Brookfield Library's Top Book Choices for The Week

The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds

By Michael Lewis. From W. W. Norton & Company. Amazon rank #10
Best-selling author Michael Lewis examines how a Nobel Prize–winning theory of the mind altered our perception of reality.

Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original studies undoing our assumptions about the decision-making process. Their papers showed the ways in which the human mind erred, systematically, when forced to make judgments about uncertain situations. Their work created the field of behavioral economics, revolutionized Big Data studies, advanced evidence-based medicine, led to a new approach to government regulation, and made much of Michael Lewis’s own work possible.

The Case Against Sugar

By Gary Taubes. From Knopf.

From the best-selling author of Why We Get Fat, a groundbreaking, eye-opening exposé that makes the convincing case that sugar is the tobacco of the new millennium: backed by powerful lobbies, entrenched in our lives, and making us very sick.

Among Americans, diabetes is more prevalent today than ever; obesity is at epidemic proportions; nearly 10% of children are thought to have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. And sugar is at the root of these, and other, critical society-wide, health-related problems.

The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You

By Sylvia Tara. From W. W. Norton & Company.

This groundbreaking work of practical, popular science reveals that fat is much smarter than we think. Fat is an obsession, a dirty word, a subject of national handwringing―and, according to biochemist Sylvia Tara, our least understood body part. The Secret Life of Fat brings together historical perspectives with cutting-edge research to reveal fat’s true identity: an endocrine organ that is critical to our health. Fat triggers puberty, enables our reproductive and immune systems, and even affects brain size.

The Telomere Effect: The New Science of Living Younger

By Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel. From Grand Central Publishing.

Groundbreaking book by the Nobel Prize Winner who discovered telomeres, telomerase, and their role in the aging process, and the psychologist who researched specific lifestyle habits to protect them and slow down disease and lengthen life. Have you wondered why some 60-year olds look and feel like 40-year-olds and why some 40-year-olds look and feel like 60-year-olds?

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York's City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case that Captivated a Nation

By Brad Ricca. From St. Martin's Press

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes tells the incredible true life story of Mrs. Grace Humiston, the New York lawyer and detective who solved the famous cold case of Ruth Cruger, an 18-year-old girl who disappeared in 1917. Grace was an amazing lawyer and traveling detective during a time when no women were practicing these professions. She focused on solving cases no one else wanted and advocating for innocents. Grace became the first female U. S. District Attorney and made ground-breaking investigations into modern slavery.

The Picky Eater Project: 6 Weeks to Happier, Healthier, Family Mealtimes

By Sally Sampson and Natalie Digate Muth.

The Picky Eater Project: 6 Weeks to Happier, Healthier Family Mealtimes is a one-of-a-kind book that can transform even the most finicky eaters into fledgling foodies. Focusing on kids’ participation, interactive strategies, kitchen experiments, and delicious kid-friendly recipes, the book is based on a six-week plan that makes shopping and cooking fun.

My Life, My Love, My Legacy

By Coretta Scott King. From Henry Holt and Co

The life story of Coretta Scott King―wife of Martin Luther King Jr., founder of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and singular twentieth-century American civil rights activist―as told fully for the first time, toward the end of her life, to one of her closest friends Born in 1927 to daringly enterprising black parents in the Deep South, Coretta Scott had always felt called to a special purpose.

Plumbing

By Steve Cory. From Taunton Press.

Every homeowner sooner or later will need to repair or replace a plumbing fixture or will want to upgrade a plumbing feature. From faucet repair to installing plumbing for a new bathroom, you can save plenty of money by doing the plumbing yourself. With today's materials and installation methods, almost any project is within the reach of a motivated do-it-yourselfer with a modest set of tools and some basic skills.

So Bad They’re Great: Celebrating the World’s Worst Celebrities

By Eric Silver. From Pulp/Zest Books.

So Bad They're Great profiles the most accomplished assholes from the last 100 years, marveling at how they turned bad behavior into a virtue. After all, Kanye West is certainly a brilliant musician and performer, but his antics at the Grammys (and elsewhere) are what turned him into a national obsession. Often, by simple instinct, people as varied as Walt Disney, Ernest Hemingway, Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, and Justin Bieber have been able to profit from their own worst instincts. So how do they do it?

Hack That Tote! Mix & Match Elements to Create Your Perfect Bag

By Mary Abreu. From C&T Publishing / Stash Books.

One pattern, infinite looks! With simple tweaks, you can reinvent the basic tote 11 ways, sewing useful projects like a backpack, messenger bag, laundry duffle, and stylish cross-body purse. Create your perfect carryall by adding zippers, pockets, handles, drawstrings, and purse hardware for endless variety. A fabric and interfacing guide helps beginners and more experienced sewists choose the right materials every time. Just measure, mark, and cut―no printed patterns needed!

By Caren Cooper. From The Overlook Press.

The engaging history of the people whose contributions to scientific pursuits make us rethink the meaning of the word "scientist."

Think you need a degree in science to contribute to important scientific discoveries? Think again. All around the world, in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology, millions of everyday people are choosing to participate in the scientific process. Working in cooperation with scientists in pursuit of information, innovation, and discovery, these volunteers are following protocols, collecting and reviewing data, and sharing their observations.

LSAT Practice Questions: LSAT Practice Tests & Exam Review for the Law School Admission Test

By LSAT Exam Secrets Test Prep Team.

LSAT Practice Questions are the simplest way to prepare for the LSAT test. Practice is an essential part of preparing for a test and improving a test taker's chance of success. The best way to practice taking a test is by going through lots of practice test questions.If someone has never taken a practice test, then they are unprepared for the types of questions and answer choices that they will encounter on the official test. There is a tremendous advantage to someone taking the test that is already familiar with the questions and answer choices.

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