Oh I found a pretty. Genevieve Valentine. [link]

I've been meaning to pimp three non-fiction books, some of which I've already mentioned.

1. Secret Historian is a biography of Samuel Steward, who had a very fascinating life:

The novelist and professor at a Roman Catholic university who was born in 1909 into an austere and puritanical Methodist household in Ohio was Samuel M. Steward. But as the author of gay pulp fiction, he went by Phil Andros and a half-dozen other pseudonyms; Hells Angels in Oakland, Calif., who used him as their official tattoo artist, called him Doc Sparrow; readers of his articles in underground newspapers and magazines knew him as Ward Stames. To a close circle of artistic friends like Wilder, Cadmus, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Christopher Isherwood, the photographer George Platt Lynes and others, he was simply Sammy.

He kept detailed accounts of all of his gay sexual experiences in the pre-Stonewall era and was a major resources for Kinsey's research. Most of the book draws from his own letters and journals and he's a very witty and thoughtful writer creating a secret history of what was then a gay underground as a sexual outlaw.

2. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - which probably doesn't need much pimping as it topped the NY Times Bestseller list. But if you know somebody that gobbles up histories and WWII stories, she's a fantastically vivid writer and Louie Zamperini's story is incredible.

3. The Lampshade by Marc Jacobson. What's interesting about the book - which concerns the author coming into possession of a lampshade made out of human skin that's found in New Orleans after Katrina - isn't so much the finding of the mythical Nazi horror object, but the weird underworld of Nazi memorabilia collectors, holocaust deniers, New Orleans grave robbers, DNA specialists and cantors he interviews as he tries to track down the origin of the thing. It's an oddly shaped and sort of shaggy book, but its compelling because it has a serious moral question at its core: how do you respond to real horror? When you face the fact of human evil and suffering, what is right action? Katrina, 911, the Holocaust and a sleezy underworld worthy of your favorite crime novelist.

The Lampshade by Marc Jacobson.

I heard a piece on NPR about this, some months back. Definitely creepy, but also intriguing.

I heard a piece on NPR about this, some months back. Definitely creepy, but also intriguing.

It's kind of like Treme or a Carl Hiassen novel, an Elmore Leonard. It's a bizarre mix of characters, and it makes for an interesting story beyond the lampshade itself. It's very digressive and goes off on long sections about Ilsa Koch and the NYC coroner who is also a cantor and the NOLA graverobber. But that's actually what makes the book interesting.

Has anyone here read Room by Emma Donoghue? I couldn't put it down last night until it was finished. It was just too compelling, and I HAD to know what happened to the characters. The author did a wonderful job with the voice of the 5 year old narrator.

I loved Room , sj!

Lisah, wasn't it just amazing? I haven't been able to stop thinking about the characters all day today.

I've been waiting for a chance to read that. The concept is amazing. Must. pay. library. fine.

I have such an urge to adapt that for the screen, Hec. But I'd be like the stupid brother in Adaptation. But I *am* thinking like an executive, all hot for the coverage without reading anything.

Amy, the concept really is and the execution of it doesn't disappoint. I have never read any of the author's other books, but I noticed I have a bargain copy of Slammerkin that I bought and didn't read so I guess I should read it.