Books to Ignite Your Curiosity
Dive into these fascinating reads that promise to spark your imagination and keep boredom at bay. Each book offers a unique perspective, inviting you to explore new ideas and concepts. Get ready to embark on a journey of discovery!
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Celebrating Fifty Years of Picador Books If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self - himself - he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. In this extraordinary book, Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients struggling to adapt to often bizarre worlds of neurological disorder. Here are people who can no longer recognize everyday objects or those they love; who are stricken with violent tics or shout involuntary obscenities, and yet are gifted with unusually acute artistic or mathematical talents. If sometimes beyond our surface comprehension, these brilliant tales illuminate what it means to be human. A provocative exploration of the mysteries of the human mind, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is a million-copy bestseller by the twentieth century's greatest neurologist. Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.
Wicked Plants
239 pages
It's full of fun facts about nature's monstrosities, making it an intriguing read for anyone interested in the darker side of the plant world.
At Home (Illustrated Edition)
564 pages
A fascinating exploration of how all the parts of a house became a home.
A Short History of Nearly Everything
562 pages
An amazing read that is entertaining, funny, and educational.
The Omnivore's Dilemma
476 pages
Pollan's work provides a fascinating holistic view of our food system, showcasing why he has gained such fame.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (20th Anniversary Edition)
728 pages
Diamond presents a captivating perspective on the dominance of civilizations, skillfully tracing the underlying causes back to prehistoric times while teaching an analytical approach to big questions.
The Violinist's Thumb
416 pages
This book offers a mind-blowing exploration of human biology, revealing how a portion of our DNA comes from ancient viruses and explaining the role of mitochondria as foreign organisms within our cells.
House Of Leaves
Discover the nightmarish tale of a house that is bigger on the inside than the outside - a tale that continues to inspire devotion among its ever-growing army of fans... 'Phenomenal . . . thrillingly alive, sublimely creepy, distressingly scary, breathtakingly intelligent.' BRET EASTON ELLIS 'At once a genuinely scary chiller, a satire on the business of criticism and a meditation on the way we read.' OBSERVER 'Genuinely clever and learned, often funny, brilliantly constructed and surprisingly touching . . . a debut of scintillating intelligence and scope.' MAIL ON SUNDAY ******************************************************************************************** A young couple - Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson and his partner Karen Green - move into a small house on Ash Tree Lane. But something is terribly wrong - their new home is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside . . . Neither Will nor Karen are prepared to face the consequences of this impossibility until the day their two small children wandered off, and their voices eerily began to tell another story - of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams and create nightmares. What happened next is loosely recorded on videotapes and interviews, and impelled an eccentric old man to compile - on loose sheets of paper, stained napkins, crammed notebooks - a definitive account of what took place at Ash Tree Lane that seems to unveil a thrilling and terrifying history. Because these scraps prove to be far more than the deranged ramblings of a reclusive old man . . . Immensely imaginative. Impossible to put down. Impossible to forget. House of Leaves is thrilling, terrifying and unlike anything you have read before. ******************************************************************************************** WHAT READERS ARE SAYING: 'I've never read anything like it' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Strange, highly addictive and slowly creepy' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The creativity and originality is astonishing' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Buy it, read it, and explore it' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Sociopath Next Door
258 pages
I've heard it's a good one that will certainly make you wonder about the motivations of those around you.
The Name of the Wind
674 pages
Kvothe spends his life fighting hidden and familiar foes while struggling to master his magical powers and battle ancient evils that threaten his world.
