Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in August. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Acceptance: A Memoir” by Emi Nietfeld (Aug 2)
As a homeless teenager writing college essays in her ’92 Toyota Corolla, Emi Nietfeld was convinced that an elite school was the only path away from her dysfunctional childhood. But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative, proving that she was an “overcomer,” made stronger by all that she had endured. The truth was far murkier. Emi’s mom was a charming hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics, but believed in her daughter’s brilliance — unlike the Minnesotan foster family who banned her “pornographic” art history flashcards (of Michelangelo’s David). Emi’s other parent’s departure from her life was tied up in a gender transition that few in the mid-2000s understood. Her own past was filled with facts that she needed to hide: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. The obstacles Emi claimed she had transcended still defined her life; even though she would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn’t necessarily mean safety. Told with an incisive storyteller’s eye, this searing memoir exposes the cost of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future. Having experienced the American Dream firsthand, Emi speaks truth to the high cost of upward mobility, the hypocrisy of elite spaces, and the harsh standards set by societal ideals of grit and resilience. Candid and often harrowing, with a ribbon of dark humor, “Acceptance” is an electrifying read that challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome — and find contentment on your own terms. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: August 2022”
You don’t have to be a woman to be angry with the current state of…*gestures vaguely at everything* So, for every human looking to burn some feminine rage, have I got some recommendations for you: Continue reading “Rage Reading”
I see a lot of book covers in my work and I totally judge those books by their covers. I have a fondness for gothic mysteries. Give me a grim landscape with a tattered tree line and a huge spooky house and I’m going to pick up that book to take a second look. I hate legal mysteries and so skip right over books with gavels or the scales of justice. They say not to do that (whomever they happen to be), but I know I’m not alone. That’s why writers want bookstores to display their books facing out instead of stacked up by the spines, and it’s why you will see so many of our new books displayed so you can view the covers.
It’s still summer out there — so much heat and stickiness. Let’s take a look at some of the resources we have that can enhance your outdoor experience. We’ll start off by looking at some books with canoes or kayaks on the covers: these books could contain water travel, watery picnics, water explorations or miles and miles of shore to watch. Fiction books may have murders or romance. Nonfiction books may have personal stories about canoe trips, or they may be guide books to help you choose your next river. (Missouri has Missouri has 51,978 miles of river so lots of opportunity to cool off!) Continue reading “Summer Fun in the Sun!”
While it is marketed as a novel, “A Visit From the Goon Squad” is more accurately a collection of linked short stories. These stories focus on multiple characters whose lives are interconnected through music, particularly the American punk rock scene of the 1980s. While the book has received praise for author Jennifer Egan’s use of alternative forms, like PowerPoint slides, the real strength of the book is Egan’s attention to character psychology and the complications of human relationships.
Three words that describe this book: Funny, poignant, sad
You might want to pick this book up if: You like short stories and are interested in the difficulty in remaining a rebel as you age.
-Tyler
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog.
Many readers use fiction as an escape from reality, and with the dangerous heat and pandemic(s), perhaps now isn’t the best time to recommend a frequently very sad book largely about climate change and a pandemic, but rest assured “How High We Go in the Dark” is a frequently very sad book completely about people and their grief and hope (the people are massively impacted by climate change and a pandemic, however). There is an abundance of pain and sadness in this novel. You should read it!
Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Sequoia Nagamatsu”
Water. It’s almost everywhere. Approximately 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Human adults are around 55 – 60% water (Baby humans — 78%!!!). Even beer is mostly water (90 – 95%, by most estimates — more than babies!!!). So, it should come as no surprise that water also permeates the written word in similar proportions.
Water as setting (“The Old Man and the Sea”). Water as antagonist (“Wave”). Water as plot (“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”). Water is even a key factor in books where there is little of it — water scarcity is an integral part of “Dune”. “Desert Solitaire’s” longest chapter is devoted to a river journey through Glen Canyon before a portion of it was turned into a lake. Water. Continue reading “Water, Water, Everywhere”
“Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead” follows Gilda, a 27-year-old lesbian who accidentally ends up working as a receptionist in a Catholic Church. During this time, Gilda is grappling with her identity, her mortality AND the potential murder of the previous receptionist at the church. It is an extremely unique book and following Gilda’s unusual thought process constantly keeps the reader questioning what is actually happening in Gilda’s world. I have never read anything quite like this; it made me giggle, it made me cry and it made me think deeply about my own identities and roles in life.
Three words that describe this book: Thought-provoking, quirky, relatable
You might want to pick this book up if: you enjoy introspective characters, love chaos and read a lot of books with unreliable narrators.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog.
I learned about “The Correspondents” from an A Mighty Girl post about journalist Clare Hollingworth, and it has proven to be a fascinating and compelling listen. The book follows six American and British women journalists (five writers and one photographer) as they reported on WWII. Not only is it the story of their adventures, travels and reports, but it also follows the difficulties they faced as female reporters as they battled the hesitancy of their newspapers to hire women as war correspondents and restrictions, particularly by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, on women in combat zones. The book was not always an easy listen, particularly as it traced each woman’s response to and reports on the liberation of concentration camps near the end of the war, but those experiences seemed a part of the larger whole as the author broke down the reasons why these women continued for 6+ years to report the realities of war.
Three words that describe this book: Can’t stop listening
You might want to pick this book up if: You are interested in women’s history, WWII, journalism, or the everyday experiences of women in a conflict zone.
-Alexis
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog.
As one might have guessed, “Adventuring Together” is a book about adventuring with your children/family. Ms. Eskridge makes a point that adventures push us out of our boundaries, help us grow and teach us many lessons along the way. You might think adventures have to be these grandiose events that take months of planning, lots of money and leave us exhausted afterwards. I love how the author shows that small adventures can be just as important if not even more rewarding than a large event … and that even a shared book can be an adventure. The important thing is that adventures build traditions and traditions build memories. Besides convincing you of the importance of adventures, Ms. Eskridge gives tips, tools and lists of ideas to get you started. There are even some how-tos in the back of the book to help you jump right in. If you read this book, I’m quite sure you’ll be ready to throw on your backpack and head out the door!
Three words that describe this book: Inspiring, humorous, helpful
You might want to pick this book up if: You feel like your life has become stale and you want to put a little excitement back into it with the people you love most.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog.
Join us on Thursday, August 4 at noon to discuss “Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest” by Suzanne Simard, a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence. Simard writes in illuminating and accessible ways about how trees learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, and compete and cooperate with one another.
This discussion is geared toward adults and will be held in the Children’s Program Room. Masks are requested if community COVID levels are elevated. More books on this and similar subjects can be found here.
