Books
Your Best Reads of 2025
We asked library visitors to post their choices for the best books they read in 2025. Here are some of the selections!
On bullshit
By Frankfurt, Harry G., 1929-2023.
Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it, yet we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves--and we lack a conscientious appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory." Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, he argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.
The cat's table
By Ondaatje, Michael, 1943-
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the "cat's table"--As far from the Captain's Table as can be--with a ragtag group of "insignificant" adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: one man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narrator's elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself "with a distant eye" for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire. Another Cat's Table denizen, the shadowy Miss Lasqueti, is perhaps more than what she seems. And very late every night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and his fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever. As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy's adult years, it tells a spellbinding story--by turns poignant and electrifying--about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.
Pale fire
By Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1899-1977.
"An ingeniously constructed parody of detective fiction and learned commentary, 'Pale Fire' offers a cornucopia of deceptive pleasures, at the center of which is a 999-line poem written by the literary genius John Shade just before his death. Surrounding the poem is a foreward and commentary by the demented scholar Charles Kinbote, who interweaves adoring literary analysis with the fantastical tale of an assassin from the land of Zembla in pursuit of a deposed king. Brilliantly constructed and wildly inventive, this darkly witty novel of suspense, literary one-upmanship, and political intrigue achieves that rarest of things in literature -- perfect tragicomic balance."
Oliver Twist or, the Parish boy's progress
By Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Tells the story of a poor orphan's adventures in the criminal underworld of mid-nineteenth-century London.
Orbital : a novel
By Harvey, Samantha, 1975- author.
"Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts--from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan--have left their lives behind to travel at warp speed as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. So are the marks of civilization far below, encrusted on the planet on which we live."--
None of this is true : a novel
By Jewell, Lisa, author.
"Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix's children's school. Josie has been listening to Alix's podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life. Josie's life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can't quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix's life--and into her home. But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family's lives under mortal threat. Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?"--
This one summer
By Tamaki, Mariko, author.
"Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. One of the local teens - just a couple of years older than Rose and Windy - is caught up in something bad ... Something life threatening. It's a summer of secrets, and sorrow, and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other. This One Summer is a tremendously exciting new teen graphic novel from two creators with true literary clout. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of childhood - a story of renewal and revelation."--Publisher's web site.
Diet, drugs, and dopamine : the new science of achieving a healthy weight
By Kessler, David A., 1951- author.
"The struggle is universal: we work hard to lose weight, only to find that it slowly creeps back. In America, body weight has become a pain point shrouded in self-recrimination and shame, not to mention bias from the medical community. For many, this battle not only takes a mental toll but also becomes a physical threat: three-quartersof American adults struggle with weight-related health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. We know that diets don't work, and yet we also know that excess weight starves us of years and quality of life. Where do we go from here? In Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine, former FDA Commissioner Dr. David A. Kesslerunpacks the mystery of weight in the most comprehensive work to date on this topic, giving readers the power to dramatically improve their health. Kessler, who has himself struggled with weight, suggests the new class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs have provided a breakthrough: they have radically altered our understanding of weight loss. They make lasting change possible, but they also have real disadvantages and must be considered as part of a comprehensive approach together with nutrition, behavior, and physical activity."--Provided by publisher.
The warmth of other suns : the epic story of America's great migration
By Wilkerson, Isabel.
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America.
The Master and Margarita
By Bulgakov, Mikhail, 1891-1940, author.
Presents a satirical drama about Satan's visit to Moscow, where he learns that the citizens no longer believe in God. He decides to teach them a lesson by perpetrating a series of horrific tricks. Combines two distinct yet interwoven parts, one set in contemporary Moscow, the other in ancient Jerusalem.
A guardian and a thief
By Majumdar, Megha, author.
