- the Public Library
- LibGuides
- Subject Guides - 25/25/25/25
- Booklists for Adults & Teens
- Booklists for Adults & Teens
Booklists for Adults & Teens
Find great reading lists, ordered by subject, for adults and teens.
Booklist of the Month fem
March is
Women's History Month
Bad Feminist by
One of our most indispensable writers . . . on everything that matters
The Mental Load by
In her first book of comic strips, Emma reflects on social and feminist issues by means of simple line drawings, dissecting the mental load, i.e. all that invisible and unpaid organising, list-making and planning women do to manage their lives, and the lives of their family members. In her strips Emma deals with themes ranging from maternity leave (it is not a vacation!), domestic violence, the clitoris, the violence of the medical world on women during childbirth, and other feminist issues, and she does so in a straightforward way that is both hilarious and deadly serious.
Lakota Woman by
Mary Brave Bird grew up fatherless in a one-room cabin, without running water or electricity, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Rebelling against the aimless drinking, punishing missionary school, narrow strictures for women, and violence and hopeless of reservation life, she joined the new movement of tribal pride sweeping Native American communities in the sixties and seventies. Mary eventually married Leonard Crow Dog, the American Indian Movement's chief medicine man, who revived the sacred but outlawed Ghost Dance. Originally published in 1990,Lakota Woman was a national best seller and winner of the American Book Award. It is a unique document, unparalleled in American Indian literature, a story of death, of determination against all odds, of the cruelties perpetuated against American Indians, and of the Native American struggle for rights. Working with Richard Erdoes, one of the twentieth century's leading writers on Native American affairs, Brave Bird recounts her difficult upbringing and the path of her fascinating life.
Under the Bus by
Caroline Fredrickson is a powerful advocate and D.C. insider who has witnessed the legislative compromises that leave out temps, farmworkers, employees of small businesses, immigrants and other workers who fall outside an intentionally narrow definition of employees. The women in this fast-growing part of the workforce are denied minimum wage, maternity leave, health care, the right to unionize and protection from harassment and discrimination-all within the bounds of the law. If current trends continue, their fate will be the future of all American workers.
The Woman's Hour by
"Both a page-turning drama and an inspiration for every reader"--Hillary Rodham Clinton Soon to Be a Major Television Event The nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history: the ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. "With a skill reminiscent of Robert Caro, [Weiss] turns the potentially dry stuff of legislative give-and-take into a drama of courage and cowardice."--The Wall Street Journal "Weiss is a clear and genial guide with an ear for telling language ... She also shows a superb sense of detail, and it's the deliciousness of her details that suggests certain individuals warrant entire novels of their own... Weiss's thoroughness is one of the book's great strengths. So vividly had she depicted events that by the climactic vote (spoiler alert: The amendment was ratified!), I got goose bumps."--Curtis Sittenfeld, The New York Times Book Review Nashville, August 1920. Thirty-five states have ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, twelve have rejected or refused to vote, and one last state is needed. It all comes down to Tennessee, the moment of truth for the suffragists, after a seven-decade crusade. The opposing forces include politicians with careers at stake, liquor companies, railroad magnates, and a lot of racists who don't want black women voting. And then there are the "Antis"--women who oppose their own enfranchisement, fearing suffrage will bring about the moral collapse of the nation. They all converge in a boiling hot summer for a vicious face-off replete with dirty tricks, betrayals and bribes, bigotry, Jack Daniel's, and the Bible. Following a handful of remarkable women who led their respective forces into battle, along with appearances by Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Frederick Douglass, and Eleanor Roosevelt, The Woman's Hour is an inspiring story of activists winning their own freedom in one of the last campaigns forged in the shadow of the Civil War, and the beginning of the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights.
This Will Be My Undoing by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of The Roots' 28 Brilliant Books by Black Authors in 2018 "A writer to be reckoned with."-Roxane Gay Named one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2018 by Esquire, Elle, Vogue, Nylon, The Millions, Refinery29, the Huffington Post, Book Riot, Bitch Media, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Vol 1. Brooklyn, and Paperback Paris From one of the fiercest critics writing today, Morgan Jerkins' highly-anticipated collection of linked essays interweaves her incisive commentary on pop culture, feminism, black history, misogyny, and racism with her own experiences to confront the very real challenges of being a black woman today--perfect for fans of Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist, Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me, and Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists. Morgan Jerkins is only in her twenties, but she has already established herself as an insightful, brutally honest writer who isn't afraid of tackling tough, controversial subjects. In This Will Be My Undoing, she takes on perhaps one of the most provocative contemporary topics: What does it mean to "be"--to live as, to exist as--a black woman today? This is a book about black women, but it's necessary reading for all Americans. Doubly disenfranchised by race and gender, often deprived of a place within the mostly white mainstream feminist movement, black women are objectified, silenced, and marginalized with devastating consequences, in ways both obvious and subtle, that are rarely acknowledged in our country's larger discussion about inequality. In This Will Be My Undoing, Jerkins becomes both narrator and subject to expose the social, cultural, and historical story of black female oppression that influences the black community as well as the white, male-dominated world at large. Whether she's writing about Sailor Moon; Rachel Dolezal; the stigma of therapy; her complex relationship with her own physical body; the pain of dating when men say they don't "see color"; being a black visitor in Russia; the specter of "the fast-tailed girl" and the paradox of black female sexuality; or disabled black women in the context of the "Black Girl Magic" movement, Jerkins is compelling and revelatory.
Women Rowing North by
New York Times Bestseller * USA Today Bestseller * Los Angeles Times Bestseller * Publishers Weekly Bestseller The instant bestseller from the author of Reviving Ophelia--a guide to wisdom, authenticity, and bliss for women as they age. Women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny, and loss. Yet as Mary Pipher shows, most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people they have always wanted to be. In Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. "If we can keep our wits about us, think clearly, and manage our emotions skillfully," Pipher writes, "we will experience a joyous time of our lives. If we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent."
Headscarves and Hymens by
When the Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy published an article in Foreign Policy in 2012 titled "Why Do They Hate Us?," it provoked a firestorm of controversy. The response it generated, with more than four thousand posts on the website, broke all records for the magazine, prompted dozens of follow-up interviews on radio and television, and made it clear that misogyny in the Arab world is an explosive issue, one that engages and often enrages the public. In Headscarves and Hymens, Eltahawy takes her argument further. Drawing on her years as a campaigner and commentator on women's issues in the Middle East, she explains that since the Arab Spring began, women in the Arab world have had two revolutions to undertake: one fought with men against oppressive regimes, and another fought against an entire political and economic system that treats women as second-class citizens in countries from Yemen and Saudi Arabia to Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. Eltahawy has traveled across the Middle East and North Africa, meeting with women and listening to their stories. Her book is a plea for outrage and action on their behalf, confronting the "toxic mix of culture and religion that few seem willing or able to disentangle lest they blaspheme or offend." A manifesto motivated by hope and fury in equal measure, Headscarves and Hymens is as illuminating as it is incendiary.
Haben by
The incredible life story of Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, and her amazing journey from isolation to the world stage. Haben grew up spending summers with her family in the enchanting Eritrean city of Asmara. There, she discovered courage as she faced off against a bull she couldn't see, and found in herself an abiding strength as she absorbed her parents' harrowing experiences during Eritrea's thirty-year war with Ethiopia. Their refugee story inspired her to embark on a quest for knowledge, traveling the world in search of the secret to belonging. She explored numerous fascinating places, including Mali, where she helped build a school under the scorching Saharan sun. Her many adventures over the years range from the hair-raising to the hilarious. Haben defines disability as an opportunity for innovation. She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to handling an electric saw. She developed a text-to-braille communication system that created an exciting new way to connect with people. Haben pioneered her way through obstacles, graduated from Harvard Law, and now uses her talents to advocate for people with disabilities. Haben takes readers through a thrilling game of blind hide-and-seek in Louisiana, a treacherous climb up an iceberg in Alaska, and a magical moment with President Obama at The White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating memoir is a testament to one woman's determination to find the keys to connection. "This autobiography by a millennial Helen Keller teems with grace and grit." -- O Magazine "A profoundly important memoir." -- The Times ** As featured in The Wall Street Journal, People, and on The TODAY Show ** A New York Times "New & Noteworthy" Pick ** An O Magazine "Book of the Month" Pick ** A Publishers Weekly Bestseller **
Underneath It All by
For most of human history, the garments women wore under their clothes were hidden. The earliest underwear provided warmth and protection. But eventually, women's undergarments became complex structures designed to shape their bodies to fit the fashion ideals of the time. In the modern era, undergarments are out in the open, from the designer corsets Madonna wore on stage to Beyoncé's pregnancy announcement on Instagram. This feminist exploration of women's underwear reveals the intimate role lingerie plays in defining women's bodies, sexuality, gender identity, and body image. It is a story of control and restraint but also female empowerment and self-expression. You will never look at underwear the same way again.
Call Number: eBook
Rage Becomes Her by
***A BEST BOOK OF 2018 SELECTION*** NPR * The Washington Post * Book Riot * Autostraddle * Psychology Today ***A BEST FEMINIST BOOK SELECTION*** Refinery 29, Book Riot, Autostraddle, BITCH Rage Becomes Her is an "utterly eye opening" (Bustle) book that gives voice to the causes, expressions, and possibilities of female rage. As women, we've been urged for so long to bottle up our anger, letting it corrode our bodies and minds in ways we don't even realize. Yet there are so, so many legitimate reasons for us to feel angry, ranging from blatant, horrifying acts of misogyny to the subtle drip, drip drip of daily sexism that reinforces the absurdly damaging gender norms of our society. In Rage Becomes Her, Soraya Chemaly argues that our anger is not only justified, it is also an active part of the solution. We are so often encouraged to resist our rage or punished for justifiably expressing it, yet how many remarkable achievements would never have gotten off the ground without the kernel of anger that fueled them? Approached with conscious intention, anger is a vital instrument, a radar for injustice and a catalyst for change. On the flip side, the societal and cultural belittlement of our anger is a cunning way of limiting and controlling our power--one we can no longer abide. "A work of great spirit and verve" (Time), Rage Becomes Her is a validating, energizing read that will change the way you interact with the world around you.
Period Power by
PERIOD founder and Harvard College student Nadya Okamoto offers a manifesto on menstruation and why we can no longer silence those who bleed--and how to engage in youth activism. Throughout history, periods have been hidden from the public. They're taboo. They're embarrassing. They're gross. And due to a crumbling or nonexistent national sex ed program, they are misunderstood. Because of these stigmas, a status quo has been established to exclude people who menstruate from the seat at the decision-making table, creating discriminations like the tampon tax, medicines that favor male biology, and more. Period Power aims to explain what menstruation is, shed light on the stigmas and resulting biases, and create a strategy to end the silence and prompt conversation about periods.
Crazy Brave by
A spiritual coming-of-age memoir from a poet praised for her "breathtaking complex witness and world-remaking language" (Adrienne Rich). In this transcendent memoir, grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music and poetry, Joy Harjo, one of our leading Native American voices, details her journey to becoming a poet. Born in Oklahoma, the end place of the Trail of Tears, Harjo grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination, a deep spiritual life, and connection with the natural world. She attended an Indian arts boarding school, where she nourished an appreciation for painting, music, and poetry; gave birth while still a teenager; and struggled on her own as a single mother, eventually finding her poetic voice. Narrating the complexities of betrayal and love, Crazy Brave is a memoir about family and the breaking apart necessary in finding a voice. Harjo's tale of a hardscrabble youth, young adulthood, and transformation into an award-winning poet and musician is haunting, unique, and visionary.
Minor Feelings by
A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness and the struggle to be human "Brilliant . . . To read this book is to become more human."--Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times * The Washington Post * NPR * Time * New Statesman * BuzzFeed * Esquire * The New York Public Library * Book Riot Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America. Part memoir and part cultural criticism, this collection is vulnerable, humorous, and provocative--and its relentless and riveting pursuit of vital questions around family and friendship, art and politics, identity and individuality, will change the way you think about our world. Binding these essays together is Hong's theory of "minor feelings." As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality--when you believe the lies you're told about your own racial identity. Minor feelings are not small, they're dissonant--and in their tension Hong finds the key to the questions that haunt her. With sly humor and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche--and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth. Praise for Minor Feelings "Hong begins her new book of essays with a bang. . . .The essays wander a variegated terrain of memoir, criticism and polemic, oscillating between smooth proclamations of certainty and twitches of self-doubt. . . . Minor Feelings is studded with moments [of] candor and dark humor shot through with glittering self-awareness."--The New York Times "Hong uses her own experiences as a jumping off point to examine race and emotion in the United States."--Newsweek (40 Must-Read Fiction and Nonfiction Books to Savor This Spring) "Powerful . . . [Hong] brings together memoiristic personal essay and reflection, historical accounts and modern reporting, and other works of art and writing, in order to amplify a multitude of voices and capture Asian America as a collection of contradictions. She does so with sharp wit and radical transparency."--Salon
Becoming Unbecoming by
This extraordinary graphic novel is a powerful denunciation of sexual violence against women. As seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl named Una, it takes place in northern England in 1977, as the Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer of prostitutes, is on the loose and creating panic among the townspeople. As the police struggle in their clumsy attempts to find the killer, and the headlines in the local paper become more urgent, a once self-confident Una teaches herself to "lower her gaze" in order to deflect attention from boys. After she is "slut-shamed" at school for having birth control pills, Una herself is the subject of violent acts for which she comes to blame herself. But as the police finally catch up with and identify the killer, Una grapples with the patterns of behaviour that led her to believe she was to blame. Becoming Unbecoming combines various styles, press clippings, photo-based illustrations, and splashes of colour to convey young Una's sense of confusion and rage, as well as sobering statistics on sexual violence against women. The book is a no-holds-barred indictment of sexual violence against women and the shame and blame of its victims that also celebrates the empowerment of those able to gain control over their selves and their bodies.
Pushout by
The "powerful" (Michelle Alexander) exploration--featured by The Atlantic, Essence, the Washington Post, New York magazine, NPR, and others--of the harsh and harmful experiences confronting Black girls in schools In a work that Lisa Delpit calls "imperative reading," Monique W. Morris (Black Stats, Too Beautiful for Words) chronicles the experiences of Black girls across the country whose intricate lives are misunderstood, highly judged--by teachers, administrators, and the justice system--and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish. Called "compelling" and "thought-provoking" by Kirkus Reviews, Pushout exposes a world of confined potential and supports the rising movement to challenge the policies, practices, and cultural illiteracy that push countless students out of school and into unhealthy, unstable, and often unsafe futures. Called a book "for everyone who cares about children" by the Washington Post, Morris's illumination of these critical issues is "timely and important" (Booklist) at a moment when Black girls are the fastest growing population in the juvenile justice system. Praised by voices as wide-ranging as Gloria Steinem and Roland Martin, and highlighted for the audiences of Elle and Jet right alongside those of EdWeek and the Leonard Lopate Show, Pushout is a book that "will stay with you long after you turn the final page" (Bookish).
