Sunday, June 27, 2010

Back to Reality: Non-Fiction Picks

As my last post on my favorite books, I thought I would list some non-fiction selections.


It's Always Something by Gilda Radner. I bought this book for my grandmother for Christmas when I was around 13 years old. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor wrapping gifts and I started reading this book. Well, I read the entire thing before I wrapped it and gave it to her, and I still remember so much about this book. (It could be the book, or it could be that my mind was sharper...also, there is no way I could read OR wrap gifts sitting on the floor anymore). This is a memoir of Gilda's battle with cancer and her life with husband Gene Wilder. A 20th anniversary edition came out last year.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This autobiography is unbelievable. This MSNBC journalist details her upbringing in complete squalor. She now lives in NYC and sometimes sees her mother walking the street, homeless. No more using your childhood as an excuse after reading this one.

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt. This book is very refreshing. The author puts his theories out there and I'm sure he received plenty of letters. Check out his theory on why the US violent crime rate dropped so drastically in the 1990's. Sometimes the truth is ugly.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose. A liberal Brown student goes undercover at Liberty University for a semester and gives his objective view of this cultural bubble. Maybe my fascination with this book is a little heavy because I went to Liberty, but I think my entire liberal-to-conservative spectrum of readers and friends would eat this book up.

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