The Second Stacks:
Talking about Nonfiction in a Fiction World

• Genres and Types of Nonfiction
• RA "Appeal Factors" and Nonfiction
• Tips for Getting Started

Since 2000, sales for adult nonfiction have increased 32 percent.

From 1993 to 2004, the number of biographies being published more than doubled (3,554 to 7,241).

Source: Bookwire.com

1. Thrilling, "edge of your seat" reads
2. Fast-paced
3. Heroic characters

Example: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.

1. Exotic or just plain "other" settings
2. Getting there is half the fun: journey stories
3. Personable characters in unfamiliar territory

Example: A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson.

1. Scary stories that "aren't happening to me"
2. Psychologically fascinating characters
3. Fast-paced

Example: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

1. Location, location, location
2. Philosophical musings
3. Individualistic characters

Example: Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

1. The people ARE the story
2. Biography is the whole story; Memoir is often part of the story
3. Character development through interactions with each other

Examples

1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar.
2. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs.
3. Population: 485 by Michael Perry.

1. I just want to know
2. New discoveries
3. Unique writing

Example: The Double Helix by James Watson.

1. HiSTORY
2. Characters that stand the test of time
3. Distinctive research and writing styles

Example: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

1. The who, what, why, where, and when of a story
2. Character profiles
3. Journalistic voice and style

Example: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

1. Deeper thought
2. Languid pacing
3. Distinctive prose and synthesis of subjects

Example: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

1. Story
2. Character
3. Setting
4. Language
5. A fifth, for nonfiction: Subject

1. Authors who write fiction and nonfiction
2. Related subjects/character types/settings ("reading jags")
3. Related appeals, particularly in fiction and nonfiction "genres"
4. Mood suggestions: Humorous, dark, quick, serious, light

• Read nonfiction classics and "sure bets"
• Read nonfiction from your collection
• Read magazines: Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, National Review, Harper's
• Read/write blogs
• Wikipedia everything

• Mine the materials: bibliographies, endnotes, indexes
• Watch PBS
• Find a nonfiction/fiction "RA Buddy"
• Shelve/work the circulation desk
• Be aware of "deal breakers": violence, sexuality, language that is "real"

Nonfiction Readers' Advisory, edited by Robert Burgin. Libraries Unlimited, 2005.

Book Lust, by Nancy Pearl. Sasquatch Books, 2003.

The Real Story: A Guide to Nonfiction Reading Interests, by Sarah Statz Cords. Libraries Unlimited, 2006.

The ALA's "Incorporating Nonfiction into Readers' Advisory services"   http://www.rusq.org/index.php/2006/10/03/incorporating-nonfiction-into-readers-advisory-services/3/

Blog of a Bookslut   http://www.bookslut.com/blog/

Questions? Please email me anytime at theend@merr.com.

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