Thought-provoking Nonfiction Titles from Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean (10, 15) has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992, and is the author of seven books, including The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.

When we asked for a selection of nonfiction titles she thought might inspire or otherwise hold a reader’s attention during this period of instability and speculation about the near future, Susan put together this thought-provoking list:

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright -- the definitive book about 9/11 and Al Qaeda, written with urgency and brilliance.

People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry -- absorbing, unforgettable, haunting story of a murder in Tokyo that is as much a study of Japanese culture as it is about the murder.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado -- a relationship gone bad, examined from multiple angles. Gorgeous writing, deeply moving, quite horrifying.

City of Quartz by Mike Davis -- much has been written about Los Angeles but this book takes on the city as a psychological construct in a way that feels completely original.

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe -- the book that made me want to write non-fiction

The Literary Journalists, edited by Norman Sims -- still my favorite collection of literary non-fiction.

Great Plains by Ian Frazier -- I love everything he writes, but this book is especially joyful, redefining travel writing forever.