Posted in Andrew's Picks, Books, Microhistories, Nature writing, Sense of place, Setting on May 12, 2008 | 1 Comment »
What is it about coastal redwoods that would inspire people to risk their lives to be near them? For starters, this type of redwood is located in only a few areas, but those are nearly inaccessible to all but the most dedicated bushwhackers. It is impossible to see the trees in their entirety, [...]
Posted in Andrew's Picks, Books, Dark humor, Fast-paced, Humor, Microhistories, Nonfiction, Quick read, Quirky characters, Subculture on January 11, 2008 | No Comments »
If you’ve ever closely read, or even scanned, the pages of a typical personals ad, you’d recognized the usual format – gender preference, age, something about the advertiser’s looks and interests. Specialty and ‘elite’ publications might have more information tailored toward the expected demographic – second home location, brand of Scotch, favorite theorist – that [...]
Posted in Andrew's Picks, Microhistories, Nonfiction on January 6, 2008 | No Comments »
In the months and years after the attacks on September 11, 2001, contrarian women were silenced, according to Faludi’s focused cultural critique. She especially targets the mainstream media, for which she blames the creation and perpetuation of a ‘storyline’ – that it was time for men to be men and women to be helpless. Major [...]
Posted in Autobiography, Barry's Picks, Books, Language Focus, Memoir, Microhistories, Nonfiction, Quick read on October 25, 2007 | No Comments »
Although Nick Hornby may be best known for his clever and witty fiction (try High Fidelity, Hornby’s look at a record store owner, his quirky staff, and his dysfunctional social life), he writes equally well about music in the nonfiction realm.
In Songbook, Hornby writes with insight and passion about 31 of his favorite songs from [...]
Posted in Barry's Picks, Books, Microhistories, Nonfiction on July 5, 2007 | No Comments »
One of the most interesting of the subgenres of narrative nonfiction is the microhistory. You can often tell these books their one-word titles — Cod, Absinthe, etc. These books take a specific item and use that as a jumping off point to explore the broader world, including history, technology, science, language, and sometimes memoir. [...]
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