Books
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.
New Non-fiction
See more new non-fiction in our catalog
Empire of ink : the printers, rogues, and radicals who invented the American newspaper
By Wright, Alex, 1966- author.
"No society had ever generated so much ink and paper in so little time. Between the Revolutionary War and the dawn of the twentieth century, the number of American newspapers increased five hundredfold, producing the greatest outpouring of printed matter the world had ever seen. In Empire of Ink, Alex Wright tells the story of how an unruly young democracy found its voice, fueled by a mix of new technologies, bold public policies, and a distinctly American zeal for free expression that unleashed a torrent of newsprint, knitting together a fractious republic. It was a wild, boisterous era populated by gunslinging editors, tramp printers, zealous reformers, brilliant inventors, and literal snake-oil salesmen. Together, they transformed journalism, built a new industry, and helped forge the nation's character. By century's end, this freewheeling press had yielded to corporate interests. Wealthy media barons seized on new technologies and economies of scale to consolidate power, shaping the mass media that would define the twentieth century. Vividly bringing to life a pivotal chapter in American history, Empire of Ink reveals how the same struggles over truth, technology, and power continue to echo into today's digital age"-- Provided by publisher.
The Odyssey
By Homer, author.
"The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. In this fresh, authoritative version--the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman--this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, this engrossing translation matches the number of lines in the Greek original, thus striding at Homer's sprightly pace and singing with a voice that echoes Homer's music. Wilson's Odyssey captures the beauty and enchantment of this ancient poem as well as the suspense and drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, from the cunning goddess Athena, whose interventions guide and protect the hero, to the awkward teenage son, Telemachus, who struggles to achieve adulthood and find his father; from the cautious, clever, and miserable Penelope, who somehow keeps clamoring suitors at bay during her husband's long absence, to the "complicated" hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this translation as a more fully rounded human being than ever before. A fascinating introduction provides an informative overview of the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the major themes of the poem, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of scholars, students, and general readers alike."--Publisher's description.
Our wild familiars : how animals are adapting to cities and reshaping the natural world
By Werb, Dan, author.
"A dazzling journey into the hidden lives of synanthropes, the wild animals who've found ingenious ways to survive and thrive in human communities-from award-winning writer and epidemiologist Dan Werb Synanthropes have always been an immutable part of the tapestry of our lives. They are the reason we hear birdsong in the morning and skittering throughout the day, and why we take such pains to fix lids to our garbage cans. But they are so much more than that, too: epidemic vectors, churners of soil, ecosystem evolvers, spiritual lodestars, and, sometimes, sharp-toothed marauders making their way through our most intimate spaces with cruel intent. But beyond their quotidian impact on our lives, synanthropes have a critical part to play in how our communities are shaped and how sustainably they will function. These creatures are ambassadors from nature, arbiters of our planet's future, and a key influence on our species' ongoing evolution; and something essential has shifted with them. We are entering a fraught era of environmental disruption, habitat destruction, and human population expansion that is ravaging formerly wild and untouched lands. And with that, we are coming face to face with an entirely new class of synanthropes that are bringing chaos and danger-as well as opportunity-to our doorstep. These creatures, so long dismissed, are forcing us to reckon with them. Through vivid storytelling, Our Wild Familiars brings to spectacular life the world's most successful synanthropes, from bats, raccoons, and crows, to some of its weirdest, including the Giant Pacific Octopus. Acting as a guide to the curious, Werb reveals how the cracks in our millennia-long efforts to shield ourselves against the outside world might just lead us to a new and necessary harmony with nature-or to an ever more savage future"--
Capital from zero : reading Marx in the age of climate catastrophe
By Saitō, Kōhei, 1987- author.
"Capital From Zero is a reading guide, a manifesto, a revision, and a reclamation of Marx's foundational work of political theory. Building on his signature argument of 'degrowth communism', Saito's introduction brings Capital squarely into the 21st century, offering auniquely non-Western, non-dogmatic and eco-socialist reading of thefamous text"--
James Joyce : a political life
By Callanan, Frank, author.
"A major new biography that reveals how politics profoundly shaped Joyce's life, thought and writings. The young James Joyce (1882-1941) was forged in the smithy of Irish political controversies, and he took into his European exile a depth of political insight unrivalled among his fellow modernists. In this biography of Joyce in his youth and early exile, acclaimed Irish historian and biographer Frank Callanan reveals a Joyce who is markedly more politically conscious, informed and complex than the Joyce of Richard Ellmann's classic account. Written in a sparkling style and rich with historical insights, Callanan's deeply researched biography is the first sustained account of how Joyce's Irish and European political and cultural context shaped his life, thought, and writings. Joyce was eight years old in 1890 when the O'Shea divorce scandal tore Irish nationalism apart, leading to the split in the Irish Parliamentary Party, the death of nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell, and a long, bitter period dominated by the anti-Parnellites. This was the Ireland that Joyce grew up in and rebelled against, and which determined his literary direction. Callanan uncovers a Joyce who was a highly original and dissenting Irish nationalist, who refused to avow or vaunt his nationalism and whose understanding was refined by the experience of living in multicultural Trieste with its fraught ethnic politics and differing models of statehood. Callanan's Joyce is as heroic as Ellmann's defiantly modernistic artist but in a more interesting way--a writer who didn't lack political conviction but whose views didn't yield to the expectations of his time. Energizing, witty, profound, and elegant, James Joyce: A Political Life is a magisterial biography that will transform how readers look at Joyce and his politics." --
Gerontocracy in America : how the old are hoarding power and wealth - and what to do about it
By Moyn, Samuel, author.
"A leading social critic identifies our least-discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it." --
Rolling stone and the rise of hip capitalism : how a magazine born in the 1960s changed America
By Ponce de Leon, Charles L. (Charles Leonard), author.
"In its early years, Rolling Stone stood out on the magazine rack: an iconoclastic bimonthly aimed at young Americans, dedicated to music, culture, and politics. Magazine cofounder Jann Wenner's vision of a magazine that blended politics with sophisticated coverage of rock music and related social and cultural trends was groundbreaking and a surprising commercial success, turning the brash young publisher into the era's quintessential 'hip capitalist.' This is a history of Rolling Stone's heyday, from its founding in 1967 to its twentieth anniversary, examining its coverage of notable social, cultural, and political developments and the contributions of its distinguished and often brilliant writers-from Greil Marcus and Hunter S. Thompson to William Greider and P. J. O'Rourke. It also reveals how, in response to shifts in its audience, the magazine industry, and the broader culture, Rolling Stone gradually changed, becoming more successful but also less innovative and influential. In the magazine's prime, however, Wenner and company showed how a thoughtful, irreverent magazine could attract advertisers as well as readers and spread sixties-inspired values into the mainstream"-- Provided by publisher.
Salsa daddy
By Martínez, Rick (Chef), author.
"From the author of Mi Cocina comes a comprehensive (and unbelievably delicous) cookbook that focuses on one of the main pillars of Mexican cuisine: salsas. Featuring 75 salsas and 25 full meal recipes, this cookbook will have you whipping up fresh, enticing spreads in no time. Salsas are both the traditional heart of Mexican cooking-blending charred tomatillos and chiles goes back over five hundred years-and something cooks today can riff most freely, as Rick Martinez, beloved author of Mi Cocina, discovered while tasting a caramelized onion-serrano chile salsa in Mexico City. Salsas make irresistible snacks with chips, of course, but they will also elevate your grilled cheese, your burger, your tacos, or your whole meal. Rick takes us deep into the world of traditional and modern salsas, where a refreshing pico de gallo with oranges and avocados might be chopped up in a few minutes, or where you might simmer chipotles in milk and butter for a creamy, smoky, spicy sauce. With 75 salsa recipes and 25 simple meals that can each be made totally unique by your choice of salsas, this book shows you all the ways salsas can be the heart of your table, too"-- Provided by publisher.
Take me to your leader : perspectives on your first alien encounter
By Tyson, Neil deGrasse, author.
