Washoe County Library System

""This is a book about humanists, but even humanists cannot agree on what a humanist is," declares Sarah Bakewell. Indeed, for centuries now, thinkers, writers, scholars, politicians, activists, artists, and countless others have been searching for and refining a philosophy of the human spirit. Humanism can be found in writings of Plato and Protagoras and in the thought of Confucius. It is ever-present in the work of Michel de Montaigne, and guided...

Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day's breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother's death. When Josef Weber, am elderly man in Sage's grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can't, and they become companions. Everything changes...

"A visionary and accessible book, bell hooks's All About Love offers radical new ways to think about love. Here, hooks, one of our most acute social critics, takes the themes that put her on the map - the relationship between love and sexuality, and the interconnectedness between the public and the private - and challenges the prevailing notion that romantic love is more important than all other bonds." "All About Love is a blueprint for finding myriad...

A groundbreaking investigation into the origins of morality, which turns out to be the basis for religion and politics. The book explains the American culture wars and refutes the "New Atheists."

Collages of familiar farm animals complement this tale of a determined little spider toiling away to build her web. "A spider, blown by the wind to a fence post near a farm yard, begins to build her web and cannot be distracted from the task at hand--not by the horse, cow, sheep, goat, or dog. But when the rooster asks if she wants to catch a pesky fly, the busy spider is able to catch it in her web immediately!"-- The farm animals try to divert...

When Waring Hudsucker, head of a successful company commits suicide, the board of directors has a plan to make a lot of money, so they decide to appoint a moron to run the company. Mailroom clerk Norville Barnes is exactly what Hudsucker is looking for to be president. They hope that as soon as the stock falls low enough, the director and his friends will buy them up cheaply, take over the company and they will be successful again. However, a tough...

Jabari tries to make a flying machine all by himself in his backyard, but when it doesn't work, he finds it is okay to ask for assistance from Dad and his little sister, Nika.

"On Manhattan's Upper East Side a woman lies dead at the bottom of the stairs, stripped of all her valuables. Most cops might call it a mugging gone wrong, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows better. A well-off accountant and a beloved wife and mother, Marta Dickenson doesn't seem the type to be on anyone's hit list. But when Eve and her partner, Peabody, find blood inside the building, the lieutenant knows Marta's murder was the work of a killer who's...

Living in a "perfect" world without social ills, a boy approaches the time when he will receive a life assignment from the Elders, but his selection leads him to a mysterious man known as the Giver, who reveals the dark secrets behind the utopian facade.

"Big Panda and Tiny Dragon embark on a journey through the seasons of the year together. They get lost, as many of us do. But while lost, they discover many beautiful sights they'd never have found had they gone the right way. Told through a series of beautiful drawings and quiet, sometimes silly, conversations, the panda and the dragon explore the thoughts and emotions, hardships and happiness that connect us all. In nature, they learn how to live...