Nonfiction

We know the media story of the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014, but we don’t know the other story. Author, Dr. Steven Hatch focuses less on the virus itself, which was the subject of Hot Zone by Richard Preston, and instead focuses on stories of daily life under the stress of the epidemic. Less is mentioned about the specific symptoms, and more time is spent on the remarkable strength of those touched by the virus: those confirmed with it, those who help them, and everyone else affected by its contagion.

Inferno adds a steady voice to a subject that needs a calm and clear telling. That

Dr. Adam Price has twenty-five years of experience with children and adolescents, especially boys, and his experience shows. He's Not Lazy details how and why an adolescent boy’s brain is often behind, they fear of failure, often "opt out". They opt out by procrastinating, losing themselves in the world of video games, or appearing ambivalent towards everything.

Dr. Price concentrates mostly on high school teens, but I found a lot of it very useful for my twelve-year old, and plan to revisit this book often during his high school years. There are some great worksheets to be used by both

What could be the advantage of a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Psychiatrist Archer (Better Than Normal) shares his experiences in living with and treating thousands of patients with ADHD. Archer also includes accounts of other innovative self-starters; highly successful individuals who just happened to have been diagnosed with ADHD such as the founder of Jet Blue David Neeleman, John Chambers CEO of Cisco, and business mogul Sir Richard Branson, not to mention entertainers and celebrities like Pink, Ty Pennington and Adam Levine. Most of those profiled use

As Animal, Vegetable, Miracle celebrates its 10th year of being published, I decided to finally give it a try.

Much of what the Kingsolvers put forth about the food industry still rings true. 

It was fascinating to hear about the decisions for choosing to only consume food that they are in direct contact with, whether growing it themselves or knowing its origins. This leads to some interesting situations: what do you do when you invite 150 friends and family to your house to celebrate a birthday? How do you make food that you have in abundance during the summer last the whole year? 

The

As one who did not grow up with the internet, I was interested to see what Turkle's opinion is on where we began and where we currently are concerning the internet and how it has changed us.

Turkle’s writing is wonderfully readable and she has done a great job of translating facts and statistics into tangible, real-life scenarios we can all relate to in one way or another. One of the more interesting points Turkle makes in Alone Together, is that the average person might think with the explosion of an ever increasingly sophisticated technology, coupled with sites like Facebook and Twitter

Richard Preston’s work of narrative nonfiction transported me to a place rarely seen by humans. Invisible from the ground, in the canopy of giant redwoods, exists a forest within a forest. Until recently the canopy was thought to be desert like, but thanks to the ecologists, botanists and naturalists depicted in Wild Trees, we now know, in the criss-crossed branches and burned out voids, the redwood nourishes many forms of life -- smaller trees and ferns grow in collected pockets of earth, a rainbow of lichen drip from the trunks and branches, and a particular type of salamander spends its

As a director of Search at Microsoft, Stefan Weitz, in his book Search, focuses on the future of predictive search that cuts out the human action necessary to utilize current search options and applications. Now, one can search for services, but the user has to take action in order to obtain them. In the future, Weitz posits that the system will know the user well enough to cut out this middle step. Through the capable web, people will be able to “take action, not just find information” (pg. 8).



Weitz refers to search as a “hinge” between the abilities of humans and machines, bridging the

Hoda Kotb, winner of a Daytime Emmy Award as part of The Today Show, has penned Where We Belong, a collection of stories about people who were feeling unfulfilled, yet were able to get things back on track by simply following their own desires and passions. While some of the examples she shares are about extraordinary people with money and connections, there are also instances of everyday people with seemingly nothing more than a burning ambition to change their lives and the lives of others for the better.

You’ll come away inspired and testing your own feelings and asking yourself if you are

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes is not what I expected, but I wasn't disappointed, either. The twelve previously published magazine stories are similar to Holmes mysteries, but not all involve crimes. Grann immerses himself in his work, reporting on his subjects’ history, and detailing his own interactions with them.

While I initially anticipated a series of murder-mysteries, the people in The Devil and Sherlock Holmes are what piqued my curiosity. Each tale focuses on the backstory of the character and provides some context to Grann’s interviews and interest in them. There are enough facts to

I’ve probably packed for hundreds of trips - long and short, near and far - and I feel like I’ve done a pretty decent job, but after reading this short book by girl on the go, Hitha Palepu, I’ve learned or been reminded of a few tips that I hope will make packing and traveling on my next trip a bit easier and slightly more organized, like:

• If you travel a lot and don’t like waiting in line, for a small fee you can join TSA precheck and Global Entry and beat the crowds.
• Don’t use the water in the plane bathroom to brush your teeth, as the containers that hold the water aren’t cleaned

A Foxfire Christmas is an amazing collection of Christmas traditions from the people of Appalachia; food, gifts, decorations, and preparations. It also includes a wonderful compilation of interviews by Georgia High School students.

