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Non-fiction

Talking to Strangers

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Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
Format: eAudiobook, eBook
Who it’s for: Adults

Talking to Strangers takes a close look at how we interact with each other and what assumptions we make everyday that change the way we communicate, judge, and interact. Gladwell, a #1 New York Times bestselling author dives into what at first appear to be separate and unrelated true stories of human interactions but then lead to his discussion of how many of the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people and their actions actually don’t help us make good judgements or decisions. If we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our interactions and relationships.

Gladwell narrates the audiobook and it is highly recommended. Not only do you hear Gladwell, but also interviews of many of the people he discusses. Even the court transcripts are brought to life with actors re-enactments. It is fascinating to learn about famous examples such as Bernie Madoff, Amanda Knox, and Sylvia Plath, hearing directly from many of the people involved in these real-life stories.  

Find it on Libby/Overdrive

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed

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So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed
Format: Book, eBook, Audiobook
Who it’s for: Adults

We’ve all fallen victim to it. That satisfying feeling when someone is wrong on the internet. You instigate or participate in a “pile on,” posting your criticism on your choice of platform. And you totally forget: There’s a person on the other end. A human being, like you, who makes mistakes, like you.

Jon Ronson investigates this phenomenon in his book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed. He speaks to people whose reputations have been ruined by public shaming. People who innocently tweeted a joke, or had a secret uncovered, or posted a photo meant for just their friends to see, that spiraled completely out of control, turning their lives upside down. Even if they sincerely apologize, even if they genuinely change their minds/ways, they become known for that one mistake, and not for the multi-faceted individual they are.

Of course public shaming is not a new concept, but it’s gotten significantly easier, and potentially more dangerous, in our current era of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. Anyone can be held accountable for satire they published years ago. Anyone can have a quote taken out of context that disrupts their career and endangers their livelihood. Anyone can devote their life to doing good works and be “cancelled” in the blink of an eye. The court of public opinion never seems to close, or overturn their rulings.

We generally extol virtues like “love your neighbor” and even “love your enemy” but when we engage in public shaming we ignore and even betray these ideals. Why are so quick to hold a grudge, and so slow to hold a conversation with people we presume to disagree with? If you take the opportunity to get to know that person, you are likely to find common ground. If you allow that person to learn from their transgressions and move on, instead of constantly reminding them of what they did wrong, they may grow and find redemption.

In this book, Ronson charges us to examine our impulse to “call out” people, and to think about the harm it causes by inhibiting civility and advancing cruelty. Find it in our catalog

The Wright Brothers

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The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Format: Eaudiobook
Who it’s for: Adults

If you think that you already know everything there is to know about the Wright Brothers and their contributions to the Age of Flight, you should read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. McCullough does an excellent job of sharing with the world, not only the brothers’ first attempts at flying at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but also the years of research, correspondence and events leading up to their first sustained flight on December 17, 1903.

David McCullough gives a detailed account of the brothers’ young lives in Dayton, Ohio, their strong family background and values, their education, the accident that kept Wilbur from attending college, and their bicycle shop where they raised the money to allow them pursue their dream of flying. McCullough describes life on the Outer Banks during the late 19th century (it was fairly treacherous at times) and what Wilbur and Orville had to go through just to travel there.

What is intriguing about this book is the amount of research the author presents about the lack of interest that the U.S. Government had in their work until the Wright brothers demonstrated the success of their flying invention in France. McCullough also brings to light the stories of the other people who were trying to create flying machines during that period of our history and thus competing with the brothers for notoriety and patent ownership.  By going through family scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, and diaries, McCullough has created in his book a living picture of what the lives of the Wright brothers was really like.

Take some time to read this book, or listen to it in Eaudiobook or audiobook CD form. You will learn much more about the lives of the Wright family, their work, and their days on the sandy dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.

Find it in the catalog

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do

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13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens

Let’s say you’re trying to get your body into good physical shape, you might go to the gym and have a long, heavy work out and feel like you’re moving in the right direction.  However, if you eat a box of donuts on the way home from the gym then you’ve just erased all your hard work!

The same thing can happen with our mental health.  There are many very positive things we can do for ourselves like practicing mindfulness, gratitude, or yoga but author Amy Morin points out that we might be sabotaging our best efforts with some bad mental habits.

Do I stress about things I can’t control?  Do I try to please everyone? Do I resent other people’s success? These are just three out of the thirteen bad mental habits that can drag us down and undermine our happiness.

Check this book out and give your mental health a workout. We can’t always change our circumstances but we do have control over our attitude and that can make all the difference!

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Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury, and Reinventing Love

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Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury and Reinventing Love by Abby Maslin
Format: Book
Who it’s for:  Adults

In August 2012, Abby and TC Maslin lived in the Capitol Hill area of Washington D.C. with their young son, Jack. TC worked as an energy analyst and Abby was a school teacher. TC was attacked while walking home from a Nationals game late at night.  TC was beaten nearly to death by three young men who took his cell phone and debit card.  They left him bleeding and hurt on a sidewalk a few blocks from his home.  When Abby woke up in the night to find out that her husband wasn’t home, panic set in.  Hours later Abby found out that her husband had been taken to the hospital but she didn’t know if he was alive or dead.

After many days and months of physical rehabilitation, TC did survive, but was unable to walk and talk.  Abby had to take over his complete care, teaching him to read and talk again.  There were no guarantees of his future life after the tragedy.  The two of them had to learn to trust and love each other again.  During their agonizing months both of them had changed.

This is a true story and has connections to St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Abby is a good writer and I was especially touched by her prologue that describes when she and TC met for the first time. This account is a raw and inspiring story with an amazing outcome. TC Maslin has an inner strength that helped him to beat the odds of not only surviving but conquering his disabilities. While still re-learning to walk and communicate, TC realized how much Abby did to take care of him, he said, “But you’ve done everything for me. Do you know that? I love you, honey. I love you so hard.”

Find it in our catalog