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Cur what?
While some folks like to ask "why not?", Irene prefers to ask "why?" Here are some books that attempt to provide the answer.
Why a curveball curves: the incredible science of sports edited by Frank Vizard
Traffic: why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us) by Tom Vanderbilt
Why birds sing: a journey through the mystery of bird song by David Rothenberg
Why buildings fall down: how structures fail by Matthys Levy and Mario Salvadori
Why do men barbecue?: recipes for cultural psychology Richard A. Shweder
Why does my dog act that way?: a complete guide to your dog's personality by Stanley Coren
Why choose the liberal arts? by Mark William Roche
Why choose this book?: how we make decisions by Read Montague
Why read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick
Why Jane Austen? by Rachel M. Brownstein
Why everyone (else) is a hypocrite: evolution and the modular mind by Robert Kurzban
Why? Because we still like you: an oral history of the Mickey Mouse Club by Jennifer Armstrong
Reading about running
Irene has heard that running is a good way to deal with end-of-semester stress. But since she's not a fan of sweat or heavy breathing, she prefers to recommend reading about running.
Running the rift: a novel by Naomi Benaron
Rwandan runner Jean Patrick Nkuba dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal and uniting his ethnically divided country, only to be driven from everyone he loves when the violence starts, after which he must find a way back to a better life.
Running: a novel by Jean Echenoz
Follows the famed career of Czech runner Emil Zátopek, a factory worker who, despite an initial contempt for athletics as a young man, is forced to participate in a footrace and soon develops a curious passion for the physical limits he discovers as a long-distance runner.
What I talk about when I talk about running: a memoir by Haruki Murakami
An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect.
Once a runner: a novel John L. Parker, Jr
The story of Quenton Cassidy, a competitive runner whose lifelong dream is to run a four-minute mile. He is less than a second away when the turmoil of the Vietnam War era intrudes. Under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Cassidy gives up his scholarship, his girlfriend, and possibly his future to withdraw to a monastic retreat and begin training for the race of his life against the greatest miler in history.
No laughing matter?
Irene knows that black humor isn't everyone's cup of tea, but those who like a side of arsenic with their tea, might find themselves amused by these novels (or even just their plot summaries).
The sugar frosted nutsack by Mark Leyner
Modern gods and goddesses wreak havoc on an unemployed butcher from New Jersey.
Beat the reaper by Josh Bazell
Hitman Pietro Brwna makes a break from his past and lands a position as a doctor at a decrepit Manhattan hospital, where a former Mafia associate turns up as a patient and threatens to rat him out.
An arsonist's guide to writers' homes in New England by Brock Clarke
After serving ten years in prison for accidentally burning down Emily Dickinson's house, Sam Pulsifer moves on with his life, but the emergence of a copycat who's turning New England's literary landmarks to ash puts him back in the spotlight and on a quest for the truth.
Vernon God Little by D.B.C. Pierre
Fifteen-year-old Vernon Gregory Little is in trouble. And it has something to do with the recent massacre of 16 students at his high school...
Please don't call me human by Wang Shuo (translated by Howard Goldblatt)
The author imagines an Olympics where nations compete not on the basis of athletic prowess, but on their citizens' capacity for humiliation.
Vacant possession by Hilary Mantel
Ten years have passed since Muriel Axon was locked away after her mother's suspicious death, but psychiatric confinement has only increased her malice and thirst for revenge.
Breakfast on Pluto by Patrick McCabe
The story of Patrick "Pussy" Braden, a male transvestite fathered by a priest and brought up by foster parents in a violent Irish border town.
Say what?
Fifty years in the making and 27 years after the first volume was published, the Dictionary of American Regional English is complete with the publication of the fifth and final volume. Pennsylvania regionalism in the new volume include "slippy" (slippery), "toby" (thin, inexpensive cigar), "viewing" (occasion at which people view the body before a funeral), and "wutz" (pig).
