Week 8: Stranger than Fiction....

Assignment #1 - Articles to read

I read the two articles on nonfiction RA. June Brannen's article "Borderlands" was a well written rationale about the appeal of narrative nonfiction and its importance in my RA repertoire. I was more interested in her comments about how to entice fiction readers to read nonfiction than to get nonfiction readers excited about fiction, since our readership is heavily into fiction.

"Reading Nonfiction for Pleasure: What Motivates Readers," was another well written article that reminded me of the great crossover appeal inherent in certain forms of nonfiction. One of my most important takeaways from these articles and the video was that STORY is a key element in the appeal of both fiction and nonfiction. Narrative or literary nonfiction is the term for this type of title.

Assignment #2 - Video to watch

I watched the Pratt nonfiction RA Power Point. I've eaten drier toast, but not by much. Still, another good reminder of the appeal factors and "genres" of nonfic.

Assignment #3 - Finding narrative nonfiction in the stacks. My four NF genres: Contemporary Social Issues, Medical, Travel, and Food.

For Contemporary Social Issues: 970.0049 T, Rez Life, by David Treuer. Treuer is a novelist and reviews state that this memoir/exploration reads like a novel with many colorful characters. Would suggest that Louise Erdrich fans pair this with The Round House.

For Medical: 338.43 S,  Blood Feud: The man who blew the whistle on one of the deadliest prescription drugs ever, by Kathleen Sharp. I'd recommend this to my mother in law, a former nurse, who liked The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

For Travel: 945.6 M, Summers in Supino, by Maria Coletta McLean. I'd recommend to my father in law, a pureblood Italian. Seems like a fun summer read.

Food:  641.824 R, American Pie, by Peter Reinhardt. I'd recommend to customers planning a trip to Italy, someone who likes to cook, as a light summer read, or to someone who likes the food network shows.

Assignment #4 - Brief Book Talks

1) Medical: Fans of thrillers and true crime will be excited by Blood Feud: The man who blew the whistle on one of the deadliest prescription drugs ever, by Kathleen Sharp. It's the story of two former Procrit salesmen who became whistleblowers on Johnson and Johnson's fraudulent practices and the dangers of the drug, and the prosecutor who took on the high profile case against Big Pharma. Kathleen Sharp is an award winning journalist who packed this book with juicy details and chilling, meticulous reserach. Knowing that real lives were at stake makes this title truly suspenseful, and its fast pace and mix of sympathetic and nefarious characters would satisfy both nonfiction and fiction tastes.

2) Food: American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza is a fun mash up of food and travel; it could be a travelogue as easily as a foodie read. It's the lighthearted adventure of an award winning baker, Peter Reinhardt, who decides to track down the origins of Italian pizza and then search the US for the Holy Grail of American pizza. Reinhardt travels to iconic pizza cities like Naples and Sicily, gathering recipes and anecdotes along the way. Then he crisscrosses the United States, seeking pizza nirvana from Phoenix, Arizona, to New Haven, Connecticut, and unlikely places in between. Reinhardt's gift for storytelling makes him the perfect tour guide; his acumen as a baker makes him a great companion in the kitchen. Readers wanting authentic or noveau recipes would be thrilled, while other readers could enjoy glimpses of Italian food meccas, quirky American cafes, and the thrill of the hunt.