Saturday, January 13, 2018

The “Give Me More Nonfiction” Book Haul


Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently.

It’s impossible to have too much nonfiction. Here are some of the nonfiction books I’ve gotten recently.




The “Give Me More Nonfiction” Book Haul










Still Points North: One Alaskan Childhood, One Grown-Up World, One Long Journey Home – Leigh Newman

Part adventure story, part love story, part homecoming, Still Points North is a page-turning memoir that explores the extremes of belonging and exile, and the difference between how to survive and knowing how to truly live.









Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War – Mary Roach

Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries—panic, exhaustion, heat, noise—and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed movie studio where amputee actors help prepare Marine Corps medics for the shock and gore of combat wounds. At Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, in east Africa, we learn how diarrhea can be a threat to national security. Roach samples caffeinated meat, sniffs an archival sample of a World War II stink bomb, and stays up all night with the crew tending the missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee. She answers questions not found in any other book on the military: Why is DARPA interested in ducks? How is a wedding gown like a bomb suit? Why are shrimp more dangerous to sailors than sharks? Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again.








The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World – Steven Johnson

It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure—garbage removal, clean water, sewers—necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action—and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.







Have you read any of these? What did you think?









19 comments:

  1. Still Points North sounds interesting. Happy reading with these!!

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  2. I haven't read any of these, but they all sound interesting, especially Still Points North.

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  3. Grunt sounds good. I've read Roach's book on sex and found her to be an engaging author and researcher.

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  4. I've picked up a few non fiction downloads for next week's Saturday post! Bubonic plagues and Donald Trump!

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  5. I actually don't read a lot of nonfiction other than magazines and newspapers. If I did though, I'd probably read more of The Ghost Map-type ones. Enjoy, AJ! <3

    - Aimee @ Aimee, Always

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  6. I just can't seem to get into non-fiction much. Unless it deals with dogs or ghosts - then I don't have trouble. Hope you love these.

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  7. I think I need to add Still Points North to my TBR!

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  8. I really enjoy Mary Roach's books and would like to read Grunt. I have a copy of Ghost Map on my shelf, but have yet to read it. I hope you enjoy all of these!

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  9. I like Mary Roach's stuff and style. Enjoy your haul!

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  10. Grunt looks really interesting! That poor guy on the cover lol- I always wonder how those soldiers carry all that shit around in combat!

    Still Points North looks interesting.

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  11. I haven't read any of them. Though the London one reminded me of Jack the Ripper, which seems like your kind of subject.

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  12. Haven't read these, but the one about London sounds very interesting :)

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  13. I confess that I haven't heard of any of these books, but I hope you enjoy them.

    Happy readings! ;)
    Tânia @MyLovelySecret

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  14. I haven't read any of these, but I have a fascination for nonfiction, from biographies to memoirs.

    Last week I read about Jane Fonda, and this week I bought a memoir from Joely Fisher (Growing Up Fisher); she is another of Eddie Fisher's daughters from a different mother than Carrie Fisher.

    Enjoy your books...and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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  15. Ghost Map is the only one I read, and I really liked it. I'm interested in the other two now too!

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  16. I have not read any of these - but I DO like non fiction and need to read more.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  17. I need to read more nonfiction, especially books that aren't biographies. I like factual books, but fiction ones tend to have more enticing covers! The Ghost Map synopsis looks interesting

    Stephanie Jane @ Literary Flits

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  18. These are all new to me. I need to make a point to read some nonfiction this year. I have heard great things about Mary Roach.

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  19. Sounds like a good haul! The Ghost Map might be pretty interesting...

    Tarissa
    http://inthebookcase.blogspot.com

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