21st Century Literature discussion

Although this group only selects fiction for its group reads, a great number of us still read nonfiction. Almost two decades into this millennia, are there titles you feel might stand the test of time or that have noteworthy literary quality? Feel free to share favorites even if you think they might not be remembered in time given that subject matter alone might limit such a book's shelf life.

Most of what I read is fiction, but I can think of a few. I can't resist starting with a very recent one:
Under The Rock: The Poetry of a Place by Benjamin Myers.

A few more favourites:
The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest by Aminatta Forna
At the Loch of the Green Corrie by Andrew Greig
Wildwood: A Journey through Trees by Roger Deakin
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt
Ammonites and Leaping Fish: A Life in Time by Penelope Lively
Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music by Rob Young
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane
The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931 by Adam Tooze
Sightlines by Kathleen Jamie

I think that Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind will definitely stand the test of time. It's very rare that a work of nonfiction keeps me absorbed. The last time being No Logo

Wow--thanks for kicking us off with such an impressive list, Hugh! I noticed quite a few fiction writers in there--I'm always fascinated to read nonfiction by writers who mostly put out fiction.

Hugh wrote: "Most of what I read is fiction, but I can think of a few. I can't resist starting with a very recent one:
Under The Rock: The Poetry of a Place by Benjamin Myers. ..."

I've had the Electric Eden book on my shelf for years - Have you read his books on the Rough Trade and Warp labels? (or his recent book about Can?)

Robert wrote: "I've had the Electric Eden book on my shelf for years - Have you read his books on the Rough Trade and Warp labels? (or his recent book about Can?)"
No - neither of those particularly appealed to me...

Anything that Mary Roach writes. :) I'm half joking but half serious - her writing about science is so unique and makes reading non-fiction so enjoyable.

Below are my favorites in history, humor, and memoir.

History
The Passage of Power and Master of the Senate by Robert A. Caro (the half of the four books about the life and times of Lyndon Baines Johnson that were published in the 21st century);
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan;
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand;
Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden;
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard;
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow;
Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour by Lynne Olson;
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich;
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot;
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry.

Humor
Assassination Vacation and other books by Sarah Vowell;

Memoir
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller;
When We Were the Kennedys: A Memoir from Mexico, Maine by Monica Wood;
Crying at Movies: A Memoir by John Manderino;
Just Kids by Patti Smith;
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Bretnie wrote: "Anything that Mary Roach writes. :) I'm half joking but half serious - her writing about science is so unique and makes reading non-fiction so enjoyable."

I've read all her books and she's a kick...also lives in my area. I don't read much non-fiction, but always look out for her books. They are unique, so wouldn't be surprised to see them stand the test of time.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

I think the best non-fiction, and true (at least to me) of my favorites, is that it tells the story of a place and/or a time. For example, if you want to know what it was like to live outside a city in the 1950's and 1960's and live through the assassination of JFK, then nothing gives a better sense of that than When We Were the Kennedys: A Memoir from Mexico, Maine. If you want to know about the key people and events of the first 3/4s of 20th Century, then read Caro's books about the life and times of LBJ. If you want to know what the arts scene was like in NYC in the 1970's read Just Kids. If you want to know about the Iranian revolution and its impact on women, read Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. And all of these are so well written.

Are there different criteria for a non-fiction book, as opposed to a fiction book, to stand the test of time? Will some non-fiction only be read by those interested in a particular era or time, perhaps for research purposes? Is some non-fiction, e.g., many of the books directed at the 2016 US presidential election, more limited timewise in their appeal? Is there a non-fiction cannon?

All this thinking about non-fiction put me in a different mindset than usual when I read this article about the best reviewed books of essays from 2018 - https://bookmarks.reviews/the-best-re....

I think there's a non-fiction canon just like there is for fiction--usually includes standouts in history, science, philosophy, etc. Think Democracy in America, The Origin of Species, The Second Sex, etc. And certainly, every field/subject seems to have its own "classics" (cult- or otherwise). 21st century wise, I think of writers like Mary Roach, Richard Dawkins, Malcolm Gladwell, Bob Woodward, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxanne Gay, Michio Kaku, Tich Nhat Hanh, etc. I haven't read all of these authors myself.

My 21st nonfiction reading is relatively limited, but favorites include:
- Between the World and Me
- The Argonauts
- The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning
- How Fiction Works
- Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness

There are lots more that I adored, but they're related to learning a specific skill or subject and not something I think will necessarily stand the test of time. I tend to wait even longer to read newer non-fiction than I do for fiction feeling that if I need cutting edge, it's probably going to come from articles and periodicals and anything else can take a few years to settle.

I must admit that my non-fiction choices are very selective, and rather dominated by landscape and nature writing. When I read memoirs they are usually by literary writers, or about music or sport, and I occasionally dabble in books about history and politics, and very occasionally popular science, but that still leaves plenty untouched, given that it is pretty rare for me to read more than 5 or so non-fiction books in a year.

LindaJ^ wrote: "I think the best non-fiction, and true (at least to me) of my favorites, is that it tells the story of a place and/or a time. For example, if you want to know what it was like to live outside a cit..."

