My pup was just diagnosed with terminal cancer & I bizarrely find myself coping by absolutely tearing through nonfiction books of a very particular genre. I'm reading so quickly that I'm struggling to maintain my library holds list to ensure I always have something on deck and never have to actually think my own thoughts. I was hoping you knowledgeable and kind folks could help me out with this.
What I'm looking for: I've been super drawn to stories about people put in extreme situations – think, natural disasters, catastrophes, the extremes of exploration (the deep sea, mountaineering, cave diving, space) etc. I've found out I really don't enjoy/can't handle true crime (serial killers/mass killers/cults), sweeping war sagas, biology/virology/disease, or existential threats as topics atm.
Books I've recently read and really liked:
- Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
- Shadow Divers – Robert Kurson
- Isaac's Storm – Erik Larson
- The Perfect Storm – Sebastian Junger
- Into the Raging Sea – Rachel Slade
- The Indifferent Stars Above – Daniel James Brown
- Island of the Lost – Joan Druett
- Dead Wake – Erik Larson (almost too much war content in this though)
Books I've recently read but didn't love or were just too real for me:
- The Hot Zone – Richard Preston (I was so-so on this)
- I'll be gone in the Dark – Michelle McNamara
- Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer
- Midnight in Chernobyl – Adam Higginbotham
- Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand
- The Radium Girls – Kate H. Moore
- Killers of the Flower Moon – David Grann
Already on hold at my library:
- In the Heart of the Sea – Nathaniel Philbrick
- Madhouse at the End of the Earth – Julian Sancton
- The Lost City of Z – David Grann
- The Lost City of the Monkey God – Douglas Preston
- Endurance – Alfred Lansing
I know this was rather long so I really appreciate it if you read this whole post and are willing to pass any ideas you my have my way 🙂
by unclericostan