Nonfiction Book Group: March

January 6, 2021, 11:48 am

Nonfiction Book Group

January 6, 2021 | AmyJo

Join us Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:

You and I eat the same [electronic resource] by Chris Ying and René Redzepi

Also available in: e-book

Good food is the common ground shared by all of us, and immigration is fundamental to good food. In eighteen thoughtful and engaging essays and stories, You and I Eat the Same explores the ways in which cooking and eating connect us across cultural and political borders, making the case that we should think about cuisine as a collective human effort in which we all benefit from the movement of people, ingredients, and ideas. An awful lot of attention is paid to the differences and distinctions between us, especially when it comes to food. But the truth is that food is that rare thing that connects all people, slipping past real and imaginary barriers to unify humanity through deliciousness. Don't believe it? Read on to discover more about the subtle (and not so subtle) bonds created by the ways we eat.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, you may stop in to pick one up or call 734-397-0999 and select option 4. Curbside pick up of materials is also available.

Registered participants will receive an email two days before the program with a link to attend the discussion. To help you make the most of your virtual program experience we have compiled some tips and resources.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, March 20 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Online

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Nonfiction Book Group: April

February 4, 2021, 10:59 am

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February 4, 2021 | AmyJo

Join us Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:

Diamond Doris : the true story of the world's most notorious jewel thief by Doris Payne

Also available in: e-book | audiobook

A sensational and entertaining memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief--a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own path, stealing from elite jewelers to live her dreams.

Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, Doris Payne was told her dreams were unattainable for poor black girls like her. Surrounded by people who sought to limit her potential, Doris vowed to turn the tables after the owner of a jewelry store threw her out when a white customer arrived. Neither racism nor poverty would hold her back; she would get what she wanted and help her mother escape an abusive relationship. Using her southern charm, quick wit, and fascination with magic as her tools, Payne began shoplifting small pieces of jewelry from local stores. Over the course of six decades, her talents grew with each heist. Becoming an expert world-class jewel thief, she daringly pulled off numerous diamond robberies and her Jewish boyfriend fenced the stolen gems to Hollywood celebrities. Doris's criminal exploits went unsolved well into the 1970s--partly because the stores did not want to admit that they were duped by a black woman. Eventually realizing Doris was using him, her boyfriend turned her in. She was arrested after stealing a diamond ring in Monte Carlo that was valued at more than half a million dollars. But even prison couldn't contain this larger-than-life personality who cleverly used nuns as well as various ruses to help her break out.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, you may stop in to pick one up or call 734-397-0999 and select option 4. Curbside pick up of materials is also available.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, April 17 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Online

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Nonfiction Book Group: May

March 8, 2021, 8:37 am

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March 8, 2021 | AmyJo

Join us Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:

Predictably irrational : the hidden forces that shape our decisions [electronic resource] by Dan Ariely

Also available in: e-book | e-audiobook

Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup? When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In this newly revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable-making us predictably irrational.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, you may stop in to pick one up. Curbside pick up of materials is also available.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, May 15 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Online

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Nonfiction Book Group: June

April 20, 2021, 11:49 am

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April 20, 2021 | melissa c

Please note: the group is meeting one week earlier than usual this month. Join us Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:

The comedians : drunks, thieves, scoundrels, and the history of American comedy [electronic resource] by Kliph Nesteroff

In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past one hundred years.

Starting with the vaudeville circuit at the turn of the last century, Nesteroff introduces the first stand-up comedian - an emcee who abandoned physical shtick for straight jokes. After the repeal of Prohibition, Mafia-run supper clubs replaced speakeasies, and mobsters replaced vaudeville impresarios as the comedian's primary employer. In the 1950s, the late-night talk show brought stand-up to a wide public, while Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Jonathan Winters attacked conformity and staged a comedy rebellion in coffeehouses.

