Looking for books where a person or people are searching for a long lost person. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Dec 18, 2009 - 20 answers

I love Bill Simmons' "The Book of Basketball". What should I read next? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Dec 8, 2009 - 11 answers

MeFites, help! Need more books to read. /book-recommendation-filter [more inside]
posted by titantoppler on Dec 5, 2009 - 23 answers

Footnote filter: I am writing a non-fiction, non-academic book and need help determining what to include in my citations. [more inside]
posted by quidividi on Dec 5, 2009 - 5 answers

Between my iPhone's Stanza app and the loooooong quiet days ahead of me in the office during the holiday season, I'd like to read some stuff online. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by Madamina on Nov 25, 2009 - 6 answers

Books recommendation for an industrial engineer [more inside]
posted by Carius on Nov 14, 2009 - 13 answers

I loved the plot of Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Any recommendations for similar books, shows, or movies? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Oct 28, 2009 - 10 answers

In search of short passages of especially strong or weak nonfiction prose! [more inside]
posted by cymru_j on Oct 17, 2009 - 8 answers

Looking for fiction and non-fiction about Jupiter's moon Europa. [more inside]
posted by moonroof on Aug 13, 2009 - 13 answers

In writing a research book, how far along should I be before approaching publishers, agents, etc? Help needed to get my nonfiction pop culture centric book into bookstores [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 3, 2009 - 7 answers

For such a picky eater, I sure like to read a lot about food. What good food books can you recommend? [more inside]
posted by kidsleepy on Jul 28, 2009 - 42 answers

Please recommend your favorite "behind the scenes" nonfiction books! [more inside]
posted by bookmammal on Jul 18, 2009 - 48 answers

My dream is to write nonfiction books, but I have more book ideas than I know what to do with. Does anybody have any advice on how to find an agent or even just somebody knowledgeable about the publishing business who could give some good advice about which book ideas would work and which ideas would fall flat? How does one get past the query letter stage, when you have multiple outlines and chapters and book ideas, but you don't have a finished book?
posted by jonp72 on Jul 14, 2009 - 13 answers

Do you know of any undercover nonfiction stories that don’t involve cops/detectives? [more inside]
posted by heather-b on Jul 8, 2009 - 26 answers

Can you recommend some good beach reads for my honeymoon in a few weeks? [more inside]
posted by mikeweeney on Jul 1, 2009 - 23 answers

What are the best nonfiction sources about the atrocities surrounding the Mexican-American War and related Native American wars? [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse on Jun 29, 2009 - 12 answers

I'm looking for blogs about new non-fiction books on the Kindle. [more inside]
posted by aheckler on Jun 28, 2009 - 2 answers

Is there a place like fantasticfiction for nonfiction books? [more inside]
posted by beautifulcheese on Jun 27, 2009 - 2 answers

Books about Peru & Bolivia? [more inside]
posted by UbuRoivas on May 18, 2009 - 10 answers

Books about libraries, and books/essays about the future of them? [more inside]
posted by mrhaydel on Apr 13, 2009 - 13 answers

Who are the best magazine and newspaper feature writers, past and present? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Apr 8, 2009 - 20 answers

NameThatBookFilter: Autobiography by a former criminal/hard timer that later became an author? [more inside]
posted by mrhaydel on Apr 2, 2009 - 16 answers

Please recommend me a book about disaster/survival along the lines of Shackleton's 'South', Jon Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air' or 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place'. [more inside]
posted by dydecker on Mar 26, 2009 - 23 answers

Can you recommend some books to me similar to the sociology-of-a-subculture style of Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels, Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day and Bill Buford's Among the Thugs? [more inside]
posted by Ufez Jones on Mar 15, 2009 - 26 answers

Anybody have recommendations for good historical fiction/nonfiction books set in China or Southeast Asia? [more inside]
posted by ebeeb on Feb 19, 2009 - 20 answers

Recommend non-fiction books about animals -- books that will blow my mind. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Feb 10, 2009 - 43 answers

I want to read fictional and/or true stories about people being put into positions of responsibility unexpectedly for extended periods of time and how they deal with it. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jan 27, 2009 - 37 answers

