Since Amy was giving me shit.

Check out my comments section in the this post. It reminded me I wanted to do an update about this post. So here it is, my quest for more non-fiction in the year 2009...

So far this year, I've been doing a lot of non-fiction reading. OK, "a lot" is a relative term. I've been doing "a lot" for someone who isn't in school and required to do a lot of reading. Anywho, here is the list so far. Not bad I think for two months of reading!

The Year of Living Biblically. This was a really good book and a quick read. It was meant to be a humor book, but I really didn't get that. The author, AJ Jacobs learned a lot from his year of following the Bible as literally as possible. And yes, I suppose the concept of following the Bible literally is a bit humorous in this day and age, but it was eye opening witnessing the transformation in the author from Day 1 until the end of the book. Read it.

Outliers. In all fairness, I was warned of the fuzzy research methods that Malcolm Gladwell uses in some of his books. I really wanted to love Outliers and the concept was really intriguing. I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either. I found some of his information intriguing and thought provoking, but others bordered on stereo-typing. I wasn't impressed although I am glad I read it.

I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies). I absolutely love Laurie Notaro. She is fucking HILARIOUS. This wasn't her best book, but it was still laugh out loud funny. She has such a knack for taking the mundane and turning it into something that makes you cringe, laugh, and almost pee your pants all at the same time. This book was also interesting for me because it covered the story of how her first book came about and how she felt as a writer during that time. I think all of her books are a must read, you will be glad you discovered her work. And OK, this was humor, but it is still non-fiction.

How To Win Friends & Influence People. I'm halfway through this book. Love it. It's something I am going to read slowly and savor. I may even read a book or two in between finishing this. I will say, at first it took some getting used to reading a book that was written essentially for business eons ago, before the Internet, before women were really taken seriously, back at a time when it was the good ole boys network.... and yet, it really is a timeless classic. I can see the relevancy to today's world and why it's consistently something that business students are required to read.

Naptime Is the New Happy Hour. I'm halfway through this one too. It's really funny and a light read. I read quite a few mommy blogs and this is kind of all of them rolled into one funny book. I'd recommend it for mom's of toddlers. The style is conducive to reading a bit, putting it down, and picking it up again later.

Next up on my list: The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me for Women. I absolutely love personal finance stuff. It's even better if it's an interesting read rather than something dry and textual. I should have this one done while we're on vacation.