Well, I do a review a month here, and never seem to know very far in advance what I will review. I consider a few titles, and hope I come up with one that may be useful, or at least interesting.
I settled on The Reader's Advisory Guide to Nonfiction this time. Neal Wyatt's book has chapters recommending books about sports, travel, true crime, true adventure, memoirs, history and biographies, "general nonfiction," whatever that is, and so on. Science, mathematics, and nature writing are all dealt with in one chapter, as are food and cooking.
It was published in 2007, so you will not find the most recently published nonfiction in it. That is not a problem, in my opinion.
The chapters include lists of recommended authors for the various categories, lists of suggested books, and "Resources and Awards."
For example- (one) "should monitor the major science awards."
Royal Society Prizes for Science Books... www.sciencebookprizes.com/home_welcome.htm
National Academies Communication Awards... www.keckfutures.org (click on Communication Award winners)
Notable Book List... www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/rusanotable/notablebooks.htm
National Outdoor Book Award... www.isu.edu/outdoor/bookpol.htm
"Other science awards... are worth noting, including those given by these organizations: American Institute of Physics... History of Science Society... Los Angeles Times Science and Technology Awards... (and) National Association of Science Writers."
The book has some gaps: I looked in the index, and did not see Buckminster Fuller or Marshall McLuhan. My favorite of Jane Goodall's books,Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, is not listed.
I still recommend it, even if it leaves out some of my favorites. Nonfiction readers (You know who you are.) should find it useful.
2 comments :
I don't read much non-fiction, except for the occasional biography, but this sounds like it highlights some nice stuff.
It does. And when you read one you really like, it's easy to find other titles by the same author. I do that a lot. Truth - stranger than fiction, they say.
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