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What My Brain Looks Like

  • Jan. 28th, 2008 at 10:39 AM

My husband is going to laugh when he sees the User Pic here (if I got it uploaded right), and my son may well fear I've gone over to the dark side. But I read Cathy Ipcizade's post, then saw where Anastasia Suen has started Nonfiction Mondays, and I told myself it was the right time to start another new path. Or maybe take some bigger steps out onto the one that's been looking up at me from the map for a while now. I review nonfiction books for kids all the time, and I'm writing one these days--a book for Adams Media about becoming a police officer.

I've posted a couple of times here about how nonfiction is not an easy genre for me. If I could do the math (okay, if I could do ANY math), the percentage of nonfiction books I've read in my life, compared to the percentage of fiction books, would probably not even register on the old word-count-a-meter. Mostly, I read for pleasure, to escape, and I don't seem to do that very well when I'm reading about reality. :)

The exceptions to this rule are important, though. I do read and enjoy children's nonfiction. (I can say that here, without getting those smug, understanding nods from people who swallow history and current events like they do horse pills—whole, without any water.) And, occasionally, I find an adult nonfiction book that is so well written, I'm captivated, caught, turning pages like it's a novel. If you're looking for one of these, try Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe, by Laurence Bergreen; the descriptions of scurvy had me diving for the nearest citrus!

But here's my thought for the week. You know those brain scans they're doing these days, where they stimulate your brain and watch the blood flow to different sections? I'd like to see my brain on fiction and on nonfiction. In a less scientific metaphor, I have a feeling that, when I read fiction, the little hamster is racing around his wheel at top speed, on a runner's high, feeling no pain and no tiredness. When I switch to the nonfiction hamster, I'm afraid this one's crouched at the bottom, gasping and out of breath, begging to get off the wheel and curl up in his wood shavings for a nap. Why is this little guy so exhausted? Is his genetic make-up so different from his brother's, or is it that I've just spent so much less time encouraging him, brought him too few chocolate hamster treats?

I don't know. But I guess it's time to pay him some attention. Three years ago, I couldn't run a mile. I got off my derriere, and now I can do a 5k. I even occasionally go into withdrawal when I haven't laced up my sneaks in a few days. I figure that I can retrain my little hamster, too.  And, just like I did with my legs and heart muscles, I should start gently--stretching my brain on some really good kids' nonfiction (like your books, Cathy!). I figure this is the place to find out about it. The rest of you guys can look at me as one of those reluctant readers, one who'd love to jump in and join the club, but doesn't quite know the best direction to push herself. :)

So I'm going to come along for the conversation. I'll probably ask a lot of questions and propose some (maybe strange) theories, and I'll keep everybody up-to-date about the things I'm loving in my own nonfiction WIP. And I'll take the first big step, get some nonfiction books on my list of to-reads, and try and do some reviews as well.

Thanks for the idea and the invite, Anastasia!
  • Mood: curious
  • Music:Cyndi Lauper--At Last