*New & Notable Adult Nonfiction - May Highlights*

Published this month and new to the collection

Updated May 16, 2025
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The Art Spy : The Extraordinary Untold Tale of Wwii Resistance Hero Rose Valland
Young, Michelle
Paper Book
A riveting and stylish saga set in Paris during World War II, The Art Spy uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the world's most treasured masterpieces. On August 25, 1944, Rose Valland, a woman of quiet daring, found herself in a desperate position. From...
Big Girls Don't Cry : A Memoir About Taking Up Space
Swan, Susan.
"[Swan's writing offers] not only an enjoyable read, but also the chance to think and reflect on the vast complex living entity that is the world." --Nobel Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk Where do we belong if we don't fit in? A memoir about what it means to defy expectations as a woman...
Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up
Barry, Dave
Paper Book
America's most beloved wiseass finally tells his life story with all the humor you'd expect from a man who made a career out of making fun of pretty much everything. How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate...
Daughters of the bamboo groveFrom China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins
Demick, Barbara
Paper Book
The heartrending story of twin sisters torn apart by China's one-child policy and the rise of international adoption--from the author of the National Book Award finalist Nothing to Envy "Excellent . . . entrancing and disturbing . . . [Demick] is one of our finest...
The Lost Voice: A Memoir
Morgan, Greta
Paper Book
A poignant, tenacious memoir by musician Greta Morgan chronicling how she rediscovered her artistic voice after losing her ability to sing. In 2019, Greta Morgan was on the rise. She was a touring member of Vampire Weekend, performed with Jenny Lewis, and garnered critical acclaim with her...
Second life : having a child in the digital age
Hess, Amanda (Journalist)
Paper Book
"Hess's debut memoir bursts with humor and intelligence as it weaves the story of her own pregnancy....This unexpected page-turner is as vulnerable as it is sharp." --Vulture As an internet culture critic for The New York Times, Amanda Hess had built a reputation...
Things Become Other Things: A Walking Memoir
Mod, Craig
Paper Book
A transformative 300-mile walk along Japan's ancient pilgrimage routes and through depopulating villages inspires a heartrending remembrance of a long-lost friend, documented in poignant, imaginative prose and remarkable photography. "An epic, exquisitely detailed journey, on...
Chinatown Vancouver : An Illustrated History
Seto, Donna
Paper Book
A colourful illustrated history of the buildings in Vancouver's Chinatown, celebrating the richness, diversity, and vibrancy of the Chinese community. Buildings are more than just bricks and mortar; they are keepers of secrets and history. With more than seventy vibrant illustrations,...
The Undiscovered Country : Friendship, Betrayal and the Obsessive Quest to Map the Brain
Andrew-Gee, Eric.
The riveting true story of the star-crossed friendship between two neuroscientists--one famous, the other forgotten--who mapped the brain, but lost each other. In the early 1920s, when neurosurgery was more likely to be a death sentence than a cure, two men revolutionized the...
Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global
Spinney, Laura
"The story of how one language left the steppes of Ukraine and became the earth's dominant language family has become clearer and more exciting than ever before. Hooray for a book where the author's curiosity, diligence, and literary craft gets it all down in what will stand as the go-to...
Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II
Aikman, Becky
Paper Book
"A bold and soaring work of history . . . whip-smart, deeply researched, and beautifully written." -Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life "A soaring narrative."-Keith O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls<...
Swimming Holes and Beaches of Southwestern British Columbia : Including the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island
McKeen, Alex
Perfect for BC locals and travelers alike, discover 100 amazing places to swim outdoors in the Lower Mainland and on the Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and South-central Vancouver Island. Here is a guide for everyone who loves to swim, from waders to long-distance swimmers,...
The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman
Stratis, Niko
Paper Book
A memoir-in-essays on transness, dad rock, and the music that saves us. When Wilco's 2007 album Sky Blue Sky was infamously criticized as "dad rock," Niko Stratis was a twenty-five-year-old closeted trans woman working in her dad's glass shop in the Yukon Territory. As she...
No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain
Solnit, Rebecca
New York Times Bestseller In the spirit of her bestselling book Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit explores how our actions can shape the future and the liberatory possibilities of embracing uncertainty. Beginning with an essay about a three...
Odyssey: The Greek Myths Reimagined
Fry, Stephen
Paper Book
The legendary Stephen Fry retells the adventures of Odysseus for the fourth and final installment in his internationally bestselling Greek Myths series.   Odysseus's journey from the battlefields of Troy to his home in Ithaca is one of the greatest...
Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
McGee, Patrick
Paper Book
For readers of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs and Chris Miller's Chip War, a riveting look at how Apple helped build China's dominance in electronics assembly and manufacturing only to find itself trapped in a relationship with an authoritarian state making ever-increasing demands.<...
