Humorous Nonfiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Humor
• Nonfiction
• Books published in the last 10 years

Shakespeare: The World as Stage
By Bill Bryson
BIO SHAKESPE
A portrait of the Bard is presented in the style of a travelogue based on interviews with actors, the curator of Shakespeare's birthplace, and academics, in an account that explores the context for Shakespeare’s work—Elizabethan England.

A Short History of Nearly Everything
By Bill Bryson
500 BRY
In this departure from his usual travelogues, Bryson takes on, well, everything. From the components of the atom to the size of the universe to the age of the Earth, Bryson describes the history behind scientific discovery. Sometimes mystified, often admiring, Bryson regales readers with the follies and feats in science. Bryson’s easy pace and sincere delivery delivers denser topics and concepts digestible and entertaining.

Running with Scissors
By Augusten Burroughs
BIO BURROUGH
When Augusten Burroughs was 12, his mother handed him over to live with her extravagantly loony psychiatrist, along with the doctor's own wife and children and a number of extremely addled patients, some of them predatory. In this shambles of a household everything was permitted, including Augusten and his foster sister's decision to tear out the kitchen ceiling one night and cut a large hole in the roof to let more light in, which no one then knew how to fix, so no one did. Burrough's account of his deranged adolescence there is clear-eyed and often wildly funny.

A Girl Named Zippy
By Haven Kimmel
BIO KIMMEL
The first five pages of this endearing memoir will capture any reader as Kimmel shares anecdotes from her childhood in a small town. An eclectic cast of characters dances through a small Midwestern community, and their quirky escapades make perfect fodder for a particularly observant child. Prepare to laugh aloud at the author's dry wit, as well as her vivid accounts of small town happenings that may seem all too familiar.

CandyFreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
By Steve Almond
338.4766 ALM
If you're dieting or diabetic, avoid this book. The descriptions of huge machines extruding chocolate bars and the smell of roasting nuts would cause any such person agony until satisfied with a forbidden fix. The author conveys his chocolate fascinations vividly as he describes extinct and existing candy--its shape, color, consistency, and aroma. Starting with his childhood memories of sinful snacks, the story moves to a visit with the world's candy bar expert, the collector of 20,000 confection wrappers and author of two forgotten books. The work also features tours of factories and tasty biographies of the inventors of wonderful sweets we've all had on our tongues.