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What Happens To Your Used Stuff? 'Secondhand' Tells Of A Billion-Dollar Industry

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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What Happens To Your Used Stuff? 'Secondhand' Tells Of A Billion-Dollar Industry

November 13, 2019 • As "traditional bonds disintegrate in the face of industrialization, urbanization, and secularization, brands and objects become a means to curate and project who we are," writes reporter Adam Minter.

In 'Some Of Us Are Very Hungry Now,' Revelations Morph Into Mirrors

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In 'Some Of Us Are Very Hungry Now,' Revelations Morph Into Mirrors

November 12, 2019 • Andre Perry's debut essay collection reads like a slightly fragmented memoir focused on the search for identity, the desire to write, and his constant sense of unease as a black man in Iowa City.

'In The Dream House' Invents A New Form Of Memoir To Convey A Haunting Nightmare

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Graywolf Press

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'In The Dream House' Invents A New Form Of Memoir To Convey A Haunting Nightmare

November 5, 2019 • Under Carmen Maria Machado's narrative of a psychologically abusive relationship lies an academic view of female queerness, a play, a choose your own adventure book, a look at the mechanisms of abuse.

'A History Of New York In 27 Buildings' Is A Love Letter To The Big Apple

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Lewis Hines/National Archives/Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing

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'A History Of New York In 27 Buildings' Is A Love Letter To The Big Apple

October 24, 2019 • More than a mere chronicler armed with facts and dates, Sam Roberts is a nonfiction writer with the heart of a novelist; he's writing about buildings — but he does so while telling engaging stories.

'How We Fight For Our Lives' Is One Life Story That Finds Connection To Others

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'How We Fight For Our Lives' Is One Life Story That Finds Connection To Others

October 14, 2019 • Extremely personal, emotionally gritty, and unabashedly honest, Saeed Jones' memoir somehow manages a perfect balance between love and violence, hope and hostility, transformation and resentment.

In Memoir, Imprisoned Turkish Writer Says His Longing Is 'So Naked, So Primal'

I Will Never See the World Again: The Memoir of an Imprisoned Writer, by Ahmet Altan Beth Novey/NPR hide caption

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In Memoir, Imprisoned Turkish Writer Says His Longing Is 'So Naked, So Primal'

October 3, 2019 • Confined in a tiny cell, Ahmet Altan recoils into his own thoughts; his talent as a writer allows him to communicate his experience in rich, haunting detail in I Will Never See the World Again.

Patti Smith Weaves Between Worlds Real And Imagined In 'Year Of The Monkey'

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Knopf

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Patti Smith Weaves Between Worlds Real And Imagined In 'Year Of The Monkey'

September 24, 2019 • Smith's musical career sometimes threatens to overshadow her accomplishments in other creative fields, but every page in this book reminds us that she is an accomplished novelist, essayist and poet.

In 'Savage Gods,' An Author Finds That Pondering Being Leads To An Inability To Write

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In 'Savage Gods,' An Author Finds That Pondering Being Leads To An Inability To Write

September 18, 2019 • Paul Kingsnorth moved to a small farm in Ireland to be closer to the land and to reconnect with the essence of being. Instead of contentment, he found that it was tough to find meaning in writing.

'Tinfoil Butterfly' Spreads Twitchy, Monstrous Wings

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'Tinfoil Butterfly' Spreads Twitchy, Monstrous Wings

September 9, 2019 • Rachel Eve Moulton's story about a young woman in an abandoned town in the Black Hills of South Dakota will crawl into you and give you the shudders — just let it.

'The Warehouse' Is Scary Because It's Plausible

Crown

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'The Warehouse' Is Scary Because It's Plausible

August 25, 2019 • Rob Hart's new dystopian cyberthriller imagines a near-future America in a state of semi-collapse, where the only jobs available are in company towns built by an enormous conglomerate called Cloud.

'Into The Planet' Captures Cave Diving's Mortal Risks — And All lts Glory

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'Into The Planet' Captures Cave Diving's Mortal Risks — And All lts Glory

August 22, 2019 • Jill Heinerth's memoir leads with her thoughts as she wonders if she will die underwater, setting the tone for an honest and engaging book about life as one of the world's top cave divers.

'The Outlaw Ocean': A Forgotten Frontier Where Slavery And Illegal Activities Abound

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'The Outlaw Ocean': A Forgotten Frontier Where Slavery And Illegal Activities Abound

August 21, 2019 • Ian Urbina combines stellar investigative reporting skills and straightforward writing to convey what lies on the other side of the ocean — opposite cruise-ship vacations to beautiful beaches.

In 'The Mosquito,' Humans Face A Predator More Deadly Than The Rest

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Dutton

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In 'The Mosquito,' Humans Face A Predator More Deadly Than The Rest

August 12, 2019 • Timothy C. Winegard has written a well-researched work of narrative nonfiction that offers a history of the world through the role that mosquitoes — and mosquito-borne illnesses — have played in it.

'Becoming Superman' Chronicles The Life And Career Of J. Michael Straczynski

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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'Becoming Superman' Chronicles The Life And Career Of J. Michael Straczynski

July 23, 2019 • While the prolific Hollywood writer's career is well-documented, his personal history has been a mystery. His memoir is painful and inspiring, infuriating and full of hope, humorous and depressing.

'At Dusk' Exposes South Korea Through A Variety Of Lenses

Scribe US

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'At Dusk' Exposes South Korea Through A Variety Of Lenses

July 21, 2019 • Hwang Sok-yong's novel is a perfect slice of Koreana; a touching, somewhat depressive narrative full of nostalgia exposing the underbelly of a nation via the people inhabiting society's bottom rung.