Nonfiction Can Be Fun: 10 LOL Titles About Serious Subjects

August 14, 2015August 12, 2015 / Mary / Leave a comment

I almost fell off my chair last week when a friend told me he never reads nonfiction because it was boring and no fun. As I madly started listing nonfiction books that I had enjoyed, he held up his hands. Although I had been, ahem, speaking vehemently, it was a gesture of appeasement, not protection. He liked to learn things, he explained, but couldn’t stand being bored by dry dissertations. He asked if I could come up with ten books that were instructional and fun.

You betcha!

Economics
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis
A candid and humorous look at the global financial crisis of 2002-2009. Lewis examines five cultures that were hit hard: The Icelanders, who wanted to stop fishing and become investment bankers. The Greeks, who wanted to turn their country into a piñata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack at it. The Germans, who wanted to be even more German. The Irish, who wanted to stop being Irish. And the Americans, who were “Too Fat to Fly”.

Language
Holy Shit: A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr
With humor and insight, Melissa Mohr takes readers on a journey to discover how “swearing” has come to include both testifying with your hand on the Bible and calling someone a *#$&!* when they cut you off on the highway. You will definitely learn some new words.

Grammar
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
Former editor Lynne Truss, gravely concerned about our current grammatical state, boldly defends proper punctuation. Using examples from literature, history, neighborhood signage, and her own imagination, Truss shows how meaning is shaped by commas and apostrophes, and the hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry. Think “sign fail photos” you see on Facebook.

Science
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World by Mark Miodownik
Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? These are the sorts of questions that renowned materials scientist Mark Miodownik constantly asks himself. Full of tales of the miracles of engineering that permeate our lives, Stuff Matters will make you see stuff in a whole new way. Investigate chapters titled “Invisible” and “Immortal” and the all-important “Delicious”.

Art
What Are You Looking at? The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art by Will Gompertz
What is Modern Art? Who started it? Why do we love/hate it? And, most importantly, why does it cost so darn much? Will Gompertz takes the reader on a captivating tour of modern art, telling the story of the movements, the artists and the works that changed art forever. Refreshing, irreverent, and extremely accessible, this is art history with a sense of humor

Sports
Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN’s Sports Guy Found Salvation with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox by Bill Simmons
No more worrying about living an entire life — that’s 80 years, followed by death — without seeing the Red Sox win a World Series. But then Bill Simmons began asking questions: Why didn’t he see it coming? Why didn’t it happen sooner? What was the key deal, the lucky move, the sign from above that he failed to spot? The result is a hilarious look at some of the best sportswriting in America, with sharp critical commentary and new insights from the guy who wrote it in the first place.
Philosophy
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
The how of Pooh? The Tao of who? The Tao of Pooh!?! In which it is revealed that one of the world’s great Taoist masters isn’t Chinese–or a venerable philosopher–but is in fact none other than that effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear. Learn the How of Pooh, the Now of Pooh and all about Cottleston Pie.

Geography
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Travel from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author’s case, moments of “un-unhappiness.” The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science, and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. With chapter titles that assert that “Happiness is Boredom” and “Happiness is Somewhere Else” how can it miss?

History
The Mental Floss History of the United States: The (Almost) Complete and (Entirely) Entertaining Story of America by Erik Sass with Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur
Featuring episodes from history that fall under titles such as “Drunk and Illiterate” and “Time for Your Bloodbath” this book is an entertaining and educational look at America’s past. So if you are in an “Empire State of Mind” and are wondering about “Sex, Drugs, and Mocking Roles” take a smiling stroll through the pages of this offbeat, memorable book.

Travel
Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town America by Bill Geist
Who wouldn’t love a travel book that has chapters like “The Church of the Holy BBQ”, “The Cow Photographer”, and “Frozen Dead Guy”?

Top Picks: Outdoor Literature

August 10, 2015August 6, 2015 / emily100101 / Leave a comment

“I now walk into the wild.”
― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

It’s summer, and everyone is busy enjoying the outdoors with friends and family. Nice weather brings swimming, hiking, camping, and picnics, and a greater appreciation for nature. With so much time outside, you may feel inspired to read some Outdoor Literature. The Cheshire Public Library has you covered!

Outdoor Literature encompasses several different subgenres of literature, including exploration literature, adventure literature, mountain literature, and nature writing. Here’s a small sample of the books we carry to get you started.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Originally published in 1854, Walden, or Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature.

Roughing It by Mark Twain

Roughing It follows the travels of a young Mark Twain through the Wild West during the years 1861–1867. U.S. astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell read Roughing It aloud to pass the time aboard NASA’s Gemini VII in 1965.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Epic: stories of survival from the world’s highest peaks edited by Clint Willis

Epic is a collection of fifteen memorable accounts of legend-making expeditions to the world’s most famous peaks, often in the world’s worst possible conditions. Editor Clint Willis has gathered the most exciting climbing literature of the modern age into one cliff-hanging volume.

American Earth: environmental writing since Thoreau, edited by Bill McKibben; foreword by Al Gore

American Earth is an anthology of seminal American environmental writing from the past two centuries. It considers the influence on the ways in which people view the natural world and includes pieces by such figures as Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and John James Audubon.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

A powerful, blazingly honest, inspiring memoir: the story of a 1,100 mile solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe–and built her back up again.