From comedy's part in the Civil Rights movement and the social upheaval of the late 1960s, to the first comedy clubs of the 1970s and the cocaine-fueled comedy boom of the 1980s, The Comedians culminates with a new era of media-driven celebrity in the twenty-first century.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, call us at 734-397-0999 to place a copy on hold.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, June 12 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Online— The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy— Register

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Nonfiction Book Group: July

April 24, 2021, 11:53 am

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April 24, 2021 | melissa c

Join us Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:

The United States of paranoia : a conspiracy theory [electronic resource] by 1970- Jesse Walker

In The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker explores this rich history in the United States, arguing that conspiracy stories should be read not just as claims to be either believed or debunked but also as folklore. When a tale takes hold, it reveals something true about the anxieties and experiences of those who believe and repeat it, even if the story says nothing true about the objects of the theory itself. In a story that stretches from the seventeenth century to today, Walker lays out five conspiracy narratives that recur in American politics and popular culture. With intensive research and a deadpan sense of humor, The United States of Paranoia combines the rigor of real history with the punch of pulp fiction.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, call us at 734-397-0999 to place a copy on hold.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, July 17 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Online— The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory— Register

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Nonfiction Book Group August 2021

July 1, 2021, 10:26 am

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July 1, 2021 | AmyJo

Join us Saturday, August 21 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:

All that remains : a renowned forensic scientist on death, mortality, and solving crimes by Sue M Black

Also available in: e-book

Black has lived her life eye to eye with the Grim Reaper, and she writes vividly about it in this book, which is part primer on the basics of identifying human remains, part frank memoir, and part no-nonsense but deeply humane introduction to the reality of death in our lives. She recounts her first dissection; the mortal remains in her lab and at burial sites as well as scenes of violence, murder, and criminal dismemberment; and about investigating mass fatalities due to war, accident, or natural disaster. In doing so, she reveals how forensic science has developed-- and what her work has taught her about human nature.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, August 21 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Online

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Nonfiction Book Group September 2021

July 16, 2021, 10:38 am

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July 16, 2021 | AmyJo

Beginning in September, the Nonfiction Book Group will again be meeting in person on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 10:00 AM in the Friend's Activity Room. For those who prefer meeting via Zoom, you can still opt to attend this meeting virtually - it is up to you! The registration process is the same for in person and virtual attendance. We will be discussing:

Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI by David Grann

Also available in: e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook | large print

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 that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, September 18 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Friends' Activity Room

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Nonfiction Book Group October 2021

August 4, 2021, 8:12 am

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Nonfiction Book Group

August 4, 2021 | AmyJo

The Nonfiction Book Group will be meeting in person on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 10:00 AM in the Friend's Activity Room. For those who prefer meeting via Zoom, you can still opt to attend this meeting virtually - it is up to you! The registration process is the same for in person and virtual attendance. We will be discussing:

Talking to strangers : what we should know about the people we don't know by 1963- Malcolm Gladwell

Also available in: e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook | large print

Bestselling author and Podcast host Malcolm Gladwell offers a powerful examination of interactions with strangers, and why it often goes wrong. How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach something about the way people relate to each other that isn't true? A challenging and controversial excursion through history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news, Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal at Penn State University, and the death of Sandra Bland, throwing the understanding of these and other stories into doubt.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, October 16 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Friends' Activity Room

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Nonfiction Book Group: November

August 28, 2021, 7:52 am

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August 28, 2021 | kasarak

The Nonfiction Book Group will again be meeting in person on Saturday, November 20 from 10:00am-11:00am in the Friends' Activity Room to discuss Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez.

For those who prefer to meet via Zoom, you may opt to attend this book discussion virtually – it is up to you! The registration process is the same for in person and virtual attendance. Registered participants will receive an email one day before the program with a Zoom link to join the discussion.

For those that plan on meeting in person, simply come to the library. We will meet in the Friends' Activity Room.

Invisible women : data bias in a world designed for men by Caroline Criado-Perez

Also available in: e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook

Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias, in time, money, and often with their lives. Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women†‹, diving into women's lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor's office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world.

Registration required.

Upcoming sessions

Saturday, November 20 - 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM— Friends' Activity Room

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Nonfiction Book Group: December

August 28, 2021, 8:11 am

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August 28, 2021 | kasarak

The Nonfiction Book Group will again be meeting in person on Saturday, December 18 from 10:00am-11:00am in the Friends' Activity Room to discuss The Nordic Theory of Every by Anu

Partanen.

For those that plan on meeting in person, simply come to the library. We will meet in the Friends' Activity Room.

The Nordic theory of everything : in search of a better life by Anu Partanen

Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life—from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare—was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. As she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension. To understand why life is so different in the U.S. and Finland, Partanen began to look closely at both.

In The Nordic Theory of Everything, Partanen compares and contrasts life in the United States with life in the Nordic region, focusing on four key relationships—parents and children, men and women, employees and employers, and government and citizens.