Nonfiction is definitely a general term when it comes to books. From biographies/memoirs to mental health to craft books, there is a plethora of books to choose from. I mainly read fiction because it's a way for me to escape and for me to put words to the things that I feel. However, I do work with nonfiction books as a Reference Librarian and there's been some titles that have stood out to me lately.
I am not one to judge anyone's reading choices. My nephew loves Dogman (a children's graphic novel series by Dave Pilkey) and I've noticed other adults in his life pushing him to read "real books" but in my opinion, reading is reading. Listening to audiobooks is still reading. Graphic novels are still books and books are meant to be enjoyed. For me personally, I tend to use nonfiction to educate me in various subjects. However, recently, I've been getting outside my comfort zone and reading different nonfiction titles.
First, I read Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming by Ava Chin. It's a beautifully written memoir about Chin's family history. It combines genealogy with history in a way that made history interesting to learn about. This opened my eyes to how racism against the Chinese has been happening for centuries instead of just recently. I recognize my privilege as a white woman but I learned so much in this memoir about American history that I did not learn in school. It's sad. It just breaks my heart how we treat people who are different than us. This was an enjoyable read and I am glad I was able to attend a book discussion around this book.
Since being diagnosed as Autistic in the past 12 months, I've been reading books about it. Unmasking Autism by Devon Price was one that I started out reading the physical copy and then finished on audio (thank you Spotify for adding audiobooks to the premium accounts!). I highly recommend this book for both people with autism and also people who don't. There are so many misperceptions on what autism is and what it isn't. This book helps with that. I also started diving into Self Care for Autistic People and wow. It's a small book, but gets right to the point with how to better care for yourself. It addresses the struggles that I deal with everyday and I definitely recommend this book to everyone. I'm even having my parents read over sections of it so they can understand me better.
The final book I'll talk about is The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston. I didn't realize it, but Douglas Preston is half of the writing duo Preston & Child, author to books in the mysteries/thrillers genre. This book is a collection of articles & essays that Preston wrote throughout his career about bones, burials and murder. What I enjoyed is that each article was its own story meaning that I could read one part and then not have to remember too much before diving into the book again. There's a section about unsolved mysteries and I don't know about you, but there's something about mysteries that have no answer. I find myself very curious and sometimes love to spend time just contemplating the mystery. If we knew everything, life wouldn't necessarily be fun. I will warn you, there's an essay about cannibalism and I wish I would have skipped it (well...I did skip some parts of it because it was a little gross). If you like true crime, you'll probably like this book. If you are adventurous with your reading, give this book a try.
Nonfiction readers, what books do you recommend that I read next?
xoxo,
Amy
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