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
“Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II” by Lena S. Andrews (Aug 1)
“Valiant Women” is the story of the 350,000 American women who served in uniform during World War II. These incredible women served in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. They were pilots, codebreakers, ordnance experts, gunnery instructors, metalsmiths, chemists, translators, parachute riggers, truck drivers, radarmen, pigeon trainers and much more. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war, from the D-Day landings to the peace negotiations in Paris. These women — who hailed from every race, creed, and walk of life — died for their country and received the nation’s highest honors. Their work, both individually and in total, was at the heart of the Allied strategy that won World War II. Yet, until now, their stories have been relegated to the dusty shelves of military archives or a passing mention in the local paper. Often the women themselves kept their stories private, even from their own families. Now, military analyst Lena Andrews corrects the record with the definitive and comprehensive historical account of American servicewomen during World War II, based on new archival research, firsthand interviews with surviving veterans, and a deep professional understanding of military history and strategy. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: August 2023”
Do you ever feel stuck in the middle of a creative project or, arguably worse, even before you have started on a project? Does your creativity sometimes feel stunted or dried up? Do you struggle to get your creative juices flowing because you are afraid you aren’t talented enough? Perhaps we have a book that can help you. The library has a collection of books on the topic of creativity such as pep talk books to help give you a boost, books about being creative at work, and books to help you think differently.
There are some repeating themes in many of the creativity books. When you are a child, it is easy to be creative. You have time to play and are encouraged to use your imagination. You are less afraid of making mistakes or having everything be perfect. You rest and daydream. These are all tools for freeing up creativity. Continue reading “Creative Is an Adjective”
Even if you aren’t interested in dragons or dark academia, chances are you’ve heard about “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros. It is all over social media and the holds list is quite long. There are read alikes at the bottom of this blog to check out in the meantime, but first I’m going to give a mostly spoiler-free review, so skip ahead if you want to go in knowing nothing.
Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, but the commanding general (her mother) has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is weak, death is only a heartbeat away because if the training doesn’t kill you, the dragons will. And the other candidates would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise.
I really didn’t love this book. Continue reading “Fourth Wing: Staff Review and Read Alikes”
For years I’ve been a listener to the podcast “On Being” with Krista Tippett. I’ve listened to the podcasts while sitting in the front yard pulling weeds from my garden, as well as in overflowing classrooms with others who have been mesmerized by her interviews and her thoughts “on being” — those questions about the meaning of our existence on this earth, how we make sense of it, how we find community, how we make sense of the physical and spiritual essences in our lives. So I was intrigued to discover the first spin-off from the On Being Project, a podcast called “Poetry Unbound” hosted by Pádraig Ó Tuama.
I love poetry, but this podcast has taken me deeper and opened my eyes to phrases and words that I would have missed completely — in fact, it has opened the bounds of poems and poetry for me. All of this is because of the way Ó Tuama introduces a poem, reads it beautifully for us, then, after a few seconds of a simple music interlude, begins opening up the poem. He will read a phrase, add a bit of background, nuance, thought, then pause for another musical interlude. After the thoughts are shared, he ends by reading the poem one more time. The podcast is brief, just enough time to sweep the garage or wash the dishes, but oh, the sense of peace it brings, the new thoughts that come to life, the feeling of being alive to the world, to being itself, rather than just going through the chores of a day. Continue reading “Reader Review: In the Shelter”
What a fascinating read! “The Art Thief” is one of those instances where real life is stranger than fiction! If it were a work of fiction, I would suspect most readers would have a difficult time believing the number of thefts and the audacity of the “techniques” used by Stéphane Breitwieser. Author Michael Finkel’s storytelling abilities kept me wanting to turn the page to find out where this would all end. Finkel explores Breitwieser’s psyche — and that of his girlfriend accomplice — while following their trail from the first theft to the resulting courtroom drama.
Three words that describe this book: fascinating, interesting, suspenseful
You might want to pick this book up if: you like mysteries, true crime and art!
-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.
