Top Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone
Who Doesn't Read Nonfiction
My favorite nonfiction is nonfiction
that reads like fiction.
That said, here are some recommendations.
I know, I know, it sounds like a college textbook,
but trust me, it's amazing, it's brilliant, it's everything
you want in stories. And it's all true.
An Alphabet for Gourmets
How about a book about cooking?
And not just any old book about cooking,
but an M.F.K. Fisher book about cooking.
It's an alphabet of cooking, too,
which is always fun.
A fabulous recent nonfiction read is Unbroken.
Maybe you don't like history?
I dare you to try this book.
It will change your mind.
I can still remember reading this book
when it first came out.
Studs Terkel interviews people
who talk about their jobs.
Wonderful book.
I have to include a great nonfiction children's book, right?
How about Redwoods?
Author/illustrator Jason Chin
cleverly intrigues his readers with the majesty and mystery
of these big trees in this book.
It's amazing.
Travel books are one of my favorite sub-genres of nonfiction.
This is a crazy one.
A woman decides to take a trip down
one of the most dangerous rivers in Borneo.
It's a great read.
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Don't let the size of this book scare you off.
You won't care it's 560 pages once you start reading this enchanting book about science.
You will wish it was longer.
Once you read this story of the amazing Dr. Paul Farmer
and his work in Haiti, you will not be able to stop reading all-things-Tracy-Kidder.
Tracy Kidder is the kind of writer who could write a book about a paper clip and it would be a bestseller.
Because I know that many of us readers wish we could be writers,
I'll throw in this Anne Lamott book.
If you are so inclined, after you finish this one,
you might also love Traveling Mercies,
the story of how Lamott found God in the faces of some kind people
at tiny Presbyterian church in California.
I suppose you'd call this nonfiction.
But it doesn't matter what label you put on it...
it's a mesmerizing book
of reflections about the universe.
Every page is so beautiful
you want to tear it out and paste it on your walls.
Angela's Ashes
I have to include at least one memoir.
This one is an oldie, but a goodie.
You won't believe how awful McCourt's life was.
A moving story of one man's life.
This is one Top Ten list that I wish was a Top Hundred list.
I could go on and on about wonderful nonfiction out there.
Here's a quick list of other possibilities:
The Warmth of Other Suns
Bill Moyers' Genesis
Exuberance by Kay Redfield Jamison
The Last Shot by Darcy Frey
Bowling Alone by Robert B. Putnam
And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman
Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis....
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
