Big Read 2014 Nominees

Ad Nauseam: A Consumers Guide to American Consumer Culture By Carrie McLaren, Jason Torchinsky, Rob Walker Publication date: 2009

With the style and irreverence of Vice magazine and the critique of the corporatocracy that made Naomi Kleins No Logo a global hit, the cult magazine Stay Free!long considered the Adbusters of the United Statesis finally offering a compendium of new and previously published material on the impact of consumer culture on our lives. The book questions, in the broadest sense, what happens to human beings when their brains are constantly assaulted by advertising and corporate messages. Most people assert that advertising is easily ignored and doesnt have any effect on them or their decision making, but Ad Nauseam shows that consumer pop culture does take its toll. In an engaging, accessible, and graphically appealing style, Carrie McLaren and Jason Torchinsky (as well as contributors such as David Cross, The Onions Joe Garden, The New York Timess Julie Scelfo, and others) discuss everything from why the TV program CSI affects jury selection, to the methods by which market researchers stalk shoppers, to how advertising strategy is like dog training. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening account of the many ways consumer culture continues to pervade and transform American life. Amazon.com

The Capitalism Papers: Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System By Jerry Mander Publication date: 2012 In the vein of his bestseller, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, nationally recognized social critic Jerry Mander researches, discusses, and exposes the momentous and unsolvable environmental and social problems of capitalism. Mander argues that capitalism is no longer a viable system: What may have worked in 1900 is calamitous in 2010. Capitalism, utterly dependent on never-ending economic growth, is an impossible absurdity on a finite planet with limited resources. Climate change, together with global food, water, and resource shortages, is only the start. Mander draws attention to capitalisms obsessive need to dominate and undermine democracy, as well as to diminish social and economic equity. Designed to operate free of morality, the system promotes permanent war as a key economic strategy. Worst of all, the problems of capitalism are intrinsic to the form. Many organizations are already anticipating the breakdown of the system and are working to define new hierarchies of democratic values that respect the carrying capacities of the planet. Amazon.com

Defending Jacob By William Landay Publication date: 2012 Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next:

His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student. Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. Hes his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his ownbetween loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past hes tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive. Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisisa suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control. Amazon.com

The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web is Changing What We Read and How We Think By Eli Pariser Publication date: 2012

In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for all users, and we entered a new era of personalization. With little notice or fanfare, our online experience is changing, as the websites we visit are increasingly tailoring themselves to us. In this engaging and visionary book, MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser lays bare the personalization that is already taking place on every major website, from Facebook to AOL to ABC News. As Pariser reveals, this new trend is nothing short of an invisible revolution in how we consume information, one that will shape how we learn, what we know, and even how our democracy works. The race to collect as much personal data about us as possible, and to tailor our online experience accordingly, is now the defining battle for todays internet giants like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Behind the scenes, a burgeoning industry of data companies is tracking our personal information to sell to advertisers, from our political leanings to the hiking boots we just browsed on Zappos. As a result, we will increasingly each live in our own, unique information universewhat Pariser calls the filter bubble. We will receive mainly news that is pleasant, familiar and confirms our beliefsand since these filters are invisible, we wont know what is being hidden from us. Our past interests will determine what we are exposed to in the future, leaving less room for the unexpected encounters that spark creativity, innovation and the democratic exchange of ideas. Drawing on interviews with both cyber-skeptics and cyber-optimists, from the co-founder of OK Cupid, an algorithmically-driven dating website, to one of the chief visionaries of U.S. information warfare, THE FILTER BUBBLE tells the story of how the Internet, a medium built around the open flow of ideas, is closing in on itself under the pressure of commerce and monetization. It peeks behind the curtain at the server farms, algorithms, and geeky entrepreneurs that have given us this new reality, and investigates the consequences of corporate power in the digital age. THE FILTER BUBBLE reveals how personalization could undermine the internets original purpose as an open platform for the spread of ideas, and leave us all in an isolated, echoing world. But it is not too late to change course. Pariser lays out a new vision for the web, one that embraces the benefits of technology without turning a blind eye to its negative consequences, and will ensure that the Internet lives up to its transformative promise. Amazon.com

