Seattle Staff Faves 2024: Nonfiction
Every year we ask our staff across the library system for their favorite books published in the current year. Enjoy this variety of nonfiction staff favorites, with annotations by staff members or as noted. (created November 2024)
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The Message
Coates presents three blazing essays on race, moral complicity, and a storyteller's responsibility to the truth. Brilliant and timely. (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Other Significant Others
[This] was sort of life changing and the subject of an entire therapy session for me after I read it. (McCall)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Fall of Civilizations
Based on his popular podcast Fall of Civilizations, Cooper's book details how ancient kingdoms grew to power and then fell to ruin. He considers empires ranging across the Mediterranean, Asia, West Africa, and Central America, exploring the great centers of power of the Aztecs, Romans, and more. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Dark Wire
The crazy true story of how the FBI ran an encrypted phone service for criminal organizations. (Joe G.)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Dinner on Monster Island
In this poignant memoir-in-essays, De Rozario intertwines stories about growing up queer and brown in Singapore with her analysis of her favorite horror films. De Rozario transfixes with her idiosyncratic blend of film criticism, social critique, and autobiography. It's a unique and touching account. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Polar Vortex
Dorrance takes her quirky approach to semi-autobiographical comics to the next level with her vulnerable latest. The gentle lines, soft color palette, and quippy narration bring a sense of comfort and familiarity to the bittersweet story of family, memory, and the inevitability of loss. Dorrance demystifies the challenges of elder care with this sensitive snapshot of the many ways in which memory shapes family history. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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Street Trees of Seattle
...Ebrahimi takes readers on a tour of existing trees throughout Seattle neighborhood and iconic parks through charming line drawings. In the process, she educates readers on the history of the trees and the city, and offers up drawings of leaves, trees, and leaflets as a charming but effective way to identify trees throughout the city. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Sociopath
The story of a therapist and grief counselor's struggle to understand and mitigate a stigmatized disorder. Since early childhood, Gagne writes, she knew she lacked the empathy, shame, guilt, and fear of consequences typically possessed by others. A peculiar, provocative exploration of the limits of social acceptance. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Rebel Girl
Bikini Kill frontwoman Hanna's memoir is a raucous, rousing tale about the power of music and activism. (Library Journal)
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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Alphabetical Diaries
This was unlike any reading experience I've ever had before. Heiti breaks out every sentence from her diaries, alphabetizes them, then edits them to create new narratives. 10/10 recommend reading out loud. Felt like techno music for literary ears. (Eliza S.)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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