"'Ever since childhood,' writes Neil deGrasse Tyson, 'I've wanted to be abducted by Aliens.' Take Me to Your Leader is the culmination of a lifetime of fascination, speculation, and the amassing of scientific data about the possibility of Aliens visiting Earth. Drawing on a wealth of depictions from history, literature, pop culture, and film, Tyson applies the universal laws of physics to make the case for wha
Self-help from the Middle Ages : what the seven deadly sins can teach us about living
By Jones, P. V. (Peter V.), author.
Hōjōki : a Buddhist reflection on solitude, imperfection and transcendence ; bilingual English and Japanese texts with free online audio recordings
By Kamo, Chōmei, 1153?-1216?, author.
City on the edge : Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco
By Weber, Jonathan, author.
The reverse centaur's guide to life after AI : how to think about artificial intelligence--before it's too late
By Doctorow, Cory, author
Unreasonable women : three stories of violence, imprisonment, and extraordinary survival
By Van der Leun, Justine, author.
New Fiction
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Cool machine : a novel
By Whitehead, Colson, 1969- author.
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author and two-time Pulitzer winner Colson Whitehead, an exuberantly entertaining novel that brings to life 1980s New York in the magnificent final volume of his Harlem Trilogy. 1981. New York City is beginning to emerge from financial ruin and decline, energized by rampant real estate development and a Wall Street unchained by Reagan-era predatory capitalism. Up in Harlem, successful business owner/master fence Ray Carney has just been named Sterling Furniture's Dealer of the Month. When the banks won't give his beloved wife Elizabeth a loan for her new travel agency, however, Carney gambles on one last heist, and finds himself entangled with a legendary criminal mastermind. 1983. To some, Carney's friend and partner in crime Pepper is a stone-cold sociopath. To others, a top thief with questionable people skills. Either way, he's feeling his age in his troubled gut and his aching bones. When he takes on a bodyguard gig as a favor to Elizabeth, he's plunged into the alien territory of the East Village art and club scene. Luckily for him, whether you're uptown or down, everyone speaks the same language of violence-Pepper is a native speaker. 1986. Carney has always been haunted by his inability to save his cousin Freddie. Now, twenty years after Freddie's death, he has a chance to rescue Freddie's son from the violent forces of the city. But coming out of retirement and teaming up with Pepper again will mean risking the safety and security he's spent decades building for his family, with only one shot to get it right. With his usual pitch-perfect prose Whitehead paints a portrait of a city in transition, where shimmering skyscrapers rise to the heavens as displaced people huddle in abandoned tunnels below. In a dazzling display of protean imagination, Cool Machine roves all over the city, from Windows on the World to the Meadowlands, to show that in New York, and in the lives of Whitehead's vivid characters, it's what's below the surface that reveals the truth"-- Provided by publisher.
The au pair : a novel
By Wayne, Teddy, author.
"Steven Hammer was once a literary star. Now, his career is floundering, his marriage to a high-powered woman is crumbling, and the only bright spot in his life is Astrid, the Norwegian au pair who cares for their children--and reveres his neglected novels. But what begins as a secret infatuation soon spirals into a scandal that makes them both infamous. As a headline-grabbing trial captivates the world with a salacious story of sex, power, and betrayal, Steven must confront the wreckage he's created--and the deeper insecurities that fueled it. Is Astrid an innocent young woman caught up in a case beyond her control, or a calculating femme fatale? And how far will he go, driven by desperation and obsession, for her professed love? With inexorable momentum and sly, lucid prose, Teddy Wayne's The Au Pair is a sleek literary thriller about desire, deception, and the unraveling of a man as he grapples with his fading relevance--when the lies others spin pale beside the fictions we tell ourselves"--
It will come back to you : collected stories
By Nunez, Sigrid, author.
"Thirteen of Sigrid Nunez's short stories in one volume"--
Black bag
By Kennard, Luke, author.
"An out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetime--sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bag--to aid a professor's psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong? In Luke Kennard's audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr. Blend's students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences. A professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her own--in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag?--and the actor's childhood friend forms a vision for monetizing this new situation . . . A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane"--Book jacket flap.
The intrigue
By Moreno-Garcia, Silvia, author.
