Tag Archives: Nonfiction

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

My answers to this question depend on why I’m not feeling well.

If I’m dealing with something like a migraine, I generally won’t be reading due to how symptoms like trouble concentrating, light sensitivity, nausea, etc. strongly affect what I do on those days even if my pain levels aren’t a hindrance in and of themselves

That’s not a very fun answer, of course, so I’m going to assume we’re all talking about less debilitating sick days when, say, one has the common cold or a sprained ankle instead but can still concentrate and enjoy the written word for at least a little while.

There are three things I especially like to read on these occasions:

Poetry

Mary Oliver is – or, rather, was – one of my favourite contemporary poets because of how beautifully she would described something as simple as a sunset or seeing a bird flying around in a field.

She wrote the kinds of poems that nearly anyone can relate to because we’ve all experienced nature in some form in our lives, whether you’re walking past pigeons pecking at bread crumbs on a city street or live in the middle of a forest in a little cottage and go weeks without talking to other human beings.

Black River is a good place to start for Oliver.

For more classic poets, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes are my all-time favourites. They were both incredibly talented and fantastic at capturing those little moments in life that are so easy to overlook.

Hope is the thing with feathers is one of my favourite Dickinson poems.

Theme for English B is a thoughtful Hughes poem that captures a lot of the most common themes in his work. (I can’t possibly pick a favourite poem from him. He wrote so many fantastic ones).

If anyone has recommendations for other modern (or modern-ish)  poets who write or wrote short, snappy pieces, please share! I have not had great luck finding ones I’ve liked. Yes, it’s fine if your definition of “modern” is 1960 or something. I’m not at all picky so long as they’re a great writer whose work still feels fresh and meaningful to you even if it might have been written last century. 🙂

Nonfiction

I especially like history, science, and nature-themed books when I’m not feeling well. Medical topics may or may not be interesting, too, depending on how closely related they are to my ailments. For example, I’d rather not read about the misery of the 1918 flu if I have currently have the flu, but a book about how doctors discovered the existence of vitamins or something else would be fine.

These topics are great distractions from something like a fever, a cough, or mild pain because they transport you to other times and places and teach you all sorts of interesting things about the world.

This summer I have enjoyed these nonfiction titles:

“No One Taught Me How to Be a Man” by Shannon T.L. Kearns (A memoir about gender identity and what is expected of men).

“Ghosts, Trolls and the Hidden People” by Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir (Icelandic folktales and the history behind them).  

“Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care” by Shelley Sella, MD (Stories about people who needed third-trimester abortions for things like terminal diagnoses). 

“The Friendship Bench: How Fourteen Grandmothers Inspired a Mental Health Revolution” by Dixon Chibanda MD (a memoir about senior citizen women offering friendship, advice, and mental health care to young people in Zimbabwe).

I have not read enough nonfiction this year and will try to dig more deeply into it.

Rereads

Honestly, this is one of the most common times for me to reread old favourites. There’s something comforting about reading or listening to a story when you already know what’s going to happen in it, especially for a series like the Anne Shirley books or The Chronicles of Narnia where there are many instalments to read if you happen to need multiple days or weeks to recover.