In a near-future Kolkata ravaged by floods and decay, Ma is preparing to leave for a new life in America with her young daughter, Mishti, and her aging father, Dadu. Their visas and passports finally secured, they’re just days away from joining Ma’s husband in Michigan-- until Ma’s purse, holding all their precious documents, is stolen. The theft shatters their hopes and alters their lives forever. The story unfolds from two perspectives: Ma’s desperate struggle to recover what’s lost and Boomba’s, the impoverished thief whose act of survival sets tragedy in motion. Through their intertwined fates, Megha Majumdar delivers a powerful and compassionate portrait of love, loss, and endurance amid poverty and corruption in a world on the brink of collapse.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
By Le Carré, John, 1931-2020.
It is now beyond a doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.
Against the machine : on the unmaking of humanity
By Kingsnorth, Paul, 1972- author.
"How a force that's hard to name, but which we all feel, is reshaping what it means to be human. In Against the Machine, novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original--and terrifying--account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With masterful insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying
Top Checkouts of 2025
The most checked out books at Mechanics' Institute Library in 2025.
James : a novel
By Everett, Percival, author.
"From Percival Everett-a recipient of the NBCC Lifetime Achievement Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Booker Prize, and numerous PEN awards-comes James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river's banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin...), Jim's agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a "cult literary icon" (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature"--
We solve murders
By Osman, Richard, 1970- author.
"A brand new mystery. An iconic new detective duo. And a thrilling new murder to solve ... Solving murders. It's a family business"--
The lost and the found : a true story of homelessness, found family, and second chances
By Fagan, Kevin (Reporter), author.
"An award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee who has covered homelessness for decades and spent extensive time on the streets for his reporting, Fagan experienced it himself as a young man and brings a deep understanding to the crisis. He introduces us to Rita and Tyson, telling the deeply moving story of two unhoused people rescued by their families with the help of Fagan's reporting, and their struggle to pull themselves out of homelessness and addiction, ending with both enormous tragedy and triumph. But [this book] is not just a story of individuals experiencing homelessness--it is also a compelling look at the link between homelessness and addiction, and [a] commentary on housing and equality"--
Abundance
By Klein, Ezra, 1984- author.
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don't have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven't built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget-if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that's clicking into focus now has been building for decades-because we haven't been building enough. Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear's villains. Rather, one generation's solutions have become the next generation's problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished. Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.--
Table for two : fictions
By Towles, Amor, author.
"The millions of readers of Amor Towles are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories set in New York City and a novella in Los Angeles. The New York stories, most of which are set around the turn of the millennium, take up everything from the death-defying acrobatics of the male ego, to the fateful consequences of brief encounters, and the delicate mechanics of comprise which operate at the heart of modern marriages. In Towles's novel, Rules of Civility, the indomitable Evelyn Ross leaves New York City in September, 1938, with the intention of returning home to Indiana. But as her train pulls into Chicago, where her parents are waiting, she instead extends her ticket to Los Angeles. Told from seven points of view, "Eve in Hollywood" describes how Eve crafts a new future for herself--and others--in the midst of Hollywood's golden age. Throughout the stories, two characters often find themselves sitting across a table for two where the direction of their futures may hinge upon what they say to each other next. Written with his signature wit, humor, and sophistication, Table for Two is another glittering addition to Towles's canon of stylish and transporting historical fiction"--
The amateur's mind : turning chess misconceptions into chess mastery
By Silman, Jeremy, author.
The Amateur's Mind takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength. Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives. These flaws in their mental armour result in stinging defeats and painful reversals. Books can be bought and studied, lessons can be taken -- but in the end, these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate. Seeking a solution to this dilemma, Mr. Silman wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games, analysed them, and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose. He then eradicated those mental traps by offering advice, rules of conduct and strategy, and penetrating psychological insight. This second edition greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition. In particular, the addition of twenty-six tests and their detailed explanations, add more than one hundred pages of instruction-rich material.
Marble Hall murders : a novel
By Horowitz, Anthony, 1955- author.
"Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel and her Greek boyfriend, Andreas, in search of a new life back in England. Freelancing for a London publisher, she's given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd's Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children's author Miriam Crace who died twenty years ago. Eliot is convinced she was murdered--by poison. To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother's death inside the book. Desperately, Susan tries to prevent Eliot from putting himself in harm's way--but his behavior is becoming increasingly erratic. Another murder follows . . . and suddenly Susan finds herself to be the number one suspect. Once again, the real and the fictional worlds have become dangerously entangled. And if Susan doesn't solve the mystery of Pünd's Last Case, she could well be its next victim"--
The expert of subtle revisions : a novel
By Menger-Anderson, Kirsten, author.
In Half Moon Bay, California, 2016, a young woman waits for her father's sailboat to arrive at port. They have agreed to meet on this day and time. Yet he never shows. He has told her this event might come. And if it did, she was ready. Go to the library in Berkeley, find a certain book, follow the instructions. But what if the instructions lead to more questions than answers? In 1933, a young man arrives in Vienna to begin a new post as a professor of mathematics at the university. There he finds himself part of the Engelhardt Circle, a group of intellectuals that have recently been targeted by a growing, anti-academic mob. The circle includes the preeminent minds of their time and a cast of characters desperate to get invited into their midst, many of whom will stop at nothing to get there. As fascism rises, and polarization increases, moderate voices are drowned out. There are whispers of a machine, a music box, which can transport someone through time. But no one can confirm if it's a rumor or true. And the only people who know firsthand are not talking. --
The emperor of gladness : a novel
By Vuong, Ocean, 1988- author.
"A year in the life of a wayward young man in New England who, by chance, becomes the caretaker for an eighty-two-year-old widow living with dementia, powering a story of friendship, loss, and how much we're willing to risk to claim one of life's most treasured mercies: a second chance"--
Intermezzo : a novel
By Rooney, Sally, author.
"An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family, from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney"--
Breath : the new science of a lost art
By Nestor, James, author.
"No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how resilient your genes are, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Science journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong with our breathing and how to fix it. Why are we the only animals with chronically crooked teeth? Why didn't our ancestors snore? Nestor seeks out answers in muddy digs of ancient burial sites, s
Staff Picks
Books, music, and movie recommendations from Mechanics' staff
Catch and kill : lies, spies, and a conspiracy to protect predators
By Farrow, Ronan, 1987- author.
Elizabeth's pick
Add a zero : the step-by-step guide to financial freedom and getting to your first million
By Han, Rose.
Bobbie's pick
Rethinking rescue : Dog Lady and the story of America's forgotten people and pets
By Mithers, Carol Lynn, author.
Bobbie's pick
New Fiction
See more new fiction in our catalog
Nash falls
By Baldacci, David, author.
"Walter Nash is a sensitive, intelligent and kindhearted man. He has a wife and a daughter and a very high-level position at Sybaritic Investments, where his innate skills and dogged tenacity have carried him to the top of the pyramid in his business career. Despite never going on grand adventures, and always working too many hours, he has a happy and upscale life with his family. However, following his estranged Vietnam-veteran father's funeral, Nash is unexpectedly approached by the FBI in the middle of the night. They have an important request: become their inside man to expose an enterprise that is laundering large sums of money through Sybaritic. At the top of this illegal operation is Victoria Steers, an international criminal mastermind that the FBI has been trying to bring down for years. Nash has little choice but to accept the FBI's demands and try to bring Steers and her partners to justice. But when Steers discovers that Nash is working with the FBI, she turns the tables on him in a way he never could have contemplated. And that forces Nash to take the ultimate step both to survive and to take his revenge: He must become the exact opposite of who he has always been. And even that may not be enough"--
We'll prescribe you a cat
By Ishida, Syou, 1975- author.
"Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they "take" their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging yet endearing cats. Through the chapters of a disheartened businessman who finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a young girl navigating the complexities of elementary school cliques, a middle-aged man struggling to stay relevant at work and home, a hardened bag designer seeking emotional balance, and a geisha unable to move on from the memory of her lost cat, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed. As the clinic's patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope"--
Helm
By Hall, Sarah, 1974- author.
