My list includes comics. Deal.

1. Our Cancer Year - Harvey Pekar & Joyce Brabner
2. The Liars' Club: A Memoir - Mary Karr
3. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic - Alison Bechdel
4. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language - Steven Pinker
5. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters - Matt Ridley
6. The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
7. A History of Western Philosophy - Bertrand Russell
8. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
9. The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
10. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Karen Armstrong

I have 5 I can think of off the top of my head and I'm using the link tool for the first time - I'll see if it works

Band of Brothers E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Lies My Teacher Told Me Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

Allison wrote: "I've added a ton of books to my TBR list, I really enjoy reading non-fiction.

Some of my favorites:
Story: This book really tells the story of the Bible, connecting everything in a ..."

Allison, I had put The Mole People Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City on my list of top non-fiction reads also - I haven't come across many people who have read it! I'm glad you enjoyed it too.

I'm trying to get Switching Time from bookmooch but the giver isn't answering my request. I'd love to read it though. Multiple personalities have always fascinated me.

I've added a ton of books to my TBR list, I really enjoy reading non-fiction.

Some of my favorites:
Story: This book really tells the story of the Bible, connecting everything in a way that I had never connected it. It was an eye opening read, and it has stuck with me for a long time.

Cain's Redemption: A book about the incorporation of religion into one of the largest and most violent prisons in the country

Jesus Land A Memoir

The Essential 55 An Award-winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child: A fantastic book for any teacher, or future teacher. Shows just how much of an impact you really can have on students

Deadliest Catch Desperate Hours: Fans of the show will enjoy the different anecdotes told by crew and captains

Switching Time A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities: Like the title says, a story about a woman with 17 different personalities. The story tells about her life, and situations that caused the multiple personalities, to the treatment with her doctor.

In Cold Blood

Rainbow's End A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm: This was such an eye opening view on war in general, although this talks about a specific one. Since it is told from the perspective of a child living in the war torn country, it makes you look at it in a whole new light.

A Girl Named Zippy: A laugh out loud memoir of a small town girl. I grew up in a small town, so I could relate, and the author has such a great sense of humor.

His Favorite Wife Trapped in Polygamy: I never really knew anything about polygamy, although the large controversy in Texas a while ago really got me interested in it. This book seemed to give an accurate picture of it, although it did end up leaving a negative feeling in my mind (which seemed appropriate considering the situation). I would like to read something by someone who sees it as purely positive though, just to know all perspectives.

The Mole People Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City: Follows the story of the homeless in New York who live in the abandoned subway tunnels.

Civilizations by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto
Tribe of Tiger by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
House of Dolls by 135633, Ka-tzet
The Tapir's Morning Bath by Elizabeth Royte
Leaving Mother Lake: a Girlhood at the Edge of the World by Yang Erche Namu
Love's Executioner by Irving. D. Yalom
Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCarthy Brown
Bali: Sekala and Niskala : Essays on Religion, Ritual, and Art by Fred B. Eiseman Jr.
Tropical and Subtropical Trees: an Encyclopedia by Margaret Barwick

That was my list above except I've now substituted Atul Gawande's wonderful essays on health in the modern world, Complications, for Vasarely. Much as I love Vasarely that really is looking at paintings not reading a book.

I don't know necessarily that these are "favorites", but great books nonetheless:

1. The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, Erik Larson.
2. Helter Skelter The True Story of the Manson Murders, Vincent Bugliosi.
3. Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl.
4. In the Beginning Was the Ghetto Notebooks from Lodz, Oskar Rosenfeld.
5. Anabasis, Xenophon.
6. Ballad of the Whiskey Robber A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts, Julian Rubinstein.
7. A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, Jan Bondeson.
8. The Mole People Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City, Jennifer Toth.
9. The Madwoman in the Attic The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination, Second Edition, Sandra Gilbert.
10. Living My Life, Emma Goldman.

8) A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

Ha! Sorry, that just made me laugh...only because you might be the last person I've seen refer to it as nonfiction. :-)

Some good-looking books here...

Here's a few of my favorite non-fiction books I've read in the past year or so, in no particular order:

1) Gang Leader for a Day - Sudhir Venkatesh
2) The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventure in the World of Chinese Food - Jennifer Lee
3) Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
4) The Know It All: One Man's Humble Request to Become the Smartest Person in the World - A.J. Jacobs
5) Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office - Jen Lancaster
6) Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? - Jen Lancaster
7) Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer - Jen Lancaster
8) A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
9) The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University - Kevin Roose
10) Jesus Land: A Memoir - Julia Scheeres

And....here are 10 non-fiction books I have on my "To Read" List:

1) The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell
2) Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street - Michael Davis
3) I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales From A Jehovah's Witness Upbringing - Kyria Abrahams
4) In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain that Breaks All the Rules - Stacy Perman
5) The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon - David Grann
6) The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible - A.J. Jacons
7) As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires - Bruce Weber
8) Columbine - David Cullen
9) Madness Under the Royal Palms: Murder, Money and Mischief Behind the Gates of Palm Beach - Laurence Leamer
10) The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the People Who Raised Them - Amy Dickinson

No prob!

Charity wrote: "Grace wrote: "Okay, for some reason some of them aren't linking right and I'm not sure how to fix it. The ones that aren't linking correctly are: Geisha, Danse Macabre, and Sybil. "

Are you using ..."

Thanks a bunch!

Okay, here are the correct links (I hope!)
Geisha
Stephen King's Danse Macabre
Sybil The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities

Grace wrote: "Okay, for some reason some of them aren't linking right and I'm not sure how to fix it. The ones that aren't linking correctly are: Geisha, Danse Macabre, and Sybil. "

Are you using the brackets ([b:]/[a:]) or are you using the add book/author link?

If you are using the brackets, they will sometimes be inaccurate, as the system kicks up the most popular title with a particular keyword.

However, right above the comment box, there is an add book/author link. If you click that, it will let you search for the correct book/author you would like to link.

(For instance, when I clicked on the actual book/author link and typed in 'Geisha', Memoirs of a Geisha was the first title to pop up, whereas the book you were looking for, Geisha by Liza Dalby, was the third option.)

Okay, for some reason some of them aren't linking right and I'm not sure how to fix it. The ones that aren't linking correctly are: Geisha, Danse Macabre, and Sybil.

Gracie's Top Ten (in no particular order)

1. The Coffee Tea or Me Girls Lay it on the Line by Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones (Even though it's dated it still contains some surprisingly relevant advice.Check out my review for more on it.)

2. Home Before Morning by Lynda Van Devanter (the biography of an Army nurse in Vietnam. A great book.)

3. Geisha by Liza Dalby (An American woman who became a Geisha for a short time to study their culture. It's a great book about the modern geisha and it also gives the history also but without getting dry and boring. I love this book, it's one of my favorites.)

4. Danse Macabre by Stephen King (King's take on horror movies, television and books up until the 70's. I wish he would come out with another. I'm very curious to hear what he thinks on the wealth of remakes of the classic movies and how he would rate some of the newer authors.)

5. Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber (the story of a woman whose psyche split into 16 seperate personalities as a result of abuse from her mother. Not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.)

6. A Piece of My Heart edited by Keith Walker (the stories of 25 women who went to Vietnam in different capacities. Such as nurses, military, civilian and so on. Their stories are incredible and this book will take a piece of your heart.)

7. The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved by Colin Wilson (An encyclopedia of famous, and some not-so-famous, unsolved mysteries from history. There are all different kinds, not just supernatural themed or fantastic. It's a great book and the authors never try to lead you in any direction. They just give you the stories and the theories and let it rest. I'd recommend this book to anyone. There's bound to be something that appeals to you.)

8. The Car Care Book (invaluable for the money it has saved me on getting my oil changed since I can do it myself now!)

9. The Greatest Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer (a collection of short tales from history, and most of them very interesting.)

10. The Fibromyalgia Relief Handbook by Chet Cunningham (This book has been a lifesaver at times. Some good tips on pain management and a rundown on the condition and what kinds of treatments are available.)

I don't read as much non-fiction as I wish I did, but here are some that I've enjoyed:

Shanghai Diary A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China

Sixpence House Lost in A Town Of Books

Letters of the Century America 1900-1999

The Assassin's Cloak An Anthology of the World's Greatest Diarists

Waste and Want A Social History of Trash (yes, it really is a history of trash!)

Next up on my non-fiction TBR pile is Nothing to Be Frightened Of. Has anyone already read it?

Great topic!

1) The Cosmic Code- Heinz R. Pagels. This book is jaw- dropping.

2) Evasion- Anonymous. Love this book, it is unreal!

3)Anne Frank, the Diary of A Young Girl- Anne Frank. What a legend.....

4)A Way of Being- Carl Rogers. Deadly humanistic psychologist..

5)The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil- Phil Zimbardo. This will become a classic. Everyone should read it.

6)Receipes for disaster:An anarchist cookbook-Various. Useful stuff!

7)No Logo- Naomi Klein. Legend of a book...

8)A problem from Hell: America and the age of genocide- Samantha Power. Wow....

9) A man named Dave- Dave Pelzer

10) A Beautiful Mind- Sylvia Nassar

When I was in a book club the two nonfictions that garnered the best discussion were:

Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting By in America

The American Way of Death

I only have a few favorites, but

1. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Few books have made me laugh out loud longer or harder. People around me thought I'd finally lost it.

2. Lies My Teacher Told Me - James Lowe
History, without the rose colored glasses. This book was great!

3. The Principles of Riding - The German National Equestrian Federation
The best book about the dynamics and concepts of dressage ever. There is no spin (at least to me) in this book, just mechanics and explanations.

4. Night - Elie Wiesel
Moving and sad. This book made a very deep impact on me when I read it and I've never forgotten the lessons that this book taught me.

Ouch, don't hate me people but when I posted my comment with all my favourites I had from the beginning a book in my head to write in my top ten and then completely forgot. yes, even after I remembered I forgot another one later.... . I know it is suppose to be a top ten.... but
I recently finished a book that I never thought I would find so interesting. I mean, I think I only read one book ever about how to eat, food and those things.... but this one I found so interesting.
Sugar blues by William Dufty. Besides the beginning that is for some people probably a bit long and during the book he can do that again, I really adored this one. I keep it in mind during the day what has been written and see the effect. Even if I can't do what he describes in the book because I am staying at someones place for now.
Anybody read it?

I forgot ne I really liked!!!

De ijzerslag 1914- M. Senesael

I don't think it has been translated from Dutch and it's probably not popular out of the country (Belgium) or region (west Flanders) that I come from.
The author itself fought during WW I around Diksmuide, which is a village in West Flanders with a river called 'Yzer'. The title refers to the battle that was fought around that river by the belgian-French army against the german army. The author tells what happened, what he experienced and felt. it is such a good book but it was sometimes quite emotional because what he talked about happened where I live in belgium. He tells about places, bridges, a street where they were fighting, trying to survive and keep the german army of crossing the land.... where I walk or passed by bike. Visiting the trenches in my village after reading this book was really different than other times. Even more emotional.

Ken, I also love anything about Marilyn Monroe...

My favourite non-fictions...

Rome '44: the battle for the eternal city: Raleigh Treveljan

Ancient Rome- The republic: Havell (I think)

Cosa Nostra: John Dickie

A season with Verona: Tim parks
The author follows the tifosi of football club Hellas Verona, goes to each match and gets to see the Italian character of this people.

Un indovina mi disse: Tiziano Terzani (A fortune teller told me)
One of my favourite books

Leap of faith:memoir of an unexpected life: Queen Noor
I like a lot how she told about the history of Jordania and her husband.


Bombercrew: J. Taylor and M. Davidson
Written really well and emotional. i don't understand how so many young people these days sometimes don't know a thing about the war that happened about sixty or ninety years ago in their own country or in which their country was fighting.

(Together with the previous one:)
The last post by Max Arthur
Really enjoyed reading this one


This sceptred Isle: empire by Christopher Lee
About the British history


Living history-Hillary Rodham Clinton

My life: Bill Clinton


ouch, just remembered it is a top ten!

Also liked a lot:
Memoires by Farah Dibah Pahlawi
Her life before, during and after she mariied the Shah of Iran

Me and Marley

Madam secretary- a memoir: Madeleine Albright
really well written and interesting

Liesl: Well now I have to add The Artists Way to my TBR list as well. Thanks for the insight.

My top ten non-fiction, at least for now and in no particular order:

Civilizations by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Tribe of Tiger by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

House of Dolls by 135633, Ka-tzetnik (a book of a girl who was a forced prostitute to the Nazis in a concentration camp)

The Tapir's Morning Bath by Elizabeth Royte

Leaving Mother Lake: a Girlhood at the Edge of the World by Yang Erche Namu

Love's Executioner by Irving. D. Yalom

Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen Mcarthy Brown

Vasarely: 1906-1997 by Magdalena Holzhey

Bali: Sekala and Niskala : Essays on Religion, Ritual, and Art by Fred B. Eiseman Jr.

Tropical and Subtropical Trees: an Encyclopedia by Margaret Barwick

Hey Liesl,

That's really encouraging, thanks for the synopsis. A friend gave it to me right when I started college, but I've heard about the book for years and years since then. Just never gotten around to it. Then my WIFE heard about it and started thumbing through it. I think one of us needs to take it more seriously quite soon :-)

Ok, this is amazing collection of people and books.

Has anyone read Debby Applegate's pulitizer prize winning: The Most Famous Man in America?

It's superb. I also loved:

Sea Biscuit
Devil in the White City
The Madman and the Professor
Anything by David Kertzer
Anything by Roy Porter

Have a great day! Holly
http://wondersandmarvels.blogspot.com

I don't read alot of Non-fiction, though I am hoping to change that. So far my faves are (in no particular order):


Helter Skelter - Vincent Buliosi
The Family - Ed Sanders
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Johnstown Flood - David McCullough

Sam -- It's packed with exercises that help promote creativity. It was one of the first books I read that gave me "permission" to explore my creative side. Obviously, I didn't really need permission, but it helped me open my eyes to the part of the world that celebrates creativity (right-brain thinking) rather than thinking that the visual, sequential, analytical (left-brain) thinking that our society seems to consider "normal" or "preferable" is all there is. It has helped make me a more well-rounded person.

Liesl, I've had The Artists Way on my shelf for quite some time but still haven't read it. What made it a favorite of yours (or for anyone else who cares to chime in . . . )

Here are some favorites, not in any particular favorite order.

In the Wake of the Plague by Norman Cantor

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Diary of Anne Frank

The Cage (memoir of a woman who survived Auschwitz, Mittelsteine, & Grafenor) by Ruth
Minsky Sender

Mockingbird by Charles Fields

Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood by Suzanne
Finstad

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

The Social Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Thomas

The Bookseller of Kabul by ?

Interrogations: The Nazi Elite in Allied Hands,
1945 by Richard Overy

Even Hockey Players Read: Boys, Literacy and
Learning by David Booth

Teaching Banned Books by Pat Scales

Thanks Liesl:

Being a conservative I feel like such an outcast at times. “How to Talk to a Liberal” is good, but it would be nice if it were an actual "how-to" book. LOL I could say the same for both sides though. Lately I've been on a lot of message boards where people are just yelling at each other. :(

I just added The Conscience of a Conservative to my TBR list. Thanks for the recommendation.

I read way more fiction than non-fiction, but here are some of my non-fiction favorites:

Please Understand Me II
The Highly Sensitive Person
Alive
The Conscience of a Conservative
A Complaint Free World
Baseball Tarot
I Am Third
What Now?
The Wrinkle Cure
The Artist's Way
My Stroke of Insight

And Connie, I don't think you need to apologize for enjoying How to Talk to A Liberal (if you must). Since I'm married to one, and I'm definitely not (how fun!) I've added it to my to-read list.

Order says nothing about the importance of each book to me:

Anne Frank: The Diary Of A Young Girl by anne Frank

New York: An Illustrated History by Ric Burns

Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles

Fermat's Last Theorem: The Story... by Simon Singh

The Island At The Center Of The World... by Russell Shorto

1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough

Die Weiße Rose by Inge Scholl

New York In The Forties by Andreas Feininger

Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton

The Kennedys And The Fitzgeralds by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Wow, this is such an amazing thread and resonates so strongly with me. Yet I'm intimidated by it because of how reading non-fiction makes me so aware of my own ignorance. Off the top of my head:

1 - Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. About evolution of the English language.

2 - From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman. About the Israel - Palestine conflict, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. I read this mostly with a flashlight under the sheets when I was 18.

3 - When Skeptics Ask by Norm Geisler. On whether or not there is good reason to think the essence of Christianity is actually true.

4 - Holocaust Journey by Martin Gilbert. A book I read while backpacking to Holocaust sites in the Baltics and in Poland.

5 - Good to Great by Jim Collins. On excellence in management and in business leaderhip.

6 - A Bed for the Night by David Rieff, on humanitariansim in crisis, particularly after the Balkans and Rwanda.

That's about it. Don't want to toss in other books just for the sake of "hanging 10".

I don't think I have 10, but here are some of my faves:

1 - On Writing by Stephen King
2 - Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy
3 - Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History by Kati Marton
4 - Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks

Three Came Home by Agnes Newton Keith
Cuba Diaries by Isadora Tattlin
Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
We Band of Angels by Elizabeth Norman
In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke
A Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeild
Outwitting the Gestapo by Lucie Aubrac
From Walton's Mountain to Tomorrow by Earl Hamner
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreath
Desert Queen by Janet Wallach
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Admittedly I don't read a lot of nonfiction so my list is a bit skewed. But I have really enjoyed:

A Short History of Nearly Everything
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Animals in Translation
A Brief History of Time
The Meaning of Everything
And pretty much anything by Bertrand Russell

Kellie, I totally agree with you on The Glass Castle. What a life! I have Audition on my MP3. As soon as I finish listening to the Alchemyst, I will start that one.

I'm so glad to see Reading Lolita in Tehran mentioned here a couple of times, as it's working its way to the top of my stack of books to be read.

Soon. Soon. I hope.

I'd also looking forward to reading "Night".

My list seems very "fluffy" compared to the rest of yours, but I do enjoy some non-fiction, so here is my list (in no particular order, and I have 12..):

1. Year of Magical Thinking ~ Joan Didion

2. If I am missing or dead: A Sister's story of love, murder and liberation ~ Janine Lautus

3. Reading Lolita in Tehran ~ Azar Nafisi

4. Kabul Beauty School ~ Deborah Rodriguez

5. Into Thin Air ~ Jon Krakauer

6. Mockingbird ~ Charles J. Fields

7. Fast Food Nation ~ Eric Schlosser

8. Julie and Julia: 365 Days,524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen ~ Julie Powell

9. The Hiding Place ~ Corrie Ten Boom

10. The Glass Castle ~ Jeannette Walls

11. Marley and Me ~ John Grogan

12. Alive ~ Piers Paul Read

I don't read a ton of non-fiction but I have really enjoyed the following books:

1. America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates & Heroines by Gail Collins

2. Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss

3. On Writing by Stephen King

4. The Opposite of Fate; Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan

5. Reading Lolita in Tehran (the author's name has escaped me at the moment)

6. Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer

7. A Walk in the Woods AND In a Sunburned Country, both by Bill Bryson

8. Look me in the Eye; My Life with Asperger's Syndrome, by John Elder Robison

9. Candy Girl, by Diablo Cody

10. The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, Ph.D.....This book helped me keep my sanity when my son was refusing to sleep! An absolute must-read for anyone who doesn't believe in forcing babies to "cry it out," in order to fall asleep!

Another neat thread revived....


The Glass Castle-Jeannette Walls (couldn't believe it was non-fiction)

Couldn't Keep It To Myself-Wally Lamb

The Cowboy and his Elephant-Malcolm McPherson

The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most
Notorious Rock Band-Motley Crew

Audition-Barbara Walters

A Walk in the Woods-Bill Bryson

The Tender Bar-J R Moehringer

Oops, I left out one:

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness- Elyn R Saks

Exceptional story of a woman (and law school professor) battling severe schizoprenia. Gives an up close and personal view of this disease. All I can say is Saks is one amazing woman! This was an uplifting and inspiring read, but also at times, truly frightening.

Oh, gosh. I haven't read many non-fiction, but it's something I'm wanting to do more of. My top list so far (no order) is probably:

The Glass Castle- Jeanette Walls
The Diary of Anne Frank
Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg
On Writing - Stephen King
Bird by Bird - Ann Lamont
The Apology of Socrates - Plato

And, this will probably make me extremely unpopular, but I am reading Ann Coulter's book How to Talk to a Liberal (if you must) b/c I saw it made Listopia's Worst Books Ever, and just had to know what the fuss was about. So far I'm finding it very enjoyable. :)

For how much I am into history and the "real" stories behind all the junk we learn in school, I surprisingly disliked Lies My Teacher Told Me. I think it was due to the fact that it was summer homework for my Honors English class in high school and we had to write a 2-page summary on every chapter. That gets quite repetitive after awhile. Maybe now I should give the book another chance.

I really really should be packing for vacation instead of doing this but, ah, what the hell...

1. Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam - this was an inspiring memoir about growing up in a coaltown and believing in a dream and going for it. The movie October Sky which I also love is based off of this book.

2. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - this book had me laughing like a loon in public.

3. Auschwitz by Laurence Rees - We had to read this for my History of the Holocaust class, and it was very good, I learned so much about Auschwitz, I could not put this book down.

4. Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others by Ruth Mazo Karras - the title says it all. Another book I had to read for class, assigned by my favorite professor.

5. Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman - read this on my own then had to read it again for a History of World War II class. It's a graphic novel about the author's grandfather's experience during the Holocaust.

6. Lies by Teacher Told Me by James Loewyn (sp?) - basically a history book that doesn't glorify dead white men.

7. Amazing Grace by Jonathon Kozol - about the disparities in the American educational system, especially in predominately black schools. This book was incredibly eye-opening and a must read for any preservice teacher.

8. Stupid White Men by Micheal Moore - yes this book is extremely liberal, but it's still intriguing, it's an interesting look at those in power.

9. Rena's Promise by Rena Kornreich Gelissen with Heather Dune Macadam - a Holocaust memoir about a woman and her sister who were on the first transport to Auschwitz, its heart-wrenching. This was another book I had to read for History of The Holocaust.

10. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom - Mitch Albom writes about the time he spends with Morrie, a dying man. I cried while reading this book.

So idk if you can tell from the list or not, but I'm in school to be a history teacher. :-P

Linda, I also loved The Glass Castle. I cannot imagine growing up the way she did.

I've been wondering about How Starbucks Saved My Life, as I've got it on my "to-read" list. That good, huh?

The Glass Castle
My Father's Secret War
Schindler's List
How Starbuck's Saved My Life

Awww, Marley and Me was awesome, and I cried so hard at the end. I read it over Christmas when it first came out, and it was a perfect read for the holidays. Since then, he's put out similar books and multiple stories, but since Marley and Me was absolutely perfect as is, I don't want to read anything else about Marley.

I have to add Marley and Me, that book was just fantastic for a fellow dog lover.