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Staff Picks

Category: Non-Fiction

Find your new favorite reads with this collection of top titles curated by our expert librarians.

Do Nothing

Celeste Headlee

"This manifesto helps us break free of our unhealthy devotion to efficiency and shows us how to reclaim our time and humanity with a little more leisure"

From These Roots

From These Roots

"From These Roots is not only a historical record of one woman's lineage but a call to justice that fights for all those demanding to reclaim, honor, and lay to rest the remains of mishandled lives"

A Swim In A Pond In The Rain

A Swim In A Pond In The Rain

George Saunders

"From the New York Times bestselling Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us"

Writing My Wrongs

Writing My Wrongs

"In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today, he is a lecturer at the University of Michigan, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands"

Race to Hawaii

"Today, a trip to Hawaii is a simple six-hour flight from the West Coast, but almost a century ago, it was a nerve-wracking and twenty-six-hour journey across 2,400 miles of the open Pacific."

Deep Creek

"On her 120-acre homestead high in the Colorado Rockies, beloved writer Pam Houston learns what it means to care for a piece of land and the creatures on it."

No Bad Parts

Richard C. Schwartz

"Discover an empowering new way of understanding your multifaceted mind—and healing the many parts that make you who you are."

8 Days

Jessica Lockwood

"Eight days of marriage is all the time the stars bestowed upon Chason and Jessica."

If Women Rose Rooted

If Women Rose Rooted

"If Women Rose Rooted is a rallying cry for women to reawaken their natural power - not just for the sake of their own wellbeing, but for love of this threatened earth."

Girlhood

"A gripping set of stories about the forces that shape girls and the adults they become. A wise and brilliant guide to transforming the self and our society."

The Book of Joy

The Book of Joy

Dalai Lama XIV , Desmond Tutu

"Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity."

Brave the Wild River

Brave the Wild River

Melissa Sevigny

"The riveting tale of two pioneering botanists and their historic boat trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon."

What It Takes to Heal

What It Takes to Heal

Prentis Hemphill

"Now more than ever, we must learn to heal ourselves, connect, and embody our values. In this revolutionary book, Prentis Hemphill shows us how."

Tomboy Bride

Harriet Fish Backus

"A woman's personal account of life in mining camps of the West."

Reasons To Stay Alive

Reasons To Stay Alive

"Matt Haig's accessible and life-affirming memoir of his struggle with depression, and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live"

Blood Sweat Tears

Blood Sweat Tears

"Blood Sweat Tears is a short story collection by 26 hikers and runners about the experience of being in a female body on trail."

The Year of Less

The Year of Less

"The Year of Less documents Cait's life from July 2014 to June 2015, during which time she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car."

This Bridge Called My Back

This Bridge Called My Back

Various Authors

"Originally released in 1981, This Bridge Called My Back is a testimony to women of color feminism as it emerged in the last quarter of the twentieth century."

The Youngest Science

The Youngest Science

"The Youngest Science is Dr. Thomas's account of his life in the medical profession and an inquiry into what medicine is all about—the youngest science, but one rich in possibility and promise."

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon

"Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI"

In My Time of Dying

In My Time of Dying

Sebastian Junger

"A near-fatal health emergency leads to this powerful reflection on death—and what might follow—by the bestselling author of Tribe and The Perfect Storm."

Joyful Recollections of Trauma

Joyful Recollections of Trauma

"From award-winning actor and comedian Paul Scheer, a candid and hilarious memoir-in-essays on coming to terms with childhood trauma and finding the joy in embracing your authentic self"

Feng Shui Modern

Feng Shui Modern

"In an increasingly cramped world, a modern guide to opening up your living space-and your life-using the ancient principles of feng shui."

Loving Our Own Bones

Loving Our Own Bones

Julia Watts Belser

"A spiritual companion and political manifesto that cuts through objectification and inspiration alike to offer a powerful new account of disability in biblical narrative and contemporary culture"

Rest Is Resistance

Rest Is Resistance

"Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice"

Empire of the Scalpel

Empire of the Scalpel

"From a renowned surgeon and historian with five decades of experience comes a remarkable history of surgery's development-spanning the Stone Age to the present day"

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass

Robin Wall Kimmerer

"In these beautifully written essays, she explores the natural world, wedding the scientific method with the traditional knowledge of indigenous people"

Gathering Moss

Robin Wall Kimmerer

"a mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses"

- Carli & Lauren

Fuzz

"an irresistible investigation into the unpredictable world where wildlife and humans meet"

Brave the Wild River

Brave the Wild River

Melissa Sevigny

"The riveting tale of two pioneering botanists and their historic boat trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon"