Slice of Life Books

I've always had a weakness for what I call slice-of-life books, and by that I mean book that drop me into a world I have little or no experience of myself. This includes diaries and first person career-oriented books.

One of my favorites from a long time ago is Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey (which I've mentioned here before).

Another book I read about a year ago, Heads in Beds, by Jacob Tomsky is an insider's look at the hotel industry.

Then, last week I read Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica. 

Another book I read years ago was Letters of a Woman Homesteader (the movie Heartland, again going way back, was based on this book).

Other books that would fall into this category (some discussed here in prior posts) would be books by Janice Holt Giles about living in Appalachia, Tom Groneberg's books, The Secret Life of Cowboys (about his move from Illinois to the west where he became a cowboy/ranch hand), Margaret Powell's books about being a servant in England back in the day, Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage (about a couple who bicycle around the world), A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentleman Farmers, The Scent of the Missing (about a woman and her search and rescue dog),  and the list goes on and on.

I love reading about worlds I'll never inhabit. I like the whole "secrets revealed" aspect and I have several more on my "to read" list (Concierge Confidential and Wild, just to name a couple). It's one of my favorite types of books (I also like the fact that I can read short snippets, as opposed to fiction where I tend to read books in one big gulp). Because of that, they're books that travel well. I love reading them, but I don't get so engrossed that I can't put them down when other activities beckon.

Are you a "slice of life" reader? If not, what types of nonfiction do you prefer?

Have a great day!

Myrna