Staff Picks:Bibliophilia | Mechanics' Institute

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Staff Picks:Bibliophilia

Libraries have been in the business of books for centuries, from the cuneiform repositories of Sumer to the digital holdings at Bexar County Bibliotech. We bookworms love to read, no matter the format, and this month, Mechanics’ Institute staff select books which reflect certain bibliophilic tendencies. A few selections you’ll find on the display, this month, include:

Heather recommends…

The Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin (809.39 B542)

Structured like a reference book, the reader of The Novel Cure can look up her ailment and -- voila! – an appropriate novel will be provided as an antidote to one’s woes. Whether you’re plagued by agoraphobia, cowardice, or midlife crisis – Berthoud has you covered!

Chris recommends…

Always apprentices : the Believer magazine presents twenty-two conversations between writers edited by Vendela Vida, Ross Simonini, and Sheila Heti (809 A477)

Compiling previously published material from the Bay Area's own Believer magazine, these interviews highlight some of contemporary literature's most fascinating writers in conversation with one another. Great pairings (Don DeLillo with Bret Easton Ellis!) and often in front of a live audiences (ensuring quick, genuine responses), these exchanges are animated, illuminating, and inspiring.

A few more recommendations…

Republic of Imagination: America in three books by Azar Nafisi (92N 139r)

The author of Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with an emphatic response to a skeptical reader who posits that Americans don’t care about books – Nafisi argues that fiction has much to teach us, and she supports her point with close readings of her favorite American novels. This passionate polemic on reading fiction will have you cheering along with the other citizens of the Republic of Imagination. Vive le Rêve!

Why We Read What We Read: a delightfully opinionated journey through contemporary bestsellers by Lisa Adams and John Heath (028.9 A21)

The authors peruse two hundred bestselling books to identify common themes and what our reading choices might say about us. This is a humorous book, including lots of interesting factoids to impress your friends. For instance, did you know that over a million Americans read more than fifty nearly-identical books every year?  -- uh oh, will your strange reading habits show up in this book?

On Rereading by Patricia Meyer Spacks (028.9 S73)

A retired literature teacher decides to spend a year rereading novels: those she read as a child, books she often rereads, guilty pleasures, and academic darlings included. She raises interesting questions about why we reread books whose plots we already know – what psychological needs does rereading fulfill, and why do we so often choose old favorites rather than exploring new stories?

Posted on May. 4, 2015 by Heather Terrell