The Mechanics Institute Library acquires new books each week. Some you will see on the new books tables, but members often check out some of the most popular books right away. If you do not know how to place a hold on a book, please call us at 415-393-0102 (or send a message to [email protected]).
Non-fiction
Tokyo Stroll by Gilles Poitras.
Full disclosure: I have known Gilles for about 30 years, at times working in the office next to his. So now you know I am very biased. He writes books on Japanese anime, makes frequent trips to Japan and in answer to almost any question he displays an encyclopedic knowledge of Japanese culture and all things Japanese (even if your question has nothing to do with Japan). Tokyo Stroll, as you can guess, does not bother much with the usual "tourist traps," instead shows you how to find the interesting out-of-the-way places of all kinds: temples, bars, book stores, toy stores, public parks and more. Intended for people who like to walk.
Existential physics : a scientist's guide to life's biggest questions by Sabine Hossenfelder.
A physicist who has gathered a large following on YouTube explains scientific concepts for the non-scientist. This is her first book and by all accounts she employs the same wit and humor to her writing as she does her videos.
Pests : how humans create animal villains by Bethany Brookshire.
The author challenges the idea that sees some animals as only problems to be solved. From a given animal's perspective, we may look like the pests.
Neurocomic by Dr. Matteo Farinella and Dr. Hana Roš.
Nonfiction graphic novel explaining the physiology of the brain and describing theoretical and experimental developments that led to our present understanding. Graphic novels have reached a point in their evolution that makes them no longer "just for kids" comic books.
Terry Pratchett : a life with footnotes : [the official biography] by Rob Wilkins.
Pratchett may be known mostly for the book Good Omens (made into a popular mini-series) that he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. He also wrote scores of "Discworld" books that have proven immensely popular (and some made into mini-series). This biography has the same wit and humor as Pratchett himself did.
Fiction
The Magic Kingdom and Foregone, the last two novels of Russell Banks.
Banks' novels have proven very popular with Mechanics Institute members, judging from our circulation records. Readers among may have missed these two novels after we had to shut our doors during the pandemic.
The book of lost names by Kristin Harmel.
Librarians are suckers for books about librarians. In this one, taking place in the past and present, a librarian searches for people who do not know who they really are.
Please report your bug here by Josh Riedel.
An app developer in the San Francisco Bay area blunders into an alternate universe.
The passenger and Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy.
These companion novels by McCarthy came out in 2022, 16 years after his last one. Hollywood turned two of his previous novels into movies: No Country for Old Men and The Road.
