W8A3 and 4 - Nonfiction Genres - The task here is to chose a good narrative nonfiction book in four of the sixteen nonfiction genres.  I chose travel (early 900s), food (641s), crime (mid 300s), and biography.  For travel, I would recommend "The Lost City of Z" by  David Grann because of the thrill and suspenseful story of a mans' dangerous journey to find a lost city in the thick of the Amazon rainforest.  I'm currently reading this book, and although he tends to drift away from the action sometimes, it's not just a bunch of boring facts that reads like an encyclopedia.
For a food book, hmmm... where do I begin?  I love the whole section.  I have dreams of me and a large slice of deluxe pizza skipping through the meadow...  Anyway, here's my newfound discovery.  I'm just now realizing that I haven't actually read any narrative nonfiction about food.  How is this possible?  I live in the 641s.  Nonetheless, I'm choosing "International Night" by Mark Kurlansky because it looks like something I would read.  It's about a father and daughter who share their tradition of preparing recipes from various regions, and the book includes over 250 recipes.  So the book is a good crossover from fiction because it shares a story, but also includes the "how-to" nonfiction part.
My third narrative nonfiction choice - crime - seems to have many choices of books.  One that stands out to me is "A Death in Belmont" by Sebastian Junger.  A murder in Belmont, Massachusetts has occurred at the same time as the Boston Strangler serial murders.  Two visitors were present at the home at the time of the murder; one man is convicted, but the other confesses to doing it.  It is said to be "one of the first and most controversial serial murder cases in America."  Sounds interesting to me!  I'd read it if I weren't interested in nonfiction books.  Lastly, (this is a long assignment), biography.  Let's do "Billy Graham: An Oral and Narrative Biography" by Deborah Strober.  This book traces Graham's career, development, and accomplishments as told through the eyes of family, friends, and colleagues.  Someone who's interested in the lives of traditional christian role models would appreciate this book.
I personally enjoy reading nonfiction.  I love the stimulation and ever-increasing knowledge that is available in this section.  This assignment has actually opened my eyes to the narrative nonfiction genre.  Now I know a good way to introduce fiction lovers to the world of nonfiction without them thinking they have to read what they probably consider a "dry book" filled with a bunch of humdrum facts.  P.S.  - Second assignment - It's hard to write a 1-2 paragraph on narrative nonfiction books when I haven't read any of them, but I get the gist of what I needed to learn here, so am I off the hook ;0) ?