Non fiction life (post #100!)

This marks my 100th post so it feels like some sort of momentous occasion. Hurrah! I will share that lately I have been feeling inspired by words and motivated to write more myself. Recently I've been interested in some non fiction books which was always a section in the library I avoided, um... boring! Maybe it's because of my year away from the Americas or the momentum of hope that the presidential election got going, or our present economical turmoil, but I really want to hear about what people are thinking and what direction we're hoping to go into. I've also been working part-time and it's been giving me more time to think and develop some ideas that have been cooking in the ol' noggin.

One book I just finished and borrowed from the library (use the public library people, it's great! They even have DVDs and video games!) is called Snark and is written by David Denby, a film critic for The New Yorker. I found out about the book from either Charlie Rose or Tavis Smiley, both great resources for non fiction books. I love that they interview authors and journalists, people who want to start discussions about all the wrong and good things happening in the world. Anyhow, this book is about the decline of journalism and how the internet is a wonderful tool that is unfortunately being abused. He talks about how journalists used to be very careful to fact-check and write in a neutral tone and that the tone in journalism today is nasty and false because that's what sells. Blogs and comments on web sites are mean and crude and it seems the way we communicate is actually declining. (It's probably ironic that I'm writing about this book on a blog, but I do try to avoid "snarkiness" when I write.) The book also brings up the quality of political comedy which I do agree has been a good alternative to all those "snarky" political "news" shows on cable. It's not a perfect book, but it's a good read and a good discussion about where we are heading with all this negative behavior.

Today also marks the loss of John Hope Franklin, an author and historian who lived through segregation and the Civil Rights Movement and became a Harvard scholar and later a Professor of history. He also worked with President Clinton to begin a national dialog about race and was rewarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I must admit I didn't know of him until today, but I'm glad I do now because his life sounds fascinating and I plan to read his last book, Mirror to America, where he challenges us to all look at ourselves honestly to see all the negative, selfish things within ourselves and hopes we have the desire to want to improve ourselves. It also makes me miss my grandparents and wish I had more time to speak to them about their struggles and accomplishments. I think their generation also tended to keep the past silent out of respect. They never talked about the war or the prejudice they must've experienced when they came to the states. They did however take lots of photographs (my grandfather was a photographer) so I plan to go through those and rattle my parents' memories for stories. If you're lucky enough to have grandparents, get them to spill the beans before it's too late!