Are books sacred? The best non-fiction tells remarkable true stories of war, slavery, crime, adventure, celebrity and everyday life. Some say reading is key for understanding our world.
Six amazing stories that will change your life
Are books sacred? The best non-fiction tells remarkable true stories of war, slavery, crime, adventure, celebrity and everyday life. Some say reading is key for understanding our world.
The best books can change the world. From the Bible to The Communist Manifesto, books have an enormous impact on how people think and live.
Reading can expand our imaginations, stir our emotions and alter the way we see the world. As the 18th Century essayist Joseph Addison wrote: "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."1
Here are six astonishing books to expand the mind this Non-Fiction NovemberAn annual event that encourages readers to focus on non-fiction books during the month of November..
The life of Olaudah Equiano: The raw true-life story of a man who was forced into slavery. Equiano briskly describes how he was captured in his village and passed between owners in Africa, the Atlantic and American plantationsEnslaved Africans were transported to the New World to take part in a new intensive system of agriculture, growing crops such as tobacco and sugarcane.. He faced numerous trials before he managed to purchase his own freedom.2 Equiano's memoir was a bestseller when published in 1789.3 Its success inspired the abolitionistsPeople who sought to end slavery. .
Kaputt by Curzio Malaparte: A shocking report from World War Two written by an Italian journalist, soldier and secret agent.4 Malaparte offers an insider's view of the Axis leadership. Kaputt is full of unforgettable scenes, from a lake of frozen horses to a German officer battling a giant salmon. Malaparte surveys the horrors of war in extravagant proseWriting or speaking that is natural and does not follow a style such as poetry. laced with dark humour.
Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich: Nobel PrizeOne of a set of prizes, laid out in the will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, given each year to people who "have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". winner Alexievich creates books out of interviews. She gracefully weaves dozens of voices into a symphonic account of the 1986 ChernobylThe disaster, in 1986, involved a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Ukraine. disaster. There are eyewitness insights and reflections from those living with the legacy of the worst-ever nuclear accident. Courageously writing from BelarusBelarus is an eastern European state that is a close ally of Russia. Run by Alexander Lukashenko, it is known as "the last dictatorship in Europe"., where her books are banned from being taught at school, Alexievich offers a fascinating window into the dying days of the Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. .
Three-Month Fever by Gary Indiana: In 1997 Andrew Cunanan broke into the house of fashion designer Gianni Versace and shot him dead. It was one of five murders Cunanan committed over a few weeks. Gary Indiana's rip-roaring retelling transports us into the seedy Californian underworld. He transforms the news stories into an intoxicating tour through the mind of a serial killer, while exploring the society that made him.
The Years by Annie Ernaux: One of the world's greatest living writers looks back on her life in a series of short snippets. Writing with what critic Ken Chen calls "radical honesty" and "stunning intimacy", Nobel laureateSomebody who has been honoured for art or science. Ernaux turns her own biography into a sweeping story of modern French history, taking in music, politics, technology and changing values. It is an addictive, breathless read that explores how society shapes individual lives.
Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger: Kenneth Anger is best known as an experimental film director. But he was also an enormous gossip. Described by The New York Times critic Peter Andrews as a "306-page box of poisoned bon bons", Hollywood Babylon collects dozens of scandalous stories from Tinseltown.5 Not all of them are entirely true. But they reveal something about the darkness lurking beneath the Hollywood sign. Anger uses his words and pictures to recreate a lost age of celebrity.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Are books sacred?</strong></h5>
Yes: Books are magic. Reading them can transport us into the lives of others, to distant times and to far-flung corners of the world. Their ability to make us think, thrill and empathise is unparalleled.
No: We now have ways to tell stories that engage our senses as well as our imagination, such as comic strips, documentaries, films, television and video games. Books seem inefficient by comparison.
Or... To call books sacred is to say they are connected to the gods. And some claim to be. But many others are remarkable because they reveal the messy stories of real people and the wonder of the everyday.
Non-Fiction November - An annual event that encourages readers to focus on non-fiction books during the month of November.
Plantations - Enslaved Africans were transported to the New World to take part in a new intensive system of agriculture, growing crops such as tobacco and sugarcane.
Abolitionists - People who sought to end slavery.
Prose - Writing or speaking that is natural and does not follow a style such as poetry.
Nobel prize - One of a set of prizes, laid out in the will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, given each year to people who "have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Chernobyl - The disaster, in 1986, involved a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Ukraine.
Belarus - Belarus is an eastern European state that is a close ally of Russia. Run by Alexander Lukashenko, it is known as "the last dictatorship in Europe".
Soviet Union - Officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991.
Laureate - Somebody who has been honoured for art or science.
Six amazing stories that will change your life

Glossary
Non-Fiction November - An annual event that encourages readers to focus on non-fiction books during the month of November.
Plantations - Enslaved Africans were transported to the New World to take part in a new intensive system of agriculture, growing crops such as tobacco and sugarcane.
Abolitionists - People who sought to end slavery.
Prose - Writing or speaking that is natural and does not follow a style such as poetry.
Nobel prize - One of a set of prizes, laid out in the will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, given each year to people who "have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Chernobyl - The disaster, in 1986, involved a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Ukraine.
Belarus - Belarus is an eastern European state that is a close ally of Russia. Run by Alexander Lukashenko, it is known as “the last dictatorship in Europe”.
Soviet Union - Officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991.
Laureate - Somebody who has been honoured for art or science.