About
True story: One of my first jobs was working in one of the biggest book stores in America… okay maybe just one of the biggest in New York…I’m not even sure really. It’s big though. Countless times people came in and asked for the nonfiction section. In this big, big, massively big bookstore. Like it’s so simple and straightforward. “Where’s your nonfiction section?” You’re going to have to be more specific. Because anything that isn’t fiction is by definition…non-fiction, right?
Back then, I read almost exclusively fiction (that section’s easier to pinpoint). But in the last several years, I found that exactly the opposite was becoming true, and I preferred nonfiction, in all its many very different categories, to anything fictional. But when I tell people I only like to read nonfiction, they sometimes look a little disgusted, like I have no imagination or can’t appreciate literary art. But there are so many fascinating stories and beautiful writing to be found in all-true stories.
This blog collects my reviews of the nonfiction titles I read, to share ideas, opinions and recommendations with others who have similar interests. I love narrative nonfiction, memoir, history, Americana, true crime, women’s issues, social topics, tales from the Second World War, and my biggest love: Russian history of all eras (but especially Soviet and contemporary). Currently very interested in titles on current events in the Middle East.