Helm is a ferocious wind, part elemental god, part aerial demon blasting through the landscape of Northern England since the dawn of time. But now Dr. Selima Sutar fears human pollution is killing Helm.
Return of the spider
By Patterson, James, 1947- author.
"Meet Alex Cross as a rookie cop in Return of the Spider, the stunning companion to Along Came a Spider. The suspense classic Along Came a Spider introduced an unsurpassed rivalry: Detective Alex Cross, the 'human superhero' (New York Times) versus Gary Soneji, the 'most deliciously wicked character since Hannibal Lecter' (Lexington Herald-Leader). But that wasn't their first meeting. Police discover that Soneji kept a murder book, Profiles in Homicidal Genius, detailing his transformation from substitute teacher to hardened serial killer--including clues that imply missteps that Alex Cross may have made a rookie homicide detective. Now Alex must retrace the steps of that long-ago investigation and face the return of the spider"--
House of day, house of night
By Tokarczuk, Olga, 1962- author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut
"A novel about the rich stories of small places, from the Nobel Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Books of Jacob and Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead."--
Queen of swords
By Barrera Velázquez, Jazmina, 1988- author.
"An impassioned portrait of an enigmatic subject, the Mexican writer Elena Garro, that chases her tumultuous life through the letters, books, rumors, and rituals that came to define it"--
One of us : a novel
By Chaon, Dan, author.
It's 1915 and the world is transforming, but for thirteen-year-old Bolt and Eleanor-twins so close they can literally read each other's minds-life is falling apart. When their mother dies, they are forced to leave home under the care of a vicious con man who claims to be their long-lost uncle Charlie, the only kin they have left. During a late-night poker game, when one of his rages ends in murder, they decide to flee. Salvation arrives in the form of Mr. Jengling, founder of the Emporium of Wonders and father to its many members. He adopts Bolt and Eleanor, who travel by train across the vast, sometimes brutal American frontier with their new family, watching as the exhibitions spark amazement wherever they go. There's Minnie, the three-legged lady, and Dr. Chui, who stands over seven feet tall; Thistle Britches, the clown with no nose, and Rosalie, who can foretell the death of anyone she meets. After a lifetime of having only each other, Eleanor and Bolt are finally part of something bigger. But as Bolt falls in deeper with their new clan, he finds Eleanor pulling further away from him. And when Uncle Charlie picks up their trail, the twins find themselves facing a peril as strange as it is terrifying, one which will forever alter the trajectory of their lives. An ode to the misfits and the marginalized, One of Us is a riotous and singularly creepy celebration of the strange and the spectacular and of family in its many forms.
The silver book : a novel
By Laing, Olivia, author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut
"It is September 1974. Two men meet in Venice. One is a young English artist, in panicked flight from London. The other is Danilo Donati, the magician of Italian cinema, the designer responsible for realizing the spectacular visions of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini's Casanova. A young apprentice is just what he needs. He sweeps Nicholas to Rome and introduces him to the looking-glass world of Cinecittà, the studio where Casanova's Venice will be ingeniously assembled. In the spring, the lovers move together to the set of Salò, Pasolini's horrifying fable of fascism. But Nicholas has a secret, and in this world of constant illusion, his real nature passes unseen. Amid the rising tensions of Italy's Years of Lead, he acts as an accelerant, setting in motion a tragedy he doesn't intend." --
North sun, or, The voyage of the whaleship Esther : a novel
By Rutherford, Ethan, author.
Set in 1878, this novel follows the crew of the whaling ship Esther as they depart from New Bedford to hunt whales in the Pacific and the Arctic's Chukchi Sea. As the voyage progresses, the sailors encounter increasingly harsh and mysterious natural forces. Combining elements of a traditional sea narrative with mythic and environmental themes, the story explores humanity's relationship with nature and the consequences of exploitation.
Exit strategy
By Child, Lee, author.
