Thursday, October 2, 2014

New Non-Fiction

A selection of new non-fiction titles that recently hit our shelves:

101 Two-Letter Words by Stephin Merritt. You may recognize the author's name, but from a different medium: he's the founder of the band Magnetic Fields. Short (and sweet) book of two-letter words presented in a witty, rhymed fashion.

Aarti Paarti: An American Kitchen With an Indian Soul by Aarti Sequeira. Recipes that fuse Indian and American cuisine from the Food Network chef. Lots of photos!

The Edge of the Sky: All You Need To Know About the All-There-Is by Roberto Trotta. Astrophysicist Trotta undertakes describing cosmology using the most common 1,000 words so that the average person (and non-astrophysicist) can understand it. Short book that comes in at 85 pages.

How We Got To Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson. Johnson details six technologies that changed our lives: refrigeration, clocks, lenses, water purification, recorded sound, and artificial light.

The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control by Walter Mischel. Based on studies (particularly Mischel's eponymous Marshmallow Test) about self-control and delayed gratification.

The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour-- and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News by Sheila Weller. Details how these three women cracked the news industry and became successful, even influential.

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne. A biography of the other famous Confederate general.

Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century! by Steven Pinker. I was excited about this book, until I read the subtitle. Then, I re-thought this position and got excited again. Mainly because I could probably stand to read this book, as evidenced by my posts.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty. Anecdotes from a young, female mortician. This book had a lot of "pre-pub" buzz.


Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan by William Davis, MD. Sequel to Wheat Belly, with new tips and information for success with this diet.