Living in the Time of Drought(s)

With the 8th hottest winter on record since 1895, the Washington State Department of Ecology declared a state-wide drought this week. Though there are limited exceptions for Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett metro areas, thoughtful consideration of your household’s water consumption can only help our local water ecologies. Below are some resources to help you consider how you can reduce your water usage, conserve rainfall, and create water-conscious gardens.

If you live in the Seattle area, Seattle Public Utilities and Saving Water Partnership have a good starting guide for what you can do in your home, from getting a rebate to replace older, less water efficient toilets to free gardening classes for planting drought-resistant gardens. Laura Allen, cofounder of Greywater Action, offers even more ideas in her book The Water-wise Home. Though some projects may seem daunting, clear instructions provide solid guidance for those just beginning as well as those ready to fully revolutionize how water is used in their home.

Wonders of the deep

The oceans sing to us, with promises of adventure, wonder, the unknown. And so humans set out to discover what is under the waves. Check out these recent nonfiction books about the history and present of deep sea exploration, some of the awe inspiring things found there, and the compulsion to make a profit.

The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey
Casey tackles the history, present, and potential futures of efforts to explore the deep sea, the area below 600 feet where light barely reaches, weaving together interviews with marine scientists, inventors, and her own deep-sea dive experience, including in a state-of-the-art crewed submersible. Casey has a storied history writing about oceans, from The Devil’s Teeth (sharks), to The Wave (mega waves, surfers), to Voices in the Ocean (dolphins).

Looking Towards a Fiery Future

The devastating fire in Maui is the most recent reminder that uncontrolled fires are happening more often, in more places, at a more harmful scale than ever before, and will only continue to do so as climate change contributes to our warming planet. Writers are grappling with these realities, looking back for lessons even as they forecast and foreshadow the future. Here are three nonfiction titles engaging with this topic:

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant
Journalist Vaillant digs into the story of the May 2016 fire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, that forced the evacuation of 88,000 residents, many of them barely escaping as the fire roared at their back. The fire, next to the center of Alberta’s oil sands operations, took over a year to fully extinguish. Vaillant digs into the causes of the blaze, the impact on residents, and the warning it provides of dry weather and fires to come. Longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
If Fire Weather’s backdrop of Alberta’s oil sands piqued your interest, check out this graphic narrative. Fresh from college and laden with student loans, cartoonist Beaton followed so many of her Nova Scotian brethren and left home to pursue more lucrative work, working for two years in various jobs in and around the vast mining operation. Beaton examines the toll of the sexism and misogyny she experienced, the grueling labor performed by others, and the environmental devastation caused by fossil fuels. Winner of two Eisner Awards.

The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell
Taking a broader and more future-oriented approach, experienced environmental journalist Goodell tackles the frightening current and potential impacts of extreme heat on our daily lives, from heat waves, to fires, to higher incidence of infectious diseases, to reduced food production and impacts on water supply. Grounding his analysis in stories of impacts on individual lives, Goodell makes his case for globally coordinated action to slow global warming.

~ posted by Andrea G.

Seattle Staff Faves 2022: Nonfiction

Library staff across the city weighed in on their favorite nonfiction books published in 2022 — and what a great list we created together! Read on for highlights of the excellent nonfiction included, with raves from staff; or jump straight into the full 36-item list.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
“This graphic memoir is an utterly absorbing account of Beaton’s time spent working in the Alberta oil sands to pay off her college debts and an unflinching look at the human and environmental costs of an extractive capitalist system.” – Abby

 How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis
“A quick, compassionate read that provides a grounded approach to making your home life work for you when mental health, disability, or the weight of capitalism are impacting your ability to keep house.” – Micah
“KC Davis’ neurodivergent-friendly approach is particularly important to me.​” – Orion

Red Paint by Sasha taqwéseblu LaPointe
“CW: generational, colonial, and personal trauma.
The audiobook is narrated by the author! A coming of age story about processing and working through trauma that’s also so much more than that. Sasha taqwéseblu LaPointe, a Coast Salish musician and writer takes you on a journey both geographically (throughout the PNW) and introspectively through her search for healing and ‘home.’” – Kristy

#BookBingoNW2022: Health or Healthcare Workers

Summer Book Bingo 2022 deadline is looming! As Sept. 6 draws near, here are some suggestions for folks trying to fill their Health or healthcare workers square – two novels that imagine the lives of nurses, plus nonfiction about building healthcare infrastructure, reflections on medical advancements, and two books for common health concerns.

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Over three days in Dublin, Ireland during the 1918 flu epidemic, nurse Julia Power works the quarantined maternity ward in an understaffed city hospital where pregnant women with influenza prepare to give birth. (historical fiction)

Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
In Civil War-era Philadelphia, Sylvia works as a nurse-in-training to a local midwife at Lazaretto Hospital, which is an anchor to an African American community. On the night of President Lincoln’s assassination, Sylvia helps deliver the baby of a Black maid, Meda, an event that ties together Sylvia and Meda’s lives. (historical fiction)

Sisters of Mokama by Jyoti Thottam
The true story of six Kentucky nuns who in 1947 traveled to Bihar in northern India to build a hospital, provide necessary medical care, and open a nursing school to train local women. Thottam, of The New York Times, pulls from 20 years of research, 60+ interviews, and the story of her mother, who was one of the young Indian women taken in as a nursing student.

The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town by Brian Alexander
A portrait of a small nonprofit hospital in Bryan, OH that sheds light on health care in America. From fall 2018 through summer 2020, journalist Alexander interviewed hospital personnel, patients, and others to get a full picture of how hospitals survive – or don’t.