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Recommendations based on Bicycle Diariesby David Byrne
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How Music Works
by David Byrne
A comprehensive look at the history and science of music, exploring its impact on culture.
Best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the iconic band Talking Heads, David Byrne has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll ... (Goodreads)
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.
In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.
A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
by Jared Diamond
Study of past societies' successes and failures in terms of environmental, economic, and political decisions.
Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid ... (Goodreads)
Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World
by Ewan McGregor
Actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman embark on a 20,000-mile motorcycle journey from London to New York, crossing Europe, Asia, and North America.
It started as a daydream. Poring over a map of the world at home one quiet Saturday afternoon, Ewan McGregor — acclaimed actor and self-confessed bike nut — noticed that it was possible to ride all ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones
by Anthony Bourdain
A collection of essays and articles by Anthony Bourdain, exploring the world of food and travel with his signature wit and irreverence.
New York Times, Bestseller The good, the bad, and the ugly, served up Bourdain-style. Bestselling chef and No Reservations host Anthony Bourdain has never been one to pull punches. In The Nasty Bits ... (Goodreads)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
by David Sedaris
A humorous collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on family relationships.
David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother’s wedding. He mops his sister’s floor. He gives directions ... (Goodreads)
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be
by Paul Arden
A series of short lessons for success, inspiring creativity and positive thinking.
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be, is a handbook of how to succeed in the world: a pocket bible for the talented and timid alike to help make the unthinkable thinkable and the ... (Goodreads)
Chicken with Plums
by Marjane Satrapi
A whimsical story of a man's quest for fulfillment amidst the chaos of life.
In November 1955, Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran's most celebrated tar players, is in search of a new instrument. His beloved tar has been broken. But no matter what tar he tries, none of them sound ... (Goodreads)
The Liars' Club
by Mary Karr
Memoir of a turbulent childhood in East Texas, exploring the power of love and family.
The book tells the story of Karr's troubled childhood in a small Texas town in the early 1960s. Using a non-linear story line, Karr describes the troubles of growing up in a family and town where ... (Wikipedia)
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
by Sam Harris
A practical guide to cultivating a sense of inner peace and understanding through meditation, self-reflection, and philosophical inquiry.
For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From ... (Goodreads)
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
by Tony Horwitz
Investigative report into the legacy of the American Civil War and its lingering presence in modern culture.
When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But ... (Goodreads)
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
by Chuck Klosterman
An exploration of pop culture and its influence on contemporary life.
Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to ... (Goodreads)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi
Autobiographical account of a young girl's experience of the Iranian Revolution.
Note: The summary of the English editions of the novel is divided into two sections, one for each book. Persepolis 1 begins by introducing Marji, the ten-year-old protagonist. Set in 1980, the novel ... (Wikipedia)
So You've Been Publicly Shamed
by Jon Ronson
An exploration of the impact of public shaming in the digital age, and its implications for justice.
For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came ... (Goodreads)
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.
“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)
Zeitoun
by Dave Eggers
A man's struggle to survive and reunite with his family amidst the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun grew up in Syria. After a few years of apprenticeship in the Syrian port city of Jableh , Zeitoun spent twenty years working at sea as a muscleman, engineer and fisherman. During ... (Wikipedia)
Desert Solitaire
by Edward Abbey
A personal account of a season spent as a park ranger in the American wilderness.
First published in 1968, Desert Solitaire is one of Edward Abbey’s most critically acclaimed works and marks his first foray into the world of nonfiction writing. Written while Abbey was working as a ... (Goodreads)
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
by David Sedaris
Humorous reflections on everyday life, navigating the absurdities of the human condition.
It's early autumn 1964. Two straight-A students head off to school, and when only one of them returns home Chesney Yelverton is coaxed from retirement and assigned to what proves to be the most ... (Goodreads)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt
A journalist's exploration of a mysterious murder in Savannah, Georgia.
A sublime and seductive reading experience. This portrait of a beguiling Southern city was a best-seller (though a flop as a movie). ~ Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, ... (Goodreads)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne Lamott
A witty and honest guide to writing and life, encouraging writers to embrace imperfection and find their own voice.
A newer edition of this title can be found, here., "Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to ... (Goodreads)
Naked
by David Sedaris
Collection of humorous essays exploring the absurdities of everyday life.
Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked , Sedaris turns the mania for memoir on its proverbial ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, ... (Goodreads)
Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid
by J. Maarten Troost
A humorous and insightful travelogue of a man's journey through China, exploring its culture, history, and quirks.
The bestselling author of, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, returns with a sharply observed, hilarious account of his adventures in China—a complex, fascinating country with enough dangers and delicacies ... (Barnes & Noble)
A Moveable Feast
by Ernest Hemingway
A memoir of Hemingway's life in 1920s Paris, exploring its rich bohemian culture.
Hemingway's memories of his life as an unknown writer living in Paris in the twenties are deeply personal, warmly affectionate, and full of wit. Looking back not only at his own much younger self, ... (Goodreads)
America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't
by Stephen Colbert
Entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of America's history, politics and culture.
Book nation, in the history of mankind there has never been a greater country than America . You could say we're the #1 nation at being the best at greatness. But as perfect as America is in every ... (Goodreads)
John Lennon: The Life
by Philip Norman
A comprehensive biography of John Lennon, from his childhood to his untimely death, exploring his music, relationships, and activism.
For more than a quarter century, biographer Philip Norman's internationally bestselling, Shout!, has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his ... (Goodreads)
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
by Howard Schultz
The story of how Starbucks overcame financial struggles while staying true to its values and mission.
In 2008, Howard Schultz, the president and chairman of Starbucks, made the unprecedented decision to return as the CEO eight years after he stepped down from daily oversight of the company and became ... (Goodreads)
Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
by Art Spiegelman
A graphic novel recounting a Holocaust survivor's harrowing experience and his son's attempt to reconcile with his father's past.
Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spieglman's Maus introduced readers to Vladek Spiegleman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a ... (Goodreads)
The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays
by Esmé Weijun Wang
A collection of essays exploring the author's experiences with mental illness and the societal stigma surrounding it.
An intimate, moving book written with the immediacy and directness of one who still struggles with the effects of mental and chronic illness, The Collected Schizophrenias cuts right to the core. ... (Goodreads)
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better
by Gretchen Rubin
A framework to better understand yourself and others, and the best way to get along with different personalities.
In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of, Better Than Before, and, The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you ... (Barnes & Noble)
