June 29, 2016

Non-Fiction and Me

I've never been the type to read non-fiction, unless required for school. Don't get me wrong - I love history, but I'd rather read fiction. The Internet is my non-fiction research when I'm interested in learning more about an important person or event.

With my growing love for Hamilton, though, I realized I should probably read the Ron Chernow biography that started it all. As of writing this post in early June, that hasn't happened yet (although I am the first hold of twelve at the library). It's a whopping 818 pages, so that's going to be a load of fun.

In addition, I saw some tweets earlier this year about a Thomas Jefferson biography that sounds like it doesn't paint him in an especially good or bad light. I have a lot of opinions about Jefferson, so I'm willing to give this one a try.

And finally, when we were at Joseph-Beth before leaving Kentucky for the summer, I saw a biography about some of the First Ladies, which definitely caught my attention. I've had a middle grade book about the First Kids for several years now. The First Ladies are just as fascinating to me.

So I guess I'm taking a little foray into the land of non-fiction. Some day, when I have time at Barnes & Noble or Joseph-Beth, perhaps I'll wander around the history and biography sections and see if anything else catches my eye.

So what about you? Do you read non-fiction? Why or why not? Do you have any recommendations for me?

4 comments:

  1. I don't read a lot of non-fiction either . . . I used to read a ton of biographies, but not so much anymore.
    I'm curious what your opinions on Jefferson are . . .

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    1. A lot of people prop him up as a great hero, but I take issue with his religious beliefs and how he treated his slaves, particularly Sally Hemings. But I also don't think he's the villain Hamilton (the musical) portrays him as and many people think he is. It's complicated.

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  2. My thing with non-fiction is that it needs to cover a subject that really interests me. I read the oral history of SNL, Live From New York, a while back and really enjoyed it. Since then, I've had my eye on We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think that's definitely important. I have a giant coffee table book about the history of fashion (I think it was put together by the Smithsonian) and a coffee table book about the Thorne Rooms. Both of those fascinate me, and so I love those books. I guess as I try more nonfiction, I need to focus on ones whose subject matter really catches my attention.

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