If you care to delve deeper into the subject of Outdoor Literature, check out National Geographic’s list, Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time.

Adult Non Fiction about Librarians and Libraries

July 27, 2015July 15, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

I was inspired by the new series of posts about the work that goes on behind the scenes in our library to gather some of the best books about working in a library and the history of libraries to share. If you want to know a little more about life behind the desk, and some history of our little corner of the world and beyond, you might want to take a look at these titles.

I Work at a Public Library: a Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks by Gina Sheridan
Collects strange-but-true anecdotes, heartwarming stories, and humorous interactions with patrons from a public librarian.

Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
An autobiography set in a Southern California public library offers a quirky description of life as a caretaker of modern literature and furnishes an account of the history of libraries from the Gilded Age to the present day.

The World’s Strongest Librarian: a Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne
Traces the public librarian author’s inspiring story as a Mormon youth with Tourette’s Syndrome who after a sequence of radical and ineffective treatments overcame nightmarish tics through education, military service and strength training.

This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
In a celebration of libraries and the dedicated people who staff them, the author argues that librarians are more important than ever, and discusses a new breed of visionary professionals who use the Web to link people and information.

Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference by Joanne Oppenheim
Provides the story of life in a Japanese internment camp during World War II through the correspondence of the children in the camp to their librarian, Miss Clara Breed, who worked on their behalf to show the injustice of their imprisonment.

Library: an Unquiet History by Matthew Battles
Provides an intriguing historical study of libraries and books, their preservation, and destruction, from the U.S. to Europe and Asia, from medieval monasteries and Vatican collections to the ever-changing information highway of today.

For further reading about the history of libraries and what it can be like on the other side of the counter check out: Running the Books: the Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg, Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert, Dewey: the Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter, The Library: an Illustrated History by Stuart A.P. Murray, Library: the Drama Within photographs by Diane Asséo Griliches ; essay by Daniel J. Boorstin, The Librarian’s Book of Quotes compiled by Tatyana Eckstrand, and Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out edited by Katia Roberto and Jessamyn West.

What is this Paleo stuff, anyway?

July 20, 2015July 13, 2015 / emily100101 / Leave a comment

You’ve probably heard of the Paleo Diet by now. Like all new and popular diets, it is controversial, but it differs from other low-carb diets in its emphasis on natural foods and exercise.

The Paleo Diet is based on the idea that modern humans should go back to eating whole unprocessed foods to achieve optimal health. It is also sometimes called The Caveman Diet, but don’t let the name deter you. The Caveman is just a mascot, and the Paleo Diet is not about historical reenactment. It’s simply a framework for improving health through food and lifestyle.

The idea is simple:

Eat more nutrient-rich whole foods, like fresh vegetables, meat, seafood, nuts, and fruit.
Avoid processed foods with added sugar, chemically processed and refined vegetables oils (corn oil, soybean, sunflower, corn), and anything with ingredients you can’t easily identify.
Avoid processed and refined carbs. This includes most breads. Carbs are acceptable in lower quantities, but they should not be the bulk of your diet.
Eat healthy fats, like avocados, grass-fed butter, and coconut oil.
Dairy is OK in small amounts. Aim for organic, grass-fed, full fat or fermented (yogurt, kefir, cheese). Skim milk is high in sugar!
Get some exercise every day, preferably outside and at a relaxed and steady pace. Avoid stressful cardio.

If you want to embark on your own Paleo journey, the Cheshire Public Library has over 50 books on the Paleo Diet! Here’s a small sample to get you started:

Practical Paleo: a customized approach to health and a whole-foods lifestyle – Diane Sanfilippo

Your personal Paleo code: the 3-step plan to lose weight, reverse disease, and stay fit and healthy for life – Chris Kresser

The Paleo diet: lose weight and get healthy by eating the foods you were designed to eat – Loren Cordain

The Paleo approach: reverse autoimmune disease and heal your body – Sarah Ballantyne

The Paleo slow cooker: healthy, gluten-free meals the easy way – Arsy Vartanian

The autoimmune Paleo cookbook: an allergen-free approach to managing chronic illness – Mickey Trescott

Paleo lunches and breakfasts on the go: the solution to gluten-free eating all day long with delicious, easy, and portable primal meals – Diana Rodgers

Paleo comfort foods: homestyle cooking for a gluten-free kitchen – Julie & Charles Mayfield

Paleo desserts: 125 delicious everyday favorites, gluten- and grain-free – Jane Barthelemy

Mediterranean Paleo cooking: over 150 fresh coastal recipes for a relaxed, gluten-free lifestyle – Caitlin Weeks, Nabil Boumrar, and Diane Sanfilippo

10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in July

July 15, 2015July 6, 2015 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Beat the heat! Find yourself some air conditioning (or a spot at the beach) and settle in with one of the new books hitting our shelves in July. Romance, thrills, good eats – the perfect summertime reading!

Every month, librarians from around the country pick the top ten new books they’d most like to share with readers. The results are published on LibraryReads.org. One of the goals of LibraryReads is to highlight the important role public libraries play in building buzz for new books and new authors. Click through to read more about what new and upcoming books librarians consider buzzworthy this month. The top ten titles for July are: