she-thinks:

printedandbound:

I love good non-fiction.  They can be light and quick to read, or extremely thought-provoking.  Some of my favorite non-fiction books are written by my favorite fiction authors - Twain, Fitzgerald, Orwell, and the like - see for yourself…

1) The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Essays, notes, & letters discussing his mental health shortly before his death.  Hemingway made a note in his personal library stating that he was “sickened by FSF’s public confessional”.

2) The Vanity of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac

Though billed as “Semi-autobiographical”, this is the story of Kerouac growing up in Lowell, Mass.  It discusses his academic and athletic success in both high school and later at Columbia University.

3) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

See this post…

4) King Leopold’s Soliloquy by Mark Twain

Scathing satire aimed at King Leopold of Belgium and his policy regarding the Congo Free State, the ongoing atrocities there, and the exploitation of the people and resources.

5) Just about anything by Geo. Orwell (but if I have to choose…Inside the Whale & Other Essays, Decline of the English Murder, and also, Road to Wigan Pier)

I love Orwell’s strength in being able to take complex issues and rattle them down into simple terms that common people, like me, can not only grasp, but have a full 360* comprehension of it when finished reading.

6) Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor by Gabriel García Márquez

True story of a Columbian sailor stranded at sea, in the Gulf of Mexico, for days after being swept overboard back in the 1950’s.

7) Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

Maybe not his best stuff, but he is always painfully sincere and honest.  This is the pleading of a fair and good man who wants to see his country move in the direction of fulfilling the promise it has always had.

8) Resistance, Rebellion & Death by Albert Camus

Essays discussing the French Resistance.  Especially liked “Liberation of Paris” & Pessimism & Tyranny”

9) Hiroshima by John Hersey

The story of the bombing of Hiroshima.  Highlights 6 survivors and the effects after the bomb dropped.

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I haven’t read these yet - any suggestions?

- Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72 by HST

- Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

- The Profits of Religion, The Brass Cheque, The Goose-step by Upton Sinclair

- On Boxing by Joyce Carol Oates

- A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

- Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

- By-line by Hemingway

Also add Stephen King’s On Writing to that list. An awesome Non-Fiction/ Memoir.