Sports Books for People Who Don’t Like Sports

Sports are, in essence, about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  Somebody wins and somebody loses.  It’s this simplicity that makes them so appealing to so many people.  But sometimes sports are about more than the final tally on the scoreboard.  Sometimes their outcomes have implications for things like politics, racial equality, gender equality or national pride.  These moments are important to everyone, not just those who live and die with their teams’ success.  So for those of you who care nothing for sports, here are a few sports books you might like.

 

Short Books for Busy Readers: Bin Laden’s Bald Spot & Other Stories

The next installment of “Short Books for Busy Readers” is here!

Bin Laden's Bald Spot & Other Stories by Brian DoyleBin Laden’s Bald Spot & Other Stories
by Brian Doyle
146 pages

In this collection of short stories, Brian Doyle pulls together fun snippets of fiction on a variety of unique and creative story topics, from the sad yet hopeful story “The Cuckold 10K” to the darkly funny “King of the Losers.”

Doyle uses flowing text to allow his characters to express themselves, occasionally ignoring grammatical conventions like periods and commas. Though sentences occasionally become paragraphs, this is skillfully done; the result is wonderfully expressive rather than confusing. While reading sections written in this way, I had a mental image of the author creating art with his words, as an artist does with her paints. The combination of semi-stream of consciousness style and sparse amounts of dialogue make the author’s voice feel intimate and authentic, drawing the reader into the character’s world for a few brief pages.
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Review: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Quiet by Susan CainYou have the right to remain silent. Susan Cain says it’s okay. In her book, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking,” she makes a compelling case for the merits of the quieter segment of our population. I found this book so validating that I would shout about it from the rooftops if I were a person who did that sort of thing. Since I’m an introvert who is more comfortable communicating in writing, I’ll stick to typing up a good review.

Cain posits that our society often values personality over character, and the accepted personality is the gregarious, charismatic, talkative extrovert. While not devaluing extroverts, she argues there’s a place for silent contemplation and explains that introversion has nothing to do with disliking other people. Cain points out how many accomplishments have been achieved by introverts who spent a lot of time alone. For example, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, who designed the Apple I largely by himself.

For those who don’t have time to read the book right now, here’s a 20-minute TED talk by the author.

Food for Your Hunger (Games)

Hunt, Gather, Cook by Hank ShawFor the past week or so, my husband has been buried in The Hunger Games books.  He has forced himself to stop reading at midnight on week nights and looked forward to short work days and weekends when he can read for hours on end to finish the trilogy. Finishing the first book on a Friday night, we went to see the movie the next morning (my second time seeing the movie, not going to lie here).

As my husband has been completely occupied with Suzanne Collin’s increasingly popular books, I recently found myself finally reading my latest issue of Self magazine. Flipping through the pages, I mostly skimmed the articles and checked out the pictures until I came across the caption, “Eat like Katniss: Get Hunger Games recipes at self.com/healthystars.” I thought, “Eat like Katniss?!?! Why didn’t I think of that?!”  But now, of course, I have a whole new party scheme for when the movie comes out on DVD.  Or when “Catching Fire” arrives in the theaters next fall.  Or BOTH. (Watch out, oh friends of mine.)
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Zombie Preparedness at Your Library

Collision with a deadly meteor. War with extraterrestrials. Massive solar flare. The inevitable rising of the robots.  Personally, if I was a betting librarian, I’d wager that the world is going down in an unholy apocalypse of the undead. That’s right, folks: zombies.

If you agree, you’ll be glad to know that Westlake Ace Hardware has an online Zombie Preparedness Center. Whether you are still human or have crossed over to the other side, you’ll find helpful resources to zombie-proof your home or help delay the decay process. Even the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has downloadable posters for you to distribute among your friends, family and coworkers because prevention through education is key.
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Remembering the Titanic, 100 Years Later

Voyagers of the Titanic by Richard Davenport-HinesApril 15, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s tragic sinking after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Many of the stories of those who survived and those who did not are firmly embedded in popular culture. There is the “unsinkable” Molly Brown, born to poor Irish immigrants and whose husband struck gold in the 1890s, making the couple millionaires. Most know J. Bruce Ismay as the director of the White Star Line who was widely held responsible for the inadequate number of lifeboats and vilified for taking a spot on one of those boats as hundreds of others lost their lives. Finally, the tale of the ship’s musicians bravely playing as the Titanic went down has reached the status of myth. However, the stories of the ship’s middle- and third-class passengers, as well as many crew members, have gone largely untold this past century.

There are several recently published works that seek to give voice to both those who lost their lives on the Titanic and those who survived and coped – with varying degrees of success – with the aftermath of this tragedy. The following are just some of these works available at your library.
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