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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Thunder Song
In this affecting collection, Coast Salish poet LaPointe explores how she has navigated colonized spaces as a light-skinned Indigenous woman, and the strength she draws from ancestral knowledge. The result is a beautifully rendered snapshot of contemporary American Indigenous life. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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How to Live Free in A Dangerous World
A nonbinary, disabled, Black writer describes how travel has informed their journey to liberation. Lawson is a gifted chronicler not only of their own personal revolution, but also of the power structures that affect their place in the world. A stunning essay collection about travel, mortality, and liberation. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Manicurist's Daughter
Seattle author Lieu, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, writes movingly about family and grief. (Paige C.)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Trippy
A look at how old drugs are finding a new role in easing mental suffering. New York Times journalist Londoño's first book involves his experiences with psychedelic drugs, which he first encountered as a relief from crushing suicidal depression. Blending solid research and personal experience, the author points to a new frontier for trauma treatment. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Arctic Play
Local author, a beautiful and haunting blend of poetry, comics, and collage about climate change and climate grief. (Abby B.)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Tell Me A Story Where The Bad Girl Wins: The Life And Art Of Barbara Shermund
Shermund was a trailblazing female cartoonist who lived an unconventional life and died in obscurity. McGurk has done an incredible job recreating her life story from a very meagre historical record. And Shermund's artwork is wickedly funny and brilliant! (Abby B.)
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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The Small and the Mighty
An accessible, cheerful, and affectionate portrait of Americans who, though little known, made a difference. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Like Love
Can never get enough Maggie Nelson! (Abby B.)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Stories Are Weapons
A long-view denunciation of today's avalanche of disinformation, fake news, and propaganda. A cogent history and analysis of today's toxic national discourse, joining a host of recent titles in a burgeoning genre. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Slow Noodles
In this engrossing and evocative debut memoir, Nguon recounts how her mother's recipes sustained her family through poverty and genocidal violence. This haunting yet hopeful account will appeal to foodies and history buffs alike. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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