I write like I talk and so my writing is not great but my spoken stories are magnetic. Help me put these stories to paper! [more inside]
posted by parmanparman on Dec 27, 2008 - 10 answers

I'm looking for readable accounts of revolutionary movements. [more inside]
posted by serazin on Dec 18, 2008 - 13 answers

Nonfiction accessible to the layman? [more inside]
posted by btkuhn on Dec 16, 2008 - 19 answers

OK, I've posted on this subject before. Each time, I'm a little further along. Here is where I am right now. I've been working on a book since March. The idea upon which the book is based has been getting a lot of attention recently and has consistently been in the news for about four years. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind on Dec 8, 2008 - 5 answers

DVD recommendations needed - boxed sets of documentaries and historical/cultural overviews to put on in the background while I'm working. [more inside]
posted by cadge on Dec 8, 2008 - 10 answers

Christmas gift: what non-fiction political or economic book should I get for my liberal intellectual brother? [more inside]
posted by naju on Dec 7, 2008 - 24 answers

Some good, interesting historical nonfiction? [more inside]
posted by btkuhn on Nov 28, 2008 - 55 answers

Can anyone point the way to a reputable online writing course that deals with the mechanics of good writing (not plot, character, narrative, etc)? [more inside]
posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee on Nov 15, 2008 - 3 answers

Can you recommend good books about Los Angeles? Non-fiction preferred but fiction as well. [more inside]
posted by jeremias on Oct 29, 2008 - 25 answers

Musicfilter. We are a high school library and we're putting together an intro video for sophomores on nonfiction. Anybody know any music that might apply? [more inside]
posted by crios on Oct 1, 2008 - 8 answers

Working writers: how do you carve out time for fiction? [more inside]
posted by mynameisluka on Sep 5, 2008 - 18 answers

Looking for popular history books whose title is or starts with a specific year - 1776, 1491, 69 A.D., etc. A subtitle after the year is fine, but the title needs to start with a specific date. Thanks! [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Aug 24, 2008 - 28 answers

I'm looking for short stories/poems/creative non-fiction and the like about school, schooling, education, and/or learning to write/self-expression. Should be suitable for college freshpersons.
posted by Saxon Kane on Aug 24, 2008 - 4 answers

I am looking for books similar to Krakauer's "Into the Wild." I used to prefer fiction, but after reading this book, I am craving some non-fiction similar to this book in a few particular ways... [more inside]
posted by TSGlenn on Aug 2, 2008 - 50 answers

I'd like to broaden my horizons by getting a better understanding of life in different cultures and time periods. Please recommend great books or films (fiction or non-fiction) which paint a broad, immersive, reasonably accurate picture of a place and time. [more inside]
posted by MetaMonkey on Jul 12, 2008 - 29 answers

I love Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City. It's a non-fiction book about Chicago in 1893 which reads much like a novel. I'd like to read other books written in the same novel-esque style about some other cities or historic events. Know of any novel-like non-fiction reads?
posted by melodykramer on Jun 29, 2008 - 47 answers

I've got Denver and Minneapolis on my mind, and it seems like going to a political convention is a rite of passage for any serious nonfiction writer in this country. So what are the best pieces of writing (or film or radio) about a nominating convention?
posted by jtajta on Jun 26, 2008 - 14 answers

Précis, outlines, abstracts for contemporary non-fiction books -- are there any sites or publications doing this? [more inside]
posted by alb on Jun 26, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm a journalism student who wants to gain experience with a particular form of freelance magazine writing, if not break into the business itself. How can I find a print or online outlet willing to give me a shot? [more inside]
posted by iamisaid on Jun 23, 2008 - 13 answers

What are some good, light-hearted, humorous travel books? [more inside]
posted by nitsuj on Jun 5, 2008 - 26 answers

Writers like John McPhee, writing in Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Russian? [more inside]
posted by kristi on Apr 21, 2008 - 5 answers

What should I read to learn about espionage and World War II/start of the Cold War? [more inside]
posted by BT on Feb 27, 2008 - 25 answers

Stories about healthy, "normal" marriages? [more inside]
posted by callmejay on Jan 11, 2008 - 41 answers