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Non-Fiction Reads February 2026 |
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American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback
by Seth Wickersham
Pull back the curtain on the most powerful position in all of sports: the Quarterback, the American equivalent of royalty, long glamorized, mythologized and worshiped. The New York Times bestselling author of It's Better to be Feared examines football's QB lifecycle: high school, college, the NFL, retirement-and all that comes with it--
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Just Visiting This Planet, Revised and Updated for the Twenty-First Century: Further Scientific Adventures of Merlin from Omniscia
by Neil Degrasse Tyson
From Neil deGrasse Tyson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, comes a spirited journey to the planets and stars, revealing the answers to many mysteries of our galaxy and beyond.In this companion volume to Merlin's Tour of the Universe, we visit again with Merlin, a timeless traveler from Planet Omniscia, who answers a collection of imaginative questions about the cosmos from curious stargazers. Whether waxing poetic about Earth and its environs, the Sun and its stellar siblings, physical laws, or galaxies near and far, Merlin's remarks are witty, humorous, and clear as a starry night sky.Merlin tackles such conundrums as: If aliens exploded Earth's moon, what effect would it have on us?Are black holes gathering matter in preparation for another big bang in another time and dimension?Why does the Moon look bigger on the horizon?Accompanied by the playful illustrations of Stephen J. Tyson, Just Visiting This Planet is a lively, entertaining, and indispensable guidebook to the universe.
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Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age
by Frank Close
The thrilling and terrifying seventy-year story--kinetic, dramatic, and compulsively readable (Patchen Barss)--of the physicists that deciphered the atom and created the hydrogen bomb A Guardian Best Book of the Year Although Henri Becquerel didn't know it at the time, he changed history in 1896 when he left photographic plates and some uranium rocks in a drawer. The rocks emitted something that exposed the plates: it was the first documented evidence of spontaneous radioactivity. So began one of the most exciting and consequential efforts humans have ever undertaken. As Frank Close recounts in Destroyer of Worlds, scientists confronting Becquerel's discovery had three questions: What was this phenomenon? Could it be a source of unlimited power? And (alas), could it be a weapon? Answering them was an epic journey of discovery, with Ernest Rutherford, Enrico Fermi, Irene Joliot-Curie, and many others jockeying to decipher the dance of particles in a decaying atom. And it was a terrifying journey as well, as Edward Teller and others pressed on from creating atom bombs to hydrogen bombs so powerful that they could destroy all life on earth. The deep history of the nuclear age has never before been recounted so vividly. Centered on an extraordinary cast of characters, Destroyer of Worlds charts the course of nuclear physics from simple curiosity to potential Armageddon.
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Measure with Your Heart: Southern Home Cooking to Feed Your Family and Soul: A Cookbook
by Hannah Taylor
Hannah Taylor is a culinary creator from Georgia known for her Southern charm, wholesome personality, and carefree 'measure with your heart' cooking content. When Hannah began sharing her experimental cooking projects online, her platform exploded with support for her wild personality and chaotic cooking style. Hannah eyeballs ingredients and improvises recipes in her videos on social media, and her debut cookbook embraces this playful side of cooking. Infused with Hannah's unapologetically unpolished energy, Measure with Your Heart encourages you to trust your instincts in the kitchen. ... [The book] is filled with Hannah's twists on classic Southern cooking, with an emphasis on making everything from scratch so you know exactly what's in it. Try your hand at Hannah's homemade versions of kitchen staples like vanilla extract or beef bone broth. Bring some warmth to your dinner table with mains like finger lickin' fried chicken, butternut squash casserole, and ham hock lima bean stew. Serve up Aunt Teisha's cowboy caviar or mini pizza pops at your next gathering, alongside a strawberry sip 'n' spritz--
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Improv Quilts: Building Confidence in Color and Technique
by Laura Loewen
Embrace the freedom and creativity of improv quilting with award-winning quilter Laura Loewen (@QuiltFortCo). The asymmetrical designs offer a refreshing departure from standard quilting fare... This is sure to get quilters' creative juices flowing.
