#one thing abt me is that i thrill for a good nonfiction book

[pennyserenade]

listening to the oppenheimer biography on audiobook is probably bringing me more joy than is rightfully appropriate for any 23 year old girl but here we are. its almost noon and the most exciting part of my day is going to be taking a shower and listening to it

[deathvsthemaiden]

if this isnt too late.. top 5 non-fiction books? 🌷❤️🌺

Def not too late! 🌹🌷💐💜❣️💖

1) I mention this book so much but qgxjshshs I rlly love it so! The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan, I’ve rarely had soooo much fun reading nonfiction! It’s about apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes and while I don’t particularly love or care abt some of those, I was gripped by the book the whole time + ended up feeling more respect for every plant covered when I was done cheesy as that sounds wgshwhs 😓😳🤭 also it should be noted that this book may not be as objectively thrilling as I may unintentionally be making it out to be, I’m just very into plants and if I had the brain for science and my uni offered it I think I’d have enjoyed studying botany just as much as my current major 🤔🌱

2) What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund. Don’t rlly remember the specifics of this book (other than cool graphics + that I rlly enjoyed it!) but the title is self explanatory and I remember thinking the content was illuminating 💡

3) 221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes, edited by Vincent Starrett (theres a bit of fiction in this too, it’s like a series of writing by various ppl on Holmes and I thought almost all the essays were fascinating! Some wild theories in here (of extremely varied quality + believability) ranging from “Sherlock was part American!” to extremely overconfident and implausible (imo) guesses abt the identities of some of Watson’s alleged several wives. Reading this was a fun time + I liked the variety even if not every individual essay and story 🔎

4) What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing, edited by Peter Ginna. When I decided I not only wanted to eventually work in editing and publishing but that I’d be good at it I found this book, and while I’m sure it’s somewhat outdated considering the speed of tech evolution and how industries race to keep up, I remember it just confirming my desire to pursue this occupation/field even when, if not especially when, it discussed the drawbacks and challenges involved. Like 221B it’s a bunch of essays by different ppl, so you get glimpses into the life of a textbook editor vs a children’s book editor etc etc. 📚

5) Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft. It’s like the nonfiction equivalent of Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns for me in terms of how seen it made me feel and all the things it affirmed for me when no one and nothing else would. I honestly think everyone should read this or similar studies/literature so that like. Common misconceptions about the nature of abusers and abusive situations eventually become.... less common. I think misunderstanding these issues exacerbates them so much, you know? :/ and it’s so avoidable! Not to mention how many cycles of violence we could nip in the bud if we could sense earlier on what people’s real motivations when they act out are!! Very readable book + lays things out very clearly, there’s good reasons tumblr is/was very in awe of it, imo 📖

Honorable mentions:

I’m looking forward to the release of Crying in H Mart by , the lead singer of Japanese Breakfast! I read some excerpts and what can I say but wowza and this is going to hurt my child-of-immigrant-parents’ ❤️

I also have fond memories of reading parts of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth in a high school mythology class with one of the nicest teachers I’ve ever had, and later seeking out the audiobook and walking around looking at autumn leaves as I listened to it (the book in both formats is a long interview basically, and it felt very cozy) so the book itself makes me very nostalgic, I only recently came across those criticisms of Campbell for labeling concepts like The Hero’s Journey universal when he really only looked at European myths? (Or smth along those lines idr exactly atm) so I wanna revisit those criticisms and this book+finally read all his other stuff too someday!