READS: Non-Fiction: Family & Work

When Reyna Grande's father leaves his wife and three children behind in a village in Mexico to make the dangerous trek across the border to the United States, he promises he will soon return from "El Otro Lado". His promises become harder to believe as months turn into years. When he summons his wife to join him, Reyna and her siblings are deposited in the already overburdened household of their stern, unsmiling grandmother. Reyna later begins her own journey to "El Otro Lado" to live with the man who has haunted her imagination for years, her long-absent father. 325 pages.

This is the story of a doctor's fight with cancer and death. Even doctors can fight the idea of cancer and Paul's story is about his battle, his love for his wife and all the challenges that come when you know you are dying. 228 pages.

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. 248 pages.

Since Barbie's introduction in 1959, her impact on baby boomers has been revolutionary. Far from being a toy designed by men to enslave women, she was a toy invented by women to teach women what-- for better or worse-- was expected of them. 325 pages.

Beyond the Pasta is about the author's month with an Italian family in Viterbo, learning both the Italian language and Italian cuisine. The book is Mark's journal of experiences during that time, each curiosity and peculiarity noted and explored, with mysteries often left to be answered in subsequent chapters. With recipes. 339 pages.,

Over sixty years ago, when meat was bought from a butcher, Jay Hormel's idea for pork in a can was nothing short of revolutionary. How in the world (and why in the world) did he do it? 134 pages.

In this chronicle of the Big Woods, bunk house ballads, humorous sketches and eyewitness accounts of work and life in the tall uncut as well as the rich photographs help the reader to actually feel the old logging atmosphere. 176 pages.

Explores the history of Alaskan aviation, discussing small plane piloting in the wildest territory of the United States. 242 pages.

he inspiring true story of Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran and her best advice for anyone starting a business. After failing at twenty-two jobs, Barbara Corcoran borrowed $1000 from a boyfriend, quit her job as a diner waitress, and started a tiny real estate office in New York City. Using the unconventional lessons she learned from her homemaker mom, she gradually built it into a $6 billion business. 308 pages.

The Civilian Conservation Corps put men to work during the American Depression. This book shows their work to create the Deception Pass State Park. Lots of Pictures. 330 pages.