So Much Nonfiction in 2022?
2022’s been shaping up to be my year of nonfiction. Normally I’d read maybe TWO nonfiction books a year, tops. But here I am clocking in at 5 so far. Wowee! In case you’re a fan of nonfiction, here’s what I’ve read:
* Americanon: An Unexpected History in Thirteen Bestselling Books, by Jess McHugh
* Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed, by Lori Gottlieb
* Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann
* Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community, by David A. Neiwert (this is about my hometown, btw)
* Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis, by Ada Calhoun
I listed these in order of preference. I LOVED Gottlieb’s and McHugh’s books. Form and writing style = A+. In some ways, I felt like I was reading novels because of the storytelling. The second two are like long-form pieces of journalism; the subject matter is completely fascinating (and important), but here’s my controversial take: I think I would have rather watched documentaries about them. (Yikes?) The last one? Thumbs down, and maybe that’s because I don’t want to read about myself. Or have a “midlife crisis” universally pinned to my demographic. And also when I checked it out, I thought it truly was about “why we can’t sleep” and I would have very gladly gobbled up a creative deep dive into sleep. But it’s more like how “we” are frazzled caricatures.
I guess I like to be entertained by and somehow feel attached to the nonfiction I read. So sue me.
{Take a peek at this other image to see what I’m reading for my nonfiction writing class.}
originally published on instagram