Look! Look! I have a nonfiction bookshelf on goodreads now!

	Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland	Sykes, Bryan	3.70		read,nonfiction [edit]	Jul 26, 2012[edit]	Jul 26, 2012	edit view »
	The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction	Bailyn, Bernard	3.20		read,nonfiction [edit]	Jun 25, 2012[edit]	Jun 25, 2012	edit view »
	Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader	Fadiman, Anne	4.20		read,nonfiction [edit]	Jun 14, 2012[edit]	Jun 14, 2012	edit view »
	Early Christian Ireland: Introduction to the Sources	Hughes, Kathleen	4.00		currently-reading,nonfiction [edit]	not set[edit]	Jun 03, 2012	edit view »
	Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior	Martin, Judith	4.27		read,nonfiction [edit]	not set[edit]	Jun 01, 2012	edit view »
	What Life Was Like Among Druids and High Kings: Celtic Ireland, AD 400-1200	Books, Time-Life	3.46		read,nonfiction [edit]	May 31, 2012[edit]	Jun 01, 2012	edit view »
	The Life and Death of a Druid Prince	Robins, Don	3.61		read,nonfiction [edit]	May 15, 2012[edit]	May 15, 2012	edit view »

So, it kind of looks like there's a theme, doesn't it?  Celts, random, random, Celts, Miss Manners, Celts, Celts.  And I suppose we must say there is.  A lot of the Celtic stuff has to do with my schoolwork, but though the Saxons, Vikings and Celts definitely pushed me down an interesting academic route, none of these were read for school (except maybe Hughes - and honestly, I haven't finished it yet, but over all, it's the best and the most reputable.).

I have an odd relationship with non-fiction.  I respect it immensely.  But I don't seek it out.  I tend to read articles and short academic pieces for school, rather than books.  On occasion I have trolled the depths of Jstor for something to read when I was bored.  But so many academic articles are embroiled in some disciplinary debate that many aren't accessible to the common reader (especially linguistics.  Linguistics gets so knotted up that it's impossible for anyone who isn't familiar with the subfield at the relevant moment to parse.)  But books directed toward the Average Reader can also get irritating.  Saxons, Vikings and Celts was not only written to the Average Reader, it took it upon itself to address them, and relate personal anecdotes to them, and congratulate them for making it so far into the book.  Note that I felt it was addressing 'them,' not me.  The author seemed to be a charming and friendly guy, who I would enjoy very much getting ice cream at Conti's with and talking about the implications of his research to linguistics.  But he wasn't writing to me.

It reminded me a little of movies like Shrek.  Sometimes a great movie will come out and it will pay careful attention to it's audience, making sure it's interesting to the little tyke and their parents.  But different aspects will be interesting for either one.  And then there are movies like Ratattouille, where the whole story is interesting for everyone.  And that's the sort of non fiction I want to read.  I want it to be explained clearly enough so that if I'm a novice, I can figure it out, and yet I want it to not skimp on ideas.  Take me to the farthest reaches of the research.  If you make sure the climb isn't too steep, I can keep up with you!

Hughes does this.  And honestly her topic is not ever going to hit the bestseller list.  But I never feel lost while reading her book, and yet I never feel patronized either.  She's telling me this because it might be useful to me.  That's what I want to hear.

And perhaps, that's how I should try to write as well.