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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Notoriously Bad Character
Olsen sifts through the myths and legends that have gathered around Lou Graham, brothel owner and significant Seattle citizen at the turn of the 20th century, to reveal how she - and others forgotten by history - shaped Seattle.
Format: Book
Availability: In-library use only at this time
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You Get What You Pay for
Award-winning poet and YA author Parker delves into both the personal and the cultural in this thought-provoking, engaging, and tightly crafted essay collection. The writing is captivating, rife with poetic turns of phrase and powerful insights. (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Of Greed and Glory
A ground-breaking, personal exploration of America's obsession with continuing human bondage ... Deborah Plant reveals the many ways in which slavery continues in America today and charts our collective course toward personal sovereignty for all. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir by Danny Ramadan
A queer Syrian refugee reckons with a life spent out of place. (Publisher description)
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A Woman in the Polar Night
Don't miss this beautiful 2024 reprint of a 90-year-old adventure classic! A stunning and thoroughly captivating memoir about the year Ritter spent living in a tiny hut with her husband in the Arctic. Perfect reading for the cold months ahead. (Abby B.)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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12 Trips in 12 Months
Approaching 30, an attorney slowly transitions out of her office job to fulfill her dream of becoming a full-time travel blogger and influencer. A mostly inspiring tale of solo adventure. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The House of Hidden Meanings
Drag queen RuPaul (GuRu) excavates his childhood, early romances, and rise to fame in this unvarnished personal history. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Said on Opera
Best known for his writings on orientalism and postcolonialism, the late Said (1935–2003) was also an expert on music. In 1997, he delivered a series of lectures, reproduced here, on "authority and transgression in opera" at Cambridge, where he examined four works of music and the social and political assumptions underlying them. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Dogwhistles and Figleaves
Saul skillfully illuminates the way language is used to amplify and normalize racism, suggesting in the process that racist intent is less important than effect. It's a scrupulous look at a damaging linguistic phenomenon that often hides in plain sight. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Light Eaters
Schlanger, a staff writer at the Atlantic, debuts with an astounding exploration of the remarkable abilities of plants and fungi. There are mind-bending revelations on every page, and Schlanger combines robust intellectual curiosity with delicate lyricism.... Science writing doesn’t get better than this. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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