Call Number: eBook
My Time among the Whites by
From the author ofMake Your Home Among Strangers, essays on being an "accidental" American--an incisive look at the edges of identity for a woman of color in a society centered on whiteness In this sharp and candid collection of essays, critically acclaimed writer and first-generation American Jennine Capó Crucet explores the condition of finding herself a stranger in the country where she was born. Raised in Miami and the daughter of Cuban refugees, Crucet examines the political and personal contours of American identity and the physical places where those contours find themselves smashed: be it a rodeo town in Nebraska, a university campus in upstate New York, or Disney World in Florida. Crucet illuminates how she came to see her exclusion from aspects of the theoretical American Dream, despite her family's attempts to fit in with white American culture--beginning with their ill-fated plan to name her after the winner of the Miss America pageant. In prose that is both fearless and slyly humorous,My Time Among the Whitesexamines the sometimes hopeful, sometimes deeply flawed ways in which many Americans have learned to adapt, exist, and--in the face of all signals saying otherwise--perhaps even thrive in a country that never imagined them here.
Sitting Pretty by
A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most. Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she longed for more stories that allowed disability to be complex and ordinary, uncomfortable and fine, painful and fulfilling. Writing about the rhythms and textures of what it means to live in a body that doesn't fit, Rebekah reflects on everything from the complications of kindness and charity, living both independently and dependently, experiencing intimacy, and how the pervasiveness of ableism in our everyday media directly translates to everyday life. Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. By exploring this truth in poignant and lyrical essays, Taussig illustrates the need for more stories and more voices to understand the diversity of humanity. Sitting Pretty challenges us as a society to be patient and vigilant, practical and imaginative, kind and relentless, as we set to work to write an entirely different story.
Hood Feminism by
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "One of the most important books of the current moment."--Time "A rousing call to action... It should be required reading for everyone."--Gabrielle Union, author of We're Going to Need More Wine "A brutally candid and unobstructed portrait of mainstream white feminism." --Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist A potent and electrifying critique of today's feminist movement announcing a fresh new voice in black feminism Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed.
Kid Gloves by
ANew York Times bestseller If you work hard enough, if you want it enough, if you're smart and talented and "good enough," you can do anything. Except get pregnant. Her whole life, Lucy Knisley wanted to be a mother. But when it was finally the perfect time, conceiving turned out to be harder than anything she'd ever attempted. Fertility problems were followed by miscarriages, and her eventual successful pregnancy plagued by health issues, up to a dramatic, near-death experience during labor and delivery. This moving, hilarious, and surprisingly informative memoir,Kid Gloves, not only follows Lucy's personal transition into motherhood but also illustrates the history and science of reproductive health from all angles, including curious facts and inspiring (and notorious) figures in medicine and midwifery. Whether you've got kids, want them, or want nothing to do with them, there's something in this graphic memoir to open your mind and heart.
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by
August 26, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote. And while suffrage has been a critical win for women's liberation around the world, the struggle for women's rights has been ongoing for thousands of years, across many cultures, and encompassing an enormous variety of issues. Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is a fun, fascinating, and full-color exploration of that important history, tracing its roots from antiquity to show how 21st-century feminism developed. Along the way, you'll meet a wide range of important historical figures and learn about many political movements, including suffrage, abolition, labor, LGBT liberation, the waves of feminism, and more.
Unmentionable by
Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era? Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there's arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn't question.) Unmentionable is your hilarious, illustrated, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood, giving you detailed advice on: What to wear Where to relieve yourself How to conceal your loathsome addiction to menstruating What to expect on your wedding night How to be the perfect Victorian wife Why masturbating will kill you And more! Irresistibly charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and featuring nearly 200 images from Victorian publications, Unmentionable will inspire a whole new level of respect for Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlet O'Hara, Jane Eyre, and all of our great, great grandmothers. (And it just might leave you feeling ecstatically grateful to live in an age of pants, super absorbency tampons, epidurals, anti-depressants, and not dying of the syphilis your husband brought home.)
Ask Me about My Uterus by
For any woman who has experienced illness, chronic pain, or endometriosis comes an inspiring memoir advocating for recognition of women's health issues In the fall of 2010, Abby Norman's strong dancer's body dropped forty pounds and gray hairs began to sprout from her temples. She was repeatedly hospitalized in excruciating pain, but the doctors insisted it was a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics. Unable to get out of bed, much less attend class, Norman dropped out of college and embarked on what would become a years-long journey to discover what was wrong with her. It wasn't until she took matters into her own hands -- securing a job in a hospital and educating herself over lunchtime reading in the medical library -- that she found an accurate diagnosis of endometriosis. In Ask Me About My Uterus, Norman describes what it was like to have her pain dismissed, to be told it was all in her head, only to be taken seriously when she was accompanied by a boyfriend who confirmed that her sexual performance was, indeed, compromised. Putting her own trials into a broader historical, sociocultural, and political context, Norman shows that women's bodies have long been the battleground of a never-ending war for power, control, medical knowledge, and truth. It's time to refute the belief that being a woman is a preexisting condition.
The Radium Girls by
A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller! "the glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still."--NPR Books For fans of Hidden Figures, comes the incredible true story of the women heroes who were exposed to radium in factories across the U.S. in the early 20th century, and their brave and groundbreaking battle to strengthen workers' rights, even as the fatal poison claimed their own lives... The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive -- until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come. Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by
In Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman examines the revolution of black intimate life that unfolded in Philadelphia and New York at the beginning of the twentieth century. Free love, common-law and transient marriages, serial partners, cohabitation outside of wedlock, queer relations, and single motherhood were among the sweeping changes that altered the character of everyday life and challenged traditional Victorian beliefs about courtship, love, and marriage. Hartman narrates the story of this radical social transformation against the grain of the prevailing century-old argument about the crisis of the black family. In wrestling with the question of what a free life is, many young black women created forms of intimacy and kinship that were indifferent to the dictates of respectability and outside the bounds of law. They cleaved to and cast off lovers, exchanged sex to subsist, and revised the meaning of marriage. Longing and desire fueled their experiments in how to live. They refused to labor like slaves or to accept degrading conditions of work. Beautifully written and deeply researched, Wayward Lives recreates the experience of young urban black women who desired an existence qualitatively different than the one that had been scripted for them--domestic service, second-class citizenship, and respectable poverty--and whose intimate revolution was apprehended as crime and pathology. For the first time, young black women are credited with shaping a cultural movement that transformed the urban landscape. Through a melding of history and literary imagination, Wayward Lives recovers their radical aspirations and insurgent desires.
The Six by
"Vivid." --The Guardian * "Engrossing." --Booklist * "Suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening." --Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures In this account of America's first women astronauts "Grush skillfully weaves a story that, at its heart, is about desire: not a nation's desire to conquer space, but the longing of six women to reach heights that were forbidden to them" (The New York Times). When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots--a group then made up exclusively of men--had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978--Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. In The Six, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows these brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic--and sometimes deeply sexist--media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training, and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit. Together, the Six helped build the tools that made the space program run. One of the group, Judy Resnik, sacrificed her life when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 46,000 feet. Everyone knows of Sally Ride's history-making first space ride, but each of the Six would make their mark. "A spirited group biography...it's hard not to feel awe for these women" (The Wall Street Journal).
The Girls Who Fought Crime by
For fans of Margot Lee Shetterley and Liza Mundy comes an inspiring feminist tale of a woman who dedicated her entire life to the New York Police Department, upending the patriarchy and the status quo for women working in public service. Corsets, Crime, and the Woman to Change Modern Policing Forever Mary "Mae" Foley was a force to be reckoned with. On one hip she held her makeup compact, on the other, her NYPD badge. When women were fighting for the vote, Mae was fighting crime in the heart of New York City - taking down rapists, boot-leggers, Nazis, and serial killers. One of the first women to be sworn into the police force, Mae not only fought crime in the city that never sleeps, but also did something much bigger - challenged the patriarchal systems that continually tried to shut her and other women down. The result of her efforts? A long career that helped over 2,000 women join her auxiliary police force, the 'Masher Squad.' Mae Foley is proof that women can do anything men can do, all while wearing corsets and the perfect shade of rouge. From renowned author, speaker, and retired U.S. Army Major General Mari K. Eder comes the exciting and superbly researched story of a trailblazer who courageously dedicated her life to public service.
In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl by
"What a woman! And what a fabulous life to unearth. Zelia Nuttall was incredibly smart, determined, a divorced single mother in a man's world, a great scholar, and an original thinker--yet today she's completely forgotten. Merilee Grindle has dug deep into the archives and uncovered her fascinating story."--Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature "Zelia Nuttall comes alive in all her fascinating contradictions in Merilee Grindle's capable hands...[This] biography challenges our modern smugness and reminds us that our roots as scholars are more complex than we often acknowledge."--Camilla Townsend, author of Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs The gripping story of a pioneering anthropologist whose exploration of Aztec cosmology, rediscovery of ancient texts, and passion for collecting helped shape our understanding of pre-Columbian Mexico. Where do human societies come from? The drive to answer this question took on a new urgency in the nineteenth century, when a generation of archaeologists began to look beyond the bible for the origins of different cultures and civilizations. A child of the San Francisco Gold Rush whose mother was born in Mexico City, Zelia Nuttall threw herself into the study of Aztec customs and cosmology, eager to use the tools of the emerging science of anthropology to prove that modern Mexico was built over the ruins of ancient civilizations. Proud, disciplined, as prickly as she was independent, Zelia Nuttall was the first person to accurately decode the Aztec calendar stone. An intrepid researcher, she found pre-Columbian texts lost in European archives and was skilled at making sense of their pictographic histories. Her work on the terra-cotta heads of Teotihuacán captured the attention of Frederic Putnam, who offered her a job at Harvard's Peabody Museum. Divorced and juggling motherhood and career, Nuttall chose to follow her own star, publishing her discoveries and collecting artifacts for US museums to make ends meet. From her beloved Casa Alvarado in Coyoacán, she became a vital bridge between Mexican and US anthropologists, connecting them against the backdrop of war and revolution. The first biography of Zelia Nuttall, In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl captures the appeal and contradictions that riddled the life of this trailblazing woman, who contributed so much to the new field of anthropology until a newly professionalized generation overshadowed her remarkable achievements and she became, in the end, an artifact in her own museum.
Let's Get Physical by
A captivating blend of reportage and personal narrative that explores the untold history of women's exercise culture--from jogging and Jazzercise to Jane Fonda--and how women have parlayed physical strength into other forms of power. For American women today, working out is as accepted as it is expected, fueling a multibillion-dollar fitness industrial complex. But it wasn't always this way. For much of the twentieth century, sweating was considered unladylike and girls grew up believing physical exertion would cause their uterus to literally fall out. It was only in the sixties that, thanks to a few forward-thinking fitness pioneers, women began to move en masse. In Let's Get Physical, journalist Danielle Friedman reveals the fascinating hidden history of contemporary women's fitness culture, chronicling in vivid, cinematic prose how exercise evolved from a beauty tool pitched almost exclusively as a way to "reduce" into one millions have harnessed as a path to mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Let's Get Physical reclaims these forgotten origin stories--and shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who led the way. Each chapter uncovers the birth of a fitness movement that laid the foundation for working out today: the radical post-war pitch for women to break a sweat in their living rooms, the invention of barre in the "Swinging Sixties," the promise of jogging as liberation in the seventies, the meteoric rise of aerobics and weight-training in the eighties, the explosion of yoga in the nineties, and the ongoing push for a more socially inclusive fitness culture--one that celebrates every body. Ultimately, it tells the story of how women discovered the joy of physical strength and competence--and how, by moving together to transform fitness from a privilege into a right, we can create a more powerful sisterhood.
What's the Score? by
Who is the first female athlete you admired? Were male and female athletes treated differently in your high school? Is there a natural limit to women's athletic ability? How has Title IX opened up opportunities for women athletes? Every semester since 1996, Bonnie Morris has encouraged students to confront questions like these in one of the most provocative college courses in America: Athletics and Gender, A History of Women's Sports. What's the Score?, Morris's energetic teaching memoir, is a peek inside that class and features a decades-long dialogue with student athletes about the greater opportunities for women--on the playing field, as coaches, and in sports media. From corsets to segregated schoolyards to the WNBA, we find women athletes the world over conquering unique barriers to success. What's the Score? is not only an insider's look at sports education but also an engaging guide to turning points in women's sports history that everyone should know.
The Red Menace by
In America, lipstick is the foundation of empires; it's a signature of identity; it's propaganda, self-expression, oppression, freedom, and rebellion. It's a multi-billion-dollar industry and one of our most iconic accessories of gender. This engaging and entertaining history of lipstick from the colonies to the present will give readers a new view of the little tube's big place in modern America from defining the middle class to building Fortune 500 businesses to being present at Stonewall and being engineered for space travel. Lipstick has served as both a witness and a catalyst to history; it went to war with women, it gave women of color previously unheard-of business opportunities, and was part of the development of celebrity and mass media. In the Twentieth Century alone, lipstick evolved from a beauty secret for a select few to a required essential for well turned-out women but also a mark of rock 'n' roll rebellion and a political statement. How has this mainstay of the makeup kit remained relevant for over a century? Beauty journalist Ilise S. Carter suggests that it's because the simple lipstick says a lot. From the provocative allure of a classic red lip to the powerful statement of drag, the American love affair with lipstick is linked to every aspect of our experience of gender, from venturing into the working world or running for the presidency. TheRed Menace will capture all of those dimensions, with a dishy dose of fabulosity that makes it a must-read for lipstick's fiercest disciples, its harshest critics, and everyone in between.
The Pocket by
A New York Times Best Art Book of 2019 "A riveting book . . . few stones are left unturned."--Roberta Smith's "Top Art Books of 2019," The New York Times This fascinating and enlightening study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women's everyday lives--from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen--and to explore their consumption practices, sociability, mobility, privacy, and identity. A wealth of evidence reveals unexpected facets of the past, bringing women's stories into intimate focus. "What particularly interests Burman and Fennetaux is the way in which women of all classes have historically used these tie-on pockets as a supplementary body part to help them negotiate their way through a world that was not built to suit them."--Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian "A brilliant book."--Ulinka Rublack, Times Literary Supplement
Excluded by
While many feminist and queer movements are designed to challenge sexism, they often simultaneously police gender and sexuality,sometimes just as fiercely as the straight, male-centric mainstream does. Among LGBTQ activists, there is a long history of lesbians and gay men dismissing bisexuals, transgender people, and other gender and sexual minorities. In each case, exclusion is based on the premise that certain ways of being gendered or sexual are more legitimate, natural, or righteous than others.As a trans woman, bisexual, and femme activist, Julia Serano has spent much of the last ten years challenging various forms of exclusion within feminist and queer/LGBTQ movements. In Excluded, she chronicles many of these instances of exclusion and argues that marginalizing others often stems from a handful of assumptions that are routinely made about gender and sexuality. These false assumptions infect theories, activism, organizations, and communities,and worse, they enable people to vigorously protest certain forms of sexism while simultaneously ignoring and even perpetuating others. Serano advocates for a new approach to fighting sexism that avoids these pitfalls and offers new ways of thinking about gender, sexuality, and sexism that foster inclusivity rather than exclusivity.
Females by
One of today's most original thinkers on gender offers a provocative take on the current feminist movement, exploring "desire as the force shaping our identifies, the paradoxes of liberation politics, and her own gender transition" (Bookforum). "[Females] is always smart, sometimes sincere, and unpredictable about when it will pinch your arm or clutch its nails around your heart." --Vice Everyone is female, and everyone hates it. Females is Andrea Long Chu's genre-defying investigation into sex and lies, desperate artists and reckless politics, the smothering embrace of gender and the punishing force of desire. Drawing inspiration from a forgotten play by Valerie Solanas--the woman who wrote the SCUM Manifesto and shot Andy Warhol--Chu aims her searing wit and surgical intuition at targets ranging from performance art to psychoanalysis, incels to porn. She even has a few barbs reserved for feminists like herself. Each step of the way, she defends the indefensible claim that femaleness is less a biological state and more a fatal existential condition that afflicts the entire human race--men, women, and everyone else. Or maybe she's just projecting. A thrilling new voice who has been credited with launching the "second wave" of trans studies, Chu shows readers how to write for your life, baring her innermost self with a morbid sense of humor and a mordant kind of hope.
