Non-Fiction Round-Up

The Stranger in the Wood by Michael Finkel:  I am interested in the concept of hermits - the idea that there are people so introverted, or perhaps so disenchanted with the world, that they would choose to live separate and apart from it.  So this book's subtitle: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit called out to me as I wandered through a local bookstore.  Christopher Knight lived in the Maine wilderness, with almost no human interaction, for nearly thirty years before he was arrested for trespassing.  In the retelling of his story, it becomes clear that while Knight has lived apart from society, he has not lived independent of it.  In fact, he is heavily dependent on other hard-working individuals for his food and creature comforts - because over the decades he lived in the woods, he systematically stole from the communities in his nearby surroundings.  His presence created a sense of terror among the people he burglarized, and while he believed himself to be somehow better than the people living in the materialistic world he shunned, he absolutely could not have survived without them.  There is some interesting background in this book about the effects of solitary confinement and social isolation on most people, revelations about individuals who have purported to live hermetic lives, and a real attempt to understand the type of person who might choose this life (mental illness and ASPD both explored as contributing factors).  But ultimately, I mostly found the story of Christopher Knight irritating - and I questioned the integrity of the author himself, who had never truly been invited by Knight to tell his story.

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish: I can always use a little more laughter in my life, so when comedians come out with memoirs, I usually don't hesitate to pick them up.  I'm actually not familiar with Tiffany Haddish as an actress.  I've heard she's quite funny, but I just haven't watched many shows or movies recently, so I wasn't familiar with her work.  But, I decided to read her book anyway.  From the get go it's obvious that this woman's success certainly has not been handed to her - she tells both heartbreaking and hilarious stories about her childhood and difficult rise to stardom.  While some of her humor crossed the line a bit for me - I do think that anyone who knows they enjoy her genre of humor would appreciate this book - and be incredibly impressed by what she has survived, overcome, and embraced in her life.

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari:  Ugh.  I hate when you find out stuff you don't want to know about famous people you like (or any people for that matter).  I think Aziz Ansari is hilarious - but after what came out about him  in the wake of the #metoo movement, it's hard to view him in the same light.  Modern Romance is Ansari's witty observations about dating life in the modern world - much of which I feel like I'd seen as part of his stand-up or other late-night show appearances. For any Ansari fan, I'd recommend this book - it has some clever lines and I laughed out loud at times- but given the circumstances, I am disappointed and don't feel right (right or wrong) recommending this to anyone.