More Meme

a) What issues/topic interests you most–non-fiction, i.e, cooking, knitting, stitching, there are infinite topics that has nothing to do with novels?
Currently, histories (I admit to a serious weakness for personal accounts and different-perspectives, along with really anything concerning the Industrial Revolution through WWI era — the world was changing at a rapid clip). I enjoyed (as much as you can say you enjoyed) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Oh, and naval history; specifically Tsushima, WWI (Jutland), and the Pacific Theater in WWII — in the bare space of forty years, battleships found themselves outclassed by these swarming gnats of naval aviation, though I (from an aesthetic standpoint) admire the clean lines of the battleships and heavy cruisers. Photography books too, but those often end up making my current lineup of equipment feel inadequate; photography’s like that.

When I was eight, around the time I started wearing glasses, I started reading biographies from the school library because my piano teacher, upon assigning us new pieces, had us look up that composer’s life in a one-volume musical encyclopedia; the blurbs were instructive and descriptive, but I wanted to learn more. Now, granted, the quality of what you’ll get in elementary school biographies isn’t going to be great, but I still remember apocryphal details — Beethoven’s father’s jealousy of the attention paid to the child prodigy Mozart, and the attendant pressure he applied to Ludwig; it’s something that I identified with. Later I branched into Presidential biographies and for a time there, almost applied to one of the service academies because of Eisenhower’s biography (I know, he went to West Point but I always thought Annapolis was more interesting) — I did apply for and get a AFROTC scholarship, which I turned down bare weeks before leaving for school.

For me, non-fiction is generally inspiring; I’ll read about how persistent and prolific Edison was and wonder how I could follow in those footsteps. Plus, when they say the truth is stranger than fiction, it’s no joke. I’ll watch a movie, or read some mystery that’s based on a true story, and often, I’ll find the real story far more entertaining.

b) Would you like to review books concerning those?
Generically speaking, on occasion. For me it’s less an issue of “like to” but rather “feel I must” share sometimes. Nonfiction topics are fairly personal and relatively narrow (how many people would want to read about the SS United States winning the Blue Riband? the seakeeping qualities of HMS Vanguard? external combustion engines, like the Stirling Cycle?) that I’m not convinced all the topics that trip my trigger would inspire someone else to pursue the same subject. But if there’s some topical relevance, or perhaps social significance, then yes.

c) Would you like to be paid or do it as interest or hobby? Tell reasons for what ever you choose.
Getting paid for it = feeling obligated to do it. I’m honest enough about my attention span and interests to say that I wouldn’t be consistent enough. There was a tribute to Judith Moore of the San Diego Reader a few months ago — one of the nuggets of advice she doled out to a staffer was to write something every day. To be paid for reviews, I think, would be suffocating to creativity. On the other hand, I get paid for reviews (of parts) I do at work now, but that’s even more esoteric (no one wants to read my dissertations on how a vendor procedure deviates from our design specification, least of all me; on the other hand, I have become notably more verbose and dense the longer I write on the blog).

d) Would you recommend those to your friends and how?
Yes, if I knew they shared the interest; probably through e-mail or a blog post. Otherwise, as I said before, I fear no one will care about the importance of a regenerator to the Stirling engine.

e) If you have already done something like this, link it to your post.
Oh, this is why I should have put more descriptive tags up. Um, instead I’ll talk about the last nonfiction book I read — Devil in the White City, which revolves around two stories, that of a serial killer and the planner/landscape architect of the World’s Columbian Fair in turn-of-the-Century Chicago. Quick review: not enough killer, too much Olmsted, although I suppose that’s part of the nature of the record-keeping at the time, but with a name that includes ‘devil,’ you’d think that the book would have more of him. Incidentally, this highlights one of my favorite graphic literature pieces, Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan, which also features scenes from the Exposition.

f) Please don’t forget to link back here or whoever tags you.
Darla’s nichtszusagen

I’m supposed to tag 10 people, but honestly, I’ve probably read less than 10 blogs since starting mine. Um … Junior? — only if you’ve nothing better (hockey) on.