Library Non-Fiction Picks

The great thing about socialism is all the great FREE stuff you get! Public libraries are probably one of my faves. I often hear about a book I'd like to read from a news story or a podcast and then pop into the library to check it out.....for FREE! But honestly my favorite library activity is simply perusing the shelves quietly, languidly, but with purpose. My heart and mind always lead me to the non-fiction....mostly memoirs and social sciences. Here are some recent interesting picks:

This book by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffon is labeled as a Young Adult read and is a lovely hodgepodge of poetry, art and memoir. Written by two young guys just out of college who chose to navigate New York City together, it highlights the struggle of the young, often hungry, creatives who decide to try their luck in big cities.

I think this book was mainly written for women in their 20's and 30's looking to land a man and start a family immediately if not sooner. In other words, not really a dating guide meant for an old bag like me! However, there were a few nuggets of wisdom to be mined......specifically the idea of trusting your own intuition, following your own inner compass and not always asking the advice of well-meaning friends around you. That is advice I needed to hear.

I bet a lot of readers picked this book up expecting an amusingly light romp and then discovering it is a heavily-annotated college-reading type of journal essays. I know that's what happened to me. But even though it was a bit challenging to read at times, I learned quite a bit about southern vernacular and where words and phrases like "tacky" and "white trash" come from. Both riveting and revolting at times. There are also chapters on southern tacky in television scripted and reality shows, the use of pedophilia in southern literature and how Dolly became both a drag queen icon and symbol of New South diplomacy.

Stay tuned for my next library escapade coming soon!

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