Options for Non-Fiction Reading, Part One of Four

Recently I attempted to resort my bookshelves/closet shelves/boxes of books under my bed. I planned to Dewey Decimal the hell out of my thousand or so paperbacks, display proudly the hundred or so antique hardback and coffee table books, and finally catalog each book I have.
Three hours into my sorting process, I stopped, because I decided to feed my child instead.
You know how much I love to read. You know how much I love to read fiction. But you might be surprised to learn that probably half of the books I own are non-fiction.
I LOVE a good non-fiction read. I realize, though, that the genre of non-fiction is not everyone's first choice. It can be overwhelming.
These are some of my favorites, in case you were seeking a brilliant non-fiction choice.

 

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

"So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters."

This is an extended essay that Ms. Woolf wrote considering women, writing, and education. I have referred to it time and time again when pondering the effort it takes to act smart, pursue literature, and be a strong woman. She also mentions a fictional "Judith Shakespeare," William Shakespeare's hypothetical sister who perhaps was just as talented as the Bard, but was discouraged from learning to read so as to complete household chores and make babies. 

The Friendly Shakespeare by Norrie Epstein

A certain ninth-grade drama teacher of mine that possibly had a large influence on me used to carry this book around with her. I remember it sitting dog-eared in her office, with neon colored Post-its marking her favorite pages. We giggled at the translated Elizabethan sexual slang and marveled at the amount of reading we would have to do to be considered Shakespeare experts. The summer before high school, I saved every penny I had and bought a used copy of this from eBay. I read it cover to cover, then read every Shakespeare play except for Cymbeline and Timon of Athens. I have no intention to read either one, by the way. 

The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

"It is easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of acting."

A.J. Jacobs: the king of the stunt books, great experimenter, fantastic journalist, and clever Jew. His books: one lifestyle after another, always an entertaining read. In The Know-It-All, A.J. attempts to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica in one year--every volume. His tale is not of the knowledge he learned, but of his own growth during the project, as well as everyone else's reactions to his constant know-it-all-ness. The Year of Living Biblically is his year living in New York City with his wife, attempting to live according to EACH commandment in the Old and New Testament for a year. Hilarity ensues in a light-mannered, always refreshing read.

Wasted and Madness by Marya Hornbacher

"We turn skeletons into goddesses and look to them as if they might teach us not to need."

Ms. Hornbacher wrote her first memoir, Wasted, about her struggles with a deadly eating disorder in the most grotesque, stunning prose that leaves us not only with an insight into the mind of an anorexic, but with the haunting presence of her poetic talents. She did, after all, study poetry at a prestigious school for liberal arts majors. This book was written when she was only twenty-two, written just four years after she was sent to the ER, weighing fifty-two pounds, and given only a week to live. Her follow-up memoir, Madness, tells of post-eating disorder life, when she was finally given the diagnosis of bipolar disorder type one. She is not the most light-hearted read, but she is always graceful, always honest, and always beautiful.

Be prepared for part two, coming your way soon!