What I've Been Reading- Non-Fiction

"So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?"- Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

Until recently, non-fiction didn't really have a place on my bookshelf.  Between work and grad school, I wanted to get lost in stories, not information.  However, I really think I've come a long way in the past few months.  I'm not reading anything highly academic, but I'm enjoying what I like to think of  as "reality" reading . . . which, as we know, holds way more truth than reality tv.

Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox

 Etiquette, dinner parties, family wealth, and traveling across the pond to make a good marriage.  This biography of a very famous turn of the century family would make a great miniseries.  Hint, hint Julian Fellowes.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

People have told me for years to read David Sedaris and I'm so glad I finally started! I stayed up way past my bedtime to read these stories because I couldn't stop giggling.  I'm looking forward to reading Holidays on Ice this season, especially the infamous "Santaland Diaries."

Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture by Andy Cohen

This might surprise you but I'm not a Real Housewives fanatic.  I watch Beverly Hills and New Jersey here and there but honestly all of the yelling and the drinking sort of stresses me out.  That being said, I find any book that promises pop culture tidbits to be very appealing.  What surprised me about Most Talkative was how much I now love and respect Mr. Cohen.  He has seriously seen it all but is never too cool to freak out over meeting his favorite celebs! (The Susan Lucci stories are hilarious.) Reading this book made me want to meet Andy Cohen and give him a gigantic hug.  And then freak out a little bit.

Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women by Nora Ephron

When Nora Ephron passed away this summer, I realized that I was only familiar with her films, which I'm making efforts to correct.  Crazy Salad is a collection of articles and essays that were first published in the 70's.  I loved the sentiments about women and I especially loved the crash course in the women's' movement of that time.  Any history class I took seemed to run out of time right before we got to Vietnam but after reading Crazy Salad I was like bring me a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and get me Gloria Steinem on the phone!  One quote that I especially loved, about women judging one 
another (listen up Real Housewives!):

"What the (women's) movement is about is options. But it just doesn't work out that way. Because the hardest thing for us to accept is the right to those options.  I hear myself saying those words: What this movement is about is options. I say it to friends . . . and what I am really thinking is, If you really got it together, the option you would choose is mine."

In regards to Shopgirl, I'm not sure if parts of these books reminded me of what I've seen or the other way around.  Either way, I'm grateful for the experience. 

Any non-fiction recommendations?