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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Desperately Seeking Something
Movie director Seidelman's memoir, with a title referencing her smash-hit 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan, is a breezy read about her life from childhood through the present day. A quick and easy read about the life and career of a trailblazing filmmaker. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Palestinian Embroidery Motifs
[This] is really beautiful and exciting to look through and learn from as I just got into cross stitch! (McCall)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Making It in America
Journalist Slade offers an incisive look at the history and current state of American manufacturing. This galvanizing call for Americans "to start making things for themselves" serves as both a sweeping report on a globalized industry and a practical road map for aspiring small-scale manufacturers. Readers will feel invigorated. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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House Rules
[Smith] provides the simple rules to decorate by in this charming, definitive guidebook for hesitant decorators to move from "stuck" to "done." (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Instructions for Traveling West
In this sunny debut collection, Sullivan traces a lifelong journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance with deceptive depth. The poems capture relatable small pleasures of life and a spirit of resilience ... Sullivan's unpretentious and blunt recounting of her experiences is a breath of fresh air. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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It's Not Hysteria
This first-rate debut from gynecologist Tang details the causes, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options for endometriosis, ovarian cysts, pelvic floor dysfunction, and other sexual and reproductive health conditions. The tone is compassionate throughout ... and the in-depth coverage of gender-affirming care options distinguishes this from other health manuals that assume a cis readership. The result is a comprehensive resource for understanding gynecological health. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Vision
Former civil rights lawyer and federal judge Tatel has spent the last half of his 80 years legally blind. This fascinating memoir is both an inside look at the judicial system and an inspiring tale of a man who moved beyond his physical limits to excel in his vocation. (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Modern Magic
In this enchanted sibling to the cult classic Modern Tarot, literary and tarot icon Michelle Tea returns to her magical roots, offering stories, little-known history, traditions, rituals, and spells for any witch seeking a deeper spiritual practice. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together
In an honest, often self-deprecating coming-of-age graphic memoir, Canadian cartoonist and illustrator Vellekoop recounts growing up gay in 1970s Toronto, where his family was a member of the conservative Christian Reformed Church, which viewed homosexuality as a sin. A raw, revealing chronicle. (Kirkus)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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