Week 4 of Non-Fiction November is upon us! This month long celebration of all things non-fiction is hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey, Julie at JulzReads, Sarah of Sarah’s Book Shelves, Lory of Emerald City Book Review, and Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness.
This week, Kate at Doing Dewey is hosting a discussion on what makes your favourite non-fiction titles your favourite:
We’ve talked about how you pick nonfiction books in previous years, but this week I’m excited to talk about what makes a book you’ve read one of your favorites. Is the topic pretty much all that matters? Are there particular ways a story can be told or particular writing styles that you love? Do you look for a light, humorous approach or do you prefer a more serious tone? Let us know what qualities make you add a nonfiction book to your list of favorites.
I’ve had to have a bit of a think about this one. It’s tough to nail down what I loved about my favourite non-fiction titles.
I love stories and really, that’s just as true about my fiction reading as my non-fiction reading. I love non-fiction about women, especially women who were ahead of their time in some capacity. I love biographies of Princesses or Queens, Duchesses, Countesses, actresses who didn’t take any sh*t, women who fought fascists and Nazis and lived to tell the tale.
I love non-fiction where you can tell that the author totally geeked out while writing it. Those non-fiction titles tend to have a really strong author voice running through them. Erik Larson, Malcom Gladnwell, Gretchen Rubin all come to mind. Even Sheryl Sandberg. I recently read a joint biography of Marguerite de Valois and her mother, Catheine de’ Medici, where the author’s footnotes were pure gold. One of them even referenced a preferred sexual position with the note that the reader should “look it up.”
Ultimately I love gossip. And I know I say that I a lot. But I love non-fiction books that make me feel like I’m getting the inside scoop. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish either – especially not for more academic authors. When it’s done well, it can make reading a 500 page book about people long dead so exciting and fun.
And now, here’s a list of some of my very favourite non-fiction titles for you:
- Anything by Julia P Gelardi (From Splendor to Revolution, Born to Rule and In Triumph’s Wake. I REALLY hope she’s working on something new!)
- In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
- Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
- Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell
- The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport
- Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon
The Paperback Princess 
YES! I love that you admit to loving gossip. I do, too 🙂 Have you read Dominick Dunne? He’s the best!
The name sounds really familiar but I don’t know if I have or not. I’m off to look him up!
I love the idea of Non-Fiction November! I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned, so I’ll have to add them to my ever-growing list 🙂
I keep seeing Erik Larsen mentioned. I’m going to have to give him a go.
And I totally agree with Sarah – Dominick Dunne is the way to go for gossip. Legend.
Why does that name sound so familiar? I’m going to have to look him up.
Definitely give Erik Larson a go! He’s the best.
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I can see all of your traits in most of the favourites you’ve shared, except for the Andrew Solomon. It seems to be all on its own in a way. But it *is* a book I’ve considered picking up many times. And, then, I actually picked it up — and it’s freaking heavy! *grins*
Admittedly that one is a bit of a wild card for this post. But actually, that book is full of stories. Wrapped in a more science-y sounding book. It’s SO HEAVY. Physically and emotionally, actually.
Cheryl Strayed – is she the Wild lady? I watched that with Rhiannon. Hope she learned something from it.
The very same! I’ve not read or watched Wild…keep meaning to…