Reefer Madness
355 pages
New York Times Bestseller: The shadowy world of “off the books” businesses—from marijuana to migrant workers—brought to life by the author of Fast Food Nation. America’s black market is much larger than we realize, and it affects us all deeply, whether or not we smoke pot, rent a risqué video, or pay our kids’ nannies in cash. In Reefer Madness, the award-winning investigative journalist Eric Schlosser turns his exacting eye to the underbelly of American capitalism and its far-reaching influence on our society. Exposing three American mainstays—pot, porn, and illegal immigrants—Schlosser shows how the black market has burgeoned over the past several decades. He also draws compelling parallels between underground and overground: how tycoons and gangsters rise and fall, how new technology shapes a market, how government intervention can reinvigorate black markets as well as mainstream ones, and how big business learns—and profits—from the underground. “Captivating . . . Compelling tales of crime and punishment as well as an illuminating glimpse at the inner workings of the underground economy. The book revolves around two figures: Mark Young of Indiana, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his relatively minor role in a marijuana deal; and Reuben Sturman, an enigmatic Ohio man who built and controlled a formidable pornography distribution empire before finally being convicted of tax evasion. . . . Schlosser unravels an American society that has ‘become alienated and at odds with itself.’ Like Fast Food Nation, this is an eye-opening book, offering the same high level of reporting and research.” —Publishers Weekly
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
305 pages
Mary Roach's books are fun and fascinating, making complex topics accessible and enjoyable.
The Emperor of All Maladies
624 pages
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a documentary from Ken Burns on PBS, this New York Times bestseller is “an extraordinary achievement” (The New Yorker)—a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence. Now includes an excerpt from Siddhartha Mukherjee’s new book Song of the Cell! Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.
The Devil in the White City
465 pages
It's a fascinating non-fiction history that reads more like a novel, making it an engaging experience for readers.
Memoirs of a Geisha
552 pages
While this novel is popular, it's important to read 'Geisha: A Life' to get the real story from the geisha herself, as it reveals the misrepresentations in Golden's work.
Geisha
320 pages
This autobiography offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a geisha, providing a perspective that contrasts with the fictional portrayal in 'Memoirs of a Geisha.' It's a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the true experiences behind the art and culture of geishas.
Recursion
338 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory—his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland’s upcoming Netflix film. “Gloriously twisting . . . a heady campfire tale of a novel.”—The New York Times Book Review NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • BookRiot Reality is broken. At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back. Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos. Praise for Recursion “An action-packed, brilliantly unique ride that had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page . . . a fantastic read.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian “Another profound science-fiction thriller. Crouch masterfully blends science and intrigue into the experience of what it means to be deeply human.”—Newsweek “Definitely not one to forget when you’re packing for vacation . . . [Crouch] breathes fresh life into matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.”—Entertainment Weekly “A trippy journey down memory lane . . . [Crouch’s] intelligence is an able match for the challenge he’s set of overcoming the structure of time itself.”—Time “Wildly entertaining . . . another winning novel from an author at the top of his game.”—AV Club
Dark Matter
370 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • COMING SOON TO APPLE TV+ • A “mind-blowing” (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew—from the author of Upgrade, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy “Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this life or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves? From the bestselling author Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is a mind-bending thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.
What's in Your Genes?
256 pages
This book is really fun and features nice analogies and illustrations, making it accessible regardless of your prior knowledge of genetics.
The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals - and Other Forgotten Skills (Natural Navigation)
418 pages
Turn every walk into a game of detection—from master outdoorsman Tristan Gooley, New York Times-bestselling author of How to Read a Tree and The Natural Navigator When writer and navigator Tristan Gooley journeys outside, he sees a natural world filled with clues. The roots of a tree indicate the sun’s direction; the Big Dipper tells the time; a passing butterfly hints at the weather; a sand dune reveals prevailing wind; the scent of cinnamon suggests altitude; a budding flower points south. To help you understand nature as he does, Gooley shares more than 850 tips for forecasting, tracking, and more, gathered from decades spent walking the landscape around his home and around the world. Whether you’re walking in the country or city, along a coastline, or by night, this is the ultimate resource on what the land, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and clouds can reveal—if you only know how to look! Publisher’s Note: The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs was previously published in the UK under the title The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs.
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
335 pages
This book offers a fascinating look at the space race, filled with informative insights and great humor.
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
326 pages
Dive into the science of sex with this engaging and humorous exploration that makes complex topics accessible.
The Lost Art of Finding Our Way
539 pages
This book delves into the fascinating history of navigation and its impact on our brains in the age of GPS. The author's personal experience of navigating through a fog bank while sea kayaking adds a gripping element to the narrative, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the art of finding their way.
The Disappearing Spoon
333 pages
This book is one of my all-time favorites because it's easy to digest and filled with passionate stories about fascinating chemistry phenomena.
Roter Mars
628 pages
Die erste Kolonie auf dem Mars Es ist die größte Herausforderung, der sich die Menschheit je gegenübersah: die Besiedlung unseres Nachbarplaneten Mars. Die Verwandlung einer lebensfeindlichen Wüstenwelt in einen blauen Planeten wie die Erde. Von der ersten bemannten Landung auf dem Mars über die frühen Kolonien und ihre Auseinandersetzungen, welche Form von Gesellschaft sie erbauen sollen, bis zum riskanten Versuch, das Klima einer ganzen Welt zu verändern – Kim Stanley Robinson erzählt in seiner Mars-Trilogie die Geschichte der Zukunft wie ein großes historisches Epos.
The Martian
385 pages
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal The inspiration for the major motion picture Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him? NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE “A hugely entertaining novel [that] reads like a rocket ship afire . . . Weir has fashioned in Mark Watney one of the most appealing, funny, and resourceful characters in recent fiction.”—Chicago Tribune “As gripping as they come . . . You’ll be rooting for Watney the whole way, groaning at every setback and laughing at his pitchblack humor. Utterly nail-biting and memorable.”—Financial Times
Lies My Teacher Told Me
464 pages
This book will make you think critically about American education and challenge the narratives you've been taught.
What If?
321 pages
This book is a fun way to engage your intuitive mind with its infographics and comics, making complex ideas accessible and entertaining.
SAPIENS - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
533 pages
This book will fascinate you about human civilization.
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
97 pages
A very short book, probably around 50 pages, perfect for those who enjoy physics or the cosmos.
The Hidden Life of Trees
289 pages
A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in the woods will never be the same again. “Breaks entirely new ground ... [Peter Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.”—The New York Review of Books NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BRAINPICKINGS • HONORABLE MENTION: SEJ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award • Shortlisted: Audible International Book of the Year Award • Books For a Better Life Award • Indie Choice Award—Nonfiction Book of the Year Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland. “A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.”—Washington Post “Heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment.”—The New Yorker Includes a Note From a Forest Scientist by Dr.Suzanne Simard Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute
Leonardo Da Vinci
624 pages
This book dives into the life of one of the most curious minds in history, exploring his genius and the fascinating details of his work.
Assassination Vacation
273 pages
This book dives into the intriguing world of presidential assassinations, making it a captivating read for anyone interested in history and politics.
Orthodoxy
163 pages
The masterpiece of G. K. Chesterton's distinguished literary career, this treatise mounts a defense of Christianity. The author employs the term "orthodoxy" as a synonym for "right opinion," and he applies the concept of correct reasoning to his formal and scholarly arguments, which are expressed in down-to-earth language. Chesterton's thought-provoking analogies, personal anecdotes, and engaging humor make this polemic a work of enduring charm and persuasion.
What Dreams May Come
292 pages
Even though I didn't love this book, I often recommend it for its fascinating and well-researched take on the afterlife. It's a quick read that truly ignites the imagination.
Salt
500 pages
“Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt.” - New York Times Book Review An unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World Best-selling author Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.
