BOOK REVIEW: 2018 TOP NONFICTION

Here’s the thing:

I'm usually not a huge fan of memoirs, only because, I mean...how interesting can a person be to want to read about them and their lives? How extraordinary is your life that it deserves to be written about? What's wrong with a blog post or a series of diary entries or some op-ed or column? Why does your life deserve to be published in a book? What makes you so special? 

And then you have self-help books, which I think are ridiculous and just an easy way out for average non-skilled writer, to publish books. I don’t believe that you need a “book” to help you find happiness and positivity and peace in your life. Your whole life is a series of experiences, both good and bad, and you have to fail to experience success, but what one person gets out of an experience is completely different from what another person would. No two people will ever achieve the same result or outcome, so these books – they’re a waste of time and money.

Right. So that's my view. Usually. 

Except, in 2018, there were three nonfiction books that stood out for me. These books left an impact, made me think and changed my perception is some very small way.

Here are my top three, 5-star rated, nonfiction books of 2018, in no particular order:

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

This book was amazing! I read it with such intense pleasure that took me by surprise, because I'm not usually that keen on "self-help" books. 

I was reading so many different parts of it out loud to my sister, that I might have just read the whole thing out to her and she had to tell me to stop, even though she did humor me for a big chunk of it.

The Tao of Pooh is interesting because of how it explains the basic principles and understanding of Taoism through Winnie the Pooh. It was entertaining with the wonderful and witty dialogue (that was quite fictional) that took place between the author, Benjamin Hoff and Winnie the Pooh and the rest of the characters. I loved the little excerpts from the actual Pooh books that explained different aspects of Taoism, and I absolutely loved that I could actually relate to every character explained and identify different people in my life through one of those characters. 

The best part is that at the end of it, I felt that I actually grasped the concept of Taoism, and that is quite the accomplishment.

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

I loved this graphic memoir! What a moving tale of a little boy and his quiet struggle with his mother and later his grandparents. It was sad to see how close mother and son were and how it quickly disintegrated due to her addiction. His grandparents were very endearing, and reminded me so much of my own grandparents, especially his grandmother. 

Jarrett himself is a very relatable character, and he portrays his life with all its ups and downs in such a well-balanced way. It made me sad to read the end, but I also wished he had shared some pictures of his family, his wife and kids. I also really would have liked to see that one picture he refers to from his graduation day, with both his mom and dad. 

A very highly recommended read, for sure! 

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

I loved this. I had no idea who Ariel Levy was, have never read anything for her, know nothing about her, but the synopsis sounded very interesting, and I bought it based on just that.

Ariel Levy, truly impressed me with her skill in weaving a story about her "not-so-exciting" life that still pulled me in and piqued my interest. I don't believe Levy lived a fantastic life, but I think one of the ways that I went about reading this book is to not think of it as a non-fiction. I imagined them all to be a set of characters that Levy came up with, written in first person. Her skill and writing style is what really made this book interesting for me. She is an incredible writer, and working for The New Yorker, I never doubted she would be.  

She has taken her personal experiences, her heartbreak, her grief, her conflicts, her f**k ups, and made a beautiful story out of them. A story to learn and grow from. 

Being a mother, and seeing her experience with motherhood was heartbreaking for me. She put off getting pregnant for so long, then struggled with getting pregnant, then lost the baby when she finally did. The way she loses the baby in Mongolia, in the middle of nowhere, that whole scene, was one of the most poignantly heartbreaking passages I've read. It was so descriptive, so beautifully descriptive, that I could see it. I could see all of it. I could see her on that bathroom floor, I could see her holding her phone with bloody hands to take a picture of her newborn, who only lived for 10 minutes. My God, what an incredible storyteller she is. 

There were other times, where I couldn't exactly feel any sympathy for her. There were definitely situations that she didn't handle too well, other situations which she seemed quite oblivious to, showing a more conceited or self-absorbed side to her. But, she is human. And I love that she was able to show all sides of her, without trying to paint herself as a victim or martyr. 

I also loved the ending, and how she kept in touch with the doctor that helped her get through all the pain and heartache when she lost the baby. A bit of Google search will show that she ended up marrying that doctor, and that makes me really happy. Even though, she was never able to get pregnant again.

I don't think this would be the last time I'd pick up a book by Ariel Levy.