In Search of Civility: Confronting Incivility on the college Campus By Kent Weeks Publication dates: 2001 (University civility campaign) Americans are troubled by the growing incivility they see in public life and in their interpersonal relationships. The lack of civility is an increasing issue on college campuses, reflecting deep societal problems. "In Search of Civility: Confronting Incivility on the College Campus", explores the timely issue by weaving stories of four college freshmen at a large university with current research on civility issues. The four students encounter civility dilemmas ranging from cheating, plagiarism, and misuse of technology to alcohol, diversity, and peer pressure. They want to do the right thing, but distinguishing between right and wrong sometimes proves to be difficult particularly when their personal values conflict with campus norms. "In Search of Civility" provides relevant context for the complex civility challenges facing students, faculty, and administrators. Colleges can play an important role in instilling civility among their students in their academic and social lives. Civil conduct requires treating others the way one wishes to be treated as well as a sense of duty and responsibility to the community. By raising questions, "In Search of Civility" challenges students to make the connection between the morals and values they claim to hold and the practical implications of those values expressed through acts of civility in every part of their lives. Weeks draws on a wide range of experiences--as teacher of undergraduate and graduate students at George Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, and as legal advisor to colleges throughout the US. Amazon.com

My Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel By Robin Sloan Publication date: 2012 The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design droneand serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead checking out impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon hes embarked on a complex analysis of the customers behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just whats going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore. With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twentyfirst century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility thats rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day. Amazon.com

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates By Wes Moore Publication date: 2011 Previously Submitted Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year of each other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimore neighborhoods and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police. How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the other ended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence? Wes Moore, the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer this profound question. In alternating narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world. "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." Amazon.com

A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean by Tori Murden McClure Publication date: 2009 "In the end, I know I rowed across the Atlantic to find my heart, but in the beginning, I wasn't aware that it was missing." In June 1998, Tori McClure began rowing across the Atlantic Ocean solo in a twenty-three-foot plywood boat with no motor or sail. Within days she lost all communication with shore but decided to forge ahead -- not knowing that 1998 would turn out to be the worst hurricane season on record in the North Atlantic. When she was nearly killed by a series of violent storms, Tori was forced to signal for help and head home in what felt like disgrace. But then her life changed in unexpected ways. She was hired by Muhammad Ali, who told her she did not want to be known as the woman who "almost" rowed across the Atlantic. And at thirty-five, Tori fell in love. A Pearl in the Storm is Tori's thrilling true story of high adventure -- and of her personal quest to discover that embracing her own humanity was more important than superhuman feats. Amazon.com

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life By Karen Armstrong Publication date: 2011 In this important and thought-provoking work, Karen Armstrongone of the most original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern worldprovides an impassioned and practical guide to helping us make the world a more compassionate place. The twelve steps she suggests begin with Learn About Compassion, and close with Love Your Enemies. In between, she takes up self-love, mindfulness, suffering, sympathetic joy, the limits of our knowledge of others, and concern for everybody. She shares concrete methods to help us cultivate and expand our capacity for

compassion, and provides a reading list to encourage us to hear one anothers narratives. Armstrong teaches us that becoming a compassionate human being is a lifelong project and a journey filled with rewards. The First Step: Learn About Compassion The Second Step: Look at Your Own World The Third Step: Compassion for Yourself The Fourth Step: Empathy The Fifth Step: Mindfulness The Sixth Step: Action The Seventh Step: How Little We Know The Eighth Step: How Should We Speak to One Another? The Ninth Step: Concern for Everybody The Tenth Step: Knowledge The Eleventh Step: Recognition The Twelfth Step: Love Your Enemies Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption By Laura Hillenbrand Publication date: 2010 On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the planes bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War. The lieutenants name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, hed been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a mans journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. Amazon.com Water By David L. Feldman Publication date: 2012 Water is our planets most precious resource. It is required by every living thing, yet a huge proportion of the worlds population struggles to access clean water daily. Agriculture, aquaculture, industry, and energy all depend on it - yet its provision and safety engender widespread conflict; battles likely to intensify as threats to freshwater abundance and quality, such as climate change, urbanization, new forms of pollution, and the privatization of control, continue to grow.