Capitalism and its critics : a history : from the Industrial Revolution to AI
Cassidy, John
A Financial Times Most Anticipated Book of 2025 A sweeping, dramatic history of capitalism as seen through the eyes of its fiercest critics. At a time when artificial intelligence, climate change, inequality, trade wars, and a right-wing populist...
The Crisis of Canadian Democracy
Coyne, Andrew.
Andrew Coyne, one of Canada's most esteemed political thinkers, delivers a powerful exposé of the nation's crumbling democratic institutions.  With characteristic wit, insight, and rigor, Coyne dismantles the comforting myths Canadians tell themselves about their political...
Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again
Tapper, Jake
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Superbly reported . . . Reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids." -- Los Angeles Times "Explosive." --The New York Times "[The] most significant book to date about Biden's cognitive decline."...
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want
Bender, Emily M.
Paper Book
A smart, incisive look at the technologies sold as artificial intelligence, the drawbacks and pitfalls of technology sold under this banner, and why it's crucial to recognize the many ways in which AI hype covers for a small set of power-hungry actors at work and in the world. Is...
The great nerve : the new science of the vagus nerve and how to harness its healing reflexes
Tracey, Kevin J.
New science reveals the groundbreaking potential of the vagus nerve to regulate your body's vital systems and heal a wide variety of medical conditions without drugs The vagus nerve is fundamental to our health and vitality, coordinating critical functions  from the precise...
Is a River Alive?
Macfarlane, Robert.
Paper Book
From the celebrated writer, observer and naturalist Robert Macfarlane comes a brilliant, perspective-shifting new book, which answers a resounding "yes" to the question of its title. At the heart of Is a River Alive? is a single, transformative idea: that rivers...
The Teachings of Mutton : A Coast Salish Woolly Dog
Hammond-Kaarremaa, Liz.
The pelt of a dog named "Mutton" languished in a drawer at the Smithsonian for 150 years until it was discovered, almost accidentally, by an amateur archivist. This book tells Mutton's story and explores what it can teach us about Coast Salish Woolly Dogs and their cultural significance. ...
Trees of Victoria : A Wanderer's Guide
Varner, Collin
Paper Book
A full-colour guide to more than 200 species of coniferous and broadleaf trees found throughout the parks, woodlands, and urban green spaces of Victoria, BC. Victoria, British Columbia, known by locals as the "City of Gardens" also holds the esteemed position as Canada's warmest...
When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World
Thomas, Jordan
Paper Book
A hotshot firefighter's gripping firsthand account of a record-setting fire season Eighteen of California's largest wildfires on record have burned in the past two decades. Scientists recently invented the term "megafire" to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have...
The peepshow : the murders at Rillington Place
Summerscale, Kate
Paper Book
"A trove of thrilling material . . . skillfully examines the racism, sexism, economic privation and class prejudices that permeated postwar England . . . There's so much to admire in this engaging, deeply researched book." --The New York Times Book Review "An absorbing...
Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder
James, Rachel McCarthy
Paper Book
A brilliant and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture. For as long as the axe has been in our hands, we have used it to kill. Much...
Align Your Mind: Tame Your Inner Critic and Make Peace with Your Shadow Using the Power of Parts Work
Frank, Britt
Paper Book
Meet your inner critic, your inner teen, and your inner shadow in this engaging guide to taming anxiety, healing trauma, and overcoming self-doubt with Parts Work What is "Parts Work"? You contain multitudes. At any given moment, your inner critic might be...
Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference
Bregman, Rutger
Paper Book
From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Humankind and Utopia for Realists--"a more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell" (The New York Times)--comes a bold manifesto daring us to harness our talents and transform our idealism into action, all with the goal of...
Super agers : an evidence-based approach to longevity
Topol, Eric J.
A New York Times Bestseller Super Agers is a detailed guide to a revolution transforming human longevity. This is a breakthrough moment in the history of human health care. The person making that bold claim is one of the most respected medical researchers in the world,...
We can do hard things : answers to life's 20 questions
Doyle, Glennon
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES AND #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The award-winning authors and podcasters Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle created We Can Do Hard Things--the guidebook for being alive--to help fellow travelers find their way through life. When you travel...
Who Deserves Your Love : How to Create Boundaries to Start, Strengthen, or End Any Relationship
Davis, K. C.
Paper Book
A practical and gentle guide to navigating the difficult relationships that shape your life, from KC Davis, beloved therapist and bestselling author of How to Keep House While Drowning. Just as her bestseller How to Keep House While Drowning helped...

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