When I started out as a cook, I didn’t really have any disposable income, so I couldn’t go to restaurants and sample what the local established chefs were doing. My window to technique and flavors was books and television. A few celebrity-type chefs guided me from afar: Jacques Pepin, Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, Ming Tsai, Mary Ann Esposito, Lidia Bastianich, Nick Stellino, David Chang. If you’re about to chastise me for not mentioning Julia Child, sadly I watched her much earlier than this time I am referring to. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, their own angle on what makes a dish, or a meal, great. (If you notice, almost all of these chefs had shows on PBS; specifically, my local station, PBS Wisconsin, Channel 38.) I would watch these shows and steal flavor combinations, learn the traditional dishes of their ancestry, watch their methods, skills and techniques. I would bring this new knowledge into my home kitchen and my work kitchen. Continue reading “Read the Recipe! Lidia Bastianich”
“American Prometheus” is an extensive look into the life and work of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer is probably best known as the father of the atomic bomb for his work as the scientific director of the Manhattan project.
The book offers a lot of insight into his childhood, education, and pre-war/post-war activities. One of the only reasons to not like the book is that it goes into a lot of detail, more than some people might be interested in. However, the detail was necessary because Oppenheimer was an interesting and complicated man. There was a lot made of Oppenheimer’s supposed connections to the communist party after WWII — this book gives you enough information to let you decide on your own how valid those claims are. There are also numerous sources and quotations used in the text from varied sources, so you can understand Oppenheimer’s interactions and activities from multiple points of view.
One of the reasons I liked this book was because it also gives background about Oppenheimer’s extensive scientific background before the war. He may have lacked some of the calculation skills of his peers but he was also one of the first to understand the significance and practicality of nuclear fission. This was a well researched and well written biography of Oppenheimer.
Three words that describe this book: Historical, Nuclear, researched
You might want to pick this book up if: You’re interested in history, especially nuclear history, including the background on Oppenheimer.
-Robbie
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.
At any given library, Zadie Smith is one of those authors who claims her own shelf, or two (And that’s just in the fiction section. You’ll find her essay collections in nonfiction, somewhere in the 800s). It’s hard to miss the Zadie Smith shelf, with its bulky hardbacks and bright colors. And if you’re like me, it’s hard to walk past her name once you’ve spotted it — a name you’ve seen referenced by your favorite authors; a name that seems to invoke the idea of contemporary literature itself. It was this feeling of promise, of cultural weight, that brought me to a halt at the end of the “Smith”s. I pulled “The Autograph Man,” a large white thing boasting a protagonist by the name of Alex Li-Tandem (A Chinese main character? What are the odds? I had to investigate). After a heartrending prologue, the story begins:
”You’re either for me or against me, thought Alex Li-Tandem, referring to the daylight and, more generally, to the day. He stretched flat and made two fists. He was fully determined to lie right here until he was given something to work with, something noble, something fine. He saw no purpose in leaving his bed for a day that was against him from the get-go. He had tried it before; no good could come from it. A moment later he was surprised to feel a flush of warm light dappled over him, filtered through a blind. Nonviolent light. This was encouraging.” Continue reading “Staff Review: The First Two Novels of Zadie Smith”
“Carrie Soto Is Back” is a fictional story about a record-holding tennis player who is deemed “the greatest” but is not very likable by the public. After taking a few years off after surgery, she’s decided to come back and reclaim her title once again as it’s being threatened by another younger player. At first, I didn’t think I would enjoy this, not knowing much about tennis, but the author does such a wonderful job of building the suspense of the matches that you’re pulled in to the story so easily and rooting for her the whole time.
Three words that describe this book: Perseverance, sporty, relational
You might want to pick this book up if: You like tennis or even into sports in general; you’re looking for a story with the main character overcoming obstacles and having personal growth.
-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.
“The Love Hypothesis” is about a biology Ph.D. student fake-dating a professor from her department to convince her best friend that she’s over another guy. It is charming, funny and very fast-paced. As they go through their fake-dating journey, it turns out that Adam, the professor, has been crushing on Olive, the student, for the past three years. Olive starts liking him too, and they develop a loving relationship. I loved reading it and was hooked instantly. There are some fun reveals throughout the story, and even though it might predictable, the novel is still great. I love it!
Three words that describe this book: Romantic, funny and motivational
You might want to pick this book up if: You like STEMinist novels, enemies-to-lovers trope and funny dialogue.
-Kristina
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.
