 Supporting COMMUNITY. Inspiring DISCOVERY. Promoting LITERACY. |
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| When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance by Riley BlackScience writer Riley Black stuns with a panoramic natural history that acquaints readers with the interactive nature of life among Earth’s plants, animals, and habitats through the eons. Black’s accessible writing “illuminat[es] natural history into sparkling descriptions of what the Earth was like millions of years ago” (Publishers Weekly). Read-alike: A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H. Knoll. |
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| Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas CarrJournalist Nicholas Carr argues convincingly that social media has taken over our society and brains so rapidly that we haven’t been able to formulate a response, much less calculate the damage it’s wreaking. Carr points to research citing epidemic levels of stress, anxiety, and depression among users, especially teenagers. Other revealing reads on this topic include Alone Together by Sherry Turkle and The End of Absence by Michael Harris. |
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Close to home : the wonders of nature just outside your door
by Thor Hanson
An award-winning natural-history writer uncovers hidden wonders in everyday environments, revealing how backyards, park and local landscapes host fascinating wildlife, scientific potential and opportunities to connect with and contribute to the health of our planet. 25,000 first printing.
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Slither / : How Nature's Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World by Stephen S. Hall"For millennia, depictions of snakes as alternatively beautiful and menacing creatures have appeared in religious texts, mythology, poetry, and beyond. From the foundational deities of ancient Egypt to the reactions of squeamish schoolchildren today, it is a historically commonplace belief that snakes are devious, dangerous, and even evil. But where there is hatred and fear, there is also fascination and reverence. How is it that creatures so despised and sinister, so foreign of movement and ostensibly devoid of sociality and emotion, have fired the imaginations of poets, prophets, and painters across time and cultures?
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| Raising Hare by Chloe DaltonDebut memoirist Chloe Dalton, a political consultant, spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic raising a baby hare she rescued near her country home. This fascinating, endearing, and rarely domesticated creature became Dalton’s companion for a time, awakening her senses to the natural world around her. For more moving encounters with wildlife, try The Puma Years by Laura Coleman or Alfie & Me by Carl Safina. |
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Hello, cruel world! : science-based strategies for raising terrific kids in terrifying times by Melinda Wenner Moyer"From the author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes comes a science-based, hopeful guide on how to raise children who will not just survive, but thrive in this challenging, terrifying world-and who could ultimately help save it. In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats-climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We're not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up-so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future?
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The forgotten sense : the new science of smell--and the extraordinary power of the nose
by Jonas Olofsson
Explores the human sense of smell through the lens of neuroscience and psychology, revealing its extraordinary sensitivity and how it engages the brain, affects our perceptions, and shapes our experiences, while examining historical perspectives, the role of smell in evolution, and the potential for smell rehabilitation after illness.
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| How To Feed the World: The History and Future of Food by Vaclav SmilGeography professor Vaclav Smil’s book about the world’s food supply, while sounding some alarms, takes an optimistic view provided we start implementing sustainable agricultural practices and changing food policy immediately, and provides abundant data to back up his arguments. For other practical discussions about world food issues, try The End of Plenty by Joel K. Bourne Jr. or How the World Eats by Julian Baggini. |
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| Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe by Carl ZimmerScience writer Carl Zimmer puts airborne pathogens under the microscope, taking readers on a tour spanning from the 14th century to COVID-19 that exposes how much we have yet to learn about communicable diseases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Other accessible reads about microbes and disease include The Secret Body by Daniel M. Davis and Immune by Catherine Carver. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 703-248-5030 (TTY 711) www.mrspl.org
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