BAND - Bloggers’ Alliance of Nonfiction Devotees. August Discussion - Your First Nonfiction Book or Subject?

A lot of us read only fiction for many years before being drawn to nonfiction by either a specific book or topic. Usually we followed some sort of meandering path to get to our current love of nonfiction (or some of you might still be on your way!). Head over to Amy’s blog (Amy Reads) to leave your link with your response to the question:

How did you get into nonfiction? Do you remember your first nonfiction book or subject? If so, do you still read those subjects?

During college, I wanted to become a geneticist or CSI, but I sucked at biology and chemistry and biochemistry. So I turned into psychology instead, and thought perhaps I could be a forensic scientist or a FBI profiler! I started reading a lot of True Crime & Forensic Science books. My favorite author on the topic was John Douglas (e.g. Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, The Anatomy of Motive : The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals, Journey Into Darkness). I also read true crime books on Jeffrey Dahmer, the Green River Killer, and other scary people. I was just fascinated with how their mind works. The whole nature vs nurture debate was just so interesting. I took a criminology course, but since I wasn't a Bachelor of Arts major, I couldn't take any more classes in that area, which was a shame. 

I also bought a few NF books back then, like Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono (because "thinking books" seemed brilliant), A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (because someone I had a crush on was reading it... and no, nothing ever came out of that - maybe because I didn't finish reading this book? lol), The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James Watson (because my mum heard about this book and she knew I was interested in genetics. My mum also gave me a subscription to a magazine about criminals - how cool is my mum?) I still have read these books, and many other Non-Fiction books I bought, but I haven't read any of them yet! It seems like I always prioritize to read the books I borrow from the library first, because someone else could be waiting to read them and I don't want them to wait any longer! So I end up with a bookshelf of books that I am still very much interested in, and hope I will read them one day (reading YOUR blogs doesn't help as I now have a VERY LONG To-Be-Read list of all the wonderful books you reviewed - non-fiction or otherwise!)

It wasn't until I read Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs that I started getting interested in memoir. This was back in 2007 I think. I wish I remember how I came across this book. Sometimes, reading non-fiction is really stranger than fiction! And memoir has become one of my favorite genres. It makes me think that I live such a boring life though!

Now thinking back, even when I was a child, I did read some memoir in Chinese when I was a kid, like about this kid called Kenny without legs who traveled around on a skateboard or his hands (I don't know what this book is called in English... I tried to find it via google, I wonder if it is Kenny Easterday? For some reason I thought the kid was from Germany, but who knows...), or Toto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (which I read the English version for the first time recently but hadn't had a chance to review yet). I also read a lot of "Guess who dunnit" type of books - they gave you a little story, and you got to be the detective to guess who the killer was. So I guess, my reading interesting on memoir and crime books went back further than I had remembered.

There is a saying in Chinese that goes something like this - what you were like when you were 3 years old, is what you'd be like when you are 80. Maybe there really is some truth in that.

BAND - Bloggers’ Alliance of Nonfiction Devotees. July Discussion - What’s Your Favorite Type of Nonfiction?

I was very excited to see that BAND - Bloggers’ Alliance of Nonfiction Devotees has formed! For more info, see here.

I remember when I first started blogging, I had a very difficult time in finding other blogs that reviewed non-fiction. A few years back, I was reading about 75% Non-Fiction (roughly 100 books a year). Since I'd started blogging 1.5 years ago, I had read more fiction than non-fiction... mainly because I read all the fiction reviews from your blogs and ultimately added them to my TBR list!

Each month, BAND will ask a Non-Fiction related question. Then at the end of the month, the moderator will sum it up. I can't wait to hear what everyone else said!

Here's the July question: What’s Your Favorite Type of Nonfiction?

Good question! I haven't given it much thought before. Looking back, I read a lot of memoir (travel, medical, psychological/social, food etc). I also read a lot of real crime like Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo or Columbine by Dave Cullen. I enjoy some scientific books like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by by Mary Roach, or business books such as Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson and Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello (though the latter two were really memoir).

I think, ultimately, my favorite type of non-fiction are memoirs that inspire me. Now, of course, what inspires us are very subjective. I'll briefly explain each of my example:

• Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi - set in WWII in Japan. You see how innocent the children were (even if they were the "enemy"). But most inspiring of all was the headmaster and the way he educated the children

• Not by Chance Alone: My Life as a Social Psychologist by Elliot Aronson - I was a psych major, so it was interesting to read how this prominent psychologist stumbled into psychology. Also a great professor

• The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner City School by Christina Asquith - I had wanted to be a teacher, but didn't think I know enough to teach. The author left her well paying job to become an inner city school teacher. Enough said.

• The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls - I kept asking myself "really?" and shaking my head when I read this book. I just couldn't believe the way her parents brought her up. Yet she strives. 

• Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs - even more unbelievable. I guess because of my psych background, I liked reading about dysfunctional families... 

• Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood by Donovan Campbell. I don't read a lot about war, and this is a memoir from a military perspective (as opposed to the more prevalent civilian's perspective, e.g. the books from Jewish survivor in WWII). I guess when I grew up in Hong Kong and Australia, the military didn't have much of a presence, compared to the US. So this memoir gave me a better understand of what the military had to endured. When we visited Guam last year, I came across more military personnel than I had anywhere else. They were appreciative when I mouthed Thank You to them silently. So I am glad I read this before my Guam trip.

• A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah - one of the most heartbreaking memoir I'd read. No children should have to go through what he did and be a child soldier.

• Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years by Michael Collins. Since I work in the health care field now, it was beneficial for me to read about what the doctors had to do to get to where they are. I thought of going into medicine when I was younger. Let's just say I am glad my grade wasn't good enough to get into med school :)

• Josie's Story - A Mother's Inspiring Crusade to Make Medical Care Safe by Sorrel King. Because of my job, I really resonate with this book. Any story about losing a child is sad, but Sorrel King really used her tragedy to make a difference.

• Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan - we read many stories about volunteers working in other third world countries. But I think what set this story apart is that the author really took the imitative to make a difference. This book reminded me of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. I would have listed Three Cups of Tea separately, but due to the controversy, I haven't made up my mind yet about which side I am on...