The ARRT Nonfiction Genre Study Begins

Later today I will attend the first meeting of the 2 year, ARRT Narrative Nonfiction Genre Study. While the notes of every discussion will be made available to all, I wanted to share today's introductory assignment and some of my preparation today.

Before we begin with the newest study, a quick reminder that the main page for all of ARRT's genre studies, current and past, goes back to 2011-12. The most recent Genre Study on Romance just finished up in December of 2019 and is an excellent, up to date resource for that genre. You an use ARRT's current or former Genre Studies as a guide to organize your own.

Now on to Narrative Nonfiction. Click here to access the full schedule with dates and locations. Assignments and notes are added as they become available. 

Here is how the organizer have divide up the huge collection of genres that Narrative Nonfiction encompasses. Note, biographies and memoirs are not a category because they will be specifically considered within each category:

Welcome Meeting  Assignment Social Issues  Assignment Let’s Make Something: Food, Crafts, Arts, Decorating  Pop Culture, Sports, Entertainment  Global Issues: Beyond America  Travel and Adventure  Crime  History, War, Politics  Improvement: Personal or Professional  Nature, Science, Health  Current Events/Trending Topics  Wrap-Up And it all begins today with this assignment: Welcome Meeting February 6, 2020, 2-4 PM Lisle Library District Here is the assignment: For our first meeting we’ll discuss the outline of the genre study and how we will tackle narrative nonfiction. For your assignment: Bring one “Sure Bet” nonfiction book. When you have someone who says they have to read a nonfiction book (against their will), what book do you find they end up enjoying? Be prepared to discuss why you think this book appeals broadly to many readers. Please read a narrative nonfiction book that appeals to your sense of humor. Since humor is so hard to define, you are just looking for a book that makes you laugh. If you can’t find one, bring an example of a book that failed and why it failed to make you laugh. I have my notes ready to answer both questions, but I am more excited to see what everyone else in attendance has to say because that is the best part of any Genre Study. It is through the group discussion of the topic, the sharing of different opinions, the crowd sourced lists and notes we create [and share here, for free, after every meeting for all to use to improve their service] where the real learning happens. So bookmark the Narrative Nonfiction Genre Study homepage, use it to train yourself, or to organize your own genre study. Follow along. I will be alerting my readers when new notes are available. Finally, here is a quick teaser of the authors and titles [with links] that I will be mentioning for each bullet point above: Candice Millard, David Grann, In the Kingdom of Ice by Sides [Wildcard: The Big Year by Obmascik] Assassination Vacation by Vowell and A.J. Jacobs