We've read a surprising amount of non-fiction on this blog, and I've ended up liking a lot of it. And science we just talked about our favorite since book, we're talking about our favorite non-fiction book this week.
I don't think I have ever talked about this book on this blog before, which is a tragedy, because it's actually an amazing book. Stepakoff is a writer for a ton of Hollywood shows, most notably, Dawson's Creek. Basically, it was his idea to have Joey and Dawson kiss (at least... I think that's the kiss that saved the show. It might I have been Joey and Pacey now that I think about it. It's been awhile since I've read the book and I never watched the show.) Anyway, the point is, he talks about all the things that go on in a TV show writing room, how intense writing for a show can be, and really is just open an honest about the industry.
It's a FUNNY book too. You so rarely find funny and insightful memoirs these days, and I really felt like his was. I didn't feel like he was trying to preach anything to me or make me think anything. He was just telling me about his life, about his experiences.
The best part was is that I picked this book up on a whim at a discount book sale. I think I paid a big old $2 for a hardback copy. What's more, when I read it, and LOVED it, I went back to the book sale months later and bought another copy for Alex.
Outside of children's non-fiction and elementary and middle school textbooks, this may well have been the first non-fiction book I read cover to cover. It was assigned in my eighth grade English class and it was one of those instances where we were told to read, say, Chapters 1-3, before next class, and I read the whole book in two days.
This was the book that taught me that I like to be horrified by books. I don't, by any means, think the Holocaust is there for my entertainment, but I appreciate the way Elie Wiesel conveys the horrible things that happened in his life through the written word. I feel more connected to the events than I do when I read, for instance, Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl.
I learned a lot from this book, and it sparked my interest in Holocaust and WWII autobiographies and memoirs. I might never have picked up Maus if I didn't peruse the WWII section of the public library's non-fiction collection every once in a while, hoping to find another autobiography on par with this one.
This was the book that taught me that I like to be horrified by books. I don't, by any means, think the Holocaust is there for my entertainment, but I appreciate the way Elie Wiesel conveys the horrible things that happened in his life through the written word. I feel more connected to the events than I do when I read, for instance, Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl.
I learned a lot from this book, and it sparked my interest in Holocaust and WWII autobiographies and memoirs. I might never have picked up Maus if I didn't peruse the WWII section of the public library's non-fiction collection every once in a while, hoping to find another autobiography on par with this one.
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