All in Non-fiction
n the handful of books that seem to be everywhere at the moment, Belle Burden’s Strangers surely ranks in the top five. As often seems to happen, when I picked it up and started to read, the book was being discussed everywhere. In Strangers, Burden tells the stunning story of her 20-year marriage and how one morning early in the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband walked out and left her and their children forever.
I first encountered Zarna Garg on Amy Poehler’s podcast, Good Hang, which if you want to spend an hour laughing with some of the funniest people in the world, I highly recommend. Garg was the opening act for Poehler and Tina Fey’s comedy tour, and she appeared on the podcast to promote this memoir.
I want to thank one of our most loyal L&L readers, Ellen, for recommending Awake. I hadn’t heard of Jen Hatmaker before reading this book, so it’s unlikely I would ever have picked it up on my own. I’m so glad that I read this captivating book.
There are many reasons I almost decided not to review The New Menopause: (1) I come from a generation that believes polite people don’t talk about personal things like menopause. (2) I worried how our male readers would react. (3) I thought that even young women of my co-editor’s generation wouldn’t be interested in something which feels so far off in their future. But I decided in favor of writing the review because I learned more from this book than I have from any book I’ve read in a very long time.
I first heard about Say Nothing on Clint Smith’s Instagram. As the author of one of my all-time favorite works of non-fiction, How the Word is Passed (read review here), I took his recommendation to heart and am so glad.
Dirtbag, Massachusetts is the most stunning memoir I have read in a long time—maybe ever. I had never heard of the book or the author until recently when they were both praised on a podcast. Of course the title intrigued me, being a proud resident of Massachusetts for most of my life. But when I opened the book, it was Fitzgerald’s writing that grabbed me in the very first sentence.
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent was a perfect recommendation that I received from a long-time subscriber to L&L! Listening to the audiobook not only got me through packing up our house to move, it also made my heart extremely happy.
In one of the most beautifully written memoirs I’ve ever read, Ketanji Brown Jackson invites the reader into her life and describes her journey from being a young girl living in a segregated Miami neighborhood to becoming the first Black woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
When my husband Dan gave me Super Sushi Ramen Express for Christmas, I looked at him and said, "Didn’t I buy you this book a long time ago?" Neither of us really remembers but now that I've read it, I’m so glad he bought it (again?).
I am going to do my best to describe this book in a way that will make every one of you want to grab a copy because it is one of the most interesting pieces of nonfiction I have read in a very long time. But every time I try to describe this book, I find it extremely hard to do it justice.
My most recent celebrity memoir on audiobook, Be Ready When The Luck Happens, was a delight from beginning to end. I’ve long known Ina Garten was charming from her TV shows and Instagram, and she brings that charm to bear on the telling of a surprising and compelling story.
Ever since hearing Lauren Marks interviewed on The Allusionist podcast, I’ve been wanting to read her memoir, and I’m so glad I finally did. In it Marks recounts her journey to recover the use of language after an aneurysm at the age of 27. I’ve always been fascinated by language acquisition in children and was intrigued to hear more about Marks’ experience.
I wasn’t sure what kind of reading I was going to be able to handle during the high-anxiety week of the election, which ended up an emotional and difficult week for my family, as well. Tiny Beautiful Things is formatted as letters and replies from an online advice column. And although I didn’t have the energy to contemplate becoming a better version of myself, reading lots of short pieces was easier for my brain than one long book would have been.
Not only did Robin, one of my oldest friends from Dartmouth, recommend this book to me, she actually handed me her copy when she finished reading it this summer. Having the book on my shelf certainly bumped it up on my reading list, and I’m so grateful Robin shared this beautiful little book.
When my friend Carolyn told me that she was reading On Pluto and what it was about, I felt an obligation to read it. Having a mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago, I wanted to see whether O’Brien could help me better understand what she is going through. How unexpected and delightful then to find a book that is not only truly informative, but heartfelt and light-hearted at the same time.
Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible by Daniel Cooperrider is a tremendously impactful book I read this month. As some L&L readers may know, I’ve been a member of a Bible study group for over twenty years. In that time, we’ve explored: books that didn’t make it into the Bible; women of the Bible; the psalms; and many other topics. But Cooperrider’s book is the first time I’d looked at the Bible from the perspective of the environment.
I picked up this classic book published in 1960 because Natalie Goldberg, the author of Writing Down the Bones (read review here) said it was a must-read for anyone interested in writing. I found Hemingway’s essays about his years in Paris from 1921 to 1926, when he was just a struggling writer, to be utterly transporting. Included in A Moveable Feast are 20 pieces written by Hemingway, in which he illuminates the fascinating life he and his wife Hadley led when they lived in Paris.
I highly recommend Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. I couldn’t believe I was reading the 30th edition! I had never even heard of the book until it was mentioned on Elin Hilderbrand’s podcast, “Books, Beach and Beyond.” Writing Down the Bones has been influencing writers since 1986.
Memoirs written by actresses aren’t the usual type of book toward which I normally gravitate. But boy am I glad that I read Finding Me by powerhouse Viola Davis. What an incredible, inspirational story she has written.
Rarely do I read a book that I enjoy, but can confidently tell my mother, “I don’t think this one is for you.” Britney fandom is a prerequisite for reading this book, because otherwise, it’s just a moderately repetitive memoir with a whole lot of trauma. To make it through, the reader should have a special emotional connection we all form with certain musicians whose lyrics speak to us in our early teens.
