In these “over 100” books, there is a massive range – from nonfiction and historical fiction to textbooks and children’s novels. This massive range means that there’s almost definitely a book in the catalog that you might be interested in. Here are 10.
1- “My Dog Ate It” by Saragail K. Benjamin – In this children’s novel, Benjamin tells the story of Danny, a fifth grader who decides that if he never does his homework, he can stay a fifth grader forever. However, using her “floating talking dog” named Homework, his teacher plans to get him back on track.
2- “Unbeatable: Tom Osborne and the Greatest Era of Nebraska Football” by Henry J. Cordes – This nonfiction book tries to cover everything that happened when famed football player and coach Tom Osborne became the Huskers coach in 1972 and while he led them up until 1997. This book has a lot of information, including comprehensive descriptions of the 1995 national title game and the lives/careers of Lawrence Phillips and Tommie Frazier.
3- “Spots Before Your Eyes” by Jane Goodall – Written by Jane Goodall with contributions from Howard Buffett and Ann van Dyke, this book on African cheetahs explains not only their lives but their impacts on humans and how humans are impacting this endangered species. It talks about everything from cheetah hierarchy to the loss of life and habitat for the world’s fastest mammal.
4- “The Bitter Pill: Doctors, Patients, and Failed Expectation” by Martin R. Lipp, M.D. – Written in 1982, Doctor Lipp, a psychiatrist, shows how the ethical struggles of the medical industry look from the perspective of the doctors and how he uses psychiatry with general medicine to care for patients. The overarching theme of the book is the idea that “the patient loses, and the doctor wins” is false. Lipp uses his book to try to push this idea.
5- “Back Tracks: The Saga of Josh and Little Bird” by Arthur M. Hagberg – After his brother didn’t return from his trip with Lewis and Clarke, Hagberg tells the story of how the main character, Josh, goes on his own journey at just 18. After meeting the “love of his life,” Little Bird, the story describes his meetings with hostile Native Americans, the wilderness, and his founding of the first school on the Yellowstone River in the 1880s.
6- “Caleb Reynolds: American Seafarer” by Emily Baker Reynolds – Written by a descendant of Captain Caleb Reynolds, Emily Baker Reynolds used century-and-a-half-year-old logs, letters, and a large amount of poetry to tell the true story of her ancestor. It covers his journey to what is now British Columbia and takes place just after the Revolutionary War during an oft-overlooked period of history.
7- “Forty Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World” by Howard G. Buffett – Written by the son of billionaire Warren Buffett, the premise is, to summarize: if you had $3 billion and 40 years, what would you do? In 40 stories, Buffett recounts his struggles to fight domestic poverty and world hunger in his purely nonfiction book.
8- “Out Takes In the Galaxies” by Gaye Follmer – Reportedly, this fiction book took 40 years to write. Rather than being a standard story, the book is divided into several short stories. Throughout these short stories and a novella also in the book, there is an underlying theme of not just surviving in struggling times, but thriving in them.
9- “Žižka, The One-Eyed” by Jim Fuxa – Set in the late 1300s in Czechia, this historical fiction novel tells the story of the life of Jan Žižka, a famed military general who becomes the leader of a revolution and falls in love with a widowed queen while dealing with a severe injury – the loss of his eye.
10- “The Bones of Paradise” by Jonis Agee – A historical fiction novel set in the years following the Wounded Knee massacre in the Nebraska Sandhills, this multigenerational story covers mystery and tragedy the while representing the family’s deep connection to the land.
