The articles about narrative non-fiction helped me think critically about the genre. I liked making the distinction between narrative and information-based non-fiction, and evaluating this genre with appeal factors dealing with setting, character development, storyline, and creation of suspense will prompt me to mix up fiction and non-fiction recommendations in RA encounters.

Dewey Areas

Bio/Memoir: at BCPL, most often found in the BIO section, though memoirs can be by Dewey subject sometimes. Recommend The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok.

History: at home in the 900's. WWII history is in the 940's where once finds Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazis Rise to Power by Andrew Nagorski.

Sports: 790's. Good narrative choice is Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime, and Complicity by Ken Armstrong.

Medical: 600's. Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett.

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Scoreboard, Baby would be a good choice for someone who follows sports, especially college football, or someone who likes crime fiction. It looks at the University of Washington's Huskies football team which won a national championship in 2000. The author builds a case in which alumni, the athletic department, and ultimately the school, ignored their duty to educate students and instead, produced a dream team composed at least 24 players charged with crimes, including rape, assault, and a shooting, while at the school. If the recent news stories about corruption in college sports interest you, try this title.

Bad mothers are a perennial favorite on the fiction shelves. The Memory Palace is Bartok's memoir about life with her schizophrenic mother, whose illness progressively worsened as Bartok and her sister grew up. Eventually, due to the destructive nature of their relationship with the mother, both sisters changed their names and kept in contact with their mother via mail and a PO box; only when their mother lay dying in the hospital does Bartok return to try to make peace with her past. This book is lyrically written, and does not necessarily follow a linear timeline so I would recommend it to readers who enjoy literary fiction, less-than-happy memoirs, and have an interest in mental health issues.