The Unwomanly Face of War by
A long-awaited English translation of the groundbreaking oral history of women in World War II across Europe and Russia--from the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post * The Guardian * NPR * The Economist * Milwaukee Journal Sentinel * Kirkus Reviews For more than three decades, Svetlana Alexievich has been the memory and conscience of the twentieth century. When the Swedish Academy awarded her the Nobel Prize, it cited her invention of "a new kind of literary genre," describing her work as "a history of emotions . . . a history of the soul." In The Unwomanly Face of War, Alexievich chronicles the experiences of the Soviet women who fought on the front lines, on the home front, and in the occupied territories. These women--more than a million in total--were nurses and doctors, pilots, tank drivers, machine-gunners, and snipers. They battled alongside men, and yet, after the victory, their efforts and sacrifices were forgotten. Alexievich traveled thousands of miles and visited more than a hundred towns to record these women's stories. Together, this symphony of voices reveals a different aspect of the war--the everyday details of life in combat left out of the official histories. Translated by the renowned Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, The Unwomanly Face of War is a powerful and poignant account of the central conflict of the twentieth century, a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human side of war. THE WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time." "A landmark."--Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century "An astonishing book, harrowing and life-affirming . . . It deserves the widest possible readership."--Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train "Alexievich has gained probably the world's deepest, most eloquent understanding of the post-Soviet condition. . . . [She] has consistently chronicled that which has been intentionally forgotten."--Masha Gessen, National Book Award-winning author of The Future Is History
sleep
Understanding Sleep
March 14 is World Sleep Day
While most of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!
Mapping the Darkness by
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 BY THE NEW YORKER NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE SELECTION "A propulsive, utterly engrossing history... None of it is simple and all of it is captivating."--The New York Times "Mapping the Darkness offers two narratives at once: a sweeping journey of discovery about dreams, sleep and the terra incognita of unconsciousness; and a wake-up call about the dangers of chronic exhaustion. It's time, Mr. Miller tells us, to take our sleep back."--The Wall Street Journal From award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller comes the definitive story of the scientists who set out to answer two questions: "Why do we sleep?" and "How can we sleep better?" A century ago, sleep was considered a state of nothingness--even a primitive habit that we could learn to overcome. Then, an immigrant scientist and his assistant spent a month in the depths of a Kentucky cave, making nationwide headlines and thrusting sleep science to the forefront of our consciousness. In the 1920s, Nathaniel Kleitman founded the world's first dedicated sleep lab at the University of Chicago, where he subjected research participants (including himself) to a dizzying array of tests and tortures. But the tipping point came in 1938, when his cave experiment awakened the general public to the unknown--and vital--world of sleep. Kleitman went on to mentor the talented but troubled Eugene Aserinsky, whose discovery of REM sleep revealed the astonishing activity of the dreaming brain, and William Dement, a jazz-bass playing revolutionary who became known as the father of sleep medicine. Dement, in turn, mentored the brilliant maverick Mary Carskadon, who uncovered an epidemic of sleep deprivation among teenagers, and launched a global movement to fight it. Award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller weaves together science and history to tell the story of four outsider scientists who took sleep science from fringe discipline to mainstream obsession through spectacular experiments, technological innovation, and single-minded commitment. Readers will walk away with a comprehensive understanding of sleep and why it affects so much of our lives.
Hello Sleep by
A practical and compassionate guide to repairing your relationship with sleep For the twenty-five million Americans who struggle with insomnia, each night feels like a battle with their racing minds instead of a blissful surrender into sleep. Hello Sleep is a guide for the tired but wired people who just want sleep to be easy. Dr. Jade Wu, an internationally recognized behavioral sleep medicine specialist, walks you through the science of how the brain sleeps (or doesn't); shares stories from the clinic of real people's journeys to better sleep; and lays out a step-by-step program for overcoming insomnia and letting go of sleeping pills. Using her years of clinical expertise, she problem-solves your common pitfalls, soothes your anxieties, and tailors recommendations for your special sleep circumstances (e.g., pregnancy, menopause, chronic pain, depression, etc.). Hello Sleep empowers the sleepless with the latest knowledge and most effective tools, allowing them to trust themselves and their own sleep again. It will answer these burning questions and more: * Why can't I fall asleep even though I'm tired? How can I quiet my mind? * What should I do when I wake up at 2:00 A.M. and can't get back to sleep? * Should I nap? What can I do about my fatigue during the day? * How do I get off sleep medications safely and without rebound insomnia?
Sleep Soundly Every Night, Feel Fantastic Every Day by
If you have insomnia, always feel tired, or can't sleep because of a restless or snoring partner, help is here. Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Do you take a long time to get up and get going in the morning? Do you wake up feeling like you barely slept at all? If you or someone you love has problems sleeping, Dr. Robert S. Rosenberg will help you identify the issue and provide targeted solutions so you can start awakening refreshed and renewed immediately. Based on the most recent research and including real patient stories from his practice, Dr. Rosenberg will help you: Prevent and manage sleep disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, snoring, sleepwalking, and sleep eating Find relief from your symptoms with clinically tested options Benefit from new findings connecting PTSD and ADHD to sleep disorders Regain energy, reduce stress, and build the foundations for better health
The Sleep Solution by
With cutting-edge sleep science and time-tested techniques, The Sleep Solution will help anyone achieve healthy sleep and eliminate pills, pain, and fatigue. If you want to fix your sleep problems, Internet tips and tricks aren't going to do it for you. You need to really understand what's going on with your sleep--both what your problems are and how to solve them. The Sleep Solution is an exciting journey of sleep self-discovery and understanding that will help you custom design specific interventions to fit your lifestyle. Drawing on his twenty-four years of experience within the field, neurologist and sleep expert W. Chris Winter will help you... * Understand how sleep works and the ways in which food, light, and other activities act to help or hurt the process * Learn why sleeping pills are so often misunderstood and used incorrectly--and how you can achieve your best sleep without them * Incorporate sleep and napping into your life--whether you are a shift worker, student, or overcommitted parent * Think outside the box to better understand ways to treat a multitude of conditions--from insomnia to sleep apnea to restless leg syndrome and circadian sleep disorders * Wade through the ever-changing sea of sleep technology and understand its value as it relates to your own sleep struggles Dubbed the "Sleep Whisperer" by Arianna Huffington, Dr. Winter is an international expert on sleep and has helped more than 10,000 patients rest better at night, including countless professional athletes. Now, he's bringing his experiences out from under the covers--redefining what it means to have optimal sleep and get the ZZZs you really need... INCLUDES TIPS, TRICKS, EXERCISES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Nodding Off by
Sleep is vital to the way we learn, remember and forget, to how we feel about family and partners, our wellbeing, and our mental and physical health. It is essential for life itself. In Nodding Off, renowned sleep researcher Alice Gregory explores every aspect of sleep, from the different stages of sleep and how our sleeping patterns change throughout our lives, to what happens when things go wrong and getting some shut-eye becomes more of a trial than a pleasure. Using cutting-edge findings in the field, Gregory tackles the big questions, such as: - How do things that happen before we are even born affect our sleep? - What sleep problems should raise a red flag in children? - How do genes influence the way we sleep? - What are the consequences of sleep problems in the elderly? - Why are scientists turning to sleep disorders such as sleep paralysis to try to understand paranormal experiences? Most of us spend a large portion of our lives asleep without ever thinking about why we do this. Nodding Off lifts the lid on this mysterious and universal past time. It examines all of the biggest sleep secrets, and Professor Gregory provides solutions to some of the common sleep problems that people suffer throughout their lives.
Fast Asleep by
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Clever Gut Diet and "one of the world's leading journalists covering nutrition and health" (Dr. Valter Longo, director of the University of Southern California Longevity Institute) presents a science-based sleep program designed to improve brain function, support weight loss, boost your mood, and reduce stress. Getting a good night's sleep is everyone's daily goal. After all, it reduces your risk of depression, helps you fight chronic disease, improves your memory, and it just plain feels good. Yes, but if sleep can give us all these things and more, why is it that so many of us struggle to get the necessary seven to eight hours a night? In Fast Asleep, Dr. Michael Mosley brings together the latest, groundbreaking science to explain exactly why it is so important that we regularly get enough sleep. Prone to insomnia, he has taken part in numerous sleep experiments and tested every sleep remedy. Combining personal insight and in-depth research, he explains why so many of us struggle with sleep, what works and what doesn't, and shares his own myth-busting program to help you achieve a good night's rest. Filled with fascinating case studies, fifty delicious, sleep-promoting recipes, and more Fast Asleep is a complete resource that offers a range of tools for combating fatigue and tiredness. Simple, effective, and life-changing, this book explores the science of dreaming, explains why gut health and meal times matter, and reveals tips and tricks to help you not just to sleep better, but to reduce stress levels and feel happier and healthier in general.
The Mindful Way to a Good Night's Sleep by
Good sleep, including positive dreaming, is essential to good health. In this friendly guide to cultivating deep, restful sleep -- naturally -- mindfulness and dreamwork expert Tzivia Gover offers practical lifestyle advice, easy yoga poses, 10-minute meditations, simple breathing exercises, visualization and journaling activities, and lots of encouragement and inspiration. You'll learn how to set the stage for safe, productive dreaming, cultivate your dream recall, and learn to gain insight from your dreams. Gover also helps you create healthy bedtime and morning routines to ensure a restful night and refreshed, joyful living the next day.
Mindfulness for Insomnia by
Break the cycle of anxious thinking and rumination that keeps you up at night. With this much-needed guide, you'll learn to quiet your mind, relax your body, feel less tense, and finally get the sleep you need. Sleep plays a crucial role in our waking lives. While we sleep, our bodies are recharging with energy, damaged tissue is repaired, and our memories are stored. When we don't get enough sleep, we are tired, less positive, less motivated, less focused, and more likely to feel depressed. We may even experience more intense cravings for high-fat, sugar-rich foods. And yet, despite the myriad advantages of getting a good night's sleep, countless people suffer from chronic insomnia. If you're one of them, this book can help. In this guide, a trained mindfulness expert teams up with a behavioral sleep specialist to offer evidence-based meditations and an innovative four-week protocol to address the emotional stresses and anxieties that lie at the root of sleep issues. You'll learn practices grounded in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindful self-compassion (MSC), and guided mindfulness and acceptance for insomnia (GMATI) to alleviate the mental, emotional, and physical suffering caused by insomnia. You'll also learn to identify both internal and external factors that may be compromising your sleep, and develop a plan to address these issues. There is nothing we can do to "make" ourselves fall asleep. In many ways, this is why insomnia can be so maddening. But what we can do is help create the conditions necessary for healthy slumber. The mindfulness tools in this book will help you do exactly that.
Sleep Smarter by
When it comes to health, there is one criminally overlooked element: sleep. Good sleep helps you shed fat for good, stave off disease, stay productive, and improve virtually every function of your mind and body. That's what Shawn Stevenson learned when a degenerative bone disease crushed his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Like many of us, he gave up on his health and his body, until he decided there must be a better way. Through better sleep and optimized nutrition, Stevenson not only healed his body but also achieved fitness and business goals he never thought possible. In Sleep Smarter, Stevenson shares easy tips and tricks to discover the best sleep and best health of your life. With his 14-Day Sleep Makeover, you'll learn how to create the ideal sleep sanctuary, how to hack sunlight to regulate your circadian rhythms, which clinically proven sleep nutrients and supplements you need, and stress-reduction exercises and fitness tips to keep you mentally and physically sharp. Sleep Smarter is the ultimate guide to sleeping better, feeling refreshed, and achieving a healthier, happier life.
The Darkness Manifesto by
Named a Best Book of 2023 by Scientific American This timely and captivating look at the hidden impact of light pollution is "rich in revelation and insight...lyrical" (The Wall Street Journal) and urges us to cherish natural darkness for the sake of the environment, our own well-being, and all life on earth. How much light is too much light? Satellite pictures show our planet as a brightly glowing orb, and in our era of constant illumination, light pollution has become a major issue. The world's flora and fauna have evolved to operate in the natural cycle of day and night. But in the last 150 years, we have extended our day--and in doing so have forced out the inhabitants of the night and disrupted the circadian rhythms necessary to sustain all living things, including ourselves. In this "well-researched and surprisingly lyrical" (The New Statesman, UK) book, Swedish conservationist Johan Eklöf urges us to appreciate natural darkness, its creatures, and its unique benefits. He ponders the beauties of the night sky, traces the errant paths of light-drunk moths and the swift dives of keen-eyed owls, and shows us the bioluminescent creatures of the deepest oceans. As a devoted friend of the night, Eklöf reveals the startling domino effect of diminishing darkness: insects, dumbfounded by streetlamps, failing to reproduce; birds blinded and bewildered by artificial lights; and bats starving as they wait in vain for insects that only come out in the dark. For humans, light-induced sleep disturbances impact our hormones and weight, and can contribute to mental health problems like chronic stress and depression. The streetlamps, floodlights, and neon signs of cities are altering entire ecosystems, and scientists are only just beginning to understand their long-term effects. The light bulb--long the symbol of progress and development--needs to be turned off. "Urgent...vivid...eye-opening" (Publishers Weekly), and ultimately encouraging, The Darkness Manifesto outlines simple steps that we can take to benefit ourselves and the planet. In order to ensure a bright future, we must embrace the darkness.
Move the Body, Heal the Mind by
A noted neuroscientist reveals groundbreaking research on how fitness and exercise can combat mental health conditions such as anxiety, dementia, ADHD, and depression, and offers a plan for improving focus, creativity, and sleep. Jennifer Heisz shares paradigm-shifting research on how exercise affects the brain, finding that intervals of intense workouts, or even leisurely walks, help stop depression and dementia, lessen anxiety and ADHD, and encourage better sleep, creativity, and resilience. Physical inactivity is the greatest risk factor contributing to dementia and anxiety--it's as much a factor as genetics. In addition, exercise's anti-inflammatory properties make it the most effective treatment strategy for those who are depressed and don't respond to anti-depressants. The book focuses on overcoming inertia; using exercise to help fight addictions; how we can improve our memory with fitness even as we age; and, importantly, how exercise can help us sleep better, improve focus, and be more creative. Included are easy to use plans for unique aerobic and resistance workouts designed to strengthen the brain.
The Sleep Prescription by
"Vastly knowledgeable and genuinely brilliant . . . An easy yet most effective how-to guide on sleep." --Dr. Matthew Walker, New York Times bestselling author of Why We Sleep From renowned sleep scientist Dr. Aric Prather, a book that offers a simple yet powerful plan to improve your sleep in seven days We need sleep to survive. Sleep is as essential as food, water, and oxygen. So how can something that should be so instinctual and automatic be so hard? Dr. Prather runs one of the world's most successful sleep clinics and has cracked the code to help even the most restless of sleepers get a good night's rest. In The Sleep Prescription, Dr. Prather shares the powerful solutions that he uses to help his patients at the clinic achieve healing and restorative sleep. Going beyond the obvious solutions, Dr. Prather shares surprisingly simple yet deeply effective techniques that will help you lie back and let sleep work its magic. The seven-day prescription will lead you through these exercises: Day 1: Set Your (Internal) Clock Day 2: Ease Off the Gas Day 3: Energize--But Do It Right Day 4: Worry Early Day 5: You Are Not a Computer; You Can't Just Shut Down Day 6: (Re)Train Your Brain Day 7: Stay Up Late Over the course of seven days, this book will teach you how to get out of your own way, so that your body can do effortlessly what it was built to do: sleep well.
