Jun 01 2008
Welcome to Nonfiction Lover!
I know this is a little late, considering I’ve been blogging here for several weeks now, but I figured this was the start of my first full month at Today, and I wanted to talk a little about why I chose nonfiction as my blog subject.
I actually work at the local library, and when I first started there this past August, I was a fiction reader to the bitter end. Sure, I had read an occasional nonfiction book, but I remember telling people that nonfiction books were “boring” and that I liked reading fiction because it had plot lines!
The first book to really make me see how wrong I was, was Three Cups of Tea, a book about a guy named Greg Mortenson who went to Afghanistan to climb K2, ends up getting lost (twice!), and finally wanders into a local village on the verge of death. The villagers saved his life (he almost froze and starved to death) and as he was recuperating, he asked to be shown around the village.
They did so, and as they walked around, he realized that there wasn’t a school. He asked where the school was located, and they hemmed and hawwed - they really didn’t want to tell him. They finally gave in, and took him around the corner to see this group of children out in the open, writing on the ground with sticks. They were quiet, concentrating, and there were no adults in sight. He was in shock. He was trying to imagine a group of kids in America, let loose outside and told to go do homework without any adult supervision. His imagination failed him. That would never happen in America.
He decided right then and there that he wanted to help build a school in this village. He had no idea what he just got himself into! He built that school, and then built hundreds of others. He’s done absolutely amazing work in Afghanistan, and some of the surrounding countries too. It was a captivating look at this man’s life, and how he was able to affect so many people’s lives, when at many times during his life, he was actually homeless and completely broke! I finished the book with a can-do spirit, and a real feeling of “Wow! That was an amazing book!!!” And just like that, I was hooked.
I quickly started reading only nonfiction books, and found that I loved a large variety of them. Some of my favorites are the 921’s - that’s library speak for autobiographies and biographies. 
(In the Dewey decimal system, all of the auto/biographies are in the 921 section, and at our library, there are whole ROWS of books dedicated to just that decimal.) I also enjoy cookbooks (I like reading cookbooks. The strange thing is, I don’t particularly like to cook, although I love to eat. Hmm….) I love political stuff, and just for kicks and grins, an occasional paranormal story too! I think you’ll find that my tastes are pretty varied, so hopefully we can find some books in common. 
If you’ve read a great nonfiction book that you think I should read and review, please leave a comment on this or any of my posts - I’d love to hear from you.
I’m very excited to be onboard here at Today, and I look forward to many years of bragging about my latest find in the nonfiction world! 
Havs
