OK, guys, BAND’s on the run!
I just adore that song, and every time I see the new acronym BAND (Bloggers’ Alliance of Nonfiction Devotees), the song starts playing in my head. Here it is, so you can hear it, too.
Anyway, BAND’s offering up its first topic for discussion, and it’s a lovely one. It comes to us from Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness:
What is one of your favorite types of nonfiction to read? OR What is one of your favorite nonfiction topics to read about?
I just think I’m not picky about nonfiction. Yeah, I read a lot of it, but a lot of it gets rejected, too. Here are two nonfiction styles that’re sure to grab me.
Narrative nonfiction
If there isn’t a good narrative thread, I just may not stay with it. I’ve gotten particular that way.
Some of my favorites:
All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
The Death of a President, November 20 – November 25, 1963 by William Manchester
Behind-the-scenes stories
These can be journalistic coverage of a topic, autobiographies, or memoirs. I love learning the behind-the-scenes stuff, even if it’s about settings not typically considered juicy, gossipy stuff.
Some of my favorites:
First on the Moon: A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. by Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
Life by Keith Richards
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffery Toobin
One of the things I love about nonfiction is that the plot twists are not manufactured simply to serve the story; they’re real. It’s not about the author getting all clever with the plot — this stuff happened!
(Oh, I’m so happy right now. Thank all goodness for narrative nonfiction. And thanks, BAND, for the great topic.)
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