When You Lived History In Real Time

I wondered what would be on a list of the best nonfiction of the past three decades.

I briefly reflected on a few titles that have been meaningful to me personally knowing that this doesn’t necessarily align at all with more general interests.

I was pleased to see David Sedaris make the list.

Seeing Columbine (2009) doesn’t surprise me – the book was everywhere (and I still see it at B&N on display from time to time) – though having lived through the horror in real time, at an impressionable age, this was the beginning of a chapter of our time that I know all too well. I never read the book. Why would I? What does this say about our personal relationship to the stories we tell ourselves about historical moments as compared to the facts about what transpired?

I’m reminded of how strange it seemed to me when they released Captain Phillips (2013) starring Tom Hanks (because of course). The actual event had occurred just a few years earlier. It was very much still in public memory. Or, at least I thought it was. This struck me as a very odd thing to do. And then streaming services began making similar content (based on, and released soon after, true events) all the time…

I believe it’s both logical and important that Claudia Rankine’s Citizen (2014) was included on this list. The reasons should go without saying. A necessary read for the zeitgeist. A necessary reckoning.

Somehow, I thought Stephen King’s On Writing was from an even earlier time. The weight of this craft book feels that immense. I don’t recommend it to fiction writers because it stopped me from writing fiction. If I recall correctly, it stopped me from writing altogether at least briefly. I do recommend reading excerpts or approaching the text in a piecemeal fashion. It’s important to keep in mind that King breaks many of his own rules. In any case, King offers a boatload of excellent lessons.

I’m very pleased to see Matthew Desmond’s important book— Evicted: Poverty and Profit in an American City (2016) included on this list. I also highly recommend his follow-up Poverty, by America (2023). Two of the most valuable books I’ve read in the past decade.

And of course it would be a huge oversight not to include the challenging and powerful The Year of Magical Thinking (2005) by Joan Didion. Didion’s book set the stage for contemporary texts approaching grief and loss.

*

Bonus:

I checked out the fiction list and noted the inclusion of 2666 (2008) by Roberto Bolaño, which I listened to as a 39+ hour audiobook. Perhaps a slightly unhinged decision, this really doubled-down on the text’s disturbing content and pacing. I’m not recommending this choice.

*

What are your top reads of the last three decades?

Think about what comes to mind first as opposed to all the books you are supposed to think are good.

*