, an independent film called The Room--starring and written, produced, directed by a mysteriously wealthy social misfit of indeterminate age and origin named Tommy Wiseau--made its disastrous debut in Los Angeles. Described by one reviewer as "like getting stabbed in the head," the six-million-dollar film earned a grand total of $1800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. Ten years later, The Room is an international cult phenomenon. Thousands of fans wait in line for hours to attend screenings complete with costumes, audience rituals, merchandising, and thousands of plastic spoons. In The Disaster Artist, actor Greg Sestero, Tommy's costar and longtime best friend, recounts the film's long, strange journey to infamy, unraveling mysteries for fans--who on earth is "Steven," and what's with that hospital on Guerrero Street?--as well as the question that plagues the uninitiated: how the hell did a movie this awful ever get made? But more than just a laugh-out-loud funny story about cinematic hubris, The Disaster Artist is also a great piece of narrative nonfiction, a portrait of a mysterious man who got past every road block in the Hollywood system to achieve success on his own terms. Written with a gimlet eye but an open heart, The Disaster Artist is the hilarious and inspiring story of a dream that just wouldn't die"--
Confession: I'm actually listening to the e-audiobook (https://icpl.overdrive.com/media/2300017) and it has me in stitches. The author reads his own story of what it was like to work with Tommy Wiseau, along with vocal impersonations of the infamous director. So hilarious. -Melody
Janesville : an American story
Amy Goldstein
977.5 /Goldstein
Nonfiction
Learn what happens to the residents of a small Midwestern town when the GM plant closes at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, forcing thousands out of long-term, secure jobs and creating ripple effects throughout the region. Goldstein embeds herself with the residents for years, and Paul Ryan and Barack Obama make appearances. Extremely intimate and compelling portrait of a town in crisis! -Anne W
Easy to love, difficult to discipline : the seven basic skills for turning conflict into cooperation
Rebecca Anne Bailey
649.64 /Bailey
Nonfiction, Self Help
My parenting Bible! This book will give you the tools manage your young child's behavior, striking the perfect balance between letting them walk all over you and being a hard-driving taskmaster. -Anne W
The unsettlers : in search of the good life in today's America
Mark Sundeen
640 /Sundeen
Nonfiction, Nature
A work of immersive journalism steeped in a distinctively American social history and sparked by a personal quest, The Unsettlers traces the search for the simple life through the stories of three families of new pioneers and what inspired each of them to look for--or create--a better existence. Captivating and clear-eyed, it dares us to imagine what a sustainable, ethical, authentic future might actually look like.--
Are you FASCINATED by people who manage to live off the grid for long periods of time? Me, too! -Anne W
The devil in the white city : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America
Erik Larson
364.1523 /Larson
Nonfiction, History, True Crime
"Larson's ambitious, engrossing tale of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 focuses primarily on two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect who was the driving force behind the fair, and Henry H. Holmes, a sadistic serial killer working under the cover of the busy fair. After the 1889 French Exposition Universel wowed the world with the Eiffel Tower and high attendance numbers, interest began to grow in the U.S. for a similar fair. Chicago and New York were the top contenders for the location, and in February 1890, Chicagoans were overjoyed to hear they had won the honor. Burnham and his partner, John Root, the leading architects in Chicago, were tapped for the job, and they in turn called on Frederick Law Olmstead, Louis Sullivan, and Richard M. Hunt to help them build the world's greatest fair. They faced overwhelming obstacles: inhospitable weather, bureaucracy, illness, and even death. Unbeknownst to any of them, Holmes, a charismatic, handsome doctor, had arrived in the city and built a complex with apartments, a drugstore, and a vault, which he used to trap his victims until they suffocated. When the White City opened for business in May 1893, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to it, although a plummeting economy and several accidents did nothing to help business. A shocking murder concludes the ultimately successful fair, and that's before Holmes claims his final victims in the cruelest act of his career. A magnificent book."--
Erik Larson does an absolutely amazing job of telling the story of H.H. Holmes, a serial killer who operated during the World's Fair in Chicago, 1896. Not only that, but this is a fantastic story of the city itself, particularly some of the early architects and their works. Will make you want to go visit some of the buildings. -Candice
Hampl extols the happiness and contentment that can come from simply being, the up-side of letting things go, taking a look around, going within. She travels far and wide to find others who hit upon this idea in one way or another, at the same time seeking to recover some sort of 'ease' that has missing from her life since the death of her husband. A sweet, quiet book. -Candice