Books Just Waiting for a Weekend | Mid-Columbia Libraries

Red land, black land : daily life in ancient Egypt

Mertz, Barbara.

From the Publisher

In Red Land, Black Land, Mertz transports us back thousands of years and immerses us in the sights, aromas, and sounds of day-to-day living in the legendary desert realm that was ancient Egypt. Mertz ushers us into their homes, workplaces, temples, and palaces to give us an intimate view of the everyday worlds of the royal and commoner alike. We observe priests and painters, scribes and pyramid builders, slaves, housewives, and queens--and receive fascinating tips on how to perform tasks...

Ancient Egypt : everyday life in the land of the Nile

Brier, Bob, author.

From the Publisher

You'll explore all aspects of Egyptian life: how religion was practiced; forms of work and play; types of food and drink; clothes, makeup, and adornments like jewelry; temples and homes; fine artwork; and more.

The ocean : the ultimate handbook of nautical knowledge

Dixon, Chris, 1966- author.

From the Publisher

"An entertaining, authoritative, and captivating guide to all activities above, below, and beside the sea. THE OCEAN is the ultimate gift book-that is then used-by sailors, fishers, surfers, beachcombers, and ocean lovers everywhere"-- Provided by publisher.

The knitter's book of socks : the yarn lover's ultimate guide to creating socks that fit well, feel great, and last a lifetime

Parkes, Clara.

From the Publisher

A sock is a work of wonder. No other knitted garment has as many structural demands or endures as much wear and tear. The humble sock must defy gravity, suffer the confines of our shoes, and endure being trampled on all day long. All too often, the root cause of a sock's triumph or failure is the yarn itself. In The Knitter's Book of Socks, Clara Parkes shows you how to knit socks from yarn up, following the sock yarn life cycle from its foundations to its final moments on a proud foot. By...

Coders : the making of a new tribe and the remaking of the world

Thompson, Clive, 1968- author.

From the Publisher

"From acclaimed tech writer Clive Thompson, a brilliant and immersive anthropological reckoning with the most powerful tribe in the world today, computer programmers - where they come from, how they think, what makes for greatness in their world, and what should give us pause"-- Provided by publisher.

The sound of the sea : seashells and the fate of the oceans

Barnett, Cynthia, 1966- author.

From the Publisher

"A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans, and ourselves. Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives...

The long, long life of trees

Stafford, Fiona J., author.

From the Publisher

"Since the beginnings of history trees have served humankind in countless useful ways, but our relationship with trees has many dimensions beyond mere practicality. Trees are so entwined with human experience that diverse species have inspired their own stories, myths, songs, poems, paintings, and spiritual meanings. Some have achieved status as religious, cultural, or national symbols. In this beautifully illustrated volume Fiona Stafford offers intimate, detailed explorations of seventeen...

Weird things customers say in bookstores

Campbell, Jen.

From the Publisher

Filled with fun and quirky illustrations by the award-winning Brothers McLeod and featuring contributions from booksellers across the United States and Canada, as well as the author's native UK, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores is a celebration of bookstores, large and small, and of the brilliant booksellers who toil in those literary fields, as well as the myriad of colorful characters that walk through the doors everyday. This irresistible collection is proof positive that booksellers...

The girl at the baggage claim : explaining the East-West culture gap

Jen, Gish, author.

From the Publisher

"A ... study of the different idea Asians and Westerners have of the self and how this plays out in our differing approaches to art, learning, politics, business, and almost everything else"-- Provided by publisher.

Knitting scarves from around the world

From the Publisher

"Here are 40 patterns for scarves from around the globe--including stylish traditional projects from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the British Isles, the Americas, and Asia. Pattern introductions provide a background of knitting techniques from that part of the world, including schematics and charts"--Provided by publisher.

Sextant : a young man's daring sea voyage and the men who mapped the world's oceans

Barrie, David, author.

From the Publisher

An eloquent elegy to one of the most important navigational instruments ever created, and the daring mariners who used it to explore, conquer, and map the world. David Barrie chronicles the sextant's development and shows how it not only saved the lives of navigators in wild and dangerous seas, but played a pivotal role in their ability to map the globe.

Ocean worlds : the story of seas on Earth and other planets

Zalasiewicz, J. A., author.