Learn how to make dough ornaments, simple crafts, and hear stories from elders who have spent their entire lives in the mountains. Holiday recipes are a big part of the Christmas holidays and these have been passed down for many generations. 

Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club, the true story of Schwalbe and his dying mother reading and discussing books together at the end of her life, now shares another meaningful book. Books for Living reveals how particular books have taught Schwalbe life lessons over the years. He says these are “books that prompted me to remember something, realize something or see my life and the world differently.” The book is written in short contained chapters that are quick and easy to read one or two at a time.

I was familiar with some of the books and I understand how he takes

As I ponder what to say about this book, I'm reminded of two quotes I like from another; Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone:

People almost never change without first feeling understood.

The single most important thing [you can do] is to shift [your] internal stance from "I understand" to "Help me understand." Everything else follows from that.

Though stated differently, those ideas lie at the core of the parenting approach Greene describes in this book. Parents can best help their children learn, change, and grow--and deal with difficulties and misbehavior--by starting with

If the John Steuart Curry image of a crazed John Brown at the state capital and those gigantic Van Gogh sunflowers are the only murals that come to mind, you will be delightfully surprised by this artful trip through Kansas. This is a treasure trove, a mini tour of the state via its murals: painted and mosaic, new and old.

History and whimsy are depicted on downtown streets, in museums and on everything from old silos to the side of a Dollar General store. Kansas Murals has photos and details of 90 works throughout the state. More are in a list at the book’s end. 

No matter where you are in

Do you ever dream about living off the land, but don't know where to start? Welcome to the Farm offers a perfect glimpse into modern homesteading. 

Shay Elliot, of The Elliott Homestead blog, scratches the surface of, and thus demystifies, many farm activities that might seem foreign and exotic. For beginning homesteaders, and even for those who are just curious about what happens on a small farm, she breaks down different aspects into digestible chapters and sections. Ever thought about keeping bees? In a few pages you'll know if you want to investigate further. Butchering a hog or chicken

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking is probably as close as you will ever get to a kitchen apprenticeship with a professional chef in book form. The first part is a guide to the how and why of good cooking. You get clear explanations of what makes a pie crust or a cut of meat tender or tough, how and when to salt and season various ingredients; all the keys to making great meals. The second half is a collection of recipes that let you practice what you've learned.  

The author, Samin Nosrat, shares her hard won expertise here with clear instructions, clever

We Love to Sew Bedrooms by Annabel Wrigley is a helpful book for kids who want to learn to sew with the help of an adult.

The projects are geared towards the mod 70's appeal. There are 23 different fun projects with step-by-step instructions including pictures with each. Since they contain both pictures and word instructions, it can prove to be easier for completion. The first section defines terms needed throughout and also explains how to use a sewing machine.  It lists the necessary supplies, and includes special skills instructions such as using an iron, a hot glue gun, sewing buttons, or

​I'll admit I wasn't sure about a memoir that alternated between recipes and recovery from an aneurysm​, but Stir must have won me over because I not only felt the unique disappointment that only happens when finishing a good book, I also can't stop talking about it. Jessica Fechtor's recovery from a brain aneurysm while running on a treadmill is memoir-worthy without the wonderful observations, recipes, and memories. That's why Stir is a multi-layer cake of a memoir, a cake so fluffy with life and beauty, not even an aneurysm can sour it.

Each chapter is comprised of both an intimate essay

I first heard about the “Driving Miss Norma” Facebook page a few months ago and was excited to see that a book was in the works. At first glance, I thought the book might be too sentimental for my tastes, but I ended up loving it and its message, and I would really recommend it to anyone.

At 90 years old, Norma Bauerschmidt lost her husband of 67 years and within days received a diagnosis of stage 4 uterine cancer. Faced with a future of surgery, chemo and radiation, she decides instead to “hit the road” in an RV with her son and daughter-in-law and try to enjoy the time she has left. In

Deep in debt and seeking a major change in her life, author Elizabeth Greenwood becomes infatuated with the idea of faking her own death. Couldn't she just "die," and walk away from her student loans, her life, and her problems? Instead of actually committing pseudocide, as it's known, she delves into researching the idea instead, and the result is Playing Dead: A Journey through the World of Death Fraud.

