All things nonfiction: brought to you by Riffle Books. Request your Riffle invite today! For more information, contact me.
15
Mar
In Honor of Mary Roach’s new book, Gulp, coming out.
Page 27:
Wade has been working to change the system. He is of the opinion—and it’s hard to disagree with him—that live surgery is the worst place for a surgeon to be practicing a new skill. So he got together with the heads—sorry, chiefs
I’m so excited for Gulp!
14
Mar
This kind of ironic celebration of bad art was always something that I unthinkingly assumed was more or less contemporary—or post-Susan Sontag, at least. So, from there, I became interested in looking at people who became viral celebrities before there was such a thing as viral celebrity. And that became a sort of historical back door into a discussion of Internet culture, or of certain cultural tendencies that have been foregrounded by the Internet.
14
Mar
13
Mar
In 1971 I was one of the few teenagers walking around with a gun on the streets of New York City. Today young men with guns are the rule in some areas of New York, not the exception. These are young men who are carrying guns for protection and status, not necessarily to shoot someone. And yet, these are young men who because they are armed feel less inclined to avoid confrontations that could escalate into bloodshed. The power of the gun is no less intoxicating to them than it was to me. The evidence of their need to carry a weapon for self-defense is made clear to them every day as they talk about who was shot, who was robbed, who was killed. They are not going to swap their guns just for sneakers, or gift certificates, or small amounts of cash. And unfortunately for us all, many of them have not been raised in the church or with any moral teaching, so the fact that they might end up taking a life is not a persuasive argument for throwing away their guns.
Geoffrey Canada in Fist Stick Knife Gun
With Sandy Hook, Aurora, and more large-scale shootings fresh in our minds, and with new releases such as Gun Guys populating bookstores, gaining a handle on gun culture in America can seem overwhelming. Luckily for those curious among us, the Association of American University Presses has compiled a list of books that let us delve into the multifaceted issues surrounding gun rights and gun control in the U.S. Visit the Riffle list below to view highlights and for more information on the AAUP’s extensive list.
You don’t have to be a marksman to understand gun culture in America: a Riffle list
13
Mar
Check out this latest feature from The Hub:
A great book always prompts me to think about new subjects; I know I really like a book when I can’t wait to research certain aspects of it. When I read I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (2012 Quick Picks for Young Adults), I was instantly drawn into Jazz’s world and couldn’t help but be fascinated by a boy who grew up with a serial killer for a dad and went on to team up with police to solve a copycat case. Not only did I want to know more about the forensic science touched on in the book, I was intrigued enough to want to know more about what makes someone capable of such violence. Here are some nonfiction titles that fans of I Hunt Killers can read to learn more about the topics the book explores.
- The Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins by HP Newquist is all about blood from every angle imaginable, covering both the biology and the superstitions surrounding it. With great graphics and easy-to-read formatting that is perfect for teen readers, this is a great introduction to all things blood-related.
- Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death by Elizabeth Murray is a great introduction to forensic science and is perfect for teens considering a career in this field. This book covers many identification techniques, including DNA testing, facial reconstruction, dental records, blood analysis, fingerprinting, and x-rays.
- Death: Corpses, Cadavers, and other Grave Matters by Elizabeth Murray is a great complement to Forensic Identification. It discusses various causes of death and explains what happens to a body after death and also includes interviews with people who have escaped death, who work with the dead, or who have donated organs.
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (2004 Alex Award,2004 Best Books for Young Adults, 2007 Popular Paperbacks) is a creepily funny look at what happens to bodies after death. Teens will be delighted by the different fates of cadavers, from crash test dummies to crucifixion experiments.
The above books are all part of the young adult nonfiction collection at my library, but those below are shelved in adult nonfiction. Given the subject matter, readers should approach these titles with more caution.
- My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (2012 Alex Award, 2012 Great Graphic Novels, and 2012 Quick Picks for Young Adults) is a graphic novel written by a high school classmate of Jeffrey Dahmer and is an up close and personal picture of the troubled teen who would become on of the world’s most infamous serial killers.
- Criminal Minds: Sociopaths, Serial Killers, and Other Deviants by Jeff Mariotteis a tie-in to the popular television show “Criminal Minds.” Drawing from the material that inspires each episode, this book presents profiles of types of serial killers based on historical examples.
- The Serial Killer Whisperer by Pete Earley is the story of a boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury which altered his personality. Shunned by his friends, he started writing letters to serial killers on a whim and was eventually asked to assist in missing child investigations as a profiler, drawing on his personal knowledge of notorious serial killers.
- The Psychopath Test: A Journey through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronsonlooks at the people who study psychopaths. Many of these individuals turn out to be serial killers, but the book also examines how many of these types of people can be found in positions of power.
Blood and death and pyschopaths and serial killers aren’t your thing? Don’t worry, I’ll be spotlighting other nonfiction read-alikes for popular young adult fiction titles that are slightly less morbid in forthcoming posts.
– Molly Wetta
13
Mar
This book trail for Hidden Cities makes me think 1) I know little about the cities I live in and 2) I am too chicken to climb to the top of a bridge. Obviously, this is one of those cases where I’ll live vicariously through the author, in this case urban planner Moses Gates.
Release date: March 21!
12
Mar
“Who are your favorite heroines in real life? The women of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi as their ideal feminine model.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A MemoirParadise Beneath Her Feet by Isobel Coleman
I Am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi
Do They Hear You When You Cry by Fauziya Kassindja
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez
Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Alan Stamaty
The Storyteller’s Daughter: One Woman’s Return to Her Lost Homeland by Saira Shah
12
Mar
And after much anticipation, Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is released. Sandberg’s caused quite a stir on the interwebz, with everyone from The Wall Street Journal to Cosmo talking about her new book. Here’s a roundup of links to lean into (get it?).
11
Mar
You don’t have anything
if you don’t have the stories.
10
Mar
I’m terribly enamored of two lines. One is by Walter Benjamin: “All great works of literature either dissolve a genre or invent one.” The other line is by V.S. Naipaul. He says: “If you want to write seriously, you have to be willing to break the form.”
I love those lines to death. And I just think what they are saying is true. I love novels in which absolutely nothing happens, and a person just thinks about existence. I find them loneliness-assuaging. “Plots are for dead people.”
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