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Recommendations based on Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Townby Warren St. John
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
by Sudhir Venkatesh
An exploration of urban poverty and gang life, through the eyes of an unlikely researcher.
The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in, Freakonomics,., Gang Leader for a Day, is ... (Goodreads)
Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
by Ruth Reichl
A memoir of a food critic's childhood, filled with eccentric characters and culinary adventures that shaped her love for food and writing.
At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that "food could be a way of making sense of the world. . . . If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were." Her deliciously crafted ... (Goodreads)
The Guns of August
by Barbara W. Tuchman
A riveting account of the events leading up to World War I and its devastating consequences.
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Proud Tower, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Guns of August, and The Zimmerman Telegram comprise Barbara W. ... (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)
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
by Donald Miller
A Christian's exploration of faith and spirituality, navigating its relevance in the modern world.
The runaway New York Times bestseller that became a cornerstone of Christian nonfiction, Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption. ,"I never liked jazz music ... (Barnes & Noble)
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah
A gripping tale of a child soldier's journey to survive and reclaim his humanity.
My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.,"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?","Because there is a war.","You mean, you saw people running around with guns and ... (Barnes & Noble)
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
by Allie Brosh
A humorous and candid account of the author's life, exploring the highs and lows of everyday life.
#1, New York Times, Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s, Hyperbole and a Half, showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with ... (Barnes & Noble)
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)
Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman
by Alice Steinbach
A middle-aged woman travels solo through Europe, seeking adventure and self-discovery.
"In many ways, I was an independent woman," writes Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Alice Steinbach. “For years I’d made my own choices, paid my own bills, shoveled my own snow.” But somehow she had ... (Goodreads)
The Republic
by Plato
A philosophical discourse on justice, examining morality, politics, and virtue.
Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, this classic text is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. ... (Goodreads)
This Will Only Hurt a Little
by Busy Philipps
Memoir of actress Busy Philipps, detailing her personal struggles and triumphs in Hollywood and beyond.
A hilarious, heartfelt, and refreshingly honest memoir and, New York Times, bestseller by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on, Freaks and Geeks,, Dawson’s Creek, and, Cougar Town, who ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life
by Laurie Notaro
A collection of humorous essays about the author's misadventures and awkward moments in life.
NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER, “I’ve changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit.” Introducing Laurie Notaro, ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying
by Nina Riggs
A poignant memoir of a woman's journey through terminal cancer, exploring life, love, and mortality with grace and humor.
* INSTANT, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER * “Stunning...heartrending...this year’s, When Breath Becomes Air,.” —Nora Krug,, The Washington Post, “Beautiful and haunting.” —Matt McCarthy, MD,, USA TODAY, ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That is Connecting the World
by David Kirkpatrick
A detailed account of the rise of Facebook, its impact on society, and the people behind it.
The inside story of Facebook, told with the full, exclusive cooperation of founder Mark Zuckerberg and the company's other leaders. In little more than half a decade, Facebook has gone from a ... (Goodreads)
Enrique's Journey
by Sonia Nazario
A young man's perilous search for his mother in the US, crossing the Mexican border.
A true story from award-winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounting the odyssey of a Honduran boy who braves hardship and peril to reach his mother in the United States. In this astonishing true ... (Goodreads)
Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free
by Héctor Tobar
True story of 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine and their miraculous rescue.
When the San Jos mine collapsed outside of Copiap, Chile, in August 2010, it trapped thirty-three miners beneath thousands of feet of rock for a record-breaking sixty-nine days. Across the globe, we ... (Goodreads)
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
by Mira Jacob
A graphic memoir exploring race, identity, and family through conversations with her son.
Mira Jacob's touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first-generation American. At an increasingly fraught time for immigrants and their ... (Goodreads)
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
by America's Test Kitchen
A comprehensive guide to cooking, featuring over 1,000 recipes.
A revision of the Fall 2005 BookSense pick and bestseller, this edition features a new light recipe chapter, more than 1500 color photos, heavy duty paper and binding, over 2 dozen new recipes, and ... (Goodreads)
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography
by Neil Patrick Harris
A comedic and personal journey through the life of one of Hollywood's most beloved stars.
Tired of memoirs that only tell you what really happened? Sick of deeply personal accounts written in the first person? Seeking an exciting, interactive read that puts the “u” back in ... (Goodreads)
Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference
by Cordelia Fine
Exposing the deeply embedded gender biases in our culture and beliefs.
It’s the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children–boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks--we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay ... (Goodreads)
Ghost Boy: My Miraculous Escape from a Life Locked Inside My Own Body
by Martin Pistorius
Martin Pistorius describes his experience of being trapped in his own body for 12 years, and his miraculous escape from it.
They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years. In January 1988 Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and ... (Goodreads)
Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
by Conor Grennan
An inspiring account of a man's journey to reunite lost Nepalese children with their families.
“Funny, touching, tragic….A remarkable tale of corruption, child trafficking and civil war in a far away land—and one man’s extraordinary quest to reunite lost Nepalese children with their parents.” ... (Barnes & Noble)
I Love Everybody
by Laurie Notaro
Humorous memoir of one woman's search for self-acceptance, with an irreverent twist.
Here are more scathingly funny tales from the wild side! Laurie Notaro survived the debauched ride of her twenties and the bumpy road to matrimony. Now she’s ready to take on the thirtysomething ... (Goodreads)
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
by Steve Sheinkin
A riveting account of the race to build the world's first atomic bomb during WWII.
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific ... (Goodreads)
Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
by J. Mark G. Williams
A practical guide to finding inner peace and balance through mindfulness.
From one of the leading thinkers on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, a pioneering set of simple practices to dissolve anxiety, stress, exhaustion, and unhappiness.In "Mindfulness," Oxford ... (Goodreads)
Just My Type: A Book about Fonts
by Simon Garfield
Exploration of the fascinating history and variety of typefaces that have shaped our world.
What’s your type? Suddenly everyone’s obsessed with fonts. Whether you’re enraged by Ikea’s Verdanagate, want to know what the Beach Boys have in common with easy Jet or why it’s okay to like Comic ... (Goodreads)
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
by Sandy Tolan
A true story of two families, one Palestinian and one Israeli, and their connection to a single lemon tree that symbolizes hope and peace.
In 1967, Bashir Al-Khayri, a Palestinian twenty-five-year-old, journeyed to Israel, with the goal of seeing the beloved old stone house, with the lemon tree behind it, that he and his family had fled ... (Goodreads)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
by William Kamkwamba
An inspiring tale of a young boy from Malawi who, against all odds, invents a windmill to power his village.
Now a Netflix Film, Starring and Directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith
by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
A professor's spiritual transformation and journey of faith, challenging traditional beliefs.
Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which ... (Goodreads)