"First--a Baltimore coffee shop. A seat in the corner, facing the door. Black coffee, two refills, no messing around. A minor interruption from two of the customers, but nothing he can't deal with swiftly. As he leaves, a young guy brushes against him in the doorway. Instinctively Reacher checks the pocket holding his cash and passport. There's no problem. Nothing is missing. Second--a store to buy a coat. Nothing fancy. Something he can ditch when he heads to warmer climates. Large enough to fit a man the size of a bank vault. As he pulls out his cash, he finds something new in his pocket. A handwritten note. A desperate plea for help. Third--wherever this bend in the road takes him. Impressed by the guy's technique and intrigued by the message, Reacher makes it his mission to find out more ... "--
All of us murderers
By Charles, KJ, author.
"When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic house on Dartmoor, he finds all the people he least wants to see in the world - his estranged brother, his loathsome cousins, and his bitter ex-lover, Gideon Grey. Nothing, he is certain, could possibly be worse. Then the grizzled old patriarch announces the true purpose of the gathering: He intends to leave the vast family fortune to whichever of the men marries Cousin Jessamine, setting off a violent scramble for her hand and his wealth. Disinterested in being tied further to a family he can barely stand, Zeb tries to leave only to realize that he's been trapped. The walls are high, the gates are locked, and when the mists roll in, there's no way out. And there may be something trapped within the dark monstrosity of a house with them. Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his whole heart. As the mists descend, the gaslight flickers, and terror takes its hold, two warring lovers must reconcile in time to uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House - and live to tell the tale."--
A long winter
By Tóibín, Colm, 1955- author.
"A young man named Miquel returns to his family in the Catalan Pyrenees upon completing his military service. His younger brother, Jordi, will be departing for his service a week after Miquel's arrival. He will be gone for two years. Miquel notices their mother's increasingly erratic behavior and understands that she is drinking. As she becomes increasingly unstable, her husband resorts to drastic measures. Unable to abide his betrayal and her own grief, she walks off into the mountains. A blizzard sets in and the search for her is futile. No one will find her until the spring thaw arrives"--
The proving ground
By Connelly, Michael, 1956- author.
"Following his "resurrection walk" and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim's family, Mickey's case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy's digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake. It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called "the knight's sacrifice." Haller will take a similar
New Non-fiction
How to make the best coffee at home
By Hoffmann, James, author.
The author demonstrates everything you need to know to make consistently excellent coffee at home, including: what equipment is worth buying, and what isn't; how to grind coffee; the basics of brewing for all major equipment (cafetiere, aeropress, stovetop etc); understanding coffee drinks, from the cortado to latte and the perfect espresso. -- adapted from Amazon.com.
Unmasking AI : my mission to protect what is human in a world of machines
By Buolamwini, Joy, author.
"Unmasking AI is the remarkable story of how Buolamwini uncovered what she calls 'the coded gaze'--the evidence of encoded discrimination and exclusion in tech products--and how she galvanized the movement to prevent AI harms by founding the Algorithmic Justice League."--Page [4] of cover
Something between us : the everyday walls of American life, and how to take them down
By Pandian, Anand, author. aut
"Whether the plight of refugees or the recent pandemic, the climate crisis or systemic racism, so much turns on the care and concern we can muster for lives and circumstances beyond our own. And yet, the deep divides of national life in the United States have made effective action on such matters a serious and sometimes intractable challenge. Why is it so difficult to acknowledge and address the intertwining of our lives with others? Over the last eight years, anthropologist Anand Pandian has crisscrossed the United States talking with Americans of all kinds to make sense of the ruptures in our physical and psychological social fabric. Insider vs outsider, familiar vs stranger, safety vs threat: these stark distinctions are anchored and sustained by the makeup of so much of contemporary American life, from fortified neighborhoods to bulked-up cars, from visions of the body as an armored fortress, to media that shut out contrary perspectives. This array of interlocking divides make it difficult to take unfamiliar people and perspectives seriously; harder to acknowledge the needs of strangers, to trust their motives and empathize with their struggles. Using the tools of an anthropologist, Pandian interweaves his vivid and challenging encounters with salesmen and truck drivers, police officers and urban planners, and activists for racial and environmental justice with fascinating historical and cultural analysis that challenges us to think beyond the twists and turns of our immediate present. While our impasses draw from deep American histories of segregation and suspicion, Pandian shows us how the work of mutual aid and communal caretaking can help us surface more radical visions for a life in common with others across the rigid lines we take so easily for granted, and learn anew how to meet strangers in this land as potential kin"--
Why Plato matters now
By Hobbs, Angela (Angela H.), author.
