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Nonfiction

May is National Bike Month

Spring has sprung and we’ve been flirting with Summer-like temperatures. You may be thinking of ways to get outside and get active. Lucky for you…May is National Bike Month!

The NHTSA and AAA have teamed up to sponsor a campaign known as Roll Model in an effort to have parents and caregivers set a good example of bike safety.

Books of interest:

Attack of the Slugs!

No, this is not the title of a 1950s schlock-fest movie; it is indeed happening in a garden very near you. On a late night walk with the dog, I noticed a couple of slugs on my back porch. This is not a big surprise since every morning I see the tell- tell signs of the slime they have left behind. I decided to go grab a flashlight and see just what these two slugs were up to— where they were headed, how long it took for them to get there and what they would do when they got there.

Travel Mags

As spring dwindles down and everyone starts gearing up for the summer, it is time to start thinking about your summer vacation! As you pick your destination hot-spot you might want to consider browsing through the travel magazines available at the Hoover Public Library to help with your decision. The library has many great travel magazines, in addition to our extensive travel book collection, that would be a great resource in helping you decide where to go! Whether it’s abroad or just down the road, you will be sure to find your next destination at the library! Here are just a few of the titles that we have available:

  • National Geographic Traveler
  • Islands
  • Travel + Leisure
  • Budget Travel

The Farmer and the Horse

First it was organic foods, then locally produced, in recent years the move towards using animal power in lieu of diesel for farm production has increased substantially.

Normally relegated to pioneer reenactments, animal power is making news (On Small Farms, Hoof Power Returns), even though they are generally seen as only feasible for small farms.

Check out the documentary, The Farmer and the Horse, for the ups and downs of using animal power.
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Rawhide Down by Del Quentin Weber

I just finished reading Rawhide Down by Del Quentin Weber, a reporter for the Washington Post. The book is about the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan March 30, 1981 outside the Washington D.C. Hilton hotel. It reads like a thriller even though we all know the outcome.

Weber has a unique way of following those involved: the E.R. trauma team at George Washington Hospital, surgeons, nurses, Mrs. Reagan, White House staff, Vice President Bush, the President's cabinet, Secret Service agents, FBI agents, D.C. police and, the shooter, John Hinckley, Jr. He weaves a tapestry of 24 hours in the people whose lives intersected that day.

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes

In Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes, Elizabeth Bard captures the sights, sounds AND TASTES of Paris, the cultural challenges of an expat living in France and the angst of a Renaissance woman trying to find her place in a practical world. If you liked Eat Pray Love and Under the Tuscan Sun, you’ll love this delicious memoir!
NK

Beirut by Samir Kassir

Interested in the history of Beirut, known as the "Paris of the East" ? Check out the new book Beirut by Samir Kassir.

New Nonfiction Books

We've just added lots of great new nonfiction titles! Here are just a couple that caught our eye.

Nonfiction Graphic Novels of Joe Sacco

Joe Sacco is a Maltese-American comic artist and journalist that forged a name for himself by combining his love of drawing comics with his journalism education. While traveling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he eventually wound up in the Middle East and did a series of comics called Palestine. After his travels in the Middle East, he visited Eastern Europe (specifically Sarajevo and Goražde in Bosnia) and chronicled his experiences there during the Bosnian War in books such as Safe Area Goražde.

Sacco’s works combine his journalism training with cartooning and his razor sharp wit. His works have earned him widespread recognition and accolades including the American Book Award, the Eisner Award and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

Into Thin Air by John Krakauer

Outside Magazine sent Jon Krakauer to climb Mt. Everest in May, 1996, so he could gather information to write an article on how commericialized the climbing of the mountain had become. They got more than they bargained for. The weather on Mt. Everest that May was one of the worst ever, resulting in five climbers being killed and one marred for life.

Krakauer writes an astonishing first-hand account of those events He is critical of himself as well as the others who were climbing. Such a sobering occurrence in which several seasoned climbers were killed left Krakauer trying to put the puzzle pieces together to help explain why this tragedy happened. He comes up with several theories that are disturbing and give one pause for thoughtful consideration.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert had nothing to lose. She had both a failed marriage and relationship behind her. She was desperate to leave the U.S. and search for what was out there for her for the rest of her life.

Fortunately, her publisher agreed to give her an advance on the book she would write, so, off she went to Italy, India and Indonesia for a 15 month adventure. Afterwards she wrote "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia".

In Italy, she ate. In India, she prayed. In Indonesia, she fell in love.

The story is inspirational on several levels. She saves the best for last. The more your read, the better it gets. There is a satisfying ending.

The Beckham Experiment

In 2007, English soccer star David Beckham announced he was signing a five year contract with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. This move shocked the soccer world in that MLS is generally considered a "B-League" on the world stage and Beckham was then plying his trade with Real Madrid, one of the elite super clubs of the world in one of the world's elite soccer leagues. Part of Beckham's reasoning was that he wanted to help soccer grow in the United States and eventually become on par with football, basketball and baseball in terms of popularity.

The Singing Revolution

"Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolutions. But in Estonia, song was the weapon of choice ..." - Filmmakers James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty

Banksy Books Are Here!

About a year ago, anonymous English street artist Banksy painted a piece on an abandoned gas station in Ensley (see Birmingham Weekly story about it here.) The controversial piece lasted only about a day and a half before it was stolen. Banksy did the piece during a tour across the US that was centered around doing a lot of Hurricane Katrina themed pieces in New Orleans around the third anniversary of the storm.

The nonfiction department recently added two Banksy books to the collection so you can read more about the underground art icon that graced our fair city with his art:

The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

When I picked up Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift’s book The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper, I didn’t realize that it was a cookbook based on a Public Radio show. All I cared about was the gorgeous spoonful of a bright golden yellow potato, onion and almond concoction (“Almond-Turmeric Potatoes” p. 289) pictured on the cover. I am a huge fan of Public Radio, though, so when I finally settled into a comfy chair at home and made this discovery, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve never heard a food show on the radio before (WBHM doesn’t carry it) but it makes me happy to know one is out there.

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