Rest Is Resistance by
***INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*** Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy. In this book, Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice. What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace -- feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit. In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us. Rest Is Resistance is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey's lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.
Sleep Reimagined by
Insomnia looks different for everyone. Whether it's caused by stress, a traumatic life event, or even a snoring partner, poor sleep can affect the quality of your waking life. But Dr. Pedram Navab wants readers to know that it's not a lost cause--falling asleep can be just as easy as waking up. With his cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I) program, paired with relatable case studies of different sleep disorders, readers are guided to new and improved sleep in as little as 4 weeks. In Sleep Reimagined, the 6-step CBT-I program teaches readers how to understand sleep, rewire their arousal system through therapeutic relaxation, practice sleep restriction and stimulus control, restructure attitudes towards sleep, use mindfulness intervention to continue cognitive components, and prevent insomnia relapse through planning. Both comprehensive and entertaining, this book is the perfect bedside companion to discover better sleep and better life.
The Power of the Downstate by
Leverage your built-in rhythms of Upstates and Downstates to enhance energy, sharpen thinking, balance moods, fuel fitness, and more. If you're like most people, the relentless daily grind of go-go-go, do-do-do, can run down your energy and deplete your resources. While most of us find our lives full of "Upstate" moments that rev up our stress engines, it doesn't have to be this way. World-renowned sleep researcher Sara C. Mednick, PhD, shows us how we can access the most replenishing and repairing aspects of sleep through activities and moments that happen during our day by diving into our "Downstate." Dr. Mednick shows that bringing ourselves back to the Downstate is critical for our health, well-being, and cognitive longevity. Drawing on her original findings--and those of others across many fields of medicine--Dr. Mednick creates a comprehensive picture of the Upstate/Downstate rhythms that orchestrate all of our bodies' vital systems, along with a novel theory that aging is caused by spending less and less time in Downstate activities. The Power of the Downstate offers practical, evidence-based insight into how we can all enable those systems to work together in better harmony. You'll learn: How our bodies and minds are guided by a natural Upstate/Downstate rhythm--and how our modern lifestyles disrupt these rhythms to our detriment; How our vital organs and systems benefit from spending more time in the Downstate - which decreases the risk for Alzheimer's disease, chronic illness, and early death; How we can activate the Downstate through rethinking how to breathe, eat, sleep and exercise; and The practical four-week Downstate RecoveryPlus Plan. Get ready to be more alert, productive, and cognitively sharp during the day, feel greater intimacy and affection, and enjoy consolidated, restorative sleep at night . . . not to mention expand your years of mental and physical vitality.
The Sleep-Deprived Teen by
Does your teen wake up exhausted? The Sleep-Deprived Teen is designed with solutions for your teen's poor sleep cycles. Lisa Lewis, journalist and parent of two teens, has packed this book with impressive facts and data detailing why your teen is tired and how you can help them sleep well.An Eye-Opening Parenting Guide for Better Teenage Sleep"In this timely book, Lisa L. Lewis underscores why sleep is so vital for adolescent well-being and resilience and offers detailed, actionable tools for bringing about change."-Arianna Huffington, founder & CEO of Thrive Global #1 New Release in Teen Health In The Sleep-Deprived Teen, parenting journalist Lisa L. Lewis provides parents with the roadmap for more (and better) sleep for their teens-and perhaps even for themselves. Pick up this actionable guide for parents of exhausted teens. Teenagers are tired, strapped for time, and often asked to wake up far earlier than they should due to school start times. In The Sleep-Deprived Teen, Lisa L. Lewis, who helped spark the first law in the nation requiring healthy school start times for adolescents, has written a reader-friendly book for parents who want to help their fatigued teens and tweens sleep well. Learn the science of why teenage sleep matters and how sleep changes during the teen years. Poor sleep affects mental health, athletic performance, and academic success. It contributes to adolescent depression, anxiety, and even drowsy driving. On the flip side, when teens are well-rested, they're happier, healthier, and more emotionally resilient. In The Sleep-Deprived Teen, you'll find: * The science of why sleep matters and how it changes during the teen years * A synthesis of the research, including tips and strategies to promote healthy sleep habits and help teens avoid poor sleep patterns * An essential primer on technology, and a look at how gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, and race and ethnicity can affect teenage sleep If you've read books like Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety, Generation Sleepless, or Inconvenient Sleep, then The Sleep-Deprived Teen is for you.
Your Time to Thrive by
This revolutionary guide to real change introduces microsteps--tiny, science-backed changes that will help you get your life back on track. ​Live the life you want, not the life you settle for. Helping people build healthy new habits that improve their lives is more important than ever. Arianna Huffington launched Thrive Global to do just that--Thrive's specific mission is to end the epidemic of stress and burnout and help individuals and companies unlock their greatest potential. Science continues to show that we don't have to sacrifice our well-being in order to succeed; in fact, it turns out that well-being is critical to peak performance. Learning to thrive means: Moving from awareness to action - from knowing what to do to actually doing it Embracing solutions that appeal to wisdom, wonder, intuition, reflection, and are steeped in science Taking the time to rest and recover in order to fuel and maximize productivity, both personal and professional Making the mindset shifts and habit changes that supercharge performance in ways that truly matter to us Eschewing trendy self-care fixes or the latest health fads, Your Time to Thrive is the revolutionary guide to living and working based on Microsteps--tiny, science-backed changes. By making them too-small-to fail, we can incorporate them into our daily lives right away, and begin building healthier ways of living and working. This book is a Microstep bible. With chapters dedicated to sleep, nutrition, movement, focus and prioritization, communication and relationships, unplugging and recharging, creativity and inspiration, and purpose/meaning, Your Time to Thrive shares practical, usable, research-supported mini-habits that will yield huge benefits and empower people to truly thrive in all parts of their lives.
The Rested Child by
A comprehensive guide to the varied sleep disorders that affect children from infancy to adolescence, many of which are commonly misdiagnosed, offering new wisdom to parents about how to ease their child's troubles. Sleep disorders in children are on the rise. Experts have pronounced sleeplessness a "hidden health crisis" for young people, with 10 percent of children presenting with diagnosable sleep disorders--but well over half are misdiagnosed. Every year, tens of thousands of children are treated for diseases such as diabetes, learning disorders, or chronic pain, when the real root cause of their ailment may actually be a sleep disorder for which they're not being treated. In this groundbreaking guide, neurologist and sleep expert Dr. Chris Winter identifies the signs and symptoms of the most common sleep disorders affecting children today, and he empowers parents and caregivers to understand the steps necessary to address and treat their children's sleep problems. From common issues such as too much screen time and night terrors, to narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and more, The Rested Child leaves no stone unturned. This book pulls back the curtain on the relationship between poor sleep quality and pediatric epidemics related to psychiatric health, rising obesity, ADD/ADHD, pain disorders, and other undiagnosed disorders of sleepiness and fatigue. Finally parents have a resource to help them uncover the root of their children's problems, and, more important, to provide the answers on how to help.
The Oracle of Night by
A groundbreaking history of the human mind told through our experience of dreams--from the earliest accounts to current scientific findings--and their essential role in the formation of who we are and the world we have made. "A resounding case for the mystery, beauty and cognitive importance of dreams." --The New York Times What is a dream? Why do we dream? How do our bodies and minds use them? These questions are the starting point for this unprecedented study of the role and significance of this phenomenon. An investigation on a grand scale, it encompasses literature, anthropology, religion, and science, articulating the essential place dreams occupy in human culture and how they functioned as the catalyst that compelled us to transform our earthly habitat into a human world. From the earliest cave paintings--where Sidarta Ribeiro locates a key to humankind's first dreams and how they contributed to our capacity to perceive past and future and our ability to conceive of the existence of souls and spirits--to today's cutting-edge scientific research, Ribeiro arrives at revolutionary conclusions about the role of dreams in human existence and evolution. He explores the advances that contemporary neuroscience, biochemistry, and psychology have made into the connections between sleep, dreams, and learning. He explains what dreams have taught us about the neural basis of memory and the transformation of memory in recall. And he makes clear that the earliest insight into dreams as oracular has been elucidated by contemporary research. Accessible, authoritative, and fascinating, The Oracle of Night gives us a wholly new way to understand this most basic of human experiences.
The Sleep Fix by
From renowned ABC News anchor/correspondent and former insomniac Diane Macedo, comes a practical, user-friendly guide to getting better sleep. The Sleep Fix flips the switch on common advice, illuminating the reporter's relentless search for how to get a good night's sleep and the surprising, scientific, and practical solutions she found along the way. Roughly thirty percent of the population is estimated to be living with insomnia, while many more unknowingly suffer from other sleep disorders. In The Sleep Fix, Macedo aims to change that with perspective-shifting research and easy-to-implement solutions based not just on science and experts, but also her own years-long struggle. As an early-morning reporter and overnight news anchor, Macedo learned the hard way how valuable sleep is, and how it affects everything from our heart to our brain to our immune system. The longer Macedo struggled, the more her health deteriorated. Desperate, she tried standard sleep tip after standard sleep tip, but nothing worked - instead, it made her worse. Finally, after developing a tolerance to sleeping pills, Macedo decided to attack the problem as a journalist, interviewing sleep experts from all over the world to get to the bottom of what really keeps us from sleeping--and the various ways to fix it. As Macedo explains, the solution to catching zzz's isn't as simple as giving up caffeine, or putting away your phone before bed. With her down-to-earth explanations and humor, she instead teaches us how to: * Understand sleep biology * Identify sleep obstacles * Flag sleep myths and separate fact from fiction * Try counterintuitive approaches * Shift our mindset Most importantly, Macedo -- a busy, working mom -- teaches us how to adjust and fit these solutions into our everyday lives. Offering expert wisdom, cutting-edge research, intimate sleep stories from public figures, and actionable advice, The Sleep Fix is the tell-it-like-it-is guide this sleep-deprived world has been waiting for.
When Brains Dream by
Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind, and as confounding and exciting today as when nineteenth-century scientists first attempted to unravel them. Why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? When Brains Dream addresses these core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field. Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers, it debunks common myths that we only dream in REM sleep, for example--while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming. Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold bring together state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings to propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP--Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities. By detailing this model's workings, they help readers understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream reveals recent discoveries about the sleeping brain and the many ways in which dreams are psychologically, and neurologically, meaningful experiences; explores a host of dream-related disorders; and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Making an eloquent and engaging case for why the human brain needs to dream, When Brains Dream offers compelling answers to age-old questions about the mysteries of sleep.
Nothing Much Happens by
Soothing stories to help you fall and stay asleep, based on the popular podcast Busy minds need a place to rest. Whether you find yourself struggling to sleep, awake in the middle of the night, or even just anxious as you move through the day, in Nothing Much Happens, Kathryn Nicolai offers a healthy way to ease the mind before bed: through the timeless appeal of classic bedtime stories. Already beloved by millions of podcast listeners, the stories in Nothing Much Happens explore and expose small sweet moments of joy and relaxation: Sneaking lilacs from an abandoned farm in the spring. Watching fireflies from the deck in the summer. Visiting the local cider mill in the autumn. Watching the tree lighting in the park with friends in the winter. You'll also find sixteen new stories never before featured on the podcast, along with whimsical illustrations, recipes, and meditations. Using her decades of experience as a meditation and yoga teacher, Kathryn Nicolai creates a world for you to slip into, one rich in sensory experience that quietly teaches mindfulness and self-compassion, soothes frayed nerves, and builds solid habits for nurturing sleep. A PENGUIN LIFE TITLE
What We Did in Bed by
Pulling back the covers on the fascinating, yet often forgotten, history of the bed "If you thought that your bed was only good for sleeping in, having sex in, or dying in, then this book will disabuse you--in fact, it's so entertaining, it will keep you awake long into the night."--Paul Chrystal, author of In Bed with the Ancient Greeks and In Bed with the Romans Louis XIV ruled France from his bedchamber. Winston Churchill governed Britain from his during World War II. Travelers routinely used to bed down with complete strangers, and whole families shared beds in many preindustrial households. Beds were expensive items--and often for show. Tutankhamun was buried on a golden bed, wealthy Greeks were sent to the afterlife on dining beds, and deceased middle-class Victorians were propped up on a bed in the parlor. In this sweeping social history that covers the past seventy thousand years, Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani look at the endlessly varied role of the bed through time. This was a place for sex, death, childbirth, storytelling, and sociability as well as sleeping. But who did what with whom, why, and how could vary incredibly depending on the time and place. It is only in the modern era that the bed has transformed into a private, hidden zone, and its rich social history has largely been forgotten.
Sleepyhead by
A narcoleptic's tireless journey through the neuroscience of disordered sleep Whether it's a bout of bad jet lag or a stress-induced all-nighter, we've all suffered from nights that left us feeling less than well-rested. But for some people, getting a bad night's sleep isn't just an inconvenience: it's a nightmare. In Sleepyhead, science writer Henry Nicholls uses his own experience with chronic narcolepsy as a gateway to better understanding the cryptic, curious, and relatively uncharted world of sleep disorders. We meet insomniacs who can't get any sleep, narcoleptics who can't control when they sleep, and sleep apnea victims who nearly suffocate in their sleep. We learn the underlying difference between morning larks and night owls; why our sleeping habits shift as we grow older; and the evolutionary significance of REM sleep and dreaming. Charming, eye-opening, and deeply humanizing, Sleepyhead will help us all uncover the secrets of a good night's sleep.
Why We Dream by
A fresh, revelatory foray into the new science of dreams--how they work, what they're for, and how we can reap the benefits of our own nocturnal life While on a research trip in Peru, science journalist Alice Robb became hooked on lucid dreaming--the uncanny phenomenon in which a sleeping person can realize that they're dreaming and even control the dreamed experience. Finding these forays both puzzling and exhilarating, Robb dug deeper into the science of dreams at an extremely opportune moment: just as researchers began to understand why dreams exist. They aren't just random events; they have clear purposes. They help us learn and even overcome psychic trauma. Robb draws on fresh and forgotten research, as well as her experience and that of other dream experts, to show why dreams are vital to our emotional and physical health. She explains how we can remember our dreams better--and why we should. She traces the intricate links between dreaming and creativity, and even offers advice on how we can relish the intense adventure of lucid dreaming for ourselves. Why We Dream is a clear-eyed, cutting-edge examination of the meaning and purpose of our nightly visions and a guide to changing our dream lives--and making our waking lives richer, healthier, and happier.
The Circadian Code by
When we eat may be as important as what we eat. Like most people, you probably wake up, get hungry for meals and doze off in bed around the same time every day. If you've ever experienced jet lag or pulled an all-nighter, you know that this schedule can easily be thrown off kilter. But for some people, that imbalance--difficulty sleeping at night, hunger at odd times, or sudden fatigue at noon--is a constant. If you're one of those people, Dr. Satchin Panda, one of the leading researchers on circadian rhythms, has a plan to reset your body clock. Beginning with an in-depth explanation of the circadian clock--why it's important, how it works, and how to know it isn't working--The Circadian Code outlines lifestyle changes to make to get back on track. It's a concrete plan to enhance weight loss, improve sleep, optimize exercise, and manage technology so that it doesn't interfere with your body's natural rhythm. Dr. Panda's life changing methods show you how to prevent and reverse ailments like diabetes, cancer, and dementia, as well as microbiome conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and irritable bowel disease.
