Non-fiction Book Club Favorites

Try nonfiction favorites from book club reading lists and enjoy engaging stories that inspire lively discussions. They are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
New light is shed on the life of Jesus through an examination of the tumultuous era in which he lived, 1st century Palestine.

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
Investigator uncovers the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.

The Distraction Addiction : Getting the Information You Need and the Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, and Destroying Your SoulThe Distraction Addiction: Getting the Information You Need and the Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues and Destroying Your Soul by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Can we reclaim our lives from the distraction of mobile devices and online worlds?

To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care by Cris Beam
An authoritative look at the foster care system examines why it is failing the kids it is supposed to protect and what can be done to change it.

Anything That Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters and the Making of a New American Food Culture by Dana Goodyear
Journalist looks at the extremes of the contemporary American food world where animals never before eaten or long since forgotten are emerging as delicacies.

Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician by Sandeep Jauhar
Hoping for the stability he needs to start a family, the author accepted a cardiologist position at a teaching hospital where he was confronted with the sobering truths of the American medical establishment.

The End of Your Life Book ClubThe End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Spending time in a cancer-treatment waiting room, a son and his dying mother form a book club that brings them together as her life comes to a close.

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by Timothy Egan
In 1900, at age thirty-two, photographer Edward Curtis decided to film the Native American nation before it disappeared.

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris
When WWII started, FDR and the military turned to Hollywood for help with a propaganda effort to win the hearts and minds of American soldiers and civilians.

Lawrence in Arabia : War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle EastLawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson
A chronicle of WWI’s Arab Revolt explores the pivotal roles of a small group of adventurers and low-level officers who orchestrated a secret effort to control the Middle East.

Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower
A history of German women in the Holocaust reveals their roles as plunderers, witnesses and actual executioners, describing how nurses, teachers, secretaries and wives responded to what they believed to be Nazi opportunities.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
The author discusses factors that led to tragedy in May 1915, when, with Germany declaring the seas around Britain to be a war zone, the luxury ocean liner sailed out of New York bound for Liverpool.

Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War by Helen Thorpe
Three women soldiers who were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq reveal how their military service has affected their friendship, personal lives and families.

WaveWave by Sonali Deraniyagala
In 2004, at a beach resort on the coast of Sri Lanka, the author and her family were swept away by a tsunami.

The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory by Jesse Walker
The author presents a comprehensive history of conspiracy theories in American culture and politics from the colonial era to the War on Terror.

Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart
A memoir of an immigrant family in America as told by a lifelong misfit who couldn’t live up to his parents’ expectations and operated on the theory that he would fail at everything he tried.

July 31, 2015