How to Think about Nonfiction
Educational vs. Recreational
Reference vs. Narrative
OR:
Usable vs. Readable
Usable
Readable
Think in Terms of Genre and Type, in Addition to Subject
Adventure: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, by Michael Finkel
True Crime: Lost Girls, by Robert Kolker
Investigative: Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign, by Jonathan Allen
Big Think: Can't Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions, by Sharon Begley
There's a ton of different ways to look at nonfiction!
Points to remember:
- It's a continuum: usable can be readable, and readable can be usable.
- Make your usable/reference books WORK for their place in the collection.
- Take some pressure off your ordering with smaller, more flexible, "Just in Time" collections.
- When weeding and updating, check old books for shelf-worthiness with a quick Internet search or perusal of "Core Collection" resources.