Why We Sleep by
"Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book...Walker taught me a lot about this basic activity that every person on Earth needs. I suspect his book will do the same for you." --Bill Gates A New York Times bestseller and international sensation, this "stimulating and important book" (Financial Times) is a fascinating dive into the purpose and power of slumber. With two appearances on CBS This Morning and Fresh Air's most popular interview of 2017, Matthew Walker has made abundantly clear that sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when it is absent. Compared to the other basic drives in life--eating, drinking, and reproducing--the purpose of sleep remains more elusive. Within the brain, sleep enriches a diversity of functions, including our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge, inspiring creativity. In this "compelling and utterly convincing" (The Sunday Times) book, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker provides a revolutionary exploration of sleep, examining how it affects every aspect of our physical and mental well-being. Charting the most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and marshalling his decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood and energy levels, regulate hormones, prevent cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes, slow the effects of aging, and increase longevity. He also provides actionable steps towards getting a better night's sleep every night. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book. Written with the precision of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Sherwin Nuland, it is "recommended for night-table reading in the most pragmatic sense" (The New York Times Book Review).
The One-Week Insomia Cure by
With over a decade of pioneering research and clinical practice in sleep disorder management, The Insomnia Cure provides a fast and long-lasting approach to identifying and managing insomnia and other sleep disorders. To maximise treatment success and prevent relapse, only the most effective elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia and Interpersonal Therapy and Mindfulness are used to cure sleep problems in just one week. Find out how to- Understand and assess your sleep problem Cure insomnia in one week Manage sleep apnea, snoring, restless legs and much more
The Mystery of Sleep by
An authoritative and accessible guide to what happens when we shut our eyes at night We spend a third of our lives in bed, but how much do we really understand about how sleep affects us? In the past forty years, scientists have discovered that our sleep (or lack of it) can affect nearly every aspect of our waking lives. Poor sleep could be a sign of a disease, the result of a vitamin or iron deficiency, or the cause of numerous other problems, both sleeping and waking. Yet many people, even medical personnel, are unaware of the dangers of poor sleep. Enter Dr. Meir Kryger, a world authority on the science of sleep, with a comprehensive guide to the mysteries of slumber that combines detailed case studies, helpful tables, illustrations, and pragmatic advice. Everyone needs a good night's sleep, and many of us will experience some difficulty sleeping or staying awake over the course of our lifetimes (or know someone who does). Kryger's comprehensive text is a much-needed resource for insomniacs; for those who snore, can't stay awake, or experience disturbing dreams; and for the simply curious. Uniquely wide ranging, The Mystery of Sleep is more than a handbook; it is a guide to the world of sleep and the mysterious disorders that affect it.
The Sleep Revolution by
Co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post Arianna Huffington shows how our cultural dismissal of sleep as time wasted compromises our health and our decision-making and undermines our work lives, our personal lives--and even our sex lives in this New York Times bestseller. We are in the midst of a sleep deprivation crisis, with profound consequences to our health, our job performance, our relationships and our happiness. What we need is nothing short of a sleep revolution: only by renewing our relationship with sleep can we take back control of our lives. In The Sleep Revolution, Arianna explores all the latest science on what exactly is going on while we sleep and dream. She takes on the sleeping pill industry, and all the ways our addiction to technology disrupts our sleep. She also offers a range of recommendations and tips from leading scientists on how we can get better and more restorative sleep, and harness its incredible power. The result is a sweeping, scientifically rigorous, and deeply personal exploration of sleep from all angles, from the history of sleep, to the role of dreams in our lives, to the consequences of sleep deprivation, and the new golden age of sleep science that reveals the vital role sleep plays in our every waking moment and every aspect of our health--from weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease to cancer and Alzheimer's. In today's fast-paced, always-connected, perpetually-harried and sleep-deprived world, our need for a good night's sleep is more important--and elusive--than ever. The Sleep Revolution both sounds the alarm on our worldwide sleep crisis and provides a detailed road map to the great sleep awakening that can help transform our lives, our communities, and our world.
Rest by
"Rest is such a valuable book. If work is our national religion, Pang is the philosopher reintegrating our bifurcated selves." ---Arianna Huffington, New York Times Book Review Overwork is the new normal. Rest is something to do when the important things are done--but they are never done. Looking at different forms of rest, from sleep to vacation, Silicon Valley futurist and business consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang dispels the myth that the harder we work the better the outcome. He combines rigorous scientific research with a rich array of examples of writers, painters, and thinkers--from Darwin to Stephen King--to challenge our tendency to see work and relaxation as antithetical. "Deliberate rest," as Pang calls it, is the true key to productivity, and will give us more energy, sharper ideas, and a better life. Rest offers a roadmap to rediscovering the importance of rest in our lives, and a convincing argument that we need to relax more if we actually want to get more done.
The Good Sleeper by
A refreshingly straightforward method for training infants to become great sleepers for life, inspired by clinical psychologist Janet Kennedy's popular psychotherapy practice, NYC Sleep Doctor Cry it out or co-sleep? Bassinet or swing? White noise machine or Bach? How many hours anyway? For something so important, there's too much conflicting information about how best to get your baby to sleep through the night and nap successfully during the day. This book is a straightforward, no-nonsense answer to one of the biggest challenges new parents face when they welcome a brand new baby home. This book is written for exhausted parents, giving them immediate access to the information they need. Reassuring and easy to understand, Dr. Kennedy addresses head-on the fears and misinformation about the long-term effects of crying and takes a bold stand on controversial issues such as co-sleeping and attachment parenting. With polarizing figures and techniques dominating the marketplace--and spawning misinformation across the internet--Dr. Kennedy's methods and practices create an extensively researched and parent-tested approach to sleep training that takes both babies' and parents' needs into account to deliver good nights and days of sleep, and no small dose of peace of mind. The Good Sleeper is a practical, empowering--and even entertaining--guide to help parents understand infant sleep. This research-based book will teach parents the basics of sleep science, determine how and when to intervene, and provide tools to solve even the most seemingly impossible sleep problems.
The Secret Life of Sleep by
Unlock the astonishing facts, myths, and benefits of one of the most endangered human resources--sleep. It has become increasingly clear that our sleep shapes who we are as much as, if not more than, we shape it. While most sleep research hasn't ventured far beyond research labs and treatment clinics, The Secret Life of Sleep taps into the enormous reservoir of human experiences to illuminate the complexities of a world where sleep has become a dwindling resource. With a sense of infectious curiosity, award winning author Kat Duff mixes cutting-edge research with insightful narratives, surprising insights, and timely questions to help us better understand what we're losing before it's too late. The Secret Life of Sleep tackles the full breadth of what sleep means to people the world over. Embark on an exploration of what lies behind and beyond our eyelids when we surrender to the secret life of sleep.
The Secret World of Sleep by
In recent years neuroscientists have uncovered the countless ways our brain trips us up in day-to-day life, from its propensity toward irrational thought to how our intuitions deceive us. The latest research on sleep, however, points in the opposite direction. Where old wives tales have long advised to "sleep on a problem," today scientists are discovering the truth behind these folk sayings,and how the busy brain radically improves our minds through sleep and dreams. InThe Secret World of Sleep, neuroscientist Penny Lewis explores the latest research intothe nighttime brain to understand the real benefits of sleep. She shows how, while our body rests, the brain practices tasks it learned during the day, replays traumatic events to mollify them, and forges connections between distant concepts. By understanding the roles that the nocturnal brain plays in our waking life, we can improve the relationship between the two, and even boost creativity and become smarter. This is a fascinating exploration of one of the most surprising corners of neuroscience that shows how science may be able to harness the power of sleep to improve learning, health, and more.
local
Local History & Culture
Beautiful Swift Fox by
The American Southwest has assumed the status of a cultural icon over the last few decades, and one of the writers who helped it to do so was Erna Fergusson, named by the Hopis Beautiful Swift Fox. An Anglo American whose travel writing featured the multi-ethnicity of her region, she popularized the culture and landscapes of her native New Mexico and its surrounding states in a range of writing that prefigured the genre-defying art that has come to be called the New Journalism.Much has been written about New Mexico's remarkable Fergusson family, especially brother Harvey and his novels. But Erna Fergusson's literary career has been largely overlooked. An iconoclast at the forefront of the Southwest Renaissance movement, Erna gained a wide reputation beginning in the 1930s for her "written versions of the Southwest," which embraced the complexities of regional culture and sympathetically and intelligently portrayed the Indian and Mexican influences.Distinguished Southwestern writer Robert Franklin Gish assesses Fergussons's literary contributions and unlocks the inner workings of the prose stylist who operated at the interstices of genres. With his postmodern reappraisal of the creative nonfiction forms she used, Gish prompts readers to reconsider how they view the art of nonfiction writing. Gish argues persuasively that Fergusson's identity as a native New Mexican and the region's singular landscape informed the attitudes and values present in her art. He explores the ways her entrepreneurial stint as a New Mexico tour guide during the 1920s and 1930s shaped the organizational strategies for her writing. He considers thoughtfully her various forms of writing and how she used travelogue, journalistic report, popular history, and persuasive essay to elevate the Southwest to prominence. Gish shows her writing as highly evocative, descriptive, and metaphorical, defying the conventions of the nonfiction forms she used and paving the way for America's school of New Journalism.Beautiful Swift Fox is not strictly biography; nor does it, in a traditional sense, seek to explicate a body of work. Rather, like its subject, it bridges genres, offering a meditation on one Southwestern writer's sense of place.
Jerks in New Mexico History by
Each volume in this series features approximately fifteen short biographies of notorious bad guys, perpetrators of mischief, visionary if misunderstood thinkers, and other colorful antiheroes from the history of a given state. The villainous, the misguide
New Mexico Historical Chronology by
The three-volume series -- New Mexico Historical Biographies, New Mexico Historical Encyclopedia, and New Mexico Historical Chronology -- puts New Mexico's history and locations all in one place, providing over 1,500 historical biographies, brief description of over 700 events and places, and a complete chronology of the history of the Land of Enchantment. These volumes give a historical look at New Mexico -- what is written about New Mexico and what events and locations played a part in its history. They are intended to show that New Mexico history is original, exciting, and interesting. Everyone interested in the cast of characters who gave New Mexico and the rest of our high-dry Western Mountain country it's different character will want to add these to their library. They are the books we have been hoping Don Bullis would write and they're even better than we expected.--Tony Hillerman, noted author This volume will be the starting place for many people seeking to make the acquaintance of New Mexico of yesteryear. The concise entries provide a surprising amount of information, and the author has included several sources for his entries that are perfect jumping-off spots for further research. I must confess that in reading this book I met a number of characters I had not encountered previously. I am almost certain everyone who reads it will learn something new about New Mexico history and enjoy immensely themselves in the bargain.--Rick Hendricks, New Mexico State Historian These volumes are a home-run for Bullis and the history of New Mexico.--Round-Up Magazine, Western Writers of America This comprehensive encyclopedia of New Mexico history will prove to be invaluable to historians, history writers, and readers of all sorts. More than just short facts and biographies, it offers great reading for anyone interested in New Mexico history. One can turn to any page and find a great story, and it will be a rare reader or historian who can claim to have already known all that this tome includes.--Mike Stevenson, Past President, Historical Society of New Mexico These books will be a welcome first-step reference tool for students of New Mexico history.--New Mexico Magazine Don Bullis has written the reference books every student of New Mexico history has hoped for, but none has had the time, energy, and devotion to create. As with all truly useful books, these volumes will prove their value over many years by their cracked spines, well-worn pages, and lack of settled dust on any part of their exteriors!--Richard Melzer, Past President, Historical Society of New Mexico Eclectic, opinionated, and hugely readable, these are a great big kid-in-a-candy-store of a book in which you are guaranteed to find lots and lots of toothsome treats. Always interesting and frequently surprising, Bullis' books will doubtless evolve into an indispensable source for readers and researchers alike.--Fred Nolan, noted historian
Historic Movie Theatres of New Mexico by
New Mexico's theatrical ties span over one hundred years. The Fountain Theatre, once a Civil War hospital and headquarters, produced plays, opera and vaudeville performances until 1929, when the venue started airing talkies. Today, it holds the title of oldest operating theatre in New Mexico. Albuquerque drive-in attendees enjoyed personal screens for each car at the Circle Autoscope. And Rio Grande Theater operated for over seventy years before showing its final screening of U.S. Marshals in 1998. Author Jeff Berg details the Land of Enchantment's iconic movie houses.
Ernie Pyle in the American Southwest by
Ernie Pyle ranks with Richard Harding Davis, John Reed and Edward R. Murrow as one of the greatest war correspondents in American history. But he was different from all the correspondents who went before him or followed him in the combat zones of the world. While the others reported on the big picture of troop movements and massive battles, Pyle wrote about the fighting soldier and his plight on the front lines. It was said that Pyle's daily columns gave nothing more and nothing less than a worm's eye view of World War II. Richard Melzer does for Ernie Pyle what Ernie Pyle did for thousands of average G.I.s overseas: he describes Pyle's joys and struggles from Ernie's perspective, in candid, straightforward terms. The result is a focused biography, rich in detail and broad in appeal, just as Ernie would have liked it. "Book News" reported: "A well-written and researched slice of the famous war correspondent's peripatetic life." * * * * Richard Melzer is a professor of history at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus. He is an award-winning author of many books and articles about New Mexico, including two grade school textbooks for New Mexico's 2012 centennial celebration of statehood. Sunstone Press has published three of his previous books, including "Buried Treasures, Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History," "Breakdown: How the Secret of the Atomic Bomb was Stolen during World War II," and "When We Were Young in the West: True Stories of Childhood."
Nuclear New Mexico by
The mountains, valleys, forests, and sands of 1940s New Mexico served as a picturesque backdrop to the dawn of the Atomic Age, the land's natural beauty coexisting with secretive, nuclear development. Today, nuclear tourists and nature tourists travel a shared path through the state as the history of the bomb is commemorated at official sites, often alongside monuments to natural preservation: Trinity Site, bordered by the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve; Los Alamos, wedged between Valles Caldera and Bandelier National Monument; and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, across from Carlsbad Caverns. More than just a glimpse into the history of the atomic bomb and the tourism it spawned within New Mexico, Nuclear New Mexico also examines the impact of nuclear testing within the rise of environmentalism. As readers explore New Mexico's landscape and its history, they will recognize familiar uncertainties and concerns about their own special places on the planet as societies adapt to rapidly altered landscapes.
A Land Apart by
Winner, Spur Award for Best Contemporary Nonfiction (Western Writers of America) A Land Apart is not just a cultural history of the modern Southwest--it is a complete rethinking and recentering of the key players and primary events marking the Southwest in the twentieth century. Historian Flannery Burke emphasizes how indigenous, Hispanic, and other non-white people negotiated their rightful place in the Southwest. Readers visit the region's top tourist attractions and find out how they got there, listen to the debates of Native people as they sought to establish independence for themselves in the modern United States, and ponder the significance of the U.S.-Mexico border in a place that used to be Mexico. Burke emphasizes policy over politicians, communities over individuals, and stories over simple narratives. Burke argues that the Southwest's reputation as a region on the margins of the nation has caused many of its problems in the twentieth century. She proposes that, as they consider the future, Americans should view New Mexico and Arizona as close neighbors rather than distant siblings, pay attention to the region's history as Mexican and indigenous space, bear witness to the area's inequalities, and listen to the Southwest's stories. Burke explains that two core parts of southwestern history are the development of the nuclear bomb and subsequent uranium mining, and she maintains that these are not merely a critical facet in the history of World War II and the militarization of the American West but central to an understanding of the region's energy future, its environmental health, and southwesterners' conception of home. Burke masterfully crafts an engaging and accessible history that will interest historians and lay readers alike. It is for anyone interested in using the past to understand the present and the future of not only the region but the nation as a whole.