"Handsome con artist Ulises has long charmed lonely women via letters to steal their money, but money is hard to come by in 1940s Mexico. Ulises knows his looks won't last forever, and he's desperate to get his hands on a real fortune. He thinks he's found it when he captivates his newest correspondent, Perla, the owner of a small-town boardinghouse in picturesque Veracruz. But when he meets her, he finds something he didn't expect. The woman has a niece, Inés, who is as observant as she is desperate to escape her aunt's household. When Inés discovers Ulises' true intentions, she wants in on the scheme. They'll convince her aunt that Ulises is a great catch, Perla will marry him, and her money will vanish. Easy, fast and clean. But Perla is not the desperate, silly spinster Ulises imagines. She harbors secrets. And although Ulises does not believe in true romance, Inés is more alluring than he bargained on. Suddenly, a simple plan may become perilously complicated. Venture into the streets of a small town where the patina of convention and good manners conceals a cauldron of avarice and lust"-- Provided by publisher.
The children : a novel
By Albert, Melissa, author.
"Guinevere Sharpe has two childhoods. In one, she and her brother, Ennis, live in the wooded shadow of her family's isolated Vermont farmhouse; in the other, the pages of their mother's world-famous Ninth City books, where their magical adventures have made them household names. In reality, Guinevere's childhood isn't the enchanted idyll her mother's readers imagine: She and Ennis are growing up near-feral, unwashed and underfed, escaping each day to the wild woods they've made their playland. As Edith Sharpe's books explode into epic popularity, the threats of a rural childhood give way to the escalating perils of fame -- until the night it all goes up in flames, leaving Edith's series unfinished and her children the sole survivors. Now an adult coasting on her mother's name, Guinevere is mid-promotion for a ghostwritten memoir when her estranged brother, an artist who has until now spurned his family's legacy, announces an upcoming installation titled, simply, Mother. As rumors swirl around a death connected to his last show, unsettling recollections from Guinevere's childhood begin to surface. Her public facade starts to crack, forcing her to confront the questions she's spent the past twenty years running from: What really happened the night of the fire? And what dark history lies behind their mother's fantasy world?"--Book jacket flap.
A murder in springtime
By Walker, Martin, 1947 January 23- author.
"In the next installment of the Bruno, Chief of Police series, a newcomer to St. Denis is found dead in the home of one of Bruno's best friends--for once, Bruno feels as though he is too close to the case to properly investigate, until it becomes clear that he's the only person who can solve the crime. After Bruno sees he's missed several phone calls from his longtime neighbor Pamela, he has no idea what to expect. He's shocked to hear that she's found her new lodger on her back patio, brutally murdered. Bruno knows that Pamela isn't capable of killing anyone, but then who's the culprit? And what's the motive? The victim had only just moved to town to take a job at the local nursing home. She had no enemies in the village--but no friends, either. Bruno decides that he can't be impartial where Pamela is involved, so the force assigns the case instead to their rising star rookie, Fabien. Bruno is happy for Fabien to take the lead. Lately, Bruno's been distracted: by his faltering relationship, by a meddlesome film crew that's descended on the Dordogne, by a group of opinionated small business owners Bruno wants to help to organize a logistically complicated night market. He can't seem to catch a break. But when Fabien realizes that the victim is connected to his own past, Bruno steps back in to help. The village has never felt more crowded, and the clock is ticking: Will Bruno and Fabien be able to catch a killer?"--
Sunburn : a novel
By Howarth, Chloe Michelle, 1996- author.
"It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, fifteen-year-old Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend. Lucy begins to make sense of herself during a long hot summer, when a spark with her school friend Susannah escalates to an all-consuming infatuation, and, very quickly, to a desperate and devastating love. Fearful of rejection from her small and conservative community, Lucy begins living a double life, hiding the most honest parts of herself in stolen moments with Susannah. But with the end of school and the opportunity to leave Crossmore looming, Lucy must choose between two places, two people and two futures, each as terrifying as the other. Only one will offer her real happiness."--Back cover.
We were forbidden
By Harpman, Jacqueline, author.