But must the cost of potable water become prohibitively expensive for the poor - especially when supplies are privatized? Do technological advances only expand supply or can they carry hidden risks for minority groups? And who bears responsibility for managing the adverse impacts of dams funded by global aid organizations when their burdens fall on some, while their benefits accrue to others? In answering these and other pressing questions, the book shows how control of freshwater operates at different levels, from individual watersheds near cities to large river basins whose water - when diverted - is contested by entire countries. Drawing on a rich range of examples from across the world, it explores the complexity of future challenges, concluding that nations must work together to embrace everyone's water needs while also establishing fair, consistent criteria to promote available supply with less pollution. Amazon.com

What the Best College Students Do By Ken Bain Publication Date: 2012 The author of the best-selling book What the Best College Teachers Do is back with more humane, doable, and inspiring help, this time for students who want to get the most out of collegeand every other educational enterprise, too. The first thing they should do? Think beyond the transcript. The creative, successful people profiled in this book college graduates who went on to change the world we live inaimed higher than straight As. They used their four years to cultivate habits of thought that would enable them to grow and adapt throughout their lives. Combining academic research on learning and motivation with insights drawn from interviews with people who have won Nobel Prizes, Emmys, fame, or the admiration of people in their field, Ken Bain identifies the key attitudes that distinguished the best college students from their peers. These individuals started out with the belief that intelligence and ability are expandable, not fixed. This led them to make connections across disciplines, to develop a meta-cognitive understanding of their own ways of thinking, and to find ways to negotiate illstructured problems rather than simply looking for right answers. Intrinsically motivated by their own sense of purpose, they were not demoralized by failure nor overly impressed with conventional notions of success. These movers and shakers didnt achieve success by making success their goal. For them, it was a byproduct of following their intellectual curiosity, solving useful problems, and taking risks in order to learn and grow. Amazon.com

Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do By Claude M. Steele Publication date: 2011 The acclaimed social psychologist offers an insiders look at his research and groundbreaking findings on stereotypes and identity. Claude M. Steele, who has been called one of the few great social psychologists, offers a vivid first-person account of the research that supports his groundbreaking conclusions on stereotypes and identity. He sheds new light on American social phenomena from racial and gender gaps in test scores to the belief in the superior

athletic prowess of black men, and lays out a plan for mitigating these stereotype threats and reshaping American identities. Amazon.com

The Year of the Flood By Margaret Atwood Publication date: 2010 Set in the visionary future of Atwoods acclaimed Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood is at once a moving tale of lasting friendship and a landmark work of speculative fiction. In this second book of the MaddAddam trilogy, the long-feared waterless flood has occurred, altering Earth as we know it and obliterating most human life. Among the survivors are Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Amid shadowy, corrupt ruling powers and new, gene-spliced life forms, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move, but they can't stay locked away. (Part of triliogy, but stands alone)

Zone One By Colson Whitehead Publication date: 2012 A pandemic has devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. After the worst of the plague is over, armed forces stationed in Chinatowns Fort Wonton have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Streetaka Zone One. Mark Spitz is a member of one of the three-person civilian sweeper units tasked with clearing lower Manhattan of the remaining feral zombies. Zone One unfolds over three surreal days in which Spitz is occupied with the mundane mission of straggler removal, the rigors of Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder (PASD), and the impossible task of coming to terms with a fallen world. And then things start to go terribly wrong At once a chilling horror story and a literary novel by a contemporary master, Zone One is a dazzling portrait of modern civilization in all its wretched, shambling glory.

Zoobiquity: What Animals can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing By Kathryn Bowers Publication date: 2012 In the spring of 2005, cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz was called to consult on an unusual patient: an Emperor tamarin at the Los Angeles Zoo. While examining the tiny monkeys sick heart, she learned that wild animals can die of a form of cardiac arrest brought on by extreme emotional stress. It was a syndrome identical to a human condition but one that veterinarians called by a different nameand treated in innovative ways. This remarkable medical parallel launched Natterson-Horowitz on a journey of discovery that reshaped her entire approach to medicine. She began to search for other connections between the human and animal worlds: Do animals get breast cancer, anxiety-induced fainting spells, sexually transmitted diseases? Do they suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, addiction?

The answers were astonishing. Dinosaurs suffered from brain cancer. Koalas catch chlamydia. Reindeer seek narcotic escape in hallucinogenic mushrooms. Stallions self-mutilate. Gorillas experience clinical depression. Joining forces with science journalist Kathryn Bowers, Natterson-Horowitz employs fascinating case studies and meticulous scholarship to present a revelatory understanding of what animals can teach us about the human body and mind. Zoobiquity is the term the authors have coined to refer to a new, species-spanning approach to health. Delving into evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, veterinary science, and zoology, they break down the walls between disciplines, redefining the boundaries of medicine. Zoobiquity explores how animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and heal patients of all species. Both authoritative and accessible, offering cutting-edge research through captivating narratives, this provocative book encourages us to see our essential connection to all living beings. Amazon.com