Shada: The Lost Adventure
by Gareth Roberts and Douglas Adams
In honor of television's longest-running program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this November, why not pick up a copy of Doctor Who's infamous "lost adventure"? Originally conceived as an episode of the series back in 1980 by none other than Douglas Adams (of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) but scrapped due to budgetary constraints, this rollicking science-fiction yarn has been reimagined in novel form by writer extraordinaire Gareth Roberts. If you like shadowy conspiracies, brain-zapping robots, chases through Cambridge corridors, and, of course, Britain's favorite time-traveling alien, then this is the read for you.
GarbologyOur Dirty Love Affair with Trash
by Edward Humes
Do you ever wonder where that piece of whatever you just threw away goes? If you don’t now, you will after reading Garbology. Humes won’t tell you how to recycle or turn your trash into treasure, but he will share some history and statistics that you most likely have never heard before. You will learn that there is no area on our planet that hasn’t been touched by trash as well as what is being done with it across the USA. You’ll meet entrepreneurs and artists, all finding interesting uses for this endless resource. A great choice for non-fiction readers.
Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
by Mary Roach
Could anyone actually “bust a gut” by laughing too hard? As she’s done in her other books (Stiff, Bonk, and Packing for Mars) Roach digs deep into the published research when exploring what happens to what we eat. And when she can, she volunteers to become part of the research herself. Saliva? She offers her own to a scientist studying differences in chemical composition. And she's not afraid to tackle the big subjects, such as "noxious flatulence" and whether constipation played a part in Elvis Presley’s death. Science writing at its most accessible and fun(ny), Roach makes complicated (and often wacky) research highly readable. By the way, you can “bust a gut” by overeating (sort of, it’s complicated), but Roach didn’t look at laughter as a cause. Maybe in her next book...
The Immortal Rulesby Julie Kagawa
Allison Sekemoto is a young woman living in an alternate world where vampires keep humans as cattle. She is attacked and left on the verge of death when a vampire named Kanin offers her a choice: die or live—as a vampire. This book's action-packed scenes are written with a cinematic flair, and Kagawa doesn’t shy away from making us contemplate the harder questions: Can you become something other than human without losing your humanity? Where is God in this dystopian world? And can two natural enemies fall in love? If you enjoy dystopian fantasies, vampires, or strong heroines, give The Immortal Rules a try.
by Fran Stewart
Martinsville, Georgia’s new librarian, Biscuit McKee, starts her new job with an unexpected and unwelcome event: a dead body in the library! With the help of her curious cat, Marmalade, McKee investigates the murder while preparing for her wedding to the town’s only police officer. Sometimes it seems as if the only character who knows what is happening is the cat. Too bad Biscuit does not speak felinese. If you decide to try this well written and unusual mystery, you are sure to enjoy the rest of the Biscuit McKee series: Yellow as Legal Pads, Green as a Garden Hose, Blue as Blue Jeans, Indigo as an Iris and Violet as an Amethyst.
Evolution, Health, and Disease
by Daniel E. Lieberman
Lieberman leads readers down the evolutionary path traveled by the human body. He explains the body's ongoing changes in easy-to-understand language. It is fascinating to learn how the human body continually changes, how it adapts to shifting diets, and how the body itself creates conditions for diseases.
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