"Professor Angie Hobbs proves in this persuasive and intelligent book that Plato is more relevant than ever. Does Plato matter? An ancient philosopher whose work has inspired and informed countless thinkers and poets across the centuries, his ideas are no longer taught as widely as they once were. But, as Angie Hobbs argues in this clear-sighted book, that is a mistake. If we want to understand the world we live in - from democracy, autocracy and fake news to celebrity, cancel culture and what money can and cannot do - there is no better place to start than Plato. Plato's methodology, arguments, ideas and vivid images are explained with a clarity suitable both for readers familiar with his work and for those approaching Plato for the first time. This book shows why Plato really matters, now more than ever."--Dust jacket flap.
What happened to millennials? : in defense of a generation
By Wells, Charlie (Reporter), author.
What happened to millennials? At the birth of America's largest living generation, the outlook was strong: unparalleled economic growth, the emerging Internet, the rise of the cell phone, and a geopolitics that had allegedly reached "the end of history" all set expectations exceedingly high for a cohort entering adulthood at the dawn of the new millennium. That adulthood -- a work in progress for more than a quarter century -- has been disrupted by war, recession, pandemic, and a sharp turn toward cultural and economic polarization. It has also been endlessly critiqued by others as immature, lazy, weak, incomplete, selfish, and supposedly riddled with failure. Now, 25 years after the first millennials began turning 18, Bloomberg News reporter Charlie Wells comes to the generation's defense with a cultural history of an adulthood disrupted. Drawing on hundreds of hours of intimate interviews with five millennials from across the country, he explores how the biggest events, ideas, and transformations of the century played out in private lives. Between the data points and statistical studies, news reports and archival records, his brutally honest, on-the-record conversations about love, loss, work, addiction, tragedy, and sacrifice reveal how a generation once minimized can no longer be ignored. What Happened to Millennials charts a path from our nostalgic past to a better future, shaped by the challenges we have surmounted, the people we have loved, and the adults we have become--
Giving up is unforgivable : a manual for keeping a democracy
By Vance, Joyce, author.
"The first book from Joyce White Vance: equal parts civics class, history lesson, and call to save the Republic, Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a political manifesto for our present moment. 'We're in this together.' For the past two years, Joyce Vance has signed off posts on her chart-topping Substack, Civil Discourse, with these four words. In that time, she's guided readers through a continued erosion of democratic norms, the unprecedented felony conviction of an ex-president, and the approaching specter of a second Trump administration. Now that it's upon us, Vance helps us understand how to avoid burnout and despair and exercise the democratic muscles we need to save the Republic. Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a clarion call to action--putting our current crisis in historical context and sketching out a vision for where we go next. Vance's message is hopeful at its heart, even as it acknowledges the daunting challenges that lie ahead. She is the constitutional law professor you never knew you needed, explaining the legal context, the political history, and the practical reasons that the rule of law still matters, while also empowering you to do something--from the small (that conversation you've been meaning to have with your uncle or volunteering for your favorite political cause) to the big (starting a grassroots movement or running for political office). Consider this the birth of a countermovement to Project 2025, a rallying cry for citizen engagement to counter the second Trump administration and save American democracy"-- Provided by publisher.
The great contradiction : the tragic side of the American founding
By Ellis, Joseph J., author.