First Greenwood interviews several private investigators and privacy experts about whether it's even possible to disappear completely in the information age, when so much about our lives is

How do you raise a feminist? This little book offers 15 suggestions for taking on the task and offers insight into how we can tackle living as feminists in our everyday lives. Dear Ijeawele is powerfully short and gets to the point, as a manifesto should. Her recommendations include; “ 'Because you are a girl' is never a reason for anything”; “teach her to love books”; and “teach her about difference. Make difference ordinary.”

Written as a letter to a friend, Dear Ijeawele, is a fast read with the potential to start conversations about what it means to be a woman today. 

Welcome to yet another edition of our monthly look at new titles we think should be on your radar for the month of May. Obviously, we can’t read every single book that comes out – contrary to popular belief, librarians can’t sit around and read books all day. (We tried that once, but then we got yelled at.) But, we do hear things, and when we hear those things, we like to pass them along to you.

First up is a literary and moving debut novel by Bryn Chancellor, Sycamore. The disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl in a small Arizona town in 1991 seems long in the past until remains are

4 Blood Types, 4 Diets, Eat Right 4 your Type offers individualized diet plans based on blood type. Dr. D’Adamo uses history and scientific research to explain how differences in blood type can affect how different people respond to food and exercise. Using meal and exercise plans you can achieve your best health.

D’Adamo, a second-generation naturopathic physician, followed in his father’s footsteps, studying the correlation between blood type, diet and health. Where the senior D’Adamo subjectively linked blood type to diet, the younger confirmed the connection using objective, scientific

Here at Johnson County Library we're always on the lookout for insightful words about writing. Sarah Manguso's latest book, 300 Arguments, contains quite a few. At its most basic level, the book is a collection of aphorisms. And, since Manguso is a professional writer and writing teacher, some cover that topic. Here are a few to mull over:

Nothing is more boring to me than the re-re-restatement that language isn't sufficiently nuanced to describe the world. Of course language isn't enough. Accepting that is the starting point of using it to capacity. Of increasing its capacity.

-----

I

Alaska. I imagine it’s the most remote you can get while remaining on American soil. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to pack your bags and move there, save yourself the trip and read Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs first.

Lende, an obituary writer in the small town of Haines, brings her friends, family, and neighbors to life. And life is different there. Short growing seasons, the speed with which a “moose can turn a ten-year-old apple orchard into a few stumpy sticks or the way even a very young bear can rip the branches right off of a loaded cherry tree, not to

Growing old isn't easy and caring for your loved ones as they grow old is even harder. The everyday stress of eldercare is beyond hard. How to Care for Aging Parents is considered the number one resource in print that will help with caring for a loved one and making decisions that are right for you. The book covers everything: survival tips for the caregiver, how to get help, when to get help, handling the paperwork, the array of housing options when your loved ones can no longer live alone, nearing the end advice, and how to deal with grief. The advice and guidance well help make troubled

Whether you love or hate Eat, Pray, Love—Gilbert actually addresses this dichotomy—Big Magic should not be ignored. She begins by defining creative living as “the hunt for the strange jewels the universe has buried in each of us,” and then provides examples of people she knows who have found their jewels. She acknowledges that jewel hunting can be scary, and helps deconstruct the fear that prevents us from living our best creative lives.

Gilbert shares the importance of inspiration and our responsibility to it, as well as what happened to her when her response to inspiration wasn’t timely

We have all taken personality tests that put us into one box or another in an attempt to better understand ourselves. In Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, Cain analyzes the introvert/extrovert dichotomy with a particular focus on how introverts think and what motivates them. Cain argues that we live in an extrovert-centric society that values and praises the high achieving socialites over the less outgoing thinkers. Cain speaks up for and defends those whose voices have gone unheard for far too long.

Quiet reads like a text book, analyzing

Hello, welcome, and join us - won’t you? - for this month’s look at some new releases to keep on your radar.

Our first selection is David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Grann, who also wrote the brilliant book-club favorite The Lost City of Z, returns with his characteristic non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction books as he tells the tale of a remote part of Oklahoma that held some of the wealthiest people in America – members of the Osage tribe of Native Americans who lived on oil-rich land. However, the Osage began to be found murdered, with

There has never been a conflict-free time in Israel. The times between wars carry their own tensions, disputes, incidents and attacks. While there are numerous books about the larger wars and about the relationship between Israel and the Arabs who surround her, little has been written about Israel's presence in Southern Lebanon in the 1980's and '90's. Until now.

Matti Friedman draws from his own and other soldiers’ experiences when writing about Israel’s outposts in Southern Lebanon, in particular, the outpost known as the Pumpkin. These outposts were deemed necessary at the time to protect