Dipping My Toe into the Non-Fiction World

It's Monday and a new Musing Mondays question from Should be Reading.

What types of non-fiction do you read?

CHOICES: Mythology/Folklore, Travel/Locations, Humor, History, Art, Art history, Science including forensics, Gardening/Nature, Political, Financial/Economical, Religious, Self-help, How-to books, Books on writing, Biography, Autobiography, Sports, Architecture, Fitness/Exercise/Nutrition/ Beauty

Fiction wins hands-down in my reading pile. I love historical fiction and quite enjoy historical romance, but I don't tend to pick up non-fiction books. Sure, I read the occasional Gardening book. But I've yet to conquer my horrible inability to keep flowers and plants alive. I tend to get a lot of information on the non-fiction choices above from magazine and online articles versus books.

Still, I take friend recommendations seriously, and a dear Colorado friend (miss you, Eileen) recommended Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox. I loved it! Couldn't put it down. But, I must admit, it read like fiction to me. The story, true but well-told, captivated me. I posted about it, because I wished I had listened to my grandmother and written down all her stories. She was quite the storyteller, and fortunately passed this gift on to my mother. 

Most recently, I have started reading books on the craft of writing. This will be my biggest step into the non-fiction world. The two in my to-be-read pile are:

Becoming a Writer, Dorothea Brande
From the back cover: "published in 1934 on writing and the creative process, Becoming a Writer recaptures the excitement of Dorothea Brande's creative-writing classroom of the 1920s... Brande was teaching students how to see again, how to hold their minds still, how to call forth the inner writer." She herself defines the book by saying, "This book is all about the writer's magic."

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King
Highly recommended by many writer friends, I can't wait to dive into this one. From the back cover: "Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have... On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told."

Are you a non-fiction fan? What do you love about it? Please leave non-fiction recommendations below. Like Stephen King's book description, I just love a great story well told.