\tI seem to be developing an allergy to novels, for causes I find hard to diagnose. I have frequently heard that when compulsive readers reach a certain age (em, mid-forties) we get tired of novels and seek in other genres the literary and intellectual satisfaction we crave for. This may be happening to me, as for the first time in my reading life, I\u2019m avoiding novels (except the ones I teach, of course…). What am I reading instead? Drama, poetry and everything else, that is to say, non-fiction.<\/p>\n
\tI find the label \u2018non-fiction\u2019 lazy and silly; it sounds even worse in Spanish or Catalan, trust me. Yet, as often happens with lazy, silly labels (think: Romanticism) it has stuck and it is beginning to create a serious problem: how to define the genre (non-genre?) it names. Strictly speaking, the problem has been around for quite some time and what I really mean is that now that I\u2019m itching to teach a course (sooner or later) I find myself concerned with it. That\u2019s egotism for you. <\/p>\n
Surfing the net, I\u2019ve come across two interesting lists of non-fiction, both American as, somehow, the label seems to be more popular across the Ocean (Amazon.com<\/em> includes the category in its best-sellers lists, Amazon.co.uk<\/em> doesn\u2019t). Check the list of 100 best non-fiction books at the Modern Library website (http:\/\/www.modernlibrary.com\/top-100\/100-best-nonfiction\/<\/a>) and the counter-list at CounterPunch (http:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/top100nf.html<\/a>), which also includes a twin list of non-fiction in non-English… Ualah!!, as kiddies say today. The horizon expands and suddenly I have almost 300 more interesting books to read. A miracle!<\/p>\n