Guest Post: Peekaboo's Corner ~ Romantic Nonfiction

Peekaboo has written another amazing guest post for us today, this one about romantic nonfiction. When she pitched this idea to me, my literal response was "What? That's a thing?" PREPARE TO BE AMAZING, THIS IS A THING.

For hardcore fiction readers, especially readers of romance, nonfiction books can be hard to read. It’s an incredibly broad category of fiction, encompassing everything from serial killer stories to the microhistory of salt. Occasionally when you deep dive, you’ll find those books that read more like a college text book, and are heavy on the dry explanations. But don’t let this put you off non-fiction! Even if you are a romance reader who craves that Happily Ever After, there are still non-fiction books out there for you.

Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels - Sarah Wendell

That would be Sarah Wendell, founder of the amazing romance book blog Smart Bitches Trashy Books, who did her college thesis on homerotic subtext in the modern cowboy novel. Yes, that Sarah Wendell. She wrote this amazing book on life and love, and the lessons she learned from romance novels that apply to both. It’s a funny and fun read, and great for romance readers because it takes the things we read about every day and shows it in a new light.

The Vow By Kim and Krickett Carpenter

Remember that movie with Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams about the couple who gets married, and then the woman is in a car crash and totally forgets her husband, and they have to fall in love all over again? Welp, it’s based on this couple's memoir. It’s not exactly like the movie, of course, but it’s still supposed to be a good read.

Sidenote: It is very Christian-themed, so if that’s not your jam, maybe skip this one.

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

Comedian and actor Aziz Ansari (a.k.a Tom Haverford in Parks and Recreation) teams up with a social scientist to present an in-depth study of how romance and dating has evolved over the years, and become something new, strange, and wonderful.

Offbeat Bride  - Ariel Meadow-Stallings

Part of what we love about romance novels is that happily ever after, the pretty wedding, the exchanging of romantic vows. And the wedding industry is almost disgustingly huge these days, and overwhelming, and very monochromatic for the most part. (Which some people are into! Go with what you love.) This book was written by the creator of the blog/website Offbeat Bride (who, incidentally, is amazing on Instagram so go check her out at arielmstallings) and is a guide to having the wedding you want, even if what you want doesn’t conform to the mainstream. I’ve never been married, but I am obsessed with weddings, so reading this book was delightful for me. It's got antecdotes from non-traditional weddings (both hers and others), tips on planning your offbeat wedding on the cheap, and vendor suggestions/etc. A great read even if you are just into weddings.

How to Be Married by Jo Piazza

Piazza is a travel editor, and so has to navigate the first year of her marriage while traveling the globe. She also interviews 25 women from all around the world on their marriages, and how they make things work even when life gets tough and you want to turn into a praying mantis and bite your partner’s head off. She gives a framework that she and her husband used to get through incredibly tough times, and even the stupid little stuff. It’s a charming read!

How about you, folks? What are your favorite non-fiction reads? Doesn’t have to be romance related! My favorite is The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, which is all about the ebola virus. Not exactly smooching material.