Non-Fiction

[annxburns]

Hi, I'm kind of a non-fiction nut.

I am reading "The Informant" by Kurt Eichenwald - very good.

I loved "Public Enemies" by Bryan Burrough (he also co-wrote "Barbarians at the Gate".)

And I loved "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes.

BTW, I'm an engineer so I apologize for my uber-geekiness.

[Deleted]

In the Scary Fans Thread (I did paraphrase that), brinksteria commented:

all those miseducated, class-prejudiced crazies hellbent on proving that William Shakespeare did not write all those plays, sonnets, etc.

I recently read Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt and I enjoyed it tremendously. If you liked Shakespeare in Love (and let us all forget, for a moment, our intense dislike of Gwyneth Paltrow), you'll like this book.

Remember the instances in SiL, when Will is running to the theater and hears the Puritan Preacher rant against the theater, the bracelet that his cheatin' love Rosalind wears, and all the other little things that he sees and hears and that end up in Romeo and Juliet and Twelveth Night? Will in the World is like that. The author, Stephen Greenblatt talks about what is happening in London when Will is writing his plays and how those things might have influenced his work. Mr. Greenblatt also discusses the "did he or didn't he really write those plays?

I love Mark Twain, he is the Sensei of Snark (all you pretenders, bow down before him! Bow down now!). But I don't think he got Shakespeare right. But Mr. Twain makes up for it by getting everything else, Oh So Right.

[Deleted]

Definitely try Opening Skinner's Box by Lauren Slater. It was fascinatingand well written. Just last week I mentioned some of the experiments/findings from the book to my sister (somehow it was relevant to our conversation).
This thread so far seems to be into travel/adventure books, but I'll try expanding it to the idea of biographies/autobiographies--which is non-fiction, too!
You don't have to like mysteries to really enjoy The Autobiography of Agatha Christie; she throws in all sorts of interesting tidbits, from growing up in Victorian England to volunteering as a nurse for soldier hospitals in WWI, as well as her insights into family and relationships...plus, she really did have an interesting life. I've read it a few times, and it always keeps me spellbound.

[loquaciousone]

Fat Girl by Judith Moore. Miss Moore is one hard, cool, clear, unsentimental Fat Girl. No Oprah Inspiration story from her.

I just read that too, Chatchien. I'm fine with the occasional gritty, realistic memoir but damn! I didn't like anyone in Moore's life other than her uncle. I didn't even like Moore. I should probably address my sentiments toward this book in the "Books You've Thrown Away" thread. I didn't throw it way, but I wanted to.

I also just finished Smashed by Koren Zailckas (last name spelling is probably botched). Didn't like the book or her, either. She spends a good deal of time doing the brainy girl pose, i.e. "Look at me! I'm quoting Plath! I'm so morose and edgy and depressed!". I don't know if I've ever read anything that had such a Schleprock (as in Bad Luck) tone to it. Plus she used at least three different metaphors at three different points of the book to describe to dampness and humdity of a bathroom. Blech.

[Ripley]

I love books about old Hollywood. Right now, I'm reading Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood by Donald Bogle. It's a great read about an aspect of Hollywood that I didn't know much about.

I think I love books about old Hollywood (even though I generally loathe old movies) is because the people who are telling the stories are all old and don't have to worry about their careers, so they dish all the good stories. I get so tired of hearing, "Oh I loved working with Temper McActorpants! He was so passionate!"

[Auroranorth]

Recently I've been reading Mad As Hell: Revolt at the Ballot Box, 1992 by Jack Germond and Jules Witcover. It was interesting to see how one main issue dominated the election, and look at the historic parallels to the recent one.

Longitudes and Attitudes by Tom Friedman is my current book. I don't always agree with his conclusions, but he writes well and he's usually pretty interesting. His Discovery channel specials are good, too.

[Deleted]

Mulva said:

The only Bill Bryson I've read so far is I'm a Stranger Here Myself and it was hysterical. While reading it, I had to keep stopping to call a friend to tell her a particularly funny part. Eventually, she was like "DUDE! Stop calling me!"

That was the only Bryson I'd read and it was OK but I wasn't overjoyed with it. Maybe I need to read another book before making a decision? Because that one seemed a little too "These darned Americans. I may be one but gosh durnit, I've been away so long. I can't get over how crazy they are!" and some of the things were a little odd to me. I specifically remember one chapter where he was like "Americans don't lock their doors!" Maybe not in his town but I do. Also the "People at the post office are so friendly! I got free donuts" chapter made me scratch my head quite a bit.

Maybe I need to give him another try.

My favorite nonfiction book that I've read in the past year is Stiff by Mary Roach. It's all the stuff you didn't learn in biology class. Plus, it was interesting to see how there are different ways to get rid of a loved one's body (mulching for example).

[Deleted]

"What it Takes to Get Me Through" by David L. Marcus is a solid, satisfying and compelling read. Marcus, a former journalist, spent a year following a group of teens through a school year at an alternative school (sort of a boot camp without the military style to it). It was just published this past year, but chronicles the 2001-2002 school year. He brings you up to speed on the kids in an epilogue, but you come to care about the kids so that you want to know what they'll go on to be like as they get older.

[marywebgirl]

Maybe I need to read another book before making a decision?

Give A Walk in the Woods a try. Stranger is OK, but it feels disjointed since it's a collection of essays.

[Deleted]

I just finished Suburban Nation. It's about how America has turned into one big succession of strip malls, office parks, and cookie cutter subdivisions. It's not all gloom and doom though. It's written very plainly (by architects) and explains how and why the country has developed to the point where we are today.

I just moved from Chicago (where I could walk to everything) to Austin (where I have to drive to everything), so it's been helpful for me to understand why the automobile is king here. There are lots of pictures, too, so that helps when the authors are talking about zoning and street width and such.