Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!
This week's topic is a freebie. I think 99% of the TTT lists are focused on fiction books. So, I thought this week would be a great time to highlight my favorite nonfiction books.
1. Anything by Mary Roach -- Roach has this amazing ability to take the weird, the macabre, and the downright technical, and make me clamor for the information. Her writing is dry and yet incredibly funny. I can't wait to read her latest book: Gulp.
2. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain -- Somehow I never got around to reading Bourdain's memoir. Thankfully I rectified this oversight last month. The book is just like Bourdain is talking straight to me. Loved it!
3. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson -- A story of a cholera outbreak in Old London... sounds pretty boring. But Johnson weaves this beautiful story of human despair and survival while highlighting the amazing scientific discoveries.
4. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson -- Unbelievably hilarious!!!! I laughed out loud throughout the entire book. Very embarrassing reading this in the coffeehouse. You must read this one!
5. Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick -- I do love my history stories. Just like Johnson, Philbrick weaves an amazing story of despair and survival. May be a bit dense for nonhistory fans, but this is definitely a good one.
6. Birth by Tina Cassidy -- A little alarming for my upcoming delivery, but I loved all the scientific knowledge I learned reading this book.
7. Mythology by Edith Hamilton -- The ultimate collection of Greek and Roman stories. Very enjoyable. I plan on introducing this to my boys soon.
8. Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson -- A historical biography. Definitely dry for non-historical fans, but I really enjoyed learning more about one of my favorite Founding Fathers (and yes, I am including him in the group).
9. Chicks Dig Time Lords -- A collection of essays about Doctor Who. If you're a fan of the show, this is a great high level discussion of topics in Doctor Who history. (Note: this book covers all of Doctor Who, not just the reboot)
10. Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History by Patrick Hunt -- A nice summary of some of the big discoveries in history. I knew almost all of these, but enjoyed the summary.