Chevy Chase
Neighborhood Library

-A +A
Printer-friendly version
RSS
Get Well Soon

Sick

Viruses and plagues and germs, oh my!

"What's natural is the microbe. All the rest--health, integrity, purity (if you like)--is a product of the human will, of a vigilance that must never falter." -Albert Camus, The Plague

Senility of Vladimir P. cover

Vladimir Putin in Fiction

The DC/Baltimore area seems to be inundated with Putin-based theater over the last year.

Revenge of the Analog

The Retro-Tech Revival

Visions of a Less Digital, More Fulfilling Future

A prevalent mythology of the future, pushed by the digital tech industry, assumes it will be increasingly digital. This trajectory is often thought to be inevitable and that therefore individuals and institutions have no choice but to embrace it. I find the books below stimulating because they reject this inevitability and imagine a future less dominated by digital media than it is now.

Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution

Post-Carbon Living

Individual, Family & Community Adaptation to Life after Fossil Fuels

The lifestyles of most of us in the industrialized world depend heavily on fossil fuels. Despite its normalcy for many of us, the era of fossil-fueled extravagant living will look like a fleeting moment within a larger view of human history. Formed over half a billion years, fossil fuels are non-renewable, depleting, declining in quality and net energy, and their contribution to climate change, pollution, and other forms of ecological degradation make perpetuity of this way of life impossible. Either we change voluntarily, or let crises increasingly force us to change.

Gold Fame Citrus

It's Getting Hot in Here

Spring has Sprung! Time to get your hands on some epic eco-apocalypse fiction.

Ah, the apocalypse. Whether it's zombies, asteroids, space invaders, or World War III, I cannot get enough of speculative fiction that explores how humanity will bite the dust. Climate Fiction, a term coined by journalist Dan Bloom, is literature that deals in some way with climate change and its effects. Mix this with the post-apocalyptic subgenre and you get some pretty spectacular speculative science fiction. Cli-Fi books can offer one perspective and help us imagine the consequences that rising sea levels, mass extinctions, and more violent natural disasters could have on our planet.

The Blue Collar President by Anthony Scaramucci cover

From Politics to Paperback

Former White House staffers who prove sometimes (alternative) fact is stranger than fiction.

The turnover rate of this administration is higher than a fast food joint right before the school year starts and these people had something to say about it. The Blue Collar President by Anthony Scaramucci

Introvert Power: Why your inner life is your hidden strength

Hello, my name is LaToya and I’m an Introvert!

Getting to know the hidden world of Introverts

Introvert Power: Why your inner life is your hidden strength by Helgoe, Laurie

My Sister the Serial Killer by Okinkan Braithwaite

Not Your Dream Girl

Fall in love with some weird, rude, gross and otherwise complex ladies in these insightful page-turners, all written by female authors.

Podcaster Whitney Reynolds lit Twitter on fire when she suggested that women describe themselves as a male author would.

Lost and Found Cat

The Shelter of Each Other

Picture Book Stories of Resilience and Hope Amidst Displacement

War, climate change, persecution and economic hardship are forcing many children and families worldwide from their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. Leaving behind a home and country, often never to return nor knowing where the journey will lead, can be traumatic. These picture book stories about displacement, all of which are true stories or based on true events, will resonate with children who have had similar experiences. They also introduce children without such experiences to the plight of refugees, in a way that fosters understanding and empathy.

Holy or Broken cover

Five Books About One Song

Expertise.  It's a nice thing to have, but it often takes time and effort that we don't have.  Luckily, it's fairly easy to be an expert on one very, very specific thing, like a song.  Think about it.  Would you rather spend 2 years studying American music history, or one afternoon learning all there is to know about "White Christmas?" Here are five books that will have you on your way to faking pop music expertise. 

Pages