Roadside New Mexico by
Through New Mexico's Official Scenic Historic Markers we learn about the people, the geological features, and the historical events that have made the Land of Enchantment a place unlike any other. An index to our history, these markers tell an incredible story about our cultures and origins. This revised and expanded edition of Roadside New Mexico provides additional information about these sites and includes approximately one hundred new markers, sixty-five of which document the contribution of women to the history of New Mexico. Now structured alphabetically for easier identification, each essay also offers suggestions of similar Historic Markers to help readers explore each topic further. In addition, Pike includes entries on "Ghost Markers"--those sites missing from the road that still impart significant historical lessons. Roadside New Mexico delivers a useful companion for travelers who want to understand more about the landscapes and inhabitants of the state.
The Pueblo Revolt and the Mythology of Conquest by
In a groundbreaking book that challenges familiar narratives of discontinuity, disease-based demographic collapse, and acculturation, Michael V. Wilcox upends many deeply held assumptions about native peoples in North America. His provocative book poses the question, What if we attempted to explain their presence in contemporary society five hundred years after Columbus instead of their disappearance or marginalization? Wilcox looks in particular at the 1680 Pueblo Revolt in colonial New Mexico, the most successful indigenous rebellion in the Americas, as a case study for dismantling the mythology of the perpetually vanishing Indian. Bringing recent archaeological findings to bear on traditional historical accounts, Wilcox suggests that a more profitable direction for understanding the history of Native cultures should involve analyses of issues such as violence, slavery, and the creative responses they generated.
Hoe, Heaven, and Hell by
When Nasario García was a boy in Ojo del Padre, a village in the Rio Puerco Valley northwest of Albuquerque, he grew up the way rural New Mexicans had for generations. His parents built their own adobe house, raised their own food, hauled their water from the river, and brought up their children to respect the old ways. In this account of his boyhood García writes unforgettably about his family's village life, telling story after story, all of them true, and fascinating everyone interested in New Mexico history and culture.
State Fair!: The Biggest Show in New Mexico by
Fairs -- New Mexico.
Show similar items
Agricultural exhibitions -- New Mexico.
Show similar items
Albuquerque (N.M.) -- Social life and customs.
Albuquerque (N.M.) -- History.
Harvey Houses of New Mexico by
The Santa Fe Line and the famous Fred Harvey restaurants forever changed New Mexico and the Southwest, bringing commerce, culture and opportunity to a desolate frontier. The first Harvey Girls ever hired staffed the Raton location. In a departure from the ubiquitous black and white uniform immortalized by Judy Garland in 1946's Harvey Girls, many of New Mexico's Harvey Girls wore colorful dresses reflective of local culture. In Albuquerque, the Harvey-managed Alvarado Hotel doubled as a museum for carefully curated native art. Join author Rosa Walston Latimer and discover New Mexico's unique history of hospitality the "Fred Harvey way."
Albuquerque Then and Now by
Part frontier town, part cosmopolitan city, Albuquerque has a proud heritage more than 300 years in the making. Named to honor a Spanish Duke, Albuquerque is New Mexico's largest city and the new star of the best-selling Then and Now series. * Albuquerque has been home to Navajo Indians, a U.S. Army outpost during the Mexican-American war, a thriving wool and lumber center, and a key stop on the Atlantic-Pacific railroad line. * Side-by-side then-and-now photographs showcase landmarks like Kistler's department store (demolished to make way for new construction), the Old Bernalillo County Courthouse (rumored to be haunted), and the beautiful California Mission-style Alvarado Hotel, considered the finest railroad hotel of its time (it had electricity!). * Images of San Felipe de Neri Church, the first building erected in the settlement, show how much Albuquerque has changed and how much it has stayed the same. The original adobe chapel has been enlarged and rebuilt many times, but its thick adobe walls remain. * From Old Town across the tracks to New Town, you'll discover a thriving, modern city filled with remarkable architecture and culture.
New Mexico Baseball by
This work traces New Mexican baseball from its beginnings in the West of Billy the Kid and Geronimo to today's modern game. Set against the background of the state's remarkable beauty and many cultures are stories of teams of miners, Native Americans, Hispanos, bomber pilots, outlawed major leaguers, prisoners, record setters and others. From the territory's earliest base ballists to today's AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, baseball has flourished on the high desert diamonds of the 47th state.
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta by
From its humble beginning in 1972 when 13 hot-air balloons ascended from an Albuquerque shopping center parking lot to a stunning annual gathering of 500-plus aeronauts, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta lives on as the most-photographed air show on the planet. As you page through this book, imagine yourself going along for the ride and soaring to new heights. Or if you prefer to keep your feet on the ground, imagine yourself strolling among hundreds of swaying giants, seemingly lost in a dizzying kaleidoscope of color. Join in the camaraderie that draws pilots and fans to Albuquerque from all over the world. You will find yourself mesmerized by the Balloon Fiesta's signature events and its spirited competition among hot-air balloon pilots. As an added attraction, step back in time to when hydrogen-gas balloons once graced Albuquerque skies and enjoy the fascinating world of silent flight, the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race.
Route 66 in New Mexico by
New Mexico is "The Land of Enchantment," offering a fascinating blend of Native American, Spanish Colonial, and Western American cultures. The travelers from the East knew they had arrived in the great Southwest when they entered New Mexico--the towns along Route 66 were ablaze in neon, and the motels lured travelers with Western themes, Pueblo Revival architecture, and Native American trading posts. An adventure still awaits the traveler today who takes the time to exit I-40 and leave the franchised blandness behind. The neon still flickers at the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, on Central Avenue in Albuquerque, and at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup. The "Fat Man" still smiles at Joseph's Bar and Grill in Santa Rosa. The stories behind those landmarks are here, as well as the stories behind establishments that are lost forever or slowly crumbling to dust among the tumbleweeds.
New Mexico Art Through Time by
This book considers 250 works of art from across a vast timeline of 14,000 years, expanding the definition of what constitutes art to include aestheticized cultural objects extending back to the earliest worked points of the Paleo-Indian Clovis people. The transition from these early works to modern and contemporary art reflects changing economic, ethnic, ideological, religious, and cultural perspectives, while considering the diversity, aesthetic complexity, and cultural breadth that developed in New Mexico and the greater Southwest. The art in this lavishly illustrated publication includes pre-European Native American pottery, baskets, and weavings; Hispanic santero art highlighting religious bultos and retablos; and twentieth-century artists, many of whom helped to shape the canon of modern and contemporary art. Examples are drawn from both fine art and anthropology collections and include works by the luminaries of twentieth-century art, including the Santa Fe and Taos colony artists, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Richard Diebenkorn, Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman, Fritz Scholder, and many more.
The New Mexico Farm Table Cookbook by
Long before eating "farm to table" was de rigeur, New Mexico's small farms and ranches provided its families and communities with homegrown vegetables, fruit, milk, meat, and eggs. The state's traditional cuisine, a mixture of Indian, Spanish, and Mexican flavors, is unique. Now you can learn its secrets and make its signature dishes wherever you call home. Interspersed with recipes for preparing New Mexico's distinctive bounty--its honey, pistachios, lavender, sweet peas, garlic, corn, lamb, beef, buffalo, goat cheese, apples, and pears, as well as its famous chiles--are profiles of its best food producers and purveyors. Learn the foodways of family farms and ranches, mom-and-pop cafes, and spirited restaurants, and meet the people who love preparing and presenting this nourishing and delightful cuisine. The New Mexico Farm Table Cookbook passes on to home cooks everywhere the state's most treasured recipes and techniques and its fresh takes on traditional ingredients; soon you'll be making the best green chile cheeseburgers, sourdough biscuits, chile rellenos, empanadas, mole, and more with readily accessible ingredients and simple, clear directions. Bring some New Mexico enchantment to your kitchen!
Tasting New Mexico by
Celebrates the state's truly distinctive cooking, a blend of Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo influences, in one hundred recipes from throughout the past century.
The Pueblo Food Experience Cookbook by
The Pueblo Food Experience Cookbook is an original cookbook by, for, and about the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico. This cookbook is a product of the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, founded by Roxanne Swentzell at Santa Clara Pueblo. Its goal is to promote healing and balance by returning to the original foodways of the Pueblo peoples. The precontact, indigenous diet emphasizes chemical-free meat, fowl, fish and a wide variety of whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Buffalo Tamales, Blue Corn Cakes, and Rabbit Stew are just a few of the unique and delicious Pueblo recipes. Five thought-provoking essays contribute to the understanding of Pueblo history and culture. Though written in the Tewa Pueblo of Santa Clara, indigenous peoples everywhere and anyone interested in learning about Pueblo culture and food will delight in this book.
Forever New Mexico by
Most genuine lovers of New Mexico stubbornly perceive the state through a set of rose-colored glasses. They see the land and its indigenous people without inevitable modernization and filter out the invasion of Siberian (Chinese) elms and other non-native vegetation. They look beyond the splattering of manufactured homes and accompanying litter. Purposely, true lovers of New Mexico highly romanticize their chosen mecca that even today still dishes them out slices of the simple ways of bygone life. Fortunately, for many of them, there exists a wealth of old, quality photographs that manage to portray such nostalgic versions of New Mexico in past real-life situations. Forever New Mexico: Heartfelt Images of the Land of Enchantment presents scores of such images that were mostly taken during the Depression era before post-World War II forever altered the New Mexican lifestyle that remained relatively unchanged for centuries. Forever New Mexico draws upon a treasure trove of photographs from the Farm Security Administration archival files of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the Photo Archives unit of the Museum of New Mexico, the archival files of New Mexico Magazine and the state Tourism Department historical collection at the New Mexico State Records and Archives Center.
Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico by
Against a backdrop of European unrest, immigration to America flourished in the nineteenth century for European Jews as for other groups. Two waves of immigration brought Jews to New Mexico, the first largely of German men in the 1840s and 1850s and the second of Eastern Europeans with the coming of the railroad to New Mexico in the 1880s. This book lights the drama that unfolded for these young Jewish merchants, tradesmen, and laborers, who were linked in their homeland through a complex web of intermarriage and who built quite successfully on their cultural and social relationships to become among New Mexico's most prominent, productive citizens.
African American History in New Mexico by
Although their total numbers in New Mexico were never large, blacks arrived with Spanish explorers and settlers and played active roles in the history of the territory and state. Here, Bruce Glasrud assembles the best information available on the themes, events, and personages of black New Mexico history. The contributors portray the blacks who accompanied Cabeza de Vaca, Coronado, and de Vargas and recount their interactions with Native Americans in colonial New Mexico. Chapters on the territorial period examine black trappers and traders as well as review the issue of slavery in the territory and the blacks who accompanied Confederate troops and fought in the Union army during the Civil War in New Mexico. Eventually blacks worked on farms and ranches, in mines, and on railroads, as well as in the military, seeking freedom and opportunity in New Mexico's wide open spaces. A number of black towns were established in rural areas. Lacking political power because they represented such a small percentage of New Mexico's population, blacks relied largely on their own resources and networks, particularly churches and schools.
New Mexico by
For all who love New Mexico, and for those who aspire to know the state, this book is a graceful and compelling summary of what has made the Land of Enchantment its distinctive self. Originally published in 1977 to commemorate the bicentennial of American Independence, New Mexico is now available for the first time in a quality paperback edition with a new introduction by the author. In writing this book, Marc Simmons sets out to arrive at an understanding of the state's character. His is an interpretive, sensitive, individual--even personal--account. He shows that across the centuries the collision and mingling of cultures dominates New Mexico's history. Out of this complex interplay of human and natural forces he selects his examples of Pueblo life ways, Spanish domination, and Anglo control to make immediate and memorable the state's rich history.
other libguide links
Looking for lists of book award winners?
Swing by our Online Reading Resources!
- Online Reading ResourcesIncludes links to book award websites, online booklists, and book review and recommendation websites
Looking for lists of New Mexico authors?
Check out our subject guide!
- New Mexico AuthorsThis guide presents an ever-growing list of New Mexico Authors, writers who have lived in New Mexico or who have strong ties with the Land of Enchantment.
craft month
March is National Craft Month
While most of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!
The Act of Sewing by
An in-depth guide to sewing simple garments--with four full-size patterns and all the tricks of alteration and embellishment explained so that you can make a wardrobe all your own. Maybe you learned to sew in school and have a sewing machine, but it hasn't seen the outside of the closet since your last move. Or maybe you are completely new to the craft, with a lot of enthusiasm, but no idea how to thread your machine. No matter where you're coming from in terms of experience, this sewing workbook offers four basic patterns--two tops, a skirt, and a pair of pants--that empower you to express your personal style and make clothes that are comfortable for your body type. After explaining the basic concepts of sewing and construction, 100 Acts of Sewing designer Sonya Philip then provides suggestions for mixing the basic patterns together to create new garment iterations as you gain confidence--structural adjustments such as full bust, no bust, long torso, big, small, etc., as well as a range of possible alterations and embellishments including sleeves, pockets, hems, and more! Going beyond simple pattern instructions, this book will make sewing garments accessible for every body type--each pattern comes in sizes ranging from XS to 5X. With inspiring essays on Sonya's sewing philosophy that speak to the slow and ethical fashion movement, this will be the go-to guide for all aspirational and seasoned sewists.
The Modern Natural Dyer by
Thousands of natural materials can produce glorious color - the insect cochineal produces pink, maroon, and purple, and more than 500 species of plants produce indigo blue. Now, in The Modern Natural Dyer, expert Kristine Vejar shares the most user-friendly techniques for dyeing yarn, fabric, and finished goods at home with foraged and garden-raised dyestuffs as well as with convenient natural dye extracts. Demystifying the "magic," Vejar explains in explicit, easy-to-follow detail how to produce consistent, long-lasting color. With stunning photography of the dyes themselves, the dyeing process, and 20 projects for home and wardrobe (some to knit, some to sew, and some just a matter of submerging a finished piece in a prepared bath), The Modern Natural Dyer is a complete resource for aspiring and experienced dye artisans.
Bend-the-Rules Sewing by
Author Amy Karol brings stitchers everywhere a down-to-earth introduction to sewing, including thirty projects so adorable and cool they ll inspire anyone to pick up a needle and thread. Written with Amy s characteristic warmth and flair, you ll find information on basic equipment and supplies, advice on choosing and using fabrics and a fantastic section on techniques. In addition, Amy walks readers through easy, inspiring patterns designed for the fashion-savvy crafter. Playful, modern projects, which include pillows, aprons and purses, help novices master sewing skills while providing immediate sewing gratification and confidence. Best of all, Amy explains what s easy, what s hard and when not to sweat the small stuff. With its best-friend tone, solid reference section and super cute projects, this is the introduction to sewing that you won t want to be without.
