"This impressive book-a veritable portable public library-offers an amazing wealth of nonfiction reading recommendations on virtually every subject.
Whether one's fancy is caught by The Feminist Companion to Literature in English or The People's Chronology: A Year by Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present, there's something here to delight every reader. Maxie's careful, thoughtful, and thorough work is a paean to the breadth of human knowledge and to the libraries, the "gardens of thought" that foster and preserve
it. The only TBR list you'll ever need." -- BlueInk Review, June 2022 Starred Review
"Unique and inherently fascinating, impressively comprehensive and exceptionally well organized and presented, "Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" will be of immense interest to dedicated bibliophiles, inquisitive booksellers, library science professionals, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in cataloging, bibliographies, and indexes. Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library collections, it should be noted that "Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" is also readily available in digital book format." --Midwest Book Review
"....A thoughtful, thorough survey of the best nonfiction found in today's libraries." --Kirkus Reviews
"I am thrilled that my volume has earned a small place in Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction. Linda Maxie's compendium exudes both qualities I treasure in accomplished librarians: unbounded expertise and unstinting generosity in sharing it. Any curious reader will find her guidance to the best in nonfiction not only helpful but inspiring." - James Mustich, author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die.
"Stupendous! Amazing! Fantabulous! Linda Maxie's Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction is everything it claims to be. It's a book to dip into, drink from its information stream, and be inspired to storm the ramparts of knowledge for the books she profiles. Not only does it provide hundreds of suggestions for great reading, but the thumbnail descriptions themselves offer hours of good, clean fun." -Thomas C. Foster, author of How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor: A Smart, Irreverent Guide to Biography, History, Journalism, Blogs, and Everything in Between
"Americans read, on average, just four books a year. For many, printed text has gone the way of buggy whips and copper pennies; the average youth of 18 spends 9.5 hours a day on electronic devices and just 46 minutes a week outdoors. Library Lin's Curated Collection is a dazzling antidote to all of this, an inspired compilation that celebrates what all the sages and wise women of history have always known. A great book is a universe of wonder, an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an opening to mythic realms beyond all imaginings." -Wade Davis, author of Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Columbia
"For lovers of the written word, this book is like an enticing menu in a fine restaurant. Each dish sounds more tasty than the last. But this is a menu long enough to provide delicious intellectual meals for decades to come." --Adam Hochschild author of Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes
2022-07-25
A retired Virginia librarian compiles an annotated bibliography of high-quality nonfiction.
With decades of experience in public and school libraries, Maxie has a lifetime of experience helping patrons locate the next book to add to their reading list. In her debut, written under the pen name of Library Lin, Maxie distills a century of nonfiction into a digestible best-of compilation. Following the organizational structure of the Dewey Decimal System, the book’s 10 chapters parallel the classification system’s 10 hierarchal divisions of knowledge, from General Knowledge and Computer Science (000-099) and Religion (200-299) to Languages (400-499) and Geography, Biography, and History (900-999). Drawing on 65 lists, including those of National Book Award winners and the Kirkus Best Nonfiction Books of the Year, Maxie’s entries include a brief synopsis paragraph that describes each book’s thesis. Books that make Maxie’s cut must meet three additional criteria: They “must teach me something new,” “must change the way I look at life in some small way,” and must “keep the pages turning with a clear, engaging writing style.” Adhering to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, the book does not discriminate based on the ideology or background of the author and thus includes books that span a full range of sometimes competing perspectives on controversial topics like religion and politics. For a reference book of such enormous scope that has barely 400 pages, Maxie acknowledges her lists are “a tiny sampling,” part of a larger network of Library Lin book lists featured on her Further Readingblog. Dedicated “to all those who love to read and learn,” this is a useful reference tool for bibliophiles on the never-ending journey to find their next favorite book, and it’s accompanied by practical appendix material such as an author and title index. And while the book’s introductory chapter makes a too-cursory attempt to deal with topics like theoretical debates over blurred lines between “Fiction vs. Nonfiction,” its lists nevertheless make for a delightful guidebook.
A thoughtful, thorough survey of the best nonfiction found in today’s libraries.
