Tuesday, March 28, 2017

New Non-fiction - Mixed Bag

I was looking through the New non-fiction books, wondering which ones I should suggest. I realized how daunting this task was going to be due to the never ending number of new non-fiction books, as well as the endless variety of topics to choose from. So, here are 6 books that I hope you will enjoy.

For the train enthusiasts, Twelve Twenty-Five, The Life and Times of a Steam Locomotive would be a great read. For all of us who long for the sound of a train whistle or seeing the steam pouring from the engine, the author, Kevin P. Keefe, brings the steam locomotive to life. It contains the great history of the steam locomotive, but also the restoration of the Pere Marquette locomotive 1225. So, sit back and listen to the train whistle calling your name as it steams its way down miles and miles of track. It takes me back to my childhood, watching the trains go by through our town. There wasn’t any steam, but my imagination took care of that.

ZIKA The Emerging Epidemic by author and New York Times science reporter, Donald G. McNeil Jr., sets the facts straight as far as its origin goes, how it’s spreading, the race for a cure and what we can do to protect ourselves from a terrible disease that has reached our American soil. Zika was once considered mild, but as early as August 2015 that notion changed. What is being done and how far north will it travel? This book definitely is an eye opener.

Ever wonder how or why people start off raising a few chickens on their small property and end up with a full-fledged farm? I know it isn’t for everyone, but I know there must be some chicken lovers out there in our small community. Even if you aren’t sure you want to own and run a medium to large chicken farm, you will find this book very interesting. Lucie B. Amundsen, author of Locally Laid used a lot of humor and candor to chronicle her family’s efforts to bring some sanity back to the food system. She keeps you in stitches and it is said that this particular non-fiction account will even keep you from going to bed; it’s that funny.

Spring is around the corner, somewhere, and thoughts of flowers have been on my mind. Replacing the snow and cold with beautiful and colorful flowers can’t come soon enough for me. The Reason for Flowers, by Stephen Buchmann, writes about their history, their culture and how they can change our lives. According to the author, flowers exist for more than just their beauty and fragrance. Flowers and people are interdependent. This is more than just a gardening book. You will learn how our lovely flowers came to be, how they evolved, how their interplay with insects and other animals, like humans came about. With Spring weeks away, why not browse through this wonderfully written book and then you too will be able to see and smell those roses.

There is a hidden kingdom that dominates life on our planet earth and Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes, the microbes within us and a Grander View of Life, has managed to make the invisible and the tiny both visible and mighty. This book will change how we look at the world around and in us. Mr. Yong uses humor and erudition in order to prompt us to look at ourselves and our fellow animals in a very different way. Microbes are vital. They sculpt our organs and defend us from disease and grant us tremendous abilities. You will learn just how important they are. The author makes this read very interesting and you will not nod off, trust me.

Here in the U.P. we are surrounded by trees. Be they tall, short, thin, wide, fruit baring, shade producing or just a plain old tree, trees feel, they communicate and they have a life not so visible to us humans. Well, that’s what Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of TREES tells us. This author spent over 20 years working for the forestry commission in Germany and then put it into practice. Questions about how trees thrive against terrible odds for hundreds of years may be answered in this wonderful book that reminds us to slow down and tune into the language of nature. We have a white pine tree in our yard that it’s thought to be well over 150 years old; it’s gigantic. So just how did this tree and many others manage to live so long and why are we wanting to preserve them? So all of you tree huggers and those that just adore trees, come on over to the library and grab this book and find out before someone else beats you to it.

--Nicki Malave, Network Coordinator

No comments:

Post a Comment