From the Publisher

Oceans make up most of the surface of our blue planet. They may form just a sliver on the outside of the Earth, but they are very important, not only in hosting life, including the fish and other animals on which many humans depend, but in terms of their role in the Earth system, in regulatingclimate, and cycling nutrients. As climate change, pollution, and over-exploitation by humans puts this precious resource at risk, it is more important than ever that we understand and appreciate the...

Underland : a deep time journey

Macfarlane, Robert, 1976- author.

From the Publisher

In Underland, Macfarlane delivers his masterpiece: an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself.In this highly anticipated sequel to his international bestseller The Old Ways, Macfarlane takes us on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind. Traveling through "deep time"--the dizzying expanses of geologic time that stretch away from the...

Ikigai : the Japanese secret to a long and happy life

García, Héctor, 1981- author.

From the Publisher

Bring meaning and joy to all your days with this internationally bestselling guide to the Japanese concept of ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy)--the happiness of always being busy--as revealed by the daily habits of the world's longest-living people. In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds--one of the world's Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they...

The three-body problem

Liu, Cixin.

From the Publisher

"With the scope of Dune and the commercial action of Independence Day, this near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multple-award-winning phenemonenon from China's most beloved science fiction author. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile,...

The starless sea

Morgenstern, Erin, author.

From the Publisher

"Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a rare book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues--a bee, a key, and a sword--that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a...

The tiger's daughter

Rivera, K Arsenault, author.

From the Publisher

The Hokkaran empire has conquered every land within their bold reach--but failed to notice a lurking darkness festering within the people. Now, their border walls begin to crumble, and villages fall to demons swarming out of the forests. Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their...

The phoenix empress

Rivera, K Arsenault, author.

From the Publisher

"Once they were the heirs to a prophecy that predicted two women would save an empire. Now Shefali is dying--and her wife is unaware of the coming tragedy. Shizuka is too busy trying to reunite a fractured empire and right the wrongs of her ancestors. As the Imperial Army gathers against a demonic invasion, Shizuka must do all she can with an empire on the brink of civil war."--Publisher's description.

Akata witch

Okorafor, Nnedi.

From the Publisher

Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.

Gideon the ninth

Muir, Tamsyn, author.

From the Publisher

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to...

The left hand of darkness

Le Guin, Ursula K., 1929-2018.

From the Publisher

A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants' gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...

John dies at the end

Wong, David, 1975 January 10-

From the Publisher

This may be the story of John and David, a drug called soy sauce, and other-worldly beings invading the planet. Or, it may be the story of two beer-drinking friends who live in an unnamed Midwestern town and only think something horrific is going on. But the important thing is, according to the narrator, "None of this is my fault."

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of leaves

Danielewski, Mark Z.

The hollow places : a novel

Kingfisher, T., author.

From the Publisher

"Pray they are hungry. Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she's discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle's house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area--only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts...and the more one fears them, the stronger they become"--Provided by publisher.

The anthropology of childhood : cherubs, chattel, changelings

Lancy, David F.

From the Publisher

"How are children raised in different cultures? What is the role of children in society? How are families and communities structured around them? Now available in a revised edition, this book sets out to answer these questions, and argues that our common understandings about children are narrowly culture-bound. Enriched with anecdotes from ethnography and the daily media, the book examines family structure, reproduction, profiles of children's caretakers within family or community, their...

Sharp : the women who made an art of having an opinion

Dean, Michelle, 1979- author.

From the Publisher

"The ten ... women who are the focus of [this book] came from different backgrounds and had vastly divergent political and artistic opinions. But they all made a significant contribution to the cultural and intellectual history of America and ultimately changed the course of the twentieth century, in spite of the men who often undervalued or dismissed their work"--Amazon.com.

Close encounters with humankind : a paleoanthropologist investigates our evolving species

Lee, Sang-Hee, author.

From the Publisher

Explores how the field of paleoanthropology enables insights into some of the world's leading evolutionary questions, exploring such topics as the life cycles of ancient people, the origins of social nature, and the common traits between modern humans and Neanderthals.

Ella Minnow Pea : a novel in letters

Dunn, Mark, 1956-

From the Publisher

Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island's Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial...

My Thoughts

I recently acquired a copy of this book and am so excited for the opportunity to read this. While scrounging around on the internet for linguistically-interesting books, I discovered this one recommended time and time again.