Nonfiction
Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands
By Linda Ronstadt
Ronstadt’s gorgeous book, Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands, is an invitation like no other. Her collaboration with Lawrence Downes and Bill Steen merges language, image, food, and family in a sweet reveal of her Mexican-American heritage. This book gently and powerfully showcases Ronstadt’s abiding emotional attachment to past and place. —Kären
Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
By Irene Vallejo
Translated by Charlotte Whittle
Within the delicious realm of books written about books, Papyrus, by Spanish author Irene Vallejo is a gem. Compellingly light in voice while expansive in detail and breadth, this bibliophile's dream centers around the ancient literary worlds of Alexandria and Rome, alighting on all affected by the growing passion for books, their collection, and their preservation. With topical forays forward in history and a personal, inquisitive touch to the study, Papyrus is the liveliest of literary adventures. —Melinda
The Ransomware Hunting Team: A Band of Misfits’ Improbable Crusade to Save the World from Cybercrime
By Renee Dudley & Daniel Golden
That guy behind the counter at the computer repair shop? Saved companies hundreds of millions, and the ability to do business, by rescuing them from ransomware. Lost all your keepsake photos unless you pay up to some guy in Russia? The Ransomware Hunting Team may be your salvation. Listen in as companies, cities, families, and others cast about and find there’s no one to help them, except the Ransomware Hunting Team. They’ll help you for free, but don’t expect a three-piece suit.
—Dave
What If? 2
By Randall Munroe
Munroe, the creator behind the webcomic XKCD, takes us on another wild ride through science, humor, and above all, the joy of curiosity. It was such a pleasure to remember that while some questions may seem absurd, there is value in silly questions as well as serious ones. Some of Munroe’s answers may cause you to rethink your place in the universe (there are more stars, and therefore more solar systems, than grains of sand on Earth) and some may cause you to laugh (Soupiter, anyone?), but all of them remind us to keep asking. —Jax
Inciting Joy: Essays
By Ross Gay
In this new collection of essays, Ross Gay invites us to interrogate the joy that exists in all facets of our lives—to coax it out from grief, from mundanity, even from the irritation of an invasive weed in our garden. In his signature candid and circuitous prose, Gay reminds us that leaning into joy is not only a privilege, but a form of survival. —Holly
The Visible Unseen: Essays
By Andrea Chapela
Translated by Kelsi Vanada
In her introduction, Andrea Chapela talks about the still moment between lightning and thunder, how it is a scientific phenomenon and yet more felt than named. This is how I experienced her collection of lyric essays, with anticipation and delight. Growing up in a family of scientists in Mexico City but studying writing in Iowa, Chapela straddles many lines, bringing poetry to scientific principles and astute observation to chronicling her daily life. Just as the lyrical essay is a hybrid, so too is Chapela’s work, and it’s a pleasure to explore. —Melinda
A Girlhood: Letter to My Transgender Daughter
By Carolyn Hays
Gender-affirming care is essential in reducing the rate of suicide in trans youth, yet numerous states are passing bills to limit access. This vital book grips your heart and shows firsthand the effect this legislation will have on trans children and their loved ones. Don’t look away. We cannot let our trans siblings down. Written with love, this book is for anyone (hint: everyone) affected by this. —Ivy
Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions
By Steve Martin, Illustrated by Harry Bliss
If you enjoyed Steve Martin and Harry Bliss’s collaboration in A Wealth of Pigeons, you're going to love their newest work even more. Continuing their delightful conversations as illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Bliss, Number One Is Walking turns toward Martin’s rich film life, and what a gold mine it is. Through each recollection, each single-panel joke, his lightness and wit is effortlessly captured, making this much more than a Hollywood memoir, but a perfect gift for just about anyone. —Melinda