GPL Blog

New Adult Non-Fiction — February 2023

The weather is (weirdly) getting warmer already, and before you know it we’ll be sweltering in summer. Take some time to enjoy the sunshine with a good book! These nonfiction titles are now available at the library. Put one on hold today!

Have you heard of the Waverly Train Disaster of 1978? It’s a rarely acknowledged event that led to the creation of FEMA. Check out Walk Through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America by Yasmine Ali. The book’s release coincides with the 45th anniversary of the event, and is a tribute to the first responders, as well as an examination of the strengths and vulnerabilities in rural America.

If you’re looking to learn more about climate change and its coming effects, maybe The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittle. This new release is the untold story of climate migration in the United States, and features the personal stories of those experiencing displacement, the portraits of communities being torn apart by disaster, and the implications for all of us as we confront a changing future.

If you want something completely different, you might like The Curse of the Marquis de Sade: A Notorious Scoundrel, a Mythical Manuscript, and the Biggest Scandal in Literary History by Joel Warner. This work weaves together the sweeping odyssey of Marquis de Sade’s original manuscript of 120 Days of Sodom, and the spectacular rise and fall of Lhéritier, once the “king of manuscripts,” and now known to many as the Bernie Madoff of France. At its center is an urgent question for all those who cherish the written word: As the age of handwriting comes to an end, what do we owe the original texts left behind?

Now it’s time for something a little more lighthearted. Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman chronicles the remarkable, sprawling history of the Academy Awards and the personal dramas — some iconic, others never-before-revealed — that have played out on stage and off camera. Unlike other books on the subject, each chapters takes a deep dive into a particular year, conflict or even category that tells a larger story of cultural change, from Louis B. Mayer to Moonlight.

If memoirs are your thing, give Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H. a shot. This searingly intimate memoir in essays, spanning Lamya’s childhood to her arrival in the United States for college through early-adult life in New York City, tells a universal story of courage, trust, and love, celebrating what it means to be a seeker and an architect of one’s own life.

Who doesn’t love Nick Offerman? The actor and writer has written multiple books, and his latest is another great one. Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside is full of witty, heartwarming stories, and a keen insight into the problems we all confront; it’s both a ramble through and a celebration of the land we love.

Still not seeing something for you? We can help! Contact our reference desk at reference@galesburglibrary.org to get a recommendation.


All descriptions are courtesy of the publisher.