Ciara Lightner

Science is one of the topics that is ever evolving and infinitely interesting. It also can be a bit intimidating at times. So, what do you do if you want to learn more about science but don’t want to spend your time reading through a 700-page treatise on different moss? (I really do like moss; I just don’t know what a treatise is.) Try some of these more accessible science books. They are written in easily understandable terms while remaining extremely fascinating.

“The Chemistry Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained” walks through the history of chemistry and how we find ourselves in the scientific world we inhabit today. Interestingly, the book is organized not by subject but by time, starting off around 7,000 BCE and the brewing of fermented beverages. By organizing the book by time, the author is able to show how each new discovery is built off of what came before and adds insights into how those discoveries came to be. Walking through the discoveries of soap making, the nuclear age, and all the way until the vaccine for COVID-19, “The Chemistry Book” shows some of the missteps and some of the triumphs of chemistry.

Another book that uses a timeline with great success is “Weather: An Illustrated History” by Andrew Revkin with Lisa Mechaley. Beginning with the creation of the earth and the development of the atmosphere, Revkin and Mechaley show how our world’s weather came in to being and how our own development evolved with it. It, unfortunately, also shows how we have come to influence it. How a snowstorm helped to convince New York City leaders to build the subway system and just how far back scientists knew that the burning of coal changed the climate (they, at first, thought it was a benefit). “Weather” is an intelligent look at how much as a species weather has defined our world and how we as a species have defined the weather.

If ‘identifying’ is something that has piqued your interest, there are two new DK Smithsonian books. “Gemstones” by Cally Hall is an identification book that covers precious metals, gems, and different cut and uncut stones. Hall walks their reader through the different physical properties of stones as well as defining optical properties and facets. They even show where stones are found geographically. If you find fossils interesting, then check out “Fossils” by David J Ward. Cataloging over 500 different fossils, Ward’s book adds annotations such as epoch, region, and likelihood of each fossil. Both books are filled with highly detailed photos to aid in your exploration of the natural world.

Happy Sciencing! (Seriously, what is a treatise?)

New Science Fiction has arrived at A.K. Smiley Public Library. While you stay inside trying to avoid the heat, pick up some new books and think of a not-so-distant future…. fall.

Mosscap and Sibling Dex return in “A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.” In the second novel of Becky Chamber’s Monk and Robot series, Mosscap begins their quest to discover what humans need. But as Mosscap continues their quest amongst the humans, they begin to feel as though they are losing connection with the robot society. As Mosscap wanders the countryside, contemplating the nature of the self, Dex begins to ask introspective questions as well. Dex wrestles with the question of existence without purpose and the need to contribute to society even at great personal harm. Another great and hopeful entry into the science fiction genre, Chambers continues the complex question of what it means to exist in the world and to be human.

Another science fiction entry, but much darker, Christopher Rowe shows the world after a sentient AI war has come to pass in the “These Prisoning Hills.” Athena Parthenus, an AI, started a war and began to take over humans and nature through nanotechnology. One day she disappears and leaves behind an infected and corrupted landscape in the American Southeast. This is where Marcia, a veteran of the AI war must travel at the behest of the remaining federal government. On a rescue mission Marcia must reacquaint herself with the horrors she faced in the war and what new horrors may await her. Rowe’s novel shows us a world in which the AI war has begun and no clear victor has been declared.

“January Fifteenth,” by Rachel Swirsky, is the date when U.S. citizens receive their UBI. UBI stands for universal basic income, a set amount of money that will ideally cover a person’s basic needs for the year. For some of the characters in Swirsky’s work, this is their only means of survival. For others, it is money to be wasted in ever increasingly eccentric ways. And for certain groups, it is a way for the government to control its citizens. Following these characters throughout the day, the novel explores the nature of government assistance programs in order to understand the pitfalls as well as the successes. Swirsky’s speculative work shows that no matter the time, humanity is complex and there are no easy solutions to its problems.

Explore these books and more the next time you visit the Library.

Summer is fully upon us, making leaving the air-conditioned comfort of the indoors harder to extricate ourselves from. But what to do with all that time indoors while the sun cooks everything in sight to a crisp? Books of course! Here are some new poetry books to help you while away the bright summer months.

Award winning author Jennifer Huang’s debut work “Return Flight” connects the past to the present through an examination of the self. Generational trauma and the concepts of home are interspersed throughout, working to understand their impact on the human psyche. Through their work, Huang uses images of intimacy to aid in the defining of a person. All these memories are not just seen with sadness, there is joy as well. Huang shows us that both sorrow and joy can exist in the same realm.

Nicky Beer explores the joy of artifice in her latest work “Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes.” Beer explores the concepts of imitation and what it means when the fake is more real than the original. She shows how imitation is an art form in its own right such as through the art of drag. She references many other pop culture representations of illusion as well, such as Marlene Dietrich and Batman, to get at the heart of the question, what is truth? Beer’s poetry uses redaction and the concept of stereoscopes to invite the reader to see that the truth can look very different depending on which way you are looking at it.

