Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Married to Bhutan

Married to Bhutan: how one woman got lost, said "I do", and found bliss by Linda Leaming 2011

How far would you go to be happy? For writer Linda Leaming, it was to Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom of which it’s said the most important thing is their Gross National Happiness.  In her late 30s, she went on a short side trip to Bhutan, fell in love with the country and spent the next two years trying to find a way to get back.  The result? She sold everything, uprooted herself, gave up her career, moved away from family and friends and began a new life, found love and a lasting relationship, and now, twenty years later, is still blissfully happy in Bhutan.  A thoroughly charming memoir, full of humour, pithy observation and interesting commentary on the choices we make in life.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Wild

Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 2012

In 1995 Cheryl Strayed was a young divorcée actively grieving the loss of her beloved mother to cancer. Her family has dissipated and her life lacks direction. When she begins to dabble in heroin, she realizes that she is spiraling out of control. At the lowest of low points, she makes the decision to hike 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Oregon. Hauling a massive backpack she calls “Monster”, she sets out alone only able to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Over the course of her trek, she revisits her childhood and other parts of her past, and as she becomes completely broken down, she finds a strength she never knew she had—and finally begins to heal. With humour and candour, Cheryl shares her emotional journey on the West Coast. In the most challenging of scenarios, we root for her to survive one adventure after the next and achieve her goal. In the end, despite the pain of the journey, you almost want to give the Pacific Crest Trail a try yourself!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Falling to Earth

Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey 2011

Al Worden was the command module pilot for the APOLLO 15 mission to the moon in 1971.  This is a memoir of his early life as a farm boy in Michigan and his military career in the Air Force followed by his career move to NASA. On the APOLLO 15 mission, the team spent six days orbiting the moon and Al Worden was alone in one of the capsules for three days. He also conducted the first space walk in deep space. Nine months after his return his crew was involved in a scandal about bringing postal covers in their personal gear when on the APOLLO 15 mission and profiting from the sale of these stamps. Al explains his side of the story and how he carried on his life and career after his retirement from NASA. An interesting read and his descriptions of the moon are fascinating!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Bossypants

Bossypants by Tina Fey 2011

Written by comedic writer and actress Tina Fey, Bossypants is a Library Journal 2011 Best Books award winner.  Fey’s witty, fast-paced autobiography chronicles her awkward childhood in Pennsylvania to her current success with 30 Rock.  Along this laugh out loud journey, you meet her gay friends from her teenage years, hear of her romantic failures in university, and appreciate her struggles with balancing a career, marriage, and motherhood.

Her self-deprecating anecdotes are genuine and her one-line zingers will leave you laughing on the inside and out – public transit riders have been warned!  Fans of her writing, Saturday Night Live or 30 Rock will enjoy this book.  It would also interest fans of other female comedians, such as Chelsea Handler, or those who grew up in the 1980s.

Also very humorous on audio!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Blood, Bones and Butter

Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton 2011

This memoir proves that sometimes what we learn when we’re young stays with us for our entire lives. This is true, not only for Gabrielle Hamilton’s inevitable path into making food for others, but also her troubling inability to maintain healthy relationships. As Hamilton’s once idyllic childhood comes to an abrupt end with a divorce and subsequent abandonment, she sets her life on a course of hard living and independence. This no-holds-barred, quickly moving narrative allows the reader an uncensored view into the complex world of the author - from her lesbian relationships, to her heterosexual marriage, and from her low-paying kitchen jobs to owning her own restaurant.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Wine to Water

Wine to Water: a bartender's quest to bring clean water to the world by Doc Hendley 2012

This is an inspirational story about Doc Hendley, a young bartender who forms the Water to Wine organization, which provides clean water to developing countries.

Doc started fundraising for his organization in the bars of Raleigh, and once he had raised a few thousand dollars he approached a non-profit organization, Samaritan’s Purse, to donate the money. Doc met the director of Samaritan’s Purse and he was offered a job with them and was sent to Darfur Sudan in August 2004 to help with their clean water program.

This is a memoir of his one-year stay in Darfur and the work that he and his team did to repair water wells and educate the locals in well repair and sanitation training to reduce illnesses transmitted through contaminated drinking water.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Prisoner of Tehran

Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat 2012

In 1982 sixteen-year-old Marina Nemat was arrested for her anti-revolutionary views and sent to Evin prison in Iran. This memoir recounts her life prior and during her stay in the prison. Marina was tortured, forced to marry one of the prison interrogators and forced to convert to Islam. After her first husband was assassinated, her father-in-law was able to secure her release. She then married her Christian boyfriend, André. Because she married a non-Muslim it was dangerous for both Marina and her husband André to remain in Iran. After three years both were able to get passports when they paid a large sum of money to be allowed to leave Iran. They first settled in Spain and then immigrated to Toronto as refugees. A truly inspirational tale of courage and conviction.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Drop Dead Healthy

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J.Jacobs 2012

Perfection was the goal of A.J. Jacobs as he pursued his mission for total body health. His quest was to remake his somewhat flawed body from head to toe. For two dedicated years he methodically used his body as an experiment to transform it to optimum health by researching the latest scientific data, consulting the leading health experts, exploring a myriad of diagnostic tests, and even dipping into the realm of some fringe theorists. Told with humour and embarrassing frankness, this amazingly brilliant book makes me want to reach out with enthusiasm for that big bunch of kale, run--not walk--to the gym, and give my cerebellum a workout along the way.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Floor Sample

Floor Sample by Julia Cameron 2012

The life of Julia Cameron is a life of extremes. Known for her famous book, The Artist’s Way (a bible for those wishing to fulfill their creative impulses), this memoir dispels any notion that Cameron is a sage about the whole of life. A former alcoholic, Cameron struggles to find balance in life. While her professional life flourishes and she masters the discipline of creativity, her personal life lacks stability. This is a deeply personal whirlwind tour of her life and personality. She opens up about her relationships with men, her desire to bring her daughter up in a stable and safe atmosphere, and the continuing mental health struggles of her family as well as herself.

Readalike: Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher