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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Spotlight: New Non-Fiction March 2014

Posted by Cary H. 

I have the wonderful job of being able to select titles to add to the library collection.  Many interesting items cross my desk every day – too many to read all of them, unfortunately.  While my personal tastes run to fiction, certain non-fiction titles really pique my interest and I cart them home to give them a try. Here are a couple recent books that stand out:

Eat Ink: Recipes, Stories, Tattoos by Birk O'Halloran and Daniel Luke Holton.  In the past, tattoos were emblematic of society’s counterculture. Body art has evolved to the point that tattoos are not only ubiquitous, but also a mark of personal identity.  Even your local librarians have tattoos!  In the world of chefs and foodies, tattoos abound and always have.  With beautiful photographs of delicious food and great tattoos, this book shines a spotlight on chefs across the country: Why they have tattoos?  Why they cook?  What they love.  It’s a fascinating tour.

Plato At the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.  Is philosophy still relevant in our modern age of science?  Does philosophy, as a discipline of study, ever progress or is it already obsolete?  Analyzing Plato’s pivotal role in Western philosophy, and imagining how Plato would react to our world today, Goldstein (a prominent PhD philosopher) takes us through a thought experiment of sorts with very interesting outcomes.  Even within the context of today’s cable TV news, divided politics, prominent religious debates, and internet fads, Plato (and philosophy) can still provide insights through his timeless method of “dialogue.” Our need to understand the big questions is still as universal as it has ever has been. 

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