Tomoko Fuse's Origami Boxes by
With this origami folding book, learn how to create original gift boxes that are as beautiful as the treasures they hold! Considered the most famous living origami master, Tomoko Fuse is known for her expertise in modular origami and box-folding. The more than 30 origami projects in this book range from beginner to more advanced, and ensure you'll always have a special way to give a gift. The simple flat box, or tato, is an excellent introduction to the art of origami for beginners and allows readers to "start small," then build to more intricate pieces like the Hexagonal Box and Octagonal Flower Box (Mukuge). Handmade paper boxes are an expression of origami crafts at their very best. Experiment with different thicknesses, textures, and origami paper designs for a true one-of-a-kind presentation. The projects are divided into 3 sections: Simple Boxes from Square Sheets, Modular Boxes from Multiple Square Sheets and Modular Boxes from Rectangular Sheets. Step-by-step instructions and diagrams guide you from start to finish as you create: Simple flat boxes--rectangular, triangular, hexagonal and more Pyramid-shaped boxes and different ways of finishing them off Modular box tops that look amazing Window-topped boxes for nesting a special gift Box tops with flourishes from flat to spiraled Easy liners for boxes of all shapes and sizes And a lot more Origami box folding is a relaxing and satisfying craft for all levels of expertise and--with a little practice and this easy origami book--gift-giving will never be the same.
Call Number: eBook
This Long Thread by
Celebrate the diverse work of people of color in the craft community and explore the personal, political, and creative potential of textile arts and crafts. In early 2019, the craft community experienced a reckoning when crafters of color began sharing personal stories about exclusion and racial injustice in their field, pointing out the inequity and lack of visible diversity within the crafting world. Author Jen Hewett, who is one of a few prominent women of color in the fiber crafts community, now brings together this book as a direct response to the need to highlight the diverse voices of artists working in fiber arts and crafts. Weaving together interviews, first-person essays, and artist profiles, This Long Thread explores the work and contributions of people of color across the fiber arts and crafts community, representing a wide spectrum of race, age, region, cultural identity, education, and economic class. These conversations explore techniques and materials, belonging, identity, pride of place, cultural misappropriation, privilege, the value (or undervaluing) of craft, community support structures, recognition or exclusion, intergenerational dialogue, and much more. Be inspired by the work and stories of innovative people of color who are making exceptional contributions to the world of craft. The diverse range of textile artists and craftspeople featured include knitters, quilters, sewers, weavers, and more who are making inspiring and innovative work, yet who are often overlooked by mainstream media.
Sewing Happiness by
Create Pinterest-worthy clothing, accessories, and more with this how-to guide and memoir featuring 20 meditative sewing projects, plus inspiring stories that promote creativity, happiness, and fulfillment. When Sanae Ishida was diagnosed with a chronic illness and lost her corporate job, she felt like her whole life was falling apart. Inspired to succeed at just one thing, Ishida vowed to sew all of her daughter's clothes--and most of her own--for one full year. In Sewing Happiness, Ishida recounts her incredible journey, reflecting on how sewing helped her survive such a difficult time in her life. Sewing Happiness features twenty simple sewing projects (with variations) organized by season and tied together with a thread of memoir that tells the story Ishida's unexpected transformation and how sewing brought her profound happiness. Each seasonal project--from Japanese-inspired home goods to children's and women's clothing--is specially designed to promote health, creativity, and relationships and to provide gentle inspiration to live your best life. Complete with photos and easy-to-follow steps, Sewing Happiness is at once a guide to the craft of sewing and a guide to enjoying life in all its beautiful imperfections.
Knitstrips by
The world's first comic-strip knitting book, Knitstrips presents 22 original patterns, boundless humor, and seriously appealing knitting instruction Inspired, original, and laugh-out-loud funny, knitstrips are patterns and knitting instruction mixed with advice and humorous commentary--and presented in illustrated comic book panels. Launched in 2016 on the mega-popular knitting site Modern Daily Knitting, the strips gained instant popularity and have attracted thousands of avid fans. The book includes 22 brand-new patterns and is designed to mimic a bound collection of comic books in a series: each "issue" with its own cover and wry theme--from yarn stashes to binge knitting--that is close to the heart of knitters. Issues offer four to six knitting patterns each, plus designer highlights and a variety of stories and technical discussions. The result is a fresh, lively knitting adventure that is like nothing the fiber world has seen before.
Hooked by
From the 2-time Tony Award-winner and the star of TV's Younger, funny and intimate stories and reflections about how crafting has kept her sane while navigating the highs and lows of family, love, and show business (and how it can help you, too). Whether she's playing an "age-defying" book editor on television or dazzling audiences on the Broadway stage, Sutton Foster manages to make it all look easy. How? Crafting. From the moment she picked up a cross stitch needle to escape the bullying chorus girls in her early performing days, she was hooked. Cross stitching led to crocheting, crocheting led to collages, which led to drawing, and so much more. Channeling her emotions into her creations centered Sutton as she navigated the significant moments in her life and gave her tangible reminders of her experiences. Now, in this charming and poignant collection, Sutton shares those moments, including her fraught relationship with her agoraphobic mother; a painful divorce splashed on the pages of the tabloids; her struggles with fertility; the thrills she found on the stage during hit plays like Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes, and Violet; her breakout TV role in Younger; and the joy of adopting her daughter, Emily. Accompanying the stories, Sutton has included crochet patterns, recipes, and so much more! Witty and poignant, Hooked will leave readers entertained as well as inspire them to pick up their own cross stitch needles and paintbrushes.
40 Knots and How to Tie Them by
Knowing which knot to use when and how to tie it can mean the difference between safety and danger or a dry or wet night camping. A well-tied knot is not only a safeguard, but also a thing of beauty. 40 Knots and How to Tie Them presents the essential knots, from classic sturdy, strong knots--including Bowline, Sheepshank, Pile Hitch, and Trucker's Dolly, to the decorative. Instructions on tying each knot are shown in crystal-clear, hand-drawn diagrams, and its uses plainly explained. A perfect gift for the novice or the seasoned expert, each chapter contains a project to practice knots--including a bracelet, coaster, woven mat, and hammock.
The Little Book of Cottagecore by
Unplug, relax, and return to the simpler life with these easy, step-by-step ideas for your favorite cottagecore activities including baking from scratch and easy container gardening. Returning to the simpler life has never been easier. If you're craving the aroma of freshly baked bread, spending more time in nature, or seeing the sunlight filtering through homemade curtains, then cottagecore is for you! The Little Book of Cottagecore helps you make simple living a reality with delightful cottagecore activities you can enjoy no matter where you live. Whether you're interested in baking pies from scratch, basic sewing and cross stitch, gardening, beekeeping, or making candles and soaps, this book is full of fun, hands-on activities that make it easy and enjoyable to unplug from modern life. Full of step-by-step instructions and homegrown inspiration, you'll find fun, practical ways to enjoy rustic and relaxing cottagecore activities in your everyday life.
Creepy Cross-Stitch by
CROSS-STITCH GOES WITCHY WITH DARK AND ELEGANT DESIGNS From spooky skulls to ghoulish graveyards, Lindsay Swearingen of Tusk and Cardinal gives cross-stitch a dark yet whimsical update. Curious creatures like phantom felines, legendary fixtures from folklore like Baba Yaga and all manner of haunted houses make the perfect subjects for these needlework masterpieces. Fun and easy to learn, cross-stitch is an art form that truly anybody can master. Lindsay gives you a crash course in the basics to ensure you have all the materials and techniques you need to start off on the right foot. Then, dive into her incredible patterns and stitch yourself some oddities that range from quirky to downright eerie. Anyone with an appreciation for the macabre will swoon for patterns like Lovers' Graves, which features twin headstones and a heart-shaped weeping willow. Meanwhile, the ghosts, ghouls and ghastly bats of Trick or Treat and Haunted Wings are perfect pieces to hang on your wall to keep the spirit of Halloween in your home year-round. With moody tones, muted hues and spooky subjects, this collection of bewitching patterns makes it easy to add a little subversive charm to your cross-stitch repertoire.
Empowered Embroidery (Art Makers) by
Art Makers: Empowered Embroidery makes it easy to learn to embroider iconic women. With simple sketching instructions, an overview of embroidery basics, step-by-step stitching projects, and portraits of strong women, this book appeals to artists, crafters, stitchers, and more.
Cross-Stitch Like a Queen by
Cross-Stitch Like a Queen is a celebration of drag and queer culture, perfect for queens, kings, and everybody in between. Crafty queens and drag enthusiasts alike will love this book with twenty-five designs ranging from sexy pumps to iconic quotes. Plus, with an alphabet template and extra design elements, you can make your own custom cross-stitch patterns and crafted quotes. Perfect for fans of RuPaul's Drag Race, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and allies, this craft book is a celebration of the mantra 'love is love.' Go forth and stitch!
Mystical Stitches by
Explore personal transformation through the stitching of dreams and intentions. Anything but ordinary, Mystical Stitches combines the beloved and accessible craft of embroidery with a spiritual element, introducing a rich treasury of 200 magical symbols you can use to set an intention and create personal icons to wear or embellish items in the home. Christi Johnson offers unique patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, zodiac signs, and mythical beasts, for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson's folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form.
The Apron Book by
Aprons are back! After more than 30 years in the attic, aprons are making a splashy comeback in a happy convergence of nostalgia, pop culture, and contemporary fashion. Vintage aprons and modern designs are turning up in movies, magazine spreads, upscale shops, and hip retail venues like Anthropologie, whose trendy line of aprons is selling as fast as they can stock them. The Apron Book is an infectiously enthusiastic guide to aprons, old and new, that are suddenly everywhere. Aprons take us back to our favorite place-hearth and home. Vintage aprons help us remember home and family the way they used to be, while bright and sassy contemporary aprons confirm that nesting is all the rage. Actress and trendsetter Julia Roberts has a closetful of vintage aprons. Celebrity custom-made apron auctions have become an annual event for several popular charities in the past few years. The Apron Book provides full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from the author's collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the author's traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, and for special occasions. Warm and inviting-but like an apron quite practical!-this book is a celebration of a great American icon and reminds us of what we loved about the people who wore them.
Radical Sewing by
Take control of your wardrobe and learn how to escape from the never-ending cycle of fast fashion. Regardless of your sewing experience, gender, or body type, this illustrated guide will empower you to make your wardrobe your own - with information on basic sewing techniques, how to alter your clothes to fit your unique body, detailed instructions on how to recreate your favourite clothing items, and more.
Maryanne Moodie's Modern Weaver by
Maryanne Moodie is the maker to watch. Since her first book debuted in 2016, both Moodie and weaving have continued to grow in popularity. In Maryanne Moodie's Modern Weaver, there is a wealth of information focused on color theory, designed to help readers better select their own palettes for their custom creations. With detailed instructions and photography for each project, this book is both beautiful and informative. And with projects that explore gradients and ombre effects, as well as advice on how to tackle even the boldest of color choices, there's enough to keep even the most advanced weavers engaged. Weaving came back in style a few of years ago, and it's clear the trend isn't going away any time soon. Moodie's first book, On the Loom, was at the forefront of this revival, and her second book will deliver even more of what makers love. Her projects are accessible no matter your skill level, and her exploration of color theory gives more depth to the projects. Modern Weaver delivers the well-designed projects makers are looking for, ranging from wall hangings to pillow covers, keychains to laptop sleeves to framed art, and that will have them weaving in no time.
Make Thrift Mend by
Slow fashion expert Katrina Rodabaugh, bestselling author of Mending Matters, teaches readers how to mend, patch, dye, and alter clothing for an environmentally conscious, reimagined wardrobe Slow fashion influencer Katrina Rodabaugh follows her bestselling book, Mending Matters, with a comprehensive guide to building (and keeping) a wardrobe that matters. Whether you want to repair your go-to jeans, refresh a favorite garment, thrift-shop like a pro, alter or dye clothing you already have-this book has all the know-how you'll need. Woven throughout are stories, essays, and a slow fashion call-to-action, encouraging readers to get involved or deepen their commitment to changing the destructive habit of overconsumption. Rodabaugh has an engaged fan group (her kits are in high demand and her classes sell out quickly) and a proven ability to tempt sewists and nonsewists alike to take up needle and thread.
Stitchcraft by
Step inside the enchanted world of arcane imagery and rich esoteric symbolism in this deeply imaginative embroidery art book! Author Gayla Partridge draws upon her knowledge ofvintage anatomical artwork, floral design, palmistry, Ouija, andoddities from the natural worldto createmagical, witchytwists on an age-old craft.Through extraordinary, stylized photography and detailed close-ups of designs, the embroidery art inStitchcraftis entirely achievable with basic stitches and easy-to-follow instructions, enchanting beginners and expert crafters alike. Stitchcraftfeatures- .30 intricate embroidery designs, using a combination of nine basic stitches .Insights from the author on how she created each piece .30 basic patterns to get you started embroidering your own version of her designs From the anatomy of a snake tofloral skulls, frompalmistry hands to botanical hearts, readers will be inspired to recreate Partridge'sspellbindingdesigns and to make them their own.
Make Ink by
The Toronto Ink Company was founded in 2014 by designer and artist Jason Logan as a citizen science experiment to make eco-friendly, urban ink from street-harvested pigments. In Make Ink, Logan delves into the history of inkmaking and the science of distilling pigment from the natural world. Readers will learn how to forage for materials such as soot, rust, cigarette butts, peach pits, and black walnut, then how to mix, test, and transform these ingredients into rich, vibrant inks that are sensitive to both place and environment. Organized by color, and featuring lovely minimalist photography throughout, Make Ink combines science, art, and craft to instill the basics of ink making and demonstrate the beauty and necessity of engaging with one of mankind's oldest tools of communication.
Creative Block by
Creative block presents the most crippling--and unfortunately universal--challenge for artists. No longer! This chunky blockbuster of a book is chock-full of solutions for overcoming all manner of artistic impediment. The blogger behind The Jealous Curator interviews 50 successful international artists working in different mediums and mines their insights on how to conquer self-doubt, stay motivated, and get new ideas to flow. Each artist offers a tried-and-true exercise--from road trips to 30-day challenges to cataloging the medicine cabinet-- that will kick-start the creative process. Abundantly visual with more than 300 images showcasing these artists' resulting work, Creative Block is a vital ally to students, artists, and creative professionals.
Terrarium Craft by
A terrarium is nothing less than a miniature world--one that you can create yourself. It might be a tiny rainforest, with lush foliage and bright tropical flowers. Or a desert, with strange succulents planted among colorful stones. Or a Victorian fernery. Or a minimalist composition with a single, perfect plant. Or it might not contain any plants at all. It might be made with crystals, feathers, bones, seashells, bits of wood, porcelain trinkets--anything that catches your fancy and helps create a mood or look. Whatever they contain, terrariums are the ultimate in modern, affordable, easy-care décor. Terrarium Craft features fifty original designs that you can re-create or use as inspiration for your own design. Each entry comes with clear step-by-step directions on how to assemble and care for your terrarium. You'll also find helpful information about selecting a container, using appropriate materials, choosing the right plants, and maintaining your terrarium. (Hint: It's easy! In fact, many terrariums are self-sustaining, requiring no maintenance whatsoever!)
Modern Log Cabin Quilting by
If you think quilting is too difficult or too complicated, you're not alone. Cutting hundreds of pieces and joining angled seams can be tough work! But log cabin quilting--an artful and simple way to piece strips of fabric around a central square--is different. From the intuitive construction through the straight-line stitching, this style of quilting is simple as can be. nbsp; In Modern Log Cabin Quilting, Susan Beal outlines the entire process from start to finish, including basic quilting how-to as well as extensive design, fabric, and embellishment information. Since all log cabin designs follow the same formula, once you master straight lines and right angles, any of the 25 projects in this book are possible. From stash-friendly designs like the Charming Camera Case to more ambitious undertakings like the Vintage Linens Quilt, there's sure to be a project that will get you into (or bring you back to) quilting!
