Contemporary Influences - Non-Fiction

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, which is something about my reading habits I desperately need to change, but I've read more non-fiction over the last couple of years that I've really enjoyed. For those of you who don't really get down with storytelling as much as I do, here are some options.

I'm including a couple of interesting choices for specific reasons.

One, the notebooks of Albert Camus are just that...notebooks. These are the inner workings of the philosopher mind trying to figure out how to make his stories come alive. Not only was he an engaging and interesting philosopher, but excelled at writing fiction where Sartre fell short.

Two, the Raymond Carver collection. It's really a fat book of every short story the man ever wrote, all of which are phenomenal. I became a fan after reading most of the entire book for class two semesters ago. What's most interesting about this collection is that it shows the finished product of the collection "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," (all edited courtesy of Carver's editor) side by side with Carver's original drafts in "Beginners." There are explanatory essays throughout the collection as well that really get into Carver's methodology and life history that I believe really give extra oomph to his pieces. When you understand the man, you more fully understand the nature of his work.