Week 8 - Yessss! - Nonfiction

Assignment 1:

Read both Borderlands & Reading Nonfiction for Pleasure articles.

I often prefer nonfiction & suggest it to many customers, both adult & children, especially as nonfic can broaden reading horizons and make better use of our fantastic resources.The articles illustrate how narrative nonfiction can be the perfect bridge from fiction.

Excerpt from Borderlands: Many consider Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood to be the first example of narrative nonfiction that blurred the line between the story and how it was told (and even the person telling it), but it kicked off a trend in nonfiction that continues to thrive. Readers who enjoy narrative nonfiction are more likely to embrace fiction and fiction afficianados are more likely to enjoy narrative nonfiction rather than a dry recitation of facts. 

For the fiction reader, an intriguing factual narrative can be every bit as compelling or entertaining as fiction.

Assignment 2:

Viewed EPFL's Nonfic Powerpoint -  a few points to remember: customers may be attracted to a nonfiction author because of race, religion, celebrity, writing style, etc.; customers may enjoy nonfiction titles for their illustrations/photography, bibliographies, indices, checklists, tests, etc., explained 16 nonfic subgenres

Assignment 3:

Biography - Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Guevera

Sociology/300s - Guns, Germs, and Steel: Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

Sociology/300s - Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI by Dana Kollmann

History/900s - Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick


Assignment 4:

Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto "Che" Guevera

Guevera, a young student and Marxist revolutionary, traveled 5,000 miles across South America with a friend on an old motorbike. Not your typical spring break.

This was a transformative journey for Guevera, whose powerful observations of rampant classism, social injustice, exploitation, and persecution of the poor and downtrodden and well-described Latin American locales all work to describe a powerful experience.

As narrative nonfiction, this title might have wide appeal, touching on travel, sociology, modern history, and adventure, all of which tie in easily with fiction.

Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI by Dana Kollmann

Dana Kollmann is a former forensic scientist with Balto Co. Police Department and a current forensics professor at Towson University. NSDMH is a collection of her harrowing, and sometimes humorous adventures as a CSI.

The cases she shares are certainly dark and disturbing, but she writes in a conversational, candid style which quickly engages the reader and lightens the subject matter. For Kollmann, that sense of humor was and is her survival mechanism in a disturbing world of crime and murder. As a professor, she also breaks down the details of the work in a way that layman can understand and gain insight into the world of forensic science.

Fiction customers who enjoy police procedurals, thrillers, suspense, and mystery novels, might enjoy this title, as well as those who enjoy science, sociology, true crime, and local Baltimore culture.