Call Number: eBook
Lena Corwin's Made by Hand by
In 2009, tastemaker and bestselling author Lena Corwin turned the top floor of her Brooklyn brownstone into a studio and began hosting classes for local crafters. In Lena Corwin's Made by Hand, she re-creates and builds upon her popular workshop series in order to reach crafters in Brooklyn and beyond. For this "best of" collection, she has chosen expert teachers and her favorite projects: Jenny Gordy introduces us to knitted socks and elegantly sewn tops and dresses; Cal Patch teaches how to make a modern embroidery sampler as well as a braided rag rug; and Corwin herself presents her favorite screen-printing and stamping techniques. In total, there are 26 lessons/projects, all presented with step-by-step photos and illustrations. Praise for Lena Corwin's Made By Hand: "Decorate with coffee table books. A few Glamour picks: Lena Corwin's Made by Hand . . ." -Glamour Magazine "A must-have for anyone who wants to create unique décor." -Decorating Shortcuts magazine "Made By Hand offers the perfect range of usable textile handiwork, presented by fourteen teachers who obviously enjoy their craft -ForeWord Reviews "The 385 detailed illustrations, along with excellent step-by-step photographs and clear instructions, make each project tempting and approachable." -Studios magazine "Those messy hands alone are inspiring me to get creative." -Modern Eve "I got a sneak peek at a mostly lovely book. I can't contain my excitement over this book. The projects are varied and so much fun." -The Stylish Nest "The photography and layout of the book is gorgeous: wide open with lots of white space, reminiscent of Japanese craft books. And there are people, whole people, sitting and doing crafts, not just disembodied hands. Isn't that part of the reason we craft-for the human contact?" -Knitty.com "Made By Hand is gorgeous . . . filled to the brim with beautifully executed diy tutorials from a host of talented artisans." -Michelle S Blog "Craft book is like a private studio class . . . this book is a breath of fresh air" -Examiner.com "She's the most talented person I know, and probably in all of Brooklyn." -Lucky magazine "This project is a personal favorite of mine and the colors are easy to customize for fall." -Design*Sponge "Attention DIY'ers: You Need Lena Corwin's New Book!" -Lucky magazine "As brilliant as it is beautiful!" -The Purl Bee "The diversity of offerings within these pages makes you feel like you're at a retreat with too many good things to choose from . . . except you get to make them all! The photography is clean and simple. Gorgeous-really. This is a good one, folks . . . and Lena-you've done it again." -maya*made "Even if none of you know where to begin, you can easily use the projects in this book as a guidebook . . ." -Urban Comfort" "A must-have if you want to stretch your creativity and get your hands dirty-literally." -Big Cartel "It boasts stunning visuals with simple imagery." -The Capsule Show "Made by Hand introduces readers to ageless crafting techniques with modern projects. -HGTV.com "The 26 delightful projects are scrumptiously photographed as step-by-step tutorials, creating the impression that we, too, are in the light-filled studio among the generous and pleasant makers . . . all of these carefully curated projects will result in products that are perfect in their own unique way." -BookPage.com "We have been fans of designer/illustrator/author Lena
Doodle Stitching by
Asian-inspired lampshades embellished with flying fish. Canvas sneakers decorated with pink and white swirls. A pretty pillow adorned with a sleeping bunny, sweetly curled up. All it takes to create these appealing projects--or add charming embroidered touches in no time at all--are a few simple stitches, some easy techniques, and the nearly 30 projects in this book. Begin by learning several styles for outlining, filling, decorating, and appliqué. Find out about floss, fancy threads, fabrics, and needles. Get the scoop on hoops, and the lowdown on transferring your very own designs onto every type of fabric. The fresh ideas, witty patterns, and clever color illustrations take stitchers from novice to accomplished in a blink of the eye! "Doodle Stitching is a truly cute book...full of practical and whimsical projects that are neither boring or stodgy.... The projects section of Doodle Stitching shows how to make so many ordinary items special, such as pillow cases, skirts, shoes, shirts, scarves, boxer shorts and napkins. For those that like to take their creativity and sewing skills that little bit further, there are small projects to make and embroider,... This is a good book for beginner embroiderers that would like a fun place to start, for more experienced embroiderers that might have become a bit jaded with more traditional patterns and could do with some light inspiration, and for anyone that likes to look at well-designed craft books full of cute projects."--Whipup.net
Making Things by
Making Things champions handmade crafts that infuse the no-waste ethos with glamour and fun. Through easy-to-follow tutorials for over 100 projects that are both accessible and aspirational, Making Things invites readers to try their hands at a variety of crafts and celebrate the satisfaction that comes from slowly and carefully creating for oneself. Learn to fold magazine pages into Masu Boxes for organizing bits and bobs, make a cardboard loom for weaving potholders out of old linens, braid your own Kumihimo Dog Leash, or starch fabric scraps for decorative bunting. Makers Rose Pearlman and Erin Boyle met in 2018 and immediately struck up a friendship, united by a reverence for everyday objects. Their approach towards craft reflects a shared commitment to sustainability and accessibility - as they write in Making Things' introduction, "Craft can be exquisite and exacting, the result of formal training and years of practice, but it can also be experimental and messy and not quite perfect." Scouring sidewalks, stoops, and thrift stores, the authors repurpose materials to create projects that range from functional to fun and frivolous. Step-by-step guides make it simple to start and finish each project, while the book's stunning photographs show how each craft can fit within an organized, thoughtfully curated home. As Making Things demonstrates, relying on a limited range of supplies and repurposing the same materials can spur our creativity, encouraging us to look at a pile of junk on a stoop and see endless possibilities.
Respect the Spindle by
Enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to the current trend of DIY crafts, the hand spindle remains one of the most productive, versatile, and convenient tools for creating stunning fiber arts from home, as this beautifully illustrated guide from a veteran spinner and spindle aficionado demonstrates. With step-by-step instructions, this essential manual details the basic steps of spinning and then advances to the more complicated spinning wheel, showing how to use the spindle to make specific types of yarn, explaining traditional spindle spinning techniques, and detailing five simple projects designed to instill confidence in creating a variety of yarns with this simple tool. Combining fascinating historical narratives, traditions, and cultures from around the globe with vivid photography, this all-encompassing tour of the spindle also boasts easy-to-follow, contemporary techniques and styles that affirm the tool's enduring legacy.
The Art of Punch Needle Embroidery by
Discover the delights of punch needle embroidery in this gorgeous practical book, with France's favorite embroiderer and crafter, Marie Suarez. Punch needle embroidery is a traditional technique that came out of the US in the 19th century and is similar to rug hooking. A strand of thread is pushed through loose-weave fabric, making a 'loop' on the other side. Repeated several times, this simple action creates a stunning, decorative, tactile design. Starting with the key materials and equipment you'll need, as well as the basic punch-needle stitches and techniques, go straight into making the 20 charming projects inside - including flower-adorned pillows, pretty wall hangings and stylish bags! All the projects are accompanied by beautiful photographs, diagrams to help you work out what to stitch first, and templates for you to trace off for quick-and-easy needle punching.
Wise Craft by
Wise Craft is a guide to the homemade life, turning old things into special new objects that enhance the home. Based on the popular blog of the same name, this guide focuses on creating a homemade atmosphere that reflects your family, without spending a fortune. Instead of throwing away old shirts and boring dishes, or passing up thrift store finds that aren't quite right, author Blair Stocker teaches how to remake, adding special touches to make them work for her home -- and yours . The book is divided into four seasonal chapters, with designs that reflect different holidays and the changing seasons, allowing you to update your home according to the weather outside. Many projects are portable or perfect to do during a family movie night, making the Wise Craft lifestyle an easy one to attain. Sixty projects include May Day cones and recycled floral mirror frames -- perfect for a teenager's room -- plus throw pillow updates, a picnic blanket made from a pile of men's shirts, spooky Halloween dishes, advent calendars, and recycled gift jars. Beautiful photography and illustrations make each project a snap, no matter your crafting background.
Call Number: eBook
Rag Rug Techniques for Beginners by
Learn eight different rag-rugging methods and use them to create 30 stylish and practical items for yourself and your home. In Rag Rug Techniques for Beginners, Elspeth Jackson details eight different methods that will help you learn the art of rugs from rags, and inspire your craft creativity. Each chapter focuses on a different technique, from Shaggy to Locker Hooking, Loopy to Two-String Loom and more. Elspeth will show you the skills, tools and equipment you'll need for each one, as well as providing advice on choices of fabrics and design. She will help you to identify common mistakes that you might run into, building for you a strong foundation in the craft. Each chapter includes step-by-step instructions for a traditional rug plus two other projects for yourself or your home, such as placemats, bowls, wall hangings and more, so that you can show off the new skills you've learned. Using upcycled fabrics, only a few basic tools and simple techniques, you'll master rag-rugging in no time!
Craft Your Own Happy by
Suitable for beginners - you don't need to be a crafting expert to make the projects in this book! Includes easy to follow instructions and free templates. Craft Your Own Happy is a collection of mindful craft projects to make you smile! Perfect for those moments when you need a bit of self-care and relaxation time.Do you ever feel like you spend too much of your day staring at screens, feeling anxious or stressed out? If the answer is yes - then you need this book! The cute colorful projects have all been designed with the feel-good-factor in mind. Crafting can help to take you away from the worries and pressures of your daily life, and give you back those moments of slowness and focus which can help to reduce anxiety.Unlike other craft books, this is a book that you can dip into and find projects based upon how you are feeling. So you can craft to suit your mood! There are 25 beginner friendly projects to choose from including cross stitching, embroidery, paper craft and more... Why worry when you can craft happy!
Constructing and Covering Boxes by
Learn all the steps necessary to make a variety of colorful, decorative,useful boxes created from book board and covered with decorative papers and book cloth. Nearly 300 color photos illustrate every step needed to make hingedlid, clamshell, and creative boxes. Necessary tools and materials arediscussed in detail, and essential formulas are provided for each box typediscussed. Basic skills necessary for the successful production of anybox are also explored, including determining grain direction, patternlayout, cutting materials, covering book board with paper or book cloth,and gluing. Also provided are box making resources, a useful glossaryof terms, and an appendix featuring measurement conversions. This 2nd edition includes a brand-new chapter on divided boxes, as well as additional creative box examples to further inspire you as you explore the craft.
Kitchen Lithography by
When printmakers Laura Sofie Hantke and Lucas Grassmann graduated from university, they found themselves without the luxury of a professional print studio. In their search for an easy technique they could implement in their own home, they came across French artist émilie Aizier-Brouard's ingenious Kitchen Lithography, which uses aluminum foil, cola, and oil-based crayons as its main materials, and quickly became ardent fans of and experts in the process, which is eco-friendly, inexpensive, and easy to do. In this book, the first on the subject, they share what they've learned through a process of trial and error in an easy-to-follow guide on turning your kitchen into a creative studio. Hand print your own buttons, bags, pillowcases, posters, cards, T-shirts, and labels using simple household ingredients with surprising and bold results.
Weekend Handmade by
In Weekend Handmade, author Kelly Wilkinson encourages readers to celebrate the joy of crafting, both for the satisfaction of making something by hand, and because the finished items serve as reminders of time taken to slow down and create - no matter the day of the week. The book is organized into three sections: Make offers projects to wear or decorate with; Grow presents projects inspired by gardens, fields, and farmer's markets; and Gather spotlights projects that enrich casual get-togethers. With clear, step-by-step instructions, every project in Weekend Handmade --from aprons, tablecloths, and marmalade to a memory box and a chandelier--can be completed in a few hours or over the course of a weekend. Praise for Weekend Handmade: "Kelly Wilkinson always felt like her crafty side was at odds with her job as a journalist, but now she has a book that incorporates both. Weekend Handmade provides instructions for quirky crafts that virtually anyone can do. All these crafts have a quirky feel--think hipster Martha Stewart--and they're pretty simple, too." --NPR Weekend Edition "Think you can't make anything--or, more importantly, that you don't have the time to? Wilkinson's undowdy projects--luminarias, table decorations--are all designed to be completed in a couple of hours." --Entertainment Weekly "The simple botanical luminarias in . . . Weekend Handmade disprove the notion that do-it-yourself projects don't turn out as they appear in books." --Los Angeles Times "Everyone's a crafter these days, including your mom (quilts with Jon Stewart's face stitched on them) and your cubicle mate (carved fruit statues he sells on Etsy). But Weekend Handmade presents simple projects for the glue-gun and table saw-impaired." --Washington Post Express "Ample projects to feed your creative side." --Daily Candy "This would be a fabulous addition to any library and a perfect hostess gift." --Dooce.com
Linocut by
A step-by-step guide on how to create personal and contemporary linocut prints. A linocut is a relief print created by carving a design into a printing block. It is the uncut surface, not the carved away areas, that gives you your image when you roll it with ink, lay paper on top then apply pressure to produce a print. With 18 easy-to-follow projects that can be adapted to suit your own ideas, experienced printmaker Sam Marshall guides you through the whole process - from the drawing to the carving to the inking to the printing - of creating your own beautiful prints and handmade cards whether you are working from your kitchen table or a more advanced studio set-up. By taking inspiration from everyday life, Sam helps you to build your confidence with observational drawing. Featuring step-by-step projects, the book demonstrates a range of skills with low-cost materials to produce simple linocuts, reduction linocuts and colourful multi-block prints. You will also learn more experimental techniques such as combining monoprint, chine collé, jigsaw linocuts and rainbow rolls and pick up handy tips on subjects such as 'noise' and editioning your prints. Beautifully illustrated with photographs of Sam's own drawings and linocuts, and featuring the work of 5 talented printmakers, Linocut is an essential guide to linocut printmaking. Packed with creative and practical advice to guide and encourage you, whether you're just starting out, returning to the craft or looking to expand your printmaking skills.
Craftfulness by
Integrating mindfulness, neuroscience, positive psychology, and creativity research, Craftfulness offers a thought-provoking and surprising reconsideration of craft, and how making things with your hands can connect us to our deepest selves and improve our well-being and overall happiness. We should get this out of the way: Craftfulness is not a "crafting book." Rather, it is an investigation of the wisdom generations of men and women know to be true: that making things is a vital means of self-expression, self-realization, and self-help that sparks the mind, touches the soul, and rejuvenates the spirit. Integrating mindfulness, neuroscience, positive psychology, and creativity research, Rosemary Davidson and Arzu Tahsin explore how the simple act of making something from scratch impacts mental well-being, and offer a brilliantly reasoned argument in favor of craft. Process, not product, is the soul of a craft practice. Whether you knit, crochet, sculpt, weave, quilt, tat, draw, or bind books--working toward small, attainable goals gives us a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and control that is proven to positively impact our mental health and happiness. Davidson and Tahsin illuminate how craft practice re-introduces balance into our lives and our habits by cultivating creativity, carving space for ourselves, promoting focus, creating a safe space for failure, and ultimately, how to make peace with imperfection. Like Matthew B. Crawford's Shop Class as Soul Craft, Ken Robinson's Out of Our Minds, or Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow, Craftfulness helps us to see our world in a new way, offering opportunities to disconnect from the world, and pay attention to ourselves.