In this newly translated collection of three novellas, Jacqueline Harpman explores the many forms of resistance in the face of oppression. A woman trapped in a mysterious postwar forest struggles against strict rules governing the survivors' existence. A schoolgirl in 1940s Casablanca risks severe consequences when she dares to question authority. And a young wife confined by the expectations of an unhappy marriage begins to awaken to desires of her own. Thought-provoking and psychologically rich, these stories examine freedom, identity, and the enduring human urge to defy limitations.
The bookseller
By Sullivan, Tim, 1958- author.
"Read enough, and you'll learn how to get away with murder. When the body of a bookseller is discovered lying in a pool of blood in his Bristol bookshop, the police have one question: How did the man meet such a violent, murderous end in this peaceful place? Detective Sergeant George Cross has a knack for dismissing red herrings: He goes by the cold hard facts, and nothing else. But with a co
Disability Pride Month
Booker Prize 2026 Longlist
Booker Prize nominees for 2026 that are available now in the Library. More coming to the collection soon!
Black bag
By Kennard, Luke, author.
"An out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetime--sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bag--to aid a professor's psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong? In Luke Kennard's audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr. Blend's students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences. A professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her own--in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag?--and the actor's childhood friend forms a vision for monetizing this new situation . . . A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane"--Book jacket flap.
The things we never say : a novel
By Strout, Elizabeth, author.
"Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He goes about his days teaching American history to high schoolers, correcting their casual ignorance, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He spends his free time sailing the beautiful Massachusetts Bay, or with his adult son and his wife of more than three decades - and as Artie does these things, he plans the event that will forever change the world he inhabits. But when a startling accident awakens a new perspective in Artie, and he realizes that life has its own secret it's been keeping from him - along with a lot more to say on the weighty matters of fate and freedom in his home and his country - he charts another course full of grief, hilarity, and heart, to a place where the end marks the beginning. Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a profound exploration of the human condition - one that brims with deep compassion for each and every one of her characters. With exquisite prose and gentle intimacy, Artie Dam takes one man's fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the mysterious love that sustains and holds us through it all"-- Provided by publisher.
John of John
By Stuart, Douglas, 1976- author.
"Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris to find that little has changed except for him. He returns to the windswept croft and the two pillars of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and lay preacher in the local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian whose steady warmth helped Cal weather the sudden departure of his mother. Cal privately wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son's long hair, strange clothes, and seeming unwillingness to be Saved. But Cal isn't the only one in the croft house who is keeping secrets. As lambing season turns to shearing season, the threads holding the community together become increasingly frayed, and nothing will remain as it was before. John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that cements Douglas Stuart's reputation as one of our greatest novelists working today"-- Provided by publisher.
The palm house
By Riley, Gwendoline, 1979- author.
"Laura's long friendship with Edmund Putnam is tested when he resigns from Sequence magazine--one of the few places he has ever felt he belonged. Putnam repines. His sweet-natured father has recently died, which has not improved his mood. Meanwhile Laura's relentlessly "outward-facing" mother is still at large and toting a new boyfriend as if he were a marotte. Laura, too, needs a new job, and a place to live that doesn't have centipedes in the kitchen. Gwendoline Riley's seventh novel explores acceptance and affinity. Young people don't drink anymore but Laura and Putnam are no longer young. Over wine and crisps the pair reflect on what has brought them to where they are. There are memories of childhood package holidays, teenage friendships and obsessions, peculiar love affairs, bad parties. Life is fleeting. Sequence magazine means something, but what? Might Putnam plot a return?"-- Provided by publisher.
Staff Picks
Books, music, and movie recommendations from Mechanics' staff
Stop me if you've heard this one : a novel
By Arnett, Kristen, author.
Picked by Danica, Annual Fund and Marketing Manager
Days at the Morisaki bookshop : a novel
By Yagisawa, Satoshi, 1977- author.
Picked by Andy, Programs Director
The serviceberry : abundance and reciprocity in the natural world
By Kimmerer, Robin Wall, 1953- author.
Picked by Jessica, Librarian
Poor things : episodes from the early life of Archibald McCandless M. D. Scottish public health officer
By Gray, Alasdair, author, illustrator.
Picked by Danica, Annual Fund and Marketing Manager