Non-Non-Fiction

Jun 01

By Michael Kindness Uncategorized Add comments

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly has an article called So You Want to Write a Memoir?, very cleverly designed as a ”choose-your-own-adventure” list of what’s been written before. In other words, Under Loved Ones, you could choose Fell in Love with a Pig (The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery) or Double-dating with his Recently Widowed Father (Assisted Loving by Bob Morris). Under Struggles, you have your choice of everything from Being a Virgin (Superstud by Paul Feig) to Life Under the Khmer Rouge (When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him).

It’s a great article/list that shows exactly what sorts of crazy things have been written about, and it also made me realize exactly how few memiors I’ve read. I tend to read mostly fiction, though I have read a few great works of narrative non-fiction over the years. And yes, even a memoir here and there!

What about you? Do the books on your nightstand tend to lean toward fiction or non? Or do you read omnivorously?

(By the way: The title of this post is not meant to cast any aspersions on the truthiness of memoir writers. It’s (I hope) a clever play on words describing my reading tastes!)
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery, Ballantine trade paperback, $13.95, 978-0-345-49609-6
Assisted Loving by Bob Morris, Harper hardcover, $24.95, 978-0-06-137412-8
Superstud by Paul Feig, Three Rivers Press trade paperback, $13.95, 978-1-4000-5175-5
When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him, W.W. Norton trade paperback, $14.95, 978-0-393-32210-1

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

http://www.tawnygrammar.org steve

I read almost entirely fiction, and the non-fiction I read tends to be academic or research based instead of memoir. There are a few memoirs I’ve enjoyed, but I’m frustrated when personal experience is recounted without the author developing a cultural or critical context in which to examine it (or at least acknowledging the possibility of other interpretations).

Which, to be fair, is the same complaint I often have about fiction, so it’s not a problem with the genre of memoir so much as a symptom of my own fussiness as a reader.
http://www.tawnygrammar.org steve

I read almost entirely fiction, and the non-fiction I read tends to be academic or research based instead of memoir. There are a few memoirs I’ve enjoyed, but I’m frustrated when personal experience is recounted without the author developing a cultural or critical context in which to examine it (or at least acknowledging the possibility of other interpretations).

Which, to be fair, is the same complaint I often have about fiction, so it’s not a problem with the genre of memoir so much as a symptom of my own fussiness as a reader.
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Michael

You’re not fussy Steve… you’re discerning!

thanks for the comment!
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Michael

You’re not fussy Steve… you’re discerning!

thanks for the comment!
Tom

Hi Michael,
I enjoy your podcast very much. I do tend to read more fiction, and my non-fiction reading tends to be memoir’s. The real question that I keep coming up against is, “What do I read next?” Is it something from the stack of book’s to be read, by my bed that I own, or from the stack that I just picked up from the public library that looked interesting?
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is on deck to be read next as I also like reading the book award winner’s each year. (Pulitzer,Booker,National and Edgar).
Tom

Hi Michael,
I enjoy your podcast very much. I do tend to read more fiction, and my non-fiction reading tends to be memoir’s. The real question that I keep coming up against is, “What do I read next?” Is it something from the stack of book’s to be read, by my bed that I own, or from the stack that I just picked up from the public library that looked interesting?
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is on deck to be read next as I also like reading the book award winner’s each year. (Pulitzer,Booker,National and Edgar).
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Michael

Hey Tom-

Picking the next book is always so tough for me too!

Let me know what you think of Oscar Wao… I had trouble getting into it… I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to read it!

Michael
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Michael

Hey Tom-

Picking the next book is always so tough for me too!

Let me know what you think of Oscar Wao… I had trouble getting into it… I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to read it!

Michael
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com ann

OK, so I’m going to defend the memoir which, by definition, is a work of the author’s memory (well, in most cases, anyway). This as opposed to “autobiography” which, in my view, is more dependent on verifiable sources.

