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Non-Fiction Reads October 2025 |
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John & Paul : a love story in songs
by Ian Leslie
"John Lennon and Paul McCartney knew each other for twenty-three years, from 1957 to 1980. This book is the myth-shattering biography of a relationship that changed the cultural history of the world. The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960's and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship. John and Paul's relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John & Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatlessongs. In John & Paul, acclaimed writer Ian Leslie uses the songs they wrote to trace the shared journey of these two compelling men before, during, and after The Beatles. Drawing on recently released footage and recordings, Leslie offers us an intimate and insightful new look at two of the greatest icons in music history, and rich insights into the nature of creativity, collaboration, and human intimacy"
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Murderland : crime and bloodlust in the time of serial killers
by Caroline Fraser
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Prairie Fires comes a terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond—a gripping investigation of how a new strain of psychopath emerged out of a toxic landscape of deadly industrial violence.
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Sister wife : a memoir of faith, family, and finding freedom
by Christine Brown Woolley
Traces the "Sister Wives" star's life from her polygamist upbringing in Utah to becoming Kody Brown's third wife and a reality TV personality, revealing both the ideals and struggles of plural marriage and her eventual decision to leave the lifestyle behind.
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A genocide foretold : reporting on survival and resistance in occupied Palestine
by Chris Hedges
"With intimate and harrowing portraits of the human consequences of oppression, occupation, and violence experienced in Palestine today, Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges issues a call to action urging us to bear witness and engage with the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Hedges wrote the first section of the book when he was in Ramallah in July 2024, and he draws from his experience doing extensive reporting from the Middle East, including Gaza, for the New York Times. A Genocide Foretold confronts the stark realities of life under siege in Gaza and the heroic effort ordinary Palestinians are waging to resist and survive. Weaving together personal stories, historical context, and unflinching journalism, Chris Hedges provides an intimate portrait of systemic oppression, occupation, and violence. The book includes chapters on: What life is like in Gaza City and Ramallah in the midst of approaching bombs and gunfire. The history of the dispossession of Palestinians of their land in relation to the ideology of Zionism. A portrait of Amr, a 17-year-old high school student who is forced to evacuate his village with his family. Psychoanalysis of the state of permanent war that has led to the destruction of hospitals, telecommunications centers, governmental buildings, roads, homes universities, schools, and libraries and archaeological and heritage sites in Gaza. The ways in which the collective retribution against innocents is a familiar tactic employed by colonial rulers. A heartbreaking final chapter called "Letter to the Children of Gaza."
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Warbody : a marine sniper and the hidden violence of modern warfare
by Joshua Howe
Alexander Lemons is a Marine Corps scout sniper who, after serving multiple tours during the Iraq War, returned home seriously and mysteriously ill. Joshua Howe is an environmental historian who met Lemons as a student in one of his classes. Together they have crafted a vital book that challenges us to think beyond warfare's acute violence of bullets and bombs to the "slow violence" of toxic exposure and lasting trauma
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All the way to the river : love, loss, and liberation
by Elizabeth Gilbert
A raw and unflinching memoir of love, addiction, heartbreak, and transformation from the author of Eat Pray Love traces her journey from deep friendship to destructive passion and the hard-won freedom from patterns that once felt impossible to escape.
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Behind the horror : true stories that inspired horror movies
by Lee Mellor
"Unearth the terrifying and true tales behind some of the scariest Horror movies to ever haunt our screens, including the Enfield poltergeist case that was retold in The Conjuring 2 and the serial killers who inspired Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Behind the Horror dissects these and other bizarre tales to reveal haunting real-life stories of abduction, disappearance, murder, and exorcism"
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Ghostland : an American history in haunted places
by Colin Dickey
Explores some of the United States' most infamously haunted places, including old mansions and hotels, abandoned prisons, empty hospitals, and other locations, and reveals the repressed history they represent
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The Exorcist legacy : 50 years of fear
by Nat Segaloff
Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of The Exorcist, this tribute to the movie that both inspired and transcends the modern horror genre reveals the complete story of this culture phenomenon, starting with the real-life exorcism in 1949 Maryland that inspired the best-selling novel on which the film is based. Illustrations.
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Killing the witches : the horror of Salem, Massachusetts
by Bill O'Reilly
Revisiting the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693, during which more than 200 people were accused, this dramatic history of the Puritan tradition and how the power of early American ministers shaped the origins of the US depicts good, evil, community panic and how fear can overwhelm fact and reason.
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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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