Books to make you smarter and provide some entertainment too

The Summer Learning Challenge at the La Mesa Branch Library is in full swing, even as the new school year approaches. 

If you have not picked up a challenge log, now is the time to stop by the branch to start earning your prizes and enter your name in the grand prize drawing. 

For more fun, join us and the BTSD Taiko Drummers on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. Back by popular demand, these intergenerational drummers give a raucous performance you won’t want to miss! Check sdcl.org/LaMesa for further details and other free events.

Some great books have come out recently that are both entertaining and could make you smarter!

Albert J. Mann examines American labor movements in Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States. 

From colonial American guilds to the effects of Covid-19, this book delves into the beginnings, developments, and status of labor unions. We see how broader world events like the Great Depression and the civil rights movement effect the worker. It may sound dry, but Mann uses a compelling narrative with a conversational tone that makes this fascinating reading.

Yarsalov Trofimov gives us a first-hand account of the current war in Ukraine in Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence. 

Trofimov is a Wall Street Journal reporter who has often gone to the front lines to conduct his investigative journalism. Not only does he give details into the destruction of parts of Ukraine, but he also examines the slogans, speeches, and memes that Ukrainians are rallying behind as they continue their fight.

As attempts at legalizing psychedelic drugs pop up on our voting ballots, take a peek at how these drugs were initially used by world governments in Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age by Norman Ohler. 

Readers will learn how the Third Reich attempted to find a truth serum with psychedelics, and that the CIA explored the possibility of using these drugs for brainwashing. Ohler traces how government experiments with LSD evolved into more recent thoughts about how they could help patients with Alzheimer’s.

Finally, learn about a particular mental health diagnosis beyond the stereotype and shame it often comes with in Patric Gagne’s Sociopath: a Memoir.

This is more than just a memoir. Gagne informs readers about what a sociopath is and isn’t (it is not the same as a psychopath), treatments for those who receive the diagnosis, and how millions who receive this diagnosis are able to live fulfilling and emotionally full lives. This title will leave readers with a new understanding of the word sociopath.

To start learning more about these fascinating topics visit La Mesa Branch Library or explore our eLibrary at sdcl.org.