Inside the big tent
Irene loves that libraries not only have room to accommodate all sorts of eccentrics and curiosities but also know where to file them. Here are some of her favorite subject headings and a representative title for each.
Eccentrics and eccentricities
Smoking ears and screaming teeth: A celebration of scientific eccentricity and self-experimentation by Trevor Norton
Rogues and vagabonds
Scary monsters and super freaks: Stories of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and murder by Mike Sager
Curiosities and wonders
Pennsylvania curiosities: Quirky characters, roadside oddities & other offbeat stuff by Clark DeLeon
Brigands and robbers
The banditti of the prairies; or, The murderer's doom!! a tale of the Mississippi Valley. by Edward Bonney
Graphic bests
One of Irene's colleagues recently ran across a list of the best graphic novels of 2011 and was proud to discover that every one was in Skillman's collection—from a biography of baseball great Roberto Clemente to "a kaleidoscopic epic of a concubine and a castrato set in a modern yet timeless Arabic society." Surely you can't resist checking one out.
Bake on!
Irene is a bit miffed that she wasn't asked to be one of the judges in Skillman's Edible Books Contest. Nonetheless, she's trying to get in the spirit of the event (and hoping to sample some delicious treats on April 2), so is highlighting titles to inspire bakers this week.
Baking in America: traditional and contemporary favorites from the past 200 years by Greg Patent
Kings of pastry directed by Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker
The fundamental techniques of classic pastry arts by The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate
The book club cookbook: recipes and food for thought from your book club's favorite books and authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
Mazel tov, y'all: a bake book for happy occasions by Sara Rasdan
Are you hungry tonight?: Elvis' favorite recipes compiled by Brenda Arlene Butler
Books bracketology
One of Irene's astute admirers introduced her to the reader's version of March Madness: the Tournament of Books in which sixteen of the best novels of the past year are pitted against each other. If your team has already been knocked out of the NCAA tournament or if you have no interest in watching tall college students try to get a ball through a hoop, Irene recommends consoling yourself by reading some of these titles and cheering on your favorite.
The Sense of an Ending v. The Devil All the Time
Lightning Rods v. Salvage the Bones
The Stranger's Child v. The Tiger's Wife
State of Wonder v. The Sisters Brothers
Swamplandia! v. The Cat's Table
Improve your presentations
Having just attended a conference, Irene was reminded afresh of how important it is to know a bit about communicating information visually before subjecting an audience to your PowerPoint slides. Students take note: it's never too early to learn these skills, and Skillman has books that can help.
Better PowerPoint: quick fixes based on how your audience thinks by Stephen M. Kosslyn
Beautiful evidence by Edward R. Tufte
Presentation zen: simple ideas on presentation design and delivery by Garr Reynolds
Visual Complexity: mapping patterns of information by Manuel Lima
Point, click & wow!: the techniques and habits of successful presenters Claudyne Wilder
New literary journals
This year the library began subscribing to a number of new literary journals, and the issues have begun rolling in. Look for them on Skillman's browsing periodical shelves or the current periodical shelves.
Bomb
Current periodical shelves
In-depth interviews with artists, fiction writers, musicians, playwrights, directors, actors, photographers, and musicians plus original fiction, poetry, and essays.
Tin House
Browsing periodical shelves
From the publisher: "Tin House offers an artful and irreverent array of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and interviews as well as columns on food and drink, out-of-print and underappreciated books, and a literary crossword puzzle."
Georgia Review
Current periodical shelves
From the publisher: "Each quarterly issue offers a diverse, thoughtfully orchestrated gathering of short stories, general-interest essays, poems, reviews, and visual art."
Threepenny Review
Current periodical shelves
A quarterly review of the arts and society. Contains poetry, short fiction, memoirs, book reviews, and essays.
A Public Space
Current periodical shelves
From the publisher: "An independent magazine of art and argument, fact and fiction...founded in 2006 to give voice to the twenty-first century."
