Nonfiction November: Favorites

Regular Rumination is hosting a month-long celebration of nonfiction and for the first week she asked "What is your favorite piece of nonfiction?" I just had to jump in with my two cents. I love nonfiction, which was a big surprise to me as a reader.

If you’re firmly in the “I hate nonfiction” camp I’d encourage you to try one nonfiction book that sounds interesting and see if you still feel that way when you finish it. Nonfiction really does deserve a better reputation that the dry and boring one it currently has.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was the first book that taught me nonfiction could be just as creative and enthralling as fiction. Since reading that in high school I have fallen in love with dozens of travel memoirs, biographies, history books, etc. I couldn’t pick just one favorite (though if I had to it would probably be Midnight) so I made a list of a few favorites depending on your taste.

Favorite Book on War: 

Brave Men by Ernie Pyle 

In Harm’s Way by Doug Stanton 

April 1865 by Jay Winik

Favorite Auto/Biography:

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Thomas Jefferson by Jon Meacham

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

Favorite Travel Memoir:

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (funny)

Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman (serious)

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Favorite Childhood Memoir:

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (sad)

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (hilarious)  

Favorite Book about a Random Topic:

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

Favorite Historical Event:

Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Favorite Book about Writing/Reading:

On Writing by Stephen King

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Favorite Love Letter to a City:

Here is New York by E.B. White

Imagined London by Anna Quindlen

Favorite Book of Grief:

The Longest Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke

Favorite Social Commentary:

A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

Also, here’s a link to my complete list and ratings of nonfiction books I’ve read if you want more options.

Assassination Vacation

Assassination Vacation
by Sarah Vowell
★★★★☆

I love Vowell’s sense of humor. She’s sarcastic, yet somehow sincere. She’s an unashamed nerd and history buff, which is awesome, because I am too. Assassination is Vowell at her best. She chronicles her travels around New England as she visits spots relevant to Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley’s assassins.

She fills the book with a blend of historical facts, hilarious trivia bits and personal anecdotes. I always feel like I’m learning something while reading her books, but at the same time she cracking me up. She makes presidential assassinations incredibly entertaining.

The audio versions of Vowell’s books are particularly good. Like David Sedaris’ work, she reads her own books and so she provides the perfect pauses and inflections for maximum hilarity. She also manages to get an all-star cast of people to read lines for her supporting characters. Everyone from Dave Eggers to Conon O’Brien to John Stewart chime in for a line or two.

I can’t say enough to recommend her work. Whether she’s talking about being stuck in a flowery Bed & Breakfast with old people or describing her nephew’s name for graveyards (Halloween parks), she nails every scene. If you’ve never read anything she’s written, please check her out. Assassination Vacation is a great place to start.

Here's another review at Unputdownables.