Cool Down with New Books

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Though summer has not yet officially arrived, it certainly feels as if it has. Wait out the heat wave by browsing our new books! You can always go back to checking items off your summer bucket list when C'ville stops pretending it's a sauna.

It's been 100 years since World War I began, so commemorate the upcoming anniversary with The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 by Margaret MacMillan. Don't forget to check out two other books haunted by the shadow of the conflict: The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey, which takes place before WWI, and Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell, about the year 1922.

Spice up your summer staycation with Cool Japan: A Guide to Tokyo, Kyoto, Tohoku, and Japanese Culture Past and Present by Sumiko Kajiyama.

Or spend it immersed in the lives and memories of folk with intriguing stories: A Curious Man: The Strange & Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley by Neal Thompson tells the tale of a man who shared his fascination with phenomenon with the world; Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood by Leah Vincent explores the ways in which exile frees a young woman. A child comes of age on a perilous road to safety in A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story by Qais Akbar Omar, and the vanished world of Downton Abbey comes to life in Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid by Mollie Moran.

If you're taking a summer public speaking course or would like advice on creating masterful presentations, check out Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds by Carmine Gallo. Read it in tandem with Confidence: Overcoming Low Self-Esteem, Insecurity, and Self-Doubt by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, which offers some surprising insights. That little thing known as low-self esteem? It may not be such a bad thing, after all.


And don't underestimate the salutary effects of laughter. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling will provide plenty of it.

Discover the science behind a "Chickenosaurus" in How to Build a Dinosaur: The New Science of Reverse Evolution by Jack Horner and James Gorman.

Great news, gamers: soon, video games will be central to everyday life. How to Do Things with Videogames by Ian Bogost is the proof.

This is only a sample of the new books available at Jessup Library. Check out the catalog to discover more!