3 Creative Non-Fiