I like to consider myself an avid reader. While I haven’t been able to read as much for pleasure with assigned readings for class taking precedence, I have recently found myself being drawn to nonfiction books as a break from homework.
Thinking back to my youth, I remember enjoying books about the Civil War and other historical documentations while my peers were reading “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Cinder”—two books I still have not gotten around to reading. For a while, I only read “the classics” which were encouraged by PBS facilitating “The Great American Read.”
When the pandemic arrived in 2020, I took a break from reading classical literature—my first quarantine book was “Anna Karenina”—and instead focused all my efforts on reading nonfiction books about film history, criticism and theory. This genre, housed within the nonfiction umbrella, still holds some of my favorite books to read but over the summer, I found myself being drawn to other nonfiction genres.
What I find most appealing about nonfiction as opposed to fiction is that instead of providing a character and setting that acts as a buffer between the reader and the real world, nonfiction tells the reader how it is without any attempts at providing a barrier. Nonfiction is simply real.
With nonfiction being on the brain recently, it provides a perfect opportunity to highlight some nonfiction books I’ve read over the course of the past few months. Hopefully, this will spark an interest in putting down the TikTok rom-com for something new and different.
“A Philosophy of Walking” by Frédéric Gros
What is the purpose of walking? Is it to reach a physical destination? Or can we create meaning in the journey and process of walking itself? Those are the types of questions that rest at the heart of “A Philosophy of Walking.”
Gros analyzes the lives of famous “walkers,” such as Henry David Thoreau and Gandhi, to decipher why walking is an integral part of the human experience. Despite Gros making a few claims that I do not agree with—one being that city walkers do not partake in the true pleasures that come with walking—he approaches what might be a mundane topic with a deep sense of reverence and appreciation.
“The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs
If you didn’t know, I spent my summer in New York City and while I went for my daily walk around Central Park or the Upper West Side, I was struck by the makeup of the city. Who decided the length of each block? Who was responsible for the destruction of San Juan to construct Lincoln Center? These questions about urban planning and urban renewal were at the forefront of my mind when I read Jane Jacobs 1961 deconstruction of the topic of city planning.
It was fascinating to read about beneficial—and harmful—city planning decisions while walking along the blocks that Jacobs mentions by name. The main idea that has stayed with me after reading this book is what are the consequences of “urban renewal” when its synonym in most cases is gentrification?
“Up In The Old Hotel” by Joseph Mitchell
Joseph Mitchell worked as a journalist for The New Yorker for decades, beginning in 1933. His work consists of comprehensive profiles of the often overlooked individuals that gave New York City the label “The City that Never Sleeps.”
“Up In The Old Hotel” acts as an anthology of Mitchell’s most notable works including a feature on McSorley’s Old Ale House. In this piece, Mitchell details the inhabitants and decorations of the bar as well as a transcribed oral history of the eccentric owners who made McSorley’s a staple of the nineteenth and twentieth century East Village.
“The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone” by Olivia Laing
Laing intertwines her own relationship with loneliness to the portrayal of loneliness by artists such as Edward Hopper and Andy Warhol. This collection of essays provides a unique perspective on the state of loneliness in the twenty-first century and emphasizes the universality of this experience. While Laing writes about loneliness, Hopper and Warhol provide visual and sonic representations to unite society and remind us that we are all lonely together.
“Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of New Hollywood” by Mark Harris
Dare I say, “Pictures at a Revolution” is my favorite nonfiction book I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Harris skillfully connects the productions of the five films nominated for Best Picture at the 1968 Academy Award ceremony and how each film represented a possible avenue for a directionless Hollywood. The book culminates on Oscar night, with the Oscar statuette deciding the ultimate victors and the state of cinema for the approaching decade.
Even if the books mentioned do not sound intriguing, I highly implore you to search for a nonfiction book that more aligns with your hobbies and interests. Who knows—one nonfiction book can send you down the path of becoming an avid reader.