Shane McCrae, in his latest work, “Cain Named the Animal” explores the idea of what it means to exist. Having undergone an unusual and traumatic upbringing, he questions how different circumstances might have led to a different existence. McCrae turns back time, and postulates how an imperfect god might result in a flawed world. He also uses the idea of cyclical time to explore the ability to look inwards. By creating a world that circles back on itself, McCrae shows how such a thing would allow for reflection and new revelations.

Enjoy these books and try to stay cool this summer!

Writers are always looking ahead at what might next impact us as a species. As the world undergoes climate changes, authors have begun to look at what the world may look like to those who survive those events. These three works focus on our world sometime in the near future, dictated by different occurrences of disasters, but connected by one theme: familial ties.

“Milk Teeth” by Helene Bukowski is the story of outsiders clinging to each other in a world that grows hotter every day. Skalde and her mother, Edith, are barely tolerated in their territory, a community of farms that is isolated by a thick fog from the rest of the world. Edith is from outside and as such is seen as an intruder and this distinction extends to Skalde. One day the fog dissipates and an ever-increasing heat replaces it. As conditions worsen and food becomes scarce and paranoia increases, Meisis, a young child, appears seemingly from thin air. Skalde takes Meisis in and faces an ever increasingly hostile community. Exploring family, community, and identity, “Milk Teeth” is a look at what happens when the rest of the world disappears and family is all you have left.

Premee Mohamed tackles generational trauma and climate disaster in her latest work entitled, “The Annual Migration of Clouds.” The survivors of a world, in which climate disasters such as earthquakes and dust storms have wreaked havoc, find themselves facing a new component. Cad, a parasitic fungus, begins to infect what remains of the human population. Able to alter the minds of its victims, Cad is passed genetically, from parent to child. Reid, a child born with Cad, ruminates on her future and the future of her community. She earns a spot in one of the last remaining bastions of modern human society, but is scared of what her leaving will mean for her and for her mother, a carrier of Cad as well. Relying on the kindness of the community, Reid must decide if the unknown is worth it. Hopeful even in the darkest moments, Mohamed’s latest work speaks to the family we carry with us always.

“The High House” by Jessie Greengrass take place during a time when water has overrun the land. The story oscillates between Caro, stepdaughter to Francesca, the owner of the High House, and Sal, the granddaughter of Grandy, its caretaker. Both Caro and Sal see the house as interruption to their everyday lives, but miss the truth of it. The High House is essentially an ark, built and fortified by Francesca, a climate scientist, in order to protect the survivors of the coming climate disaster. When the disaster comes, Sal and Caro are thrown together and must navigate the remains of the world together while caring for those left behind. Greengrass shows us what remains when the rest of the world is washed away.

Even though these books represent some of the worst-case scenarios for our world, each is hopeful that we will make the most out of what is left.

As Black History Month continues, here are more new reads from Black authors, who by sharing their voices with us give us the opportunity to educate ourselves and grow.

James Hannaham’s latest work of poetry, “Pilot Imposter,” is an exploration of the self, written during a time of unrest. During the pandemic, flying has become a battleground of personal rights, and using that motif Hannaham questions what the limits of personal rights are and who truly has those rights. He also works through the meaning of personhood, the nature of leadership, and the ongoing consequences of slavery. With a background in visual art, Hannaham uses memes and artwork to aid in his search for answers and to highlight some of the absurdity we currently find ourselves in. One example of his commentary on current events is to correlate Trump’s presidency with a pilot who has never flown a plane. Inspired by the poetry of Fernando Pessoa and the history of air disasters, Hannaham’s prose and images work to answer how a human can stay aloft in the face of so many things that could go wrong.

“Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture” by Zeba Blay centers on the often confusing way in which Black women are such large contributors to popular culture, but at the same time are ostracized from it. Some examples cited include the critique of artists like Lizzo for being plus size, but also not being enough of a role model for the plus-sized community, or that most Black actresses are relegated to the sassy sidekick roles, and those that are able to score leading roles, do so with less pay than comparable actresses of different ethnicities. There are also the ramifications leftover from the Jim Crow era which lead to many women being placed in the archetypes of ‘helpful caretaker’ vs. ‘jezebel.’ She even touches on the fact that even girlhood is denied Black women. In the face of all this, Blay looks to put a spotlight on Black women in the hopes that one day society will not only recognize their contributions but celebrate them as well.

The latest book of poetry by Kevin Young entitled “Stones” is about the loss we experience as an individual and as a community and how that loss ripples through time. Connecting to his past, Young explores his roots through the places he frequented as a child and the memories that have helped to define him. He continues that connection to the future through the use of grave markers, showing reverence to those that came before and questioning where his own will sit. Young shows that connections to what we grew up with helps to define who we are, and these connections are not lost even if the items or person are. Through his poems, Young seeks to keep the past alive and also questions what will happen when his time and our own comes.

Kanopy, a streaming service free to A.K. Smiley Public Library cardholders, also offers an extensive collection of films in honor of Black History Month. So watch, read, and take the time to elevate and celebrate all month long.