All in Non-fiction
I wasn’t sure what kind of reading I was going to be able to handle during the high-anxiety week of the election, which ended up an emotional and difficult week for my family, as well. Tiny Beautiful Things is formatted as letters and replies from an online advice column. And although I didn’t have the energy to contemplate becoming a better version of myself, reading lots of short pieces was easier for my brain than one long book would have been.
Not only did Robin, one of my oldest friends from Dartmouth, recommend this book to me, she actually handed me her copy when she finished reading it this summer. Having the book on my shelf certainly bumped it up on my reading list, and I’m so grateful Robin shared this beautiful little book.
When my friend Carolyn told me that she was reading On Pluto and what it was about, I felt an obligation to read it. Having a mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago, I wanted to see whether O’Brien could help me better understand what she is going through. How unexpected and delightful then to find a book that is not only truly informative, but heartfelt and light-hearted at the same time.
Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible by Daniel Cooperrider is a tremendously impactful book I read this month. As some L&L readers may know, I’ve been a member of a Bible study group for over twenty years. In that time, we’ve explored: books that didn’t make it into the Bible; women of the Bible; the psalms; and many other topics. But Cooperrider’s book is the first time I’d looked at the Bible from the perspective of the environment.
I picked up this classic book published in 1960 because Natalie Goldberg, the author of Writing Down the Bones (read review here) said it was a must-read for anyone interested in writing. I found Hemingway’s essays about his years in Paris from 1921 to 1926, when he was just a struggling writer, to be utterly transporting. Included in A Moveable Feast are 20 pieces written by Hemingway, in which he illuminates the fascinating life he and his wife Hadley led when they lived in Paris.
I highly recommend Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. I couldn’t believe I was reading the 30th edition! I had never even heard of the book until it was mentioned on Elin Hilderbrand’s podcast, “Books, Beach and Beyond.” Writing Down the Bones has been influencing writers since 1986.
Memoirs written by actresses aren’t the usual type of book toward which I normally gravitate. But boy am I glad that I read Finding Me by powerhouse Viola Davis. What an incredible, inspirational story she has written.
Rarely do I read a book that I enjoy, but can confidently tell my mother, “I don’t think this one is for you.” Britney fandom is a prerequisite for reading this book, because otherwise, it’s just a moderately repetitive memoir with a whole lot of trauma. To make it through, the reader should have a special emotional connection we all form with certain musicians whose lyrics speak to us in our early teens.
In his intro to this massive tome, Barack Obama mentions how, as he began the project of writing a memoir about his time in office, the size of the book grew and grew until he had to split it into two books. Reading it then I thought, "Oh, so the first part must be Dreams From My Father," which I had read and enjoyed. But as I reached page 600, and he hadn't finished describing his first term in office, I realized there is another tome to come that will cover his re-election and second term. I am going to be honest with you all, I will not be reading it.
I so appreciate my friend Ellen recommending that I read this completely captivating, non-fiction book about “unforgettable encounters during life’s final moments” (book’s subtitle). I don’t think it’s a book I would have picked up on my own, but it is an amazing read.
My second book recommendation is The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. After setting out to identify those things that made her happy but which she never had time for, Rubin spent a year cultivating and tracking behaviors that would result in her happiness.
First is The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown. Brown offers straightforward advice on how we can enhance our sense of worthiness and cultivate compassion – two essential factors in happiness. She then explores ten behaviors that get in the way of happiness and how to work to eliminate those behaviors.
I thought Michelle Obama’s first book Becoming was absolutely wonderful. (Read review here.) So, I am quite sure that when I realized she’d written another book, I would have bought it pretty quickly. I’m baffled as to why it took me until now to read it. If you haven’t yet read The Light We Carry, treat yourself and read it sometime soon.
I have always found psychology fascinating and majored in developmental psych, along with theatre, in college. So diving into Patient H. M., I felt excited to learn through the study of lobotomies more about how our memories work.. I am thrilled to report, however, that this book delivers so much more. It reminds me of Hidden Valley Road (read review here) in how cleverly it weaves personal narrative with psychological history and current scientific fact.
n my non-fiction round-up last month, I mentioned a few books that were difficult to read, but worth it (read round-up here). Just Mercy is an incredible, but devastating addition to that group. You may have seen the 2019 movie starring Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx, but I honestly can't imagine the degree of nuance and context that must have been lost in a two-hour movie. And let’s be honest, if you’re an L&L subscriber, I’m sure you’d read the book first anyway!
Whenever my mom or I review a non-fiction book, we comment on the rarity of the genre appearing on our reading lists. And yet somehow, of the last 11 books I’ve read, seven were non-fiction! Year Of Yes I reviewed in November (read review here). But rather than choosing just two books to share with you this month, I’ve written a rapid-fire round-up and hope to spark more non-fiction interest on your reading list.
Just Kids was a surprise hit for me since I didn't really know that much about Patti Smith. Smith's autobiography focuses mainly on her relationship with Robert Maplethorpe, about whom I also knew very little.
Frazer creates masterful, sweeping surveys of women in history and Warrior Queens is no exception. She starts with Queen Boudicea from 1st century Britain and builds her case from there all the way through to Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.
This gorgeous, dark, difficult book was well worth the read. With prose-like poetry, Hartman weaves stories of Black women around the turn of the last century who don’t fit the mold or keep their heads down together with stories on how society punishes them.
In this memoir we have another very funny television personality as the author. Shannon had some very difficult moments in her life, which made this book a much tougher read than I anticipated.