My thoughts exactly, LindaJ. To your list I'd add Taylor Branch's superb trilogy, America in the King Years: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63, Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65, At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68. Each volume is pretty massive, but the pages flew by for me.

Well said, Hugh. I have to be interested or care about the subject matter for non-fiction in a way that I rarely do for fiction.

LindaJ^ wrote: "All this thinking about non-fiction put me in a different mindset than usual when I read this article about the best reviewed books of essays from 2018 - https://bookmarks.reviews/the-best-re...."

Thanks for posting this LindaJ! Ever since November 2017 I've read only fiction books, but this list has popped me out of that bubble.

The one non-fiction book I will add to this discussion is one that probably won't stand the test of time nor can it be considered to be of particular "literary value," yet I think it contains information that I believe can provide valuable perspective about our current world for all of us:

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

Having been moved by Jeffrey D. Sachs 's The End of Poverty a decade ago, I have found Rosling's book to be a valuable look at how far we have come -- and how far there is to go. Whether one agrees with the "facts" or the "conclusions" or the delineation of the major challenges ahead, there is food for thought and discussion here -- presented in a very readable way.

Lily,
After simply seeing Hans Rosling and his enthusiasm once, I'd read anything by him. This book looks timely and great!

He has a longer TED Talk, but this is a shorter version that gets across his charisma:
Hans Rosling: 200 Years in 4 Minutes

James Wood's How Fiction Works has delighted me for years as a look behind stage. I've given away several copies but always replace it. It is a richer read each time.

LindaJ Alexandra Fuller's Let's Not Go to the Dogs begins a 4 volume memoir. The final volume, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is a stunning conclusion, revealing her mother's life story and its effects on her children.

Hugh and Marc, I'm much the same when it comes to reading non-fiction. It takes a different sort of energy for me to read so I usually have to be interested in the subject matter to read non-fiction. Here are some that have stood out to me:

No specific work, but pretty much anything by David Sedaris - I love them all
Educated by Tara Westover
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Indonesia, Etc: Exploring the Improbable Nation by Elizabeth Pisani
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

My 2 favorites are Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester and Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan.

I agree with some others that H is for Hawk will stand the test of time. I would also add The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.

Others I have enjoyed are:
The World Without Us
Not My Father's Son
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

This is the first time I've popped into the Questions thread, there are some great lists here. I, too, enjoyed H is for Hawk, and I would very much like to read Educated, it's on my wish list. However, I think the non-fiction book that has impressed me the most this millennium is The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation Through the Way of the Horse. This book is as much about the future of the human species as it is about horses... you don't even have to know a horse to gain from this book.

An awful lot of my favorite non-fiction seems to be late 20th century rather than 21st century, but a few 21st century favorites are:

The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine by Charles Petzold.

Complexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell.

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty.

Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People, and Fantastic Adventure from Chess to Role-Playing Games by Jon Peterson.

Humanist Geography: An Individual’s Search for Meaning by Yi-Fu Tuan.

Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber.

A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit.

I kept having to remove books that turned out to have been published earlier than I had thought.

I like reading books on the current political situation. Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America by Kathleen Below was a real eye-opener. It's about the rise of the white power movement, beginning with disillusioned Vietnam vets, and including white supremacists, the KKK, and the militia. I highly recommend it.

Also excellent is Masha Gesson's book on Putin, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. Very informative and chilling.

This topic is one that I don't really know how to respond to. When it comes to non-fiction, how much someone likes a book is much more likely related to the subject matter and the reader's interest in it than to independent, generalizable assessments of the book as a book. In this way the question seems more like asking people what subjects interest them. The same seems true of documentary films. When it comes to awards, often they go to the film that was judged to be "important" for the content of what it is about rather than for how well-made a film it is.

Of course, there can be better written and less well written books on the same subject. Some authors can be more engaging than others, and so on. But unlike fiction, people are much more likely to read a book based on the subject matter. Unless the book is something like In Cold Blood, one of my favourite books, the assessment is probably going to be more idiosyncratic than it will be with fiction.

The best non-fiction book I read recently is The Comedians by Kliph Nesteroff. It's a fascinating examination of American comedy, focusing mostly on standup comedians from Vaudeville days to the present. Is it good writing independent of the subject matter? I really don't know. It's certainly competent, because I would remember if it was less than that. But that's all I can say. Would I recommend the book to someone who isn't really interested in the history of comedy? No. But I would recommend it to anyone who is.

I like non-fiction books and documentary films, but I often find it hard to relate to them as art rather than as information.

by amzing book I read many times and recommended even more.

Lesley wrote: " by amzing book I read many times and recommended even more."

Which reminds me of another recent non-fiction that captivated me:
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World

Janice (JG) wrote: "Lesley wrote: " by amzing book I read many times and recommended even more."

Which reminds me of another recent non-fiction t..."

Janice (JG) wrote: "Lesley wrote: " by amzing book I read many times and recommended even more."

Which reminds me of another recent non-fiction t..."

Thanks will look for this. Not non-fiction but my best book of the year is ABOUT trees ..