Powered by a book like {foo}
Recommendations based on A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Powerby Paul Fischer
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick
Exploration of the lives of North Koreans during the famine and repression of the 1990s.
Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the ... (Goodreads)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.
A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story
by Hyeonseo Lee
A harrowing journey of escape from a repressive regime and the struggle to find a new life in freedom.
An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her ... (Goodreads)
The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls
by Sam Smith
An inside look at the Chicago Bulls' 1990-1991 season, including the team's struggles and Michael Jordan's leadership style.
Sam Smith’s seminal,, New York Times, bestselling “eye-opener” (,The San Diego Union-Tribune,) on Michael Jordan and the 1990-1991 Chicago Bulls team—perfect for fans of ESPN’s hit documentary ... (Goodreads)
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
by Sheryl Sandberg
An exploration of gender dynamics in the workplace and solutions for women to achieve success.
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, ... (Goodreads)
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
by Amy Schumer
A comedic and candid exploration of the author's life, experiences and views.
THE INSTANT #1, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER "This is your happy hour with Amy Schumer... It's, Bossypants, meets, Trainwreck, meets your long weekend." —,TheSkimm, “Amy’s got your back. She’s in your ... (Barnes & Noble)
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
by Eric Schlosser
An exploration of the industrial food system and its effects on U.S. society.
Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list ... (Goodreads)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
by Sam Harris
A practical guide to cultivating a sense of inner peace and understanding through meditation, self-reflection, and philosophical inquiry.
For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From ... (Goodreads)
This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
by David Foster Wallace
Reflections on leading a meaningful life, with compassion and understanding.
In this rare peak into the personal life of the author of numerous bestselling novels, gain an understanding of David Foster Wallace and how he became the man that he was. Only once did David Foster ... (Barnes & Noble)
Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission
by Hampton Sides
True story of the remarkable rescue of prisoners of war in the Philippines during WWII.
On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them ... (Goodreads)
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
by Mary Roach
A humorous exploration of the science and research behind sex and human sexuality.
In Bonk, the best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Why doesn't Viagra help ... (Goodreads)
So You've Been Publicly Shamed
by Jon Ronson
An exploration of the impact of public shaming in the digital age, and its implications for justice.
For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came ... (Goodreads)
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
by Blaine Harden
True story of a man who escaped from a North Korean prison camp and his journey to freedom.
A, New York Times, bestseller, the shocking story of one of the few people born in a North Korean political prison to have escaped and survived. North Korea is isolated and hungry, bankrupt and ... (Goodreads)
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory
by Caitlin Doughty
A journey through the funeral industry, exploring death, grief, and the beauty of life.
"Morbid and illuminating" ( Entertainment Weekly )—a young mortician goes behind the scenes of her curious profession. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Woman Warrior
by Maxine Hong Kingston
A personal memoir of identity and culture, told through Chinese mythology and folklore.
The book is divided into five interconnected chapters, which read like short stories. In the first part of this chapter, the narrator is recounting how her mother once told her the story of the ... (Wikipedia)
My Squirrel Days
by Ellie Kemper
A collection of humorous essays about the author's life, from childhood to her rise to fame in Hollywood.
Comedian and star of, The Office, and, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , Ellie Kemper delivers a hilarious, refreshing, and inspiring collection of essays “teeming with energy and full of laugh-out-loud ... (Goodreads)
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond
An exploration of eviction’s devastating consequences on the lives of the urban poor.
NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF, TIME,’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • One of the most acclaimed books of our time, this modern classic “has set a ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
by Jon Ronson
Exploration of the psychiatric industry, examining the definition and diagnosis of psychopathy.
In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey ... (Goodreads)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
by Anne Fadiman
Exploring the cultural divide between the Hmong people and the medical establishment.
Lia Lee was born in 1982 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, ... (Goodreads)
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis
How an unconventional approach to baseball changed the competitive landscape.
Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every ... (Goodreads)
Beyond Good and Evil
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A philosophical exploration of morality and truth, challenging conventional morality and religious beliefs.
Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil is translated from the German by R.J. Hollingdale with an introduction by Michael Tanner in Penguin Classics. Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche's ... (Goodreads)
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
by Jessica Seinfeld
A cookbook with recipes that hide healthy ingredients in kid-friendly meals.
It has become common knowledge that childhood obesity rates are increasing every year. But the rates continue to rise. And between busy work schedules and the inconvenient truth that kids simply ... (Barnes & Noble)
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety
by Sarah Wilson
A personal account of living with anxiety and how to transform it into a positive force.
New York Times Bestseller "Probably the best book on living with anxiety that I’ve ever read.” – Mark Manson, #1, New York Times, bestselling author of, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,, The ... (Barnes & Noble)
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
An exploration of the concept of 'flow' and how it can be used to enhance optimal experience.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, ... (Goodreads)
The Tao of Pooh
by Benjamin Hoff
A whimsical exploration of Taoism through the beloved characters of Winnie the Pooh.
The Wisdom of Pooh. Is there such thing as a Western Taoist? Benjamin Hoff says there is, and this Taoist's favorite food is honey. Through brilliant and witty dialogue with the beloved Pooh-bear and ... (Goodreads)
Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems
by David Rakoff
A collection of humorous essays on the absurdities of modern life, consumerism, and the pursuit of luxury.
A bitingly funny grand tour of our culture of excess from an award-winning humorist. Whether David Rakoff's contrasting the elegance of one of the last flights of the supersonic Concorde with the ... (Goodreads)
American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment
by Shane Bauer
Journalist goes undercover as a prison guard to expose the profit-driven prison system in America.
An enraging, necessary look at the private prison system, and a convincing clarion call for prison reform.” —NPR.org,New York Times Book Review, 10 Best Books of 2018 * One of President Barack ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
An inspiring story of a rowing crew battling against the odds to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
This novel is about the University of Washington eight-oared crew that represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal. The ... (Wikipedia)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
by Joan Didion
Collection of essays exploring the cultural landscape of 1960s America.
The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem remains, decades after its first publication, the essential portrait of ... (Goodreads)
