Staff Nonfiction Favorites

Do you know who Julie D'Aubigny is? What about Ursula Nordstrom? This is another one of those "Women You Didn't Know Existed Because Patriarchy" books, and I will never have enough of those, especially ones with art as gorgeous as this one. Lee takes us on a chronological tour around the world of women who changed history, science, and society simply by being Badass Broads. - J Gallo

Highly readable, hilarious, and at times even philosophical, Tweedy's memoir of discovering his passion for writing music and his rise to super-stardom is an excellent read. Like any good rock 'n roll memoir, sex and drugs make their appearance, but his wholesome stories about growing up in a small town, making a family and band-drama are what really make this book a memorable read. - Ashley

Story explores the prison industrial complex (and its long-lasting, devastating effects) everywhere around us: in racially charged urban policies; prison visitation buses full of women of color; in the bankrupted, jobless towns in the shadows of the carceral expansion; and even in public parks. Rigorously researched and endlessly empathetic and eye-opening, this book is a must-read. - Ksenia

We all know the story of the Donner party, or at least, we all know how it ends. Despite the fact that I knew what lay ahead, I found myself on the edge of my seat as I read about the party’s journey across the plains. Thanks to thorough research and engaging writing, Wallis has managed to tell this with greater accuracy and humanity than ever before. Fascinating, gruesome, and gut wrenching, this book is not for the faint of heart. - Jade

I don’t remember the last time I’ve hugged a book so much. A wonderful combination of history, trivia (like did you know how the gift card industry influenced aspects of the cover art?), social commentary, and art design, all tied together in over-the-top covers and seemingly ridiculous plots. Perfect for fans of horror and sci-fi, this book will make your wish list grow exponentially. - Rachel

You can't go wrong with any of award-winning author Andrea Nguyen's outstanding cookbooks which are often a deep dive into a particular dish or ingredient (tofu, pho, bahn mi, dumplings). Nguyen is a fantastic teacher who makes even the most detailed recipes doable, but Vietnamese Food Any Day is perhaps her most accessible yet. (My 12-year-old daughter is even cooking from it!) By using ingredients that are commonly found at local grocery stores, Nguyen makes it easy to incorporate delicious Vietnamese food into busy weeknight cooking. From Shaking Beef to Rice Paper Rolls to Shrimp in Coconut Caramel Sauce, Nguyen shares quick dishes that don't compromise on flavor. This cookbook is a game-changer at our house, and will likely be at yours, too. - S.B.

Told with the signature, self-deprecating wit of the old master, Stephen King's On Writing is required reading for anyone who considers (or wants to consider) themselves a writer. In these pages, King reviews all the writing tools he's developed over the years and stresses the importance of reading, rewriting, and devoting to one's self to a life of rejection. But it's not all hopeless, he also stresses that the road to literary success is paved with perseverance. - Aric

adrienne maree brown wrote the book we all needed. Rooted in and expanding on Black radical tradition, brown crafts a whole new understanding of resistance and world-changing. Revolution is not some catastrophic moment, it is a way of living your life in embodied resistance — one that is so beautifully explored in Pleasure Activism. - Citlalli

This book is an achievement—in prose that is engaging and accessible, Zuboff breaks down the logic and operating principles behind today's major tech companies, connecting the emphasis on collection of users' data to the massive profits of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and more. Zuboff unpacks the major stories you've seen in the news, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal that forced Mark Zuckerberg to testify in front of Congress, and provides a thorough analysis of the contemporary moment in order to plan and strategize for the future. Central to this book's analysis is the idea that it is impossible to compare an unprecedented event to something that has happened before, and Zuboff makes the case that the unregulated expansion of behavioral data collection by major tech companies represents an unprecedented event with dangerous implications. This book does for privacy and surveillance what Rachel Carson accomplished with Silent Spring, and should be required reading for any user of the internet or participant in a democracy. - Billy

Wow, I enjoyed the poop out of this book! The Ghost Map is FUN, informative and not for the faint of stomach. An examination of Cholora's horrific decent on London in the mid-1800s reveals fascinating patterns not only in the disease but also in human society, infrastructure, bacteria, the city itself, and, yes, poop (or night soil, excrement, nuisance... this book is a 19th century thesaurus for human waste). - Tori