book rec?

[desh]

Quick book recommendation, anyone? Looking for either short stories (either fiction or autobiographical), or non-fiction that's about both a topic and characters (i.e. no everything-that-ever-happened-to-me memoirs, but no Malcolm Gladwell either). Prefer something written in the past 10 years and that's already in paperback, but brand new is OK too.

Thanks!

EDIT: A friend just contacted me about a book he just wrote. So that's definitely going to win for this particular purchase. I really appreciate the recs, though, and will come back to this post next time I want a book, so keep them coming if you have anything to suggest. Thanks again!

Comments

[nnaylime.livejournal.com]

One that I was just thinking about this morning is Black in Selma: the Uncommon Life of J.L. Chestnut, Jr. - he was the first black lawyer in Selma, AL - so it gets both into his life and the civil rights movement . . .

E=MC² is also a pretty interesting read. It's a biography of the equation, but the way the story is told, is vis-a-vis all the scientists who's work led up to the development of the equation (e.g., who were the pioneers in understanding, energy, matter, and the constant). Relatively easy to understand for a lay person and definitely opened my eyes with regard to some of the pre-atomic research.

The Devil in White City is also an amazing read, almost novel-like in its telling, it's actually a true story and Larson manages to string you along and then shock the heck out of you with some of the reveals. (Lethal Passage also by him, about U.S. gun policy is also fascinating reading, but it's much more policy-oriented than it is storytelling).

Most of my fiction choices are either lengthy historical fiction and fantasy or feminist-oriented, though you might find Life of Pi and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time interesting reads that are both character-driven, and really manage to make you sit up and take notice with the stories they tell.

[desh]

Devil in White City seems to be exactly the kind of book I was looking for. Awesome. I won't have time to read it any time soon at this point, so I won't get it yet, but it's definitely on my list now. Is there a name for this genre or subgenre of books? The non-fiction drama kind of thing? Because I almost always like them and never know how to talk about them...

Curious Incident might be the newest novel I've read, excepting "kids" stuff like Harry Potter and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I quite liked it! People keep mentioning Life of Pi to me; I suppose I'll have to give it a shot at some point.

And thanks!

[nnaylime.livejournal.com]

The non-fiction drama kind of thing? Because I almost always like them and never know how to talk about them...

I wish I knew, because it would certainly make it easier for me to find more of that sort. What others, like that, have you read?

[desh]

The most recent was American Roulette, which I particularly liked because I like gambling and casinos.

[kezinge.livejournal.com]

Is there a name for this genre or subgenre of books?

I haven't read any of the books in question, but literary nonfiction might be a good first approximation.

[arctic-alpine.livejournal.com]

read life of pi. and then, knowing how it ends, read it again.