“Your Brain on Art”
The following items are available at the Hancock County Public Library, 900 W. McKenzie Road. Descriptions are provided by the publisher, unless otherwise noted. For more information on the library’s collection or to reserve a title, visit hcplibrary.org.
Fiction: “The White Lady” by Jacqueline Winspear
A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government.
Nonfiction: “Your Brain on Art: How the Art Transforms Us” by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
Have you ever gotten chills while listening to a particularly gorgeous piece of music? Or felt a sense of calm while gazing at a painting of a serene landscape? We have experiences like those every day, but rarely stop to consider what’s happening internally to cause them. In “Your Brain on Art,” founder of the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Susan Magsamen and Google designer Ivy Ross explain how, by understanding how we biologically react to aesthetic experiences, we can not only heal as individuals but thrive as communities. Using the new science of neuroaesthetics, which explores our physiological reactions to art, Magsamen and Ross show us how, for instance, gardening can help a person heal from trauma. Beyond enjoyment and abstraction, art can change the way we operate on a daily, practical level.
Youth: “The Coquíes Still Sing: A Story of Home, Hope, and Rebuilding” by Karina Nicole González
The coquí frogs sing to Elena from her family’s beloved mango tree– their calls so familiar that they might as well be singing, “You are home, you are safe.” But home is suddenly not safe when a hurricane threatens to destroy everything that Elena knows.
