This account of the opioid crisis in the United States is eye-opening, heartbreaking, and has radically altered the way I see drug addiction. In a feat of investigative journalism, Macy takes the reader into the heart of Appalachia, where affluent and poor communities alike are struck by the impact of opiods. Digging into the science behind…
Category: Non-Fiction
Hidden America
You know the aspects of life you’re only aware of when they’re not working correctly? How you never think of air traffic controllers until your flight is delayed (speaking from personal experience on this one)? In Hidden America, Laskas does a deep-dive into the industries that don’t sit front-and-center of the American conscious, illuminating what…
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
During my time living in the UK, I’ve slowly picked up on the tension and tragedy of the Troubles. The Troubles is the religious and political conflict in Northern Ireland. To put it in incredibly simple terms, it’s a conflict between Protestants (wanting to remain with the UK) and the Catholics (who want a united…
Yale Needs Women
In honor of the Barbie movie coming out this last weekend, I wanted to share one of my favorite ‘how cool are women?’ reads. In this PhD-thesis-turned-book, Anne Gardiner Perkins skillfully uses countless interviews to bring to life the story of when Yale began admitting women and the numerous, unexpected logistics that would entail. I’ll…
Storm in a Teacup
When looking at two eggs – shell and all – how can you tell which one is hard boiled and which isn’t? This, among other everyday phenomena, is a mystery that Helen Czerski unpacks in Storm in a Teacup, using the laws of physics to explain our daily life. If you’re thinking, “my brain hasn’t worked…
Crying in H-Mart
*Tear Warning* Given the title, it shouldn’t be a shock that this is a memoir that pulls at your heart. Michelle Zauner is a founding member of a band called Japanese Breakfast (she’s Korean, that’s a big part of the book so don’t get confused), but before she found success in music, she was an…
The Boys in the Boat
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always thought rowing was a fairly straight-forward sport (pun intended), but I have far more appreciation for it, and the individuals who participate in it, having read this book. Brown takes the reader on a journey from Seattle to Berlin for an incredible feat in 1936 I…
Everything I Know About Love
In a book that reads like a well-written diary, Alderton lets the reader into the raw, brilliant and broken corners of her life. Beginning in her teens and travelling through to her thirties, Alderton covers love, grief, self-discovery, the perils of MSN Messenger, realities of online dating, and the love of romantic partners and lifelong…
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
MI6, counterintelligence during the Cold War, and double agents – all wrapped up in the unbelievable account of Kim Philby’s career. Through his friends– fellow MI6 agent Nicholas Elliot and head of CIA counterintelligence James Jesus Angleton – Philby was able to derail an unbelievable amount of Anglo-American spy operations. Carried through department inquiries and moments of…
Deep Work
Making history as the second non-fiction book in a row to grace the 2% newsletter, Deep Work challenges us to reconsider the way we organize our day, how we understand the concept of focus, and how we work. In order to understand how our brains focus and how we can manage time more efficiently, Cal Newport breaks down various…