One of these could be yours! We’re giving away a mug each week to a commenter.
Each Tuesday we’re posting a new entry in our Online Book Club to share with you what you’re reading. Join in with the conversation! We’re focusing on a specific genre each week. Leave us a comment about what you’re reading or what you think about the genre, and you could win one of these super-cute reading-themed coffee mugs. We’ll pick a winner each week from the comments below.
If you’re a reader, don’t miss out on winning one of the great prizes at the end of the summer: we’re giving away a Kindle (courtesy of the family of the late Mrs. Bernice B. Franklin, a library trustee and long-time library supporter) to one lucky book reviewer, and the library system is also giving away an iPad (courtesy of the generous folks at Cobb EMC). All you have to do to enter to win the drawings is write a review. Get started today!*
Today we’re reading books in the Narrative Nonfiction genre, and today’s post is brought to us by Dorothy, a Reference Librarian at the Central Library.
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction (or Creative Nonfiction)
What is Narrative Nonfiction? Reads like a novel but this style of writing is based on actual people and events.
What do you like about this genre? For me it’s all about the storytelling. These are not dry, dusty textbooks. The plots are intriguing, the characters are memorable and there is dramatic tension.
What was your favorite book when you were young? I discovered “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote as a teenager. It is still the scariest book I’ve ever read.
What was the most recent book you enjoyed? “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson
Name one of your favorite books. I guarantee you will cry at least once before you finish the story of Louis Zamperini’s inspiring life in “Unbroken: a World War II story of survival, resilience and redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand.
Other books in this genre:
“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo. The dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the twenty-first century’s great, unequal cities. In this fast-paced book, based on three years of uncompromising reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human. Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees fortune in the recyclable garbage of richer people. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a rural childhood, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap-metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to good times. But then, as the tenderest individual hopes intersect with the greatest global truths, the true contours of a competitive age are revealed.–From publisher description.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping.
“Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. A history of Mount Everest expedition is intertwined with the disastrous expedition the author was a part of, during which five members were killed by a hurricane-strength blizzard.
“Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, longtime New Orleans residents Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun are cast into an unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. In the days after the storm, Abdulrahman traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared– arrested and accused of being an agent of al Qaeda.
Have you read these books? Do you like the Narrative Nonfiction genre? Let us know in the comments below and you could win the a library-themed coffee mug!
*Limit of 10 entries per person for the Kindle; each person will be entered to win the iPad once.
Being the new kid in a new high school is tough, but it’s a little harder for Jimmy than for most. At 5’5”, Jimmy weighs 187 pounds. He is continuously tormented and ridiculed about his weight. His one friend at school is bigger than he is. Needless to say, both get their fair share of being humiliated on a daily basis. Luckily, Jimmy has a super supportive family to help buffer the abuse he gets at school.
Wondering what’s going on at the library? We’ve got programs about mushrooms, dogs, ants, puppets, video games, art, fossils, archaeology, and more… there’s something for everyone this week!