"A major new history from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding Brothers and the National Book Award winner American Sphinx, on how America's founders--Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams--regarded the issue of slavery as they drafted the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. In this daring and important work, our most trusted voice on the founding era reckons with the realities and regrets of our founding and the tragedy of its two great failures: the failure to end slavery and the failure to avoid Indian removal"--
Killer story : the truth behind true crime television
By St. Amant, Claire, author.
"Claire St. Amant spent nearly a decade in network television chasing the biggest true crime stories in the country. Bringing a true crime story to network television requires quick thinking and tenacious stamina, and in her debut memoir, Claire offers true crime fans a rare in-depth look on the other side of the yellow tape"--
Inside the mind of Bobby Fischer : revisiting his writings and annotations
By Donaldson, John, International Master, author.
Bobby Fischer is considered one of the greatest players in the history of chess, as well as one of its most instructive writers. During his career he authored several books (including his masterpiece, My 60 Memorable Games), wrote two regularly appearing magazine columns, and annotated games and articles for several different publications. IM Donaldson, who started playing chess after the 1972 Fischer-Spassky world championship match, takes a fresh look at Fischer's chess writings. The result is a comprehensive analysis of them, enhanced with detailed commentary and historical notes. Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer gathers most of Fischer's articles, annotations, and miscellaneous writings together in one place, drawing heavily on Fischer's first book, Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess, and his Boys' Life and Chess Life columns. This volume includes 116 annotated games (over a dozen of which appear in print for the first time). Fischer prided himself on the quality of his annotations, and with a few exceptions, his analyses hold up well over half a century later. Fischer's writings are key to understanding the thinking of this exceptional chess mind and this understanding can't help but lead to improvement in your own play. --
Barry McGee : reproduction
By McGee, Barry, 1966- photographer.
"For decades Barry McGee has collected and made photographs to use as inspiration and source material for his paintings, installations, and zines. Exploring this vast archive for the first time, Reproduction focuses on the significant role of photographs within McGee's artistic practice, while texts by Sandy Kim, Ari Marcopoulos, and Sandra S. Phillips offer new insights into McGee's multifaceted forms of creative expression"--Back cover.
What it takes to become a Grandmaster
By Soltis, Andy, 1947- author.
"Becoming a Grandmaster is the ultimate aim for serious chess players, but whatever your abilities, this book will take you to the next level. Written by the every-popular chess writer Andrew Soltis, this book teaches you how to identify the kinds of moves and techniques that go the extra mile. Among the fifty principal topics covered in this book are: Risk Management, Preserving Tension, Mystery Moves, Hierarchy of Advantages, Tacking, Piece Nullification, Timing, Freezing the Center, Trending, Doubting the Computer -- and even Impossible Moves!"--Back cover.
The age of extraction : how tech platforms conquered the economy and threaten our future prosperity
By Wu, Tim, author.
"A concise yet century-spanning exploration of the power of platforms, what the future of capitalism will look like, and how to build economies that provide equality and lasting prosperity"--
Nobody's girl : a memoir of surviving abuse and fighting for justice
By Giuffre, Virginia Roberts, author.
"The world knows Virginia Roberts Giuffre as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's most outspoken victim: the woman whose decision to speak out helped send both serial abusers to prison, whose photograph with Prince Andrew cataly
Country Life's book of dogs : from countryside to hearthside, at home with our four-legged friends
By Stamp, Agnes, author.
If anyone builds it, everyone dies : why superhuman AI would kill us all
By Yudkowsky, Eliezer 1979- author.
Why fascists fear teachers : public education and the future of democracy
By Weingarten, Randi, author.
Historic Mechanics' Institute looks like a library, feels like a library with so much to offer with its fine collection and provoking programming. This gem is not to be missed. - Peter Wiley, Chairman Emeritus, John Wiley and Sons
Mechanics' Institute Library has over 100,000 circulating materials in its collection and continues to grow. We serve the general reader with a wide, diverse, and eclectic collection covering a vast array of subjects and interests.
See a selection of our collection below and visit our Catalog to explore even more.