It’s Week Two of Nonfiction November #nonficnov, which is hosted on Volatile Rune. The prompt for this week is:
Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking.
I love these questions. It’s so easy to be fooled by a book’s packaging these days. Cookbooks and business books are the worst. Some of the coolest-looking books turn out to be lame. So I’m always looking for quality writing in the jacket copy and blurbs. Yeah yeah… I know… isn’t that all marketing speak and just authors blurbing for each other? Sometimes, yes. But if you find a book on a slice of a slice in a topic you like and the praise quotes are a mixed bag of learned folks, book folks, practitioners, etc., then there is a higher-than-average chance you are holding a good book.
As far as topics go, I love books about books and books where cultural ideas/trends, social science/history, and philosophy intersect. So I’m all over the map there! Oh, and books on maps are fun, too.
Covers absolutely influence me. I pulled a few favorite reads to see if I could figure out the ‘what’ and ‘why’ this is. These 15 books are grouped well into three categories.
I love fonts! Creative lettering goes a long way with me in creating a great nonfiction cover.
Also, I like nonfiction covers that work hard to have an iconic look. Not only are these next five books good reads, but the covers are unique and wouldn’t work well for any other book. The tilt-shift effect used on all of Sarah Vowell’s books is a fun, unique series look.
Lastly, I appreciate nonfiction books where it’s clear that the publisher took the time to create something that resonates with the reader or community around a topic. I absolutely think these next five are great examples. Whether it’s a book related to newspapers or the classic Gilded Age of book collecting, these all fit their readers well.
If you’d like to join the fun then head over to Volatile Rune to get the graphic, directions and link up. And if you’d like to see what I shared during Week One of Nonfiction November, you can click through and check it out.
Books about books are special, indeed!
How to Read the Wilderness definitely caught my eye. I tend to read books I know about rather than browsing in a bookstore, but I do always try to buy a book on vacation…and then covers definitely matter.
Thank you for stopping by! “How to Read the Wilderness” is a neat book. It’s so well designed and the info in there is super useful if you’re ever out hiking or walking around on vacation.
I like to read the jacket copy and blurbs too. I know they’re often overhyped, but it still gives me an idea of what the book will be about. You have some great covers here. I do love a clever cover. 🙂
I love how well thought out your answer is to picking books based on how they look – I will admit that after reading your post I realized that I love books with bright covers. Which can be hard to find in NF!
Amusing Ourselves to Death is a title I’ve missed, but it sounds like a book I need to read.
It’s amazing how many of his “takes” are still relevant today.