Nonfiction

Musicophilia : tales of music and the brain

Oliver W Sacks

Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls "musical misalignments." Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds - for everything but music. Dr. Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson's disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people who are deeply disoriented by Alzheimer's or schizophrenia.

Added by Jason

Elements of style : designing a home and a life

Erin T Gates

747 /Gates
Nonfiction, Home

"From the star blogger and designer Erin Gates, Elements of Style is a fresh, approchable interior design book that shows how designing a home is also a method of personal expression and self-discovery. Drawing on her 10 years of experience running her own design firm, Erin combines practical, honest design advice and gorgeous professional photographs and illustrations with personal essays about lessons she has learned while designing her own home and her own life--the first being: none of our homes or lives are perfect. She reveals the disasters she confronted in her own kitchen renovation, her struggles with anorexia, her epic fight with her husband over a plexiglass table, and her secrets for starting a successful blog. Organized by rooms in the home, Elements of Style is brimming with design inspiration and ideas as well as advice on practical matters like choosing kitchen counter materials, dressing a bed with pillows, hanging a curtain rod, and decorating a nursery without using pink or blue. The book also contains a Foreword by Erin's husband, Andrew, and an extensive Resource Guide"--

Need to surround yourself with a little more glamor? The Elements of Style by Erin Gates is your best bet. This book shows off Gates’ personality from beautiful, dramatic dining rooms to elegant, yet serene bedrooms. If you are interested in adding bold prints and lush rugs to your abode, this book is for you. -Anne M

The telling room : a tale of love, betrayal, revenge, and the world's greatest piece of cheese

Michael Paterniti

641.373 /Paterniti
Nonfiction, Travel

In the picturesque village of Guzmán, Spain, in a cave on the edge of town, there is a cramped limestone chamber known as "the telling room." This is where villagers have gathered for centuries to share their stories and secrets--usually accompanied by copious amounts of wine. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti found himself listening to a Spanish cheesemaker as he spun an odd and compelling tale about a piece of cheese. Made from an old family recipe, Ambrosio's cheese was reputed to be among the finest in the world, and was said to hold mystical qualities. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong. Paterniti was hooked. Soon he was fully embroiled, relocating his young family to Guzmán in order to chase the truth about this fairy tale-like place. What he ultimately discovers is nothing like the idyllic fable he first imagined. Instead, he's sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery, a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot.--From publisher description.

Added by Jason

Can't we talk about something more pleasant?

Roz Chast

BIOGRAPHY Chast, Roz
Graphic Novels, Nonfiction

A graphic memoir by a long-time New Yorker cartoonist celebrates the final years of her aging parents' lives through four-color cartoons, family photos and documents that reflect the artist's struggles with caregiver challenges.

Added by Jason

English decoration : timeless inspiration for the contemporary home

Ben Pentreath

747.0942 /Pentreath
Nonfiction, Home

In English Decoration, London-based architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath presents a major new survey of the best of the English style. Eighteen homes, many of which have never been previously photographed, provide the source material for his wide-ranging investigation of this classic look. The houses include Ben's own homes in London and West Dorset, alongside those of Earls and artists, writers and architects, book designers and gardeners. The book is arranged room by room and Entrance Halls, Living Rooms, Kitchens and Dining Rooms, Bedrooms and Bathrooms are considered in turn, together with simple Rooms of Utility and spectacular Rooms of Display. The book begins with an essay on the English style in decoration and ends with a style directory, helping you to achieve the look wherever you live.

Perhaps you would prefer to go traditional? For this, check out Ben Pentreath’s English Decoration, inspired by British manor houses and country cottages. Some of Pentreath’s work isn’t practical for us Iowans; there is an entire chapter on “Rooms of Display.” Nonetheless, there are some beautiful color combinations and intriguing room arrangements -Anne M

The psychopath test : a journey through the madness industry

Jon Ronson

616.8582 /Ronson
Nonfiction

"In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and journalists who study them"--Provided by publisher.

Added by Jason

Being mortal : medicine and what matters in the end

Atul Gawande

362.175 /Gawande
Nonfiction, Health

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families of the terminally ill.

Added by Jason

Novel interiors : living in enchanted rooms inspired by literature

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

747 /Giramonti
Nonfiction, Home

The key to a stylish life is in the details, and the details are found in books! Giramonti presents a book-lover's guide to decorating, referencing sixty beloved works of literature. She shows how even the smallest elements, such as the blue china flowerpots perched on bright yellow stands depicted in The Age of Innocence, can bring life and personality to any room.

We are a UNESCO City of Literature and your style may be influenced by your favorite books. Novel Interiors by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti showcases rooms inspired by sixty different novels, including those by Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh, L. M. Montgomery, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Borgnes Giramonti finds passages describing chairs, plates, and linens and builds the rooms from there. For booklovers and design aficionados alike. -Anne M

Speaking American* : *how y'all, youse, and you guys talk : a visual guide

Josh Katz

427.973 /Katz
Nonfiction

"From the creator of the New York Times dialect quiz that ignited conversations about how and why we say the words we say, a stunning and delightful exploration of American language,"--Amazon.com.

In this book, Katz compiled a great collection of words and phrases, along with their meanings to illustrate these differences—far beyond the twenty-five in the quiz. Map the “trash can vs. garbage can” divide. Find out how many ways Americans pronounce crayon? And if you need another reason to look down your nose at Cleveland, they are the only ones who call the strip between the sidewalk and the road a tree lawn. -Anne M

The Black Count : glory, revolution, betrayal, and the real Count of Monte Cristo

Tom Reiss

BIOGRAPHY Dumas, Thomas Alexandre
Nonfiction, History

Explores the life and career of Thomas Alexandre Dumas, a man almost unknown today, but whose swashbuckling exploits appear in The three musketeers and whose trials and triumphs inspired The count of Monte Cristo.

Added by Jason

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