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Art In My Heart: The Power of Watercolor Mandala Making
by Michele Faia
This book teaches you how to use the Mandala as a spiritual tool to access your innate creativity, create your own Mandalas and benefit from their power, learn to paint in watercolor quickly and easily, express yourself from the heart.
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The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America
by Jeff Yang
Covering more than 130 films, spanning more than 100 years--from Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film The Cheat to Wayne Wang's The Joy Luck Club to the Danielses' Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2022--this groundbreaking book explores how these iconic films have shaped how America sees Asians and how Asian Americans see themselves--
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My Friend Johnny: The Last 20 Years of a Beautiful Life with Johnny Carson and Friends
by Howard Smith
For two decades, Howard Smith shared an extraordinary friendship with Johnny Carson-not as the legendary Tonight Show host, but simply as John. A neighbor turned close companion, Howard entered John's private world far from the spotlight.In My Friend Johnny, Smith paints an intimate portrait of the man behind the iconic desk: funny, kind, and generous, yet deeply complex. From tennis matches to quiet moments, their bond lasted until John's passing.Set against Malibu's elite circles, Smith's journey includes personal and revealing accounts with icons like Princess Diana, Bruce Springsteen, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Wahlberg, Oprah, Jerry Weintraub, Usher, David Foster, Arnold Palmer, Clint Eastwood, Jimmy Hoffa, Tommy Lasorda (who changed Howard's life forever), and seven US presidents. More than a memoir, this book celebrates true friendship, serendipity, the magic of knowing someone beyond their fame, and the five traits that link the most successful.With a foreword by Jay Leno, this book also includes 20 pages of never-before-seen candid photos of celebrities, capturing unforgettable moments from Smith's extraordinary life journey.
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Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in XI Jinping's China
by Emily Feng
The rise of China and its great power competition with the U.S. will be one of the defining issues of our generation. But to understand modern China, one has to understand the people who live there - and the way the Chinese state is trying to control them along lines of identity and free expression. In vivid, cinematic detail, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom tells the stories of nearly two dozen people who are pushing back. They include a Uyghur family, separated as China detains hundreds of thousands of their fellow Uyghurs in camps; human rights lawyers fighting to defend civil liberties in the face of mammoth odds; a teacher from Inner Mongolia, forced to make hard choices because of his support of his mother tongue; and a Hong Kong fugitive trying to find a new home and live in freedom. Reporting despite the personal risks, journalist Emily Feng reveals dramatic human stories of resistance and survival in a country that is increasingly closing itself off to the world. Feng illustrates what it is like to run against the grain in China, and the myriad ways people are trying to survive, with dignity.
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India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent
by Audrey Truschke
A dazzling new history of the Indian subcontinent and its diverse peoples in global context--from antiquity to today. Much of world history is Indian history. Home today to one in four people, the subcontinent has long been densely populated and deeply connected to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas through migration and trade. In this magisterial history, Audrey Truschke tells the fascinating story of the region historically known as India--which includes today's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan--and the people who have lived there. A sweeping account of five millennia, from the dawn of the Indus Valley Civilization to the twenty-first century, this engaging and richly textured narrative chronicles the most important political, social, religious, intellectual, and cultural events. And throughout, it describes how the region has been continuously reshaped by its astonishing diversity, religious and political innovations, and social stratification. Here, readers will learn about Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Sikhism; the Vedas and Mahabharata; Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire; the Silk Road; the Cholas; Indo-Persian rule; the Mughal Empire; European colonialism; national independence movements; the 1947 Partition of India; the recent rise of Hindu nationalism; the challenges of climate change; and much more. Emphasizing the diversity of human experiences on the subcontinent, the book presents a wide range of voices, including those of women, religious minorities, lower classes, and other marginalized groups. You cannot understand India today without appreciating its deeply contested history, which continues to drive current events and controversies. A comprehensive and innovative book, India is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the past, present, or future of the subcontinent.
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Want to request any of these titles? Place a hold through the online catalog or call the library for assistance 831-768-3404. |
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Watsonville Public Library
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