I've always been interested in reading one of Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris' books, as they are a favorite of one of my best friends. I happened to come across Running with Scissors in the used books section of a bookstore and thought now was the time. This book is basically Augusten's recollection of his life growing up with an unstable mother and subsequently living with a family of strangers who become his new family for some time. You can't believe the stories in this book actually happened to someone, but they did. It was awkward, entertaining, insane and fun.
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was moved to my "favorite" books on my book shelf after reading. What an engrossing read! I had so much to talk about at my first book club meeting. I probably talked too much. These are the types of real stories where you can't believe the story hasn't been told already because it's that important. Henrietta Lacks was a poor, black woman whose cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951. Those cells (HeLa) became one of the most important tools for modern day medicine. Still today! Don't let the science part of the book scare you in to not reading it. The author does a great job dumbing it down for us non-scientist folk.
Ashley Judd is one of my favorite actors, and her book did not disappoint. All That Is Bitter & Sweet is one of those memoirs where you actually have to pause mid page to reflect on what you just read. Ashley's own personal story growing up amidst the life of her famous mother and sister interweaves with her own personal journey overseas for human rights work. It's quite hard to read a lot of what she saw during her time talking to real human trafficking victims, and like her, you just wished she could save them all from their hell. I appreciated Ashley's openness about her own personal growth as a human being and woman. This book taught me a lot and has also made my "favorite" book shelf.
I've never laughed out loud from reading a book as much as I did reading Tina Fey's Bossypants. Hilarious! But you have to appreciate her kind of random, off-the-cuff humor. Not many people, as I've found out when recommending this book, actually get it. But I get it, and I love it. She's had awkward times as a kid just like most of us, and she's brave enough to talk about them. She says it like it is a lot. Basically, I can't wait to read it again.
A couple historic events interest me the most. Besides the events of the '60s, it's the Holocaust. The Diary of Anne Frank is one of my most favorite books. And here with Elie Wiesel's Night, readers can get another real-life story of what it was like during that time — this perspective from an actual concentration camp. It's so chilling to read these stories and take those moments to reflect that this event happened and how many people were affected. It's a small book that packs a lot of heartache, inspiration and reflection.
I bought Without Reservations about three years ago when I was dead set on traveling the world and writing about it, and I wanted to read some travel essays. It was a book that I started, but couldn't quite get into at the time. Three years later, I picked it up and finally got engrossed in Alice Steinbach's story. Funny how that happens sometimes with books. Now I want to meet her, talk to her and ask her lots of questions. So if you really want to travel and can't right now, this book is a good start to get you thinking about what you could see in the near future.
What are some non-fiction books you'd recommend?