One Summer
642 pages
A Chicago Tribune Noteworthy Book A GoodReads Reader's Choice In One Summer Bill Bryson, one of our greatest and most beloved nonfiction writers, transports readers on a journey back to one amazing season in American life. The summer of 1927 began with one of the signature events of the twentieth century: on May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first man to cross the Atlantic by plane nonstop, and when he landed in Le Bourget airfield near Paris, he ignited an explosion of worldwide rapture and instantly became the most famous person on the planet. Meanwhile, the titanically talented Babe Ruth was beginning his assault on the home run record, which would culminate on September 30 with his sixtieth blast, one of the most resonant and durable records in sports history. In between those dates a Queens housewife named Ruth Snyder and her corset-salesman lover garroted her husband, leading to a murder trial that became a huge tabloid sensation. Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly sat atop a flagpole in Newark, New Jersey, for twelve days—a new record. The American South was clobbered by unprecedented rain and by flooding of the Mississippi basin, a great human disaster, the relief efforts for which were guided by the uncannily able and insufferably pompous Herbert Hoover. Calvin Coolidge interrupted an already leisurely presidency for an even more relaxing three-month vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The gangster Al Capone tightened his grip on the illegal booze business through a gaudy and murderous reign of terror and municipal corruption. The first true “talking picture,” Al Jolson’s The Jazz Singer, was filmed and forever changed the motion picture industry. The four most powerful central bankers on earth met in secret session on a Long Island estate and made a fateful decision that virtually guaranteed a future crash and depression. All this and much, much more transpired in that epochal summer of 1927, and Bill Bryson captures its outsized personalities, exciting events, and occasional just plain weirdness with his trademark vividness, eye for telling detail, and delicious humor. In that year America stepped out onto the world stage as the main event, and One Summer transforms it all into narrative nonfiction of the highest order.
Cosmos
390 pages
Renowned astronomer Carl Sagan’s classic bestseller that “dives into the past, present, and future of science, dealing with the mind-staggering enormity of the cosmos in which we exist” (Associated Press)—with an Introduction by Ann Druyan and a Foreword by Neil deGrasse Tyson “Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.”—Cosmopolitan THE INSPIRATION FOR THE FOX MINISERIES COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS, HOSTED BY NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON AND STARRING SETH MACFARLANE AND SIR PATRICK STEWART In clear-eyed prose, Carl Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring full-color illustrations, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped shape modern science.
The Dorito Effect
272 pages
A lively argument from an award-winning journalist proving that the key to reversing America’s health crisis lies in the overlooked link between nutrition and flavor: “The Dorito Effect is one of the most important health and food books I have read” (Dr. David B. Agus, New York Times bestselling author). We are in the grip of a food crisis. Obesity has become a leading cause of preventable death, after only smoking. For nearly half a century we’ve been trying to pin the blame somewhere—fat, carbs, sugar, wheat, high-fructose corn syrup. But that search has been in vain, because the food problem that’s killing us is not a nutrient problem. It’s a behavioral problem, and it’s caused by the changing flavor of the food we eat. Ever since the 1940s, with the rise of industrialized food production, we have been gradually leeching the taste out of what we grow. Simultaneously, we have taken great leaps forward in technology, creating a flavor industry, worth billions annually, in an attempt to put back the tastes we’ve engineered out of our food. The result is a national cuisine that increasingly resembles the paragon of flavor manipulation: Doritos. As food—all food—becomes increasingly bland, we dress it up with calories and flavor chemicals to make it delicious again. We have rewired our palates and our brains, and the results are making us sick and killing us. With in-depth historical and scientific research, The Dorito Effect casts the food crisis in a fascinating new light, weaving an enthralling tale of how we got to this point and where we are headed. We’ve been telling ourselves that our addiction to flavor is the problem, but it is actually the solution. We are on the cusp of a new revolution in agriculture that will allow us to eat healthier and live longer by enjoying flavor the way nature intended.
