Nonfiction

Sunday sews : 20 inspired weekend projects

Theresa Gonzalez

646.404 /Gonzalez
Nonfiction

Sunday Sews presents 20 irresistible designs that can be sewn on a weekend and enjoyed for a lifetime. Featuring minimalist style and unfussy lightweight fabrics, they are as functional as they are chic. Think drapey shift dresses, flattering tunics and skirts, tanks and tops perfect for layering, pretty aprons, go-anywhere tote bags, and gifts for children and loved ones. Step-by-step instructions and technical illustrations make construction a breeze, whatever the reader's skill level; and lush photographs showcase the finished projects in clean, uncluttered settings. Sleekly packaged and brimming with atmosphere, Sunday Sews evokes everything we love about the most relaxing day of the week.

For learning about clothing, I turned here. All the projects in this book, from tank tops to dresses to skirts, are simply-designed and intended to only take a few hours to execute. I was so worried to make darts, pleats, and armholes, but Gonzalez’s directions are well-illustrated and easy to follow. Sewing her Tessa Tank was a piece of cake. -Anne M

Handmade style : 23 must-have basics to stitch, use, and wear

Anna Graham

646.2 /Graham
Nonfiction

If you want to expand beyond clothing, try this book. Although you’ll find a few handmade-style dresses and tops in her book, Graham devotes most of her book to bags, tech cases, and home goods. Her picnic blanket sews up like a breeze and looks lovely. -Anne M

Speaking American* : *how y'all, youse, and you guys talk : a visual guide

Josh Katz

427.973 /Katz
Nonfiction

"From the creator of the New York Times dialect quiz that ignited conversations about how and why we say the words we say, a stunning and delightful exploration of American language,"--Amazon.com.

In this book, Katz compiled a great collection of words and phrases, along with their meanings to illustrate these differences—far beyond the twenty-five in the quiz. Map the “trash can vs. garbage can” divide. Find out how many ways Americans pronounce crayon? And if you need another reason to look down your nose at Cleveland, they are the only ones who call the strip between the sidewalk and the road a tree lawn. -Anne M

Styled : secrets for arranging rooms, from tabletops to bookshelves

Emily Henderson

747 /Henderson
Nonfiction, Home

Henderson helps you determine your style and then provides tips on how to show off those design inclinations in your home. Styled doesn’t call for a complete overhaul. Small changes in rearranging furniture or adding a few elements like a rug or a lamp can go a long way to transform a room. -Anne M

Habitat : the field guide to decorating

Lauren Liess

747 /Liess
Nonfiction, Home

Lauren Liess’ Habitat uses nature as inspiration in home design. Her rooms are sophisticated, but also simple, comfortable, and achievable. Habitat works through explaining the basics of interior design, offering advice on lighting, color combinations, and accessories. -Anne M

English decoration : timeless inspiration for the contemporary home

Ben Pentreath

747.0942 /Pentreath
Nonfiction, Home

In English Decoration, London-based architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath presents a major new survey of the best of the English style. Eighteen homes, many of which have never been previously photographed, provide the source material for his wide-ranging investigation of this classic look. The houses include Ben's own homes in London and West Dorset, alongside those of Earls and artists, writers and architects, book designers and gardeners. The book is arranged room by room and Entrance Halls, Living Rooms, Kitchens and Dining Rooms, Bedrooms and Bathrooms are considered in turn, together with simple Rooms of Utility and spectacular Rooms of Display. The book begins with an essay on the English style in decoration and ends with a style directory, helping you to achieve the look wherever you live.

Perhaps you would prefer to go traditional? For this, check out Ben Pentreath’s English Decoration, inspired by British manor houses and country cottages. Some of Pentreath’s work isn’t practical for us Iowans; there is an entire chapter on “Rooms of Display.” Nonetheless, there are some beautiful color combinations and intriguing room arrangements -Anne M

Novel interiors : living in enchanted rooms inspired by literature

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

747 /Giramonti
Nonfiction, Home

The key to a stylish life is in the details, and the details are found in books! Giramonti presents a book-lover's guide to decorating, referencing sixty beloved works of literature. She shows how even the smallest elements, such as the blue china flowerpots perched on bright yellow stands depicted in The Age of Innocence, can bring life and personality to any room.

We are a UNESCO City of Literature and your style may be influenced by your favorite books. Novel Interiors by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti showcases rooms inspired by sixty different novels, including those by Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh, L. M. Montgomery, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Borgnes Giramonti finds passages describing chairs, plates, and linens and builds the rooms from there. For booklovers and design aficionados alike. -Anne M

Being mortal : medicine and what matters in the end

Atul Gawande

362.175 /Gawande
Nonfiction, Health

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families of the terminally ill.

Added by Jason

The Black Count : glory, revolution, betrayal, and the real Count of Monte Cristo

Tom Reiss

BIOGRAPHY Dumas, Thomas Alexandre
Nonfiction, History

Explores the life and career of Thomas Alexandre Dumas, a man almost unknown today, but whose swashbuckling exploits appear in The three musketeers and whose trials and triumphs inspired The count of Monte Cristo.

Added by Jason

The telling room : a tale of love, betrayal, revenge, and the world's greatest piece of cheese

Michael Paterniti

641.373 /Paterniti
Nonfiction, Travel

In the picturesque village of Guzmán, Spain, in a cave on the edge of town, there is a cramped limestone chamber known as "the telling room." This is where villagers have gathered for centuries to share their stories and secrets--usually accompanied by copious amounts of wine. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti found himself listening to a Spanish cheesemaker as he spun an odd and compelling tale about a piece of cheese. Made from an old family recipe, Ambrosio's cheese was reputed to be among the finest in the world, and was said to hold mystical qualities. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong. Paterniti was hooked. Soon he was fully embroiled, relocating his young family to Guzmán in order to chase the truth about this fairy tale-like place. What he ultimately discovers is nothing like the idyllic fable he first imagined. Instead, he's sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery, a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot.--From publisher description.

Added by Jason

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