I have enjoyed many memoirs, though I do get turned off by too much whining and “why me” sentiment. Memoirs I have liked: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, Autobiography of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krauss Rosenthal (one of your favorites, Michael), and yes, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi — even though it’s illustrated, it’s a memoir nonetheless. There are others, but it’s too early for me to come up with them. Looking at this list, it appears that I enjoy memoirs where the author is able to put him/herself back into the mindset of childhood when they didn’t necessarily realize that their life was different/terrible/traumatic — it just was what it was.

Ann
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com ann

OK, so I’m going to defend the memoir which, by definition, is a work of the author’s memory (well, in most cases, anyway). This as opposed to “autobiography” which, in my view, is more dependent on verifiable sources.

I have enjoyed many memoirs, though I do get turned off by too much whining and “why me” sentiment. Memoirs I have liked: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, Autobiography of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krauss Rosenthal (one of your favorites, Michael), and yes, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi — even though it’s illustrated, it’s a memoir nonetheless. There are others, but it’s too early for me to come up with them. Looking at this list, it appears that I enjoy memoirs where the author is able to put him/herself back into the mindset of childhood when they didn’t necessarily realize that their life was different/terrible/traumatic — it just was what it was.

Ann
http://odysseybks.blogspot.com Darcy

Ooh, good point about the author’s perspective, Ann. I think the success of a memoir is entirely dependent on the author’s perspective on his/her life, as any sort of ‘the world owed me something different’ attitude will put me off immediately. I also *loved* Persepolis and The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls), but I typically read more directly researched nonfiction with some novels thrown in for balance.
http://odysseybks.blogspot.com Darcy

Ooh, good point about the author’s perspective, Ann. I think the success of a memoir is entirely dependent on the author’s perspective on his/her life, as any sort of ‘the world owed me something different’ attitude will put me off immediately. I also *loved* Persepolis and The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls), but I typically read more directly researched nonfiction with some novels thrown in for balance.
http://merewisdom.org James Crossman

Long ago I struck a bargain with myself that I would try to fit non-fiction in between novels. For the most part this works, except that series have somehow been treated as a single novel, so my non-fiction stack is growing until i finish this series of novels.
http://merewisdom.org James Crossman

Long ago I struck a bargain with myself that I would try to fit non-fiction in between novels. For the most part this works, except that series have somehow been treated as a single novel, so my non-fiction stack is growing until i finish this series of novels.
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Ann

Hi James,
That’s a very good idea, alternating nonfiction and fiction. Truth be told, I usually pick up nonfiction only for work, though almost always I end up enjoying it. But in a bookstore with money burning a hole in my pocket, I almost always go for the novel.

Thanks for commenting!

Ann
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Ann

Hi James,
That’s a very good idea, alternating nonfiction and fiction. Truth be told, I usually pick up nonfiction only for work, though almost always I end up enjoying it. But in a bookstore with money burning a hole in my pocket, I almost always go for the novel.

Thanks for commenting!

Ann
Jeremy

Fiction by a landslide (and judging by my score in your goodreads test, not very good fiction at that). As far as non-fiction is concerned, I would have to echo several of the previous comments and say that I tend toward memoirs. The McCourt brothers have written some of my favorites. Some of Malachy’s work makes me laugh out loud.
Jeremy
Jeremy

Fiction by a landslide (and judging by my score in your goodreads test, not very good fiction at that). As far as non-fiction is concerned, I would have to echo several of the previous comments and say that I tend toward memoirs. The McCourt brothers have written some of my favorites. Some of Malachy’s work makes me laugh out loud.
Jeremy
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com ann

Jeremy,
Love Frank McCourt, but haven’t read any Malachy. Will have to give him a try. Thanks for the recommendation!

Ann
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com ann

Jeremy,
Love Frank McCourt, but haven’t read any Malachy. Will have to give him a try. Thanks for the recommendation!

Ann