Fairie-ality: The Fashion Collection From the House of Ellwand by David Ellwand and Eugenie Bird. Featuring fashions created from nature in the raw, this book is a work of art. The text is spot-on and a hilarious send up of haughty fashion magazines.
Dishwasher by Pete Jordan. While most people want to move up the ladder in a restaurant, Pete only wants to wash dishes. Follow Pete's adventures and his struggle to ONLY wash dishes in all 50 states.
Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread & Pizza by Ken Forkish. Need we say more?
Carried In Our Hearts: The Gift of Adoption: Inspiring Stories of Families Created Across Continents by Dr. Jane Aronson. Interviews with families who have adopted children from around the world - many varied stories and situations.
The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America by Hannah Nordhaus. An eye-opening look into the world of modern beekeeping, our agriculture system and the challenges beekeepers face everyday.
How To Retire the Cheapskate Way: The Ultimate Cheapskate's Guide To Better, Earlier, Happier Retirement by Jeff Yeager. Yes, you can retire!
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horutz. Chronicles the lesser known parts of American history, filling in the gaps between Columbus'voyage to the West Indies and the Pilgrims' Plymouth settlement.
The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines. Possible dishes served by both upstairs and downstairs along with notes on social life and customs.
The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins. Why is popularity so important in high school and why kids on the outer fringes of the social scene are more successful afterwards.
Lights of Mankind: The Earth As Seen From Space by L. Douglas Keeney. Beautiful and thought provoking photographs of Earth taken from the International Space Station.
A Landowner's Guide to Managing Your Woods: How to Maintain a Small Acreage for Long-Term Health, Biodiversity, and High-Quality Timber Production by A. Hansen, M. Severson and D. Waterman. A helpful guide for caring for wooded property and improving it's sustainability.
Selected Poems, 1965-1975 by Margaret Atwood. A collection of Atwood's poetry that is both dark and fascinating.
9/19 Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace by D.T. Max. A biography of the writer that explores his unique perspecitive and struggle with depression.
I Know Who You Are and I Know What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy by Lori Andrews. A disturbing book that lays out how your personal information is distilled from your on-line habits. A must read for anyone who does anything on-line. 
Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest by Joan Maloof. For tree lovers and everyone else. The author discusses several species and their microcosm. Lovingly written.
The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Two successful men from NY city buy an old 'mansion' in the country, gain goats, and try not to lose their minds. Very funny!
The Girl Sleuth by Bobbie Ann Mason.Provides insight into how children's series books developed in the early 20th century.
Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Johnathan Gottschall. The author describes his theories about how and why we tell tales.
Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens. A top-notch collection of essays about everything by one of the best writers of our times.
Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard by Jessi Bloom. Everything you need to know about raising chickens presented beautifully. But darn it (!), we can't have chickens inside the city limits.
Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion by Janet Reitman. An astonishing story backed by years of research. Proof that reality is stranger than fiction.
Restaurant Man by Joseph Bastianich. Fascination bio of a man who began working in his parent's restaurant when he was a young boy and went on to successfully own his own restaurant.
The Word Exchange: Anglo Saxon Poems in Translation edited by G. Delanty, and M. Matto. See our previous review of this book. The poem riddles are highly recommended!
The Radioactive Boyscout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor by Ken Silverstein. By turns fascinating and frightening, this book recounts the story of a focused young man with way too much time on his hands.
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee. A serious and thoughtful examination of hoarding and how it affects people's lives. The case studies are especially riveting.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. A truly interesting story about a Southern tobacco farmer whose cells (taken without her knowledge) become a crucial tool in medicine. Her cells are still alive and being used today, even though she has been dead for over 60 years.
To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire by D. Cowen and J. Kuenster. Tells the story of a 1958 school fire in Chicago which helped lead to stricter fire codes for schools.
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. In which the late British humorist travels the world to visit some of the most endangered animals before they go extinct. Includes some memorable 'fish out of water' moments as the author treks the back streets of the 3rd world.
Greasy, Grimy, Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Childhood (And Storytelling) by Josepha Sherman. A serious study of the oral history of childhood playground rhymes.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell analyzes the factors that might point to high levels of success - he attributes most success to the "10,000 hour rule."
The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society by Frans de Waal. The author does an excellent job of showing how alike humans and other animals are and stresses the idea of humanity's potential for kindness.
Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry To a Natural Way of Burial by Mark Harris. This is a bit hard to read at times because of the nature of what is being discussed, but very interesting and informative.
The Real Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Andrew Marr. This very readable book offers a good combination of some history of the British monarchy and a look at the life of the current Queen.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. Relates the history of our homes, room by room plus so much more. Explorations, inventions, food and energy sources – an interesting read.
How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere by Bradford Angier. The title says it all.
Anything by Eckhart Tolle. Spirituality, shedding ego for inner source ... peace of mind, and more.
Dear Harry, Love Bess by Clifton Truman Daniel. This is a chronicle of a great love story between two strong, opinionated Missourians. Who will chronicle our love stories in the age of texting?
A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz. An eloquent memoir of a young man's life transformed by literature.
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz. A well written and easy to understand book about the latest scientific findings on dog behaviors and our complicated relationships with the animals.
The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon. A riveting book based on the recovery journals of a teenager who set himself on fire.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. The essential portrait of America - particularly California- in the sixties.
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. Follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over a period of 15 years.
An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life by Mary Johnson. The biography of a young woman's search for spirituality.
Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Covers the kidnapping and death of the Lindbergh baby.
Stuntman! My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life by Hal Needham. The trials and life of a Hollywood stuntman.
Chocolates & Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner by Peter P. Greweling. A hefty book covering everything you wanted to know about making high quality chocolate candy. The techniques aren't difficult and the recipes are wonderful.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. An amazing story about the fortitude of men stranded on the Antarctic seas and their indomitable spirit that allowed them to survive.
Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by D. Wickenden A fascinating story about two young women who move West to become teachers.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller. Provokes one to think about what makes life interesting and worthwhile.