The Night Circus
404 pages
THE TIKTOK SENSATION Discover the million-copy bestselling fantasy read. The circus arrives without warning. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Against the grey sky the towering tents are striped black and white. A sign hanging upon an iron gates reads: Opens at Nightfall Closes at Dawn Full of breath-taking amazements and open only at night, Le Cirque des Rêves seems to cast a spell over all who wander its circular paths. But behind the glittering acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists a fierce competition is underway. Celia and Marco are two young magicians who have been trained since childhood for a deadly duel. With the lives of everyone at the Circus of Dreams at stake, they must test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love. Complete your collection with The Starless Sea, the second novel from the author of the The Night Circus, out now. 'The only response to this novel is simply: wow. It is a breath-taking feat of imagination, a flight of fancy that pulls you in and wraps you up in its spell' The Times
On Looking
320 pages
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Inside of a Dog, this “elegant and entertaining” (The Boston Globe) explanation of how humans perceive their environments “does more than open our eyes...opens our hearts and minds, too, gently awakening us to a world—in fact, many worlds—we’ve been missing” (USA TODAY). Alexandra Horowitz shows us how to see the spectacle of the ordinary—to practice, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put it, “the observation of trifles.” Structured around a series of eleven walks the author takes, mostly in her Manhattan neighborhood, On Looking features experts on a diverse range of subjects, including an urban sociologist, the well-known artist Maira Kalman, a geologist, a physician, and a sound designer. Horowitz also walks with a child and a dog to see the world as they perceive it. What they see, how they see it, and why most of us do not see the same things reveal the startling power of human attention and the cognitive aspects of what it means to be an expert observer. Page by page, Horowitz shows how much more there is to see—if only we would really look. Trained as a cognitive scientist, she discovers a feast of fascinating detail, all explained with her generous humor and self-deprecating tone. So turn off the phone and other electronic devices and be in the real world—where strangers communicate by geometry as they walk toward one another, where sounds reveal shadows, where posture can display humility, and the underside of a leaf unveils a Lilliputian universe—where, indeed, there are worlds within worlds within worlds.
In Defense of Food
268 pages
#1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Food Rules Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it? Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion--most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we see to become. With In Defense of Food, Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating.
The Forest People
310 pages
This classic work describes the author's experiences while living with the BaMbuti Pygmies, not as a clinical observer, but as their friend learning their customs and sharing their daily life. Turnbull conveys the lives and feelings of the BaMbuti whose existence centers on their intense love for their forest world, which, in return for their affection and trust, provides their every need. We witness their hunting parties and nomadic camps; their love affairs and ancient ceremonies -- the molimo, in which they praise the forest as provider, protector, and deity; the elima, in which the young girls come of age; and the nkumbi circumcision rites, in which the villagers of the surrounding non-Pygmy tribes attempt to impose their culture on the Pygmies, whose forest home they dare not enter.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies
195 pages
This book is a hilarious take on death, where a mortician answers quirky questions about what happens after we die, making it both informative and entertaining.
A Clockwork Orange (Restored Text)
273 pages
A frightening story of good and evil. A fifteen year old boy named Alex, who is in trouble with the authorities. The state wants to reform him.
Color
480 pages
Examining the physical materials that color the world, a freelance journalist explores the social, political, and cultural implications of color throughout history.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
373 pages
"A gorgeous, aching love letter to stories, storytellers, and the doors they lead us through...absolutely enchanting."—Christina Henry, bestselling author of Alice and Lost Boys LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER! Finalist for the 2020 Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut. In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories await in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding debut--step inside and discover its magic. Praise for The Ten Thousand Doors of January: "One for the favorites shelf... Here is a book to make you happy when you gently close it. Here you will find wonder and questions and an unceasingly gorgeous love of words which compasses even the shape a letter makes against a page."―NPR Books "Devastatingly good, a sharp, delicate nested tale of worlds within worlds, stories within stories, and the realm-cracking power of words."―Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author "A love letter to imagination, adventure, the written word, and the power of many kinds of love."―Kirkus For more from Alix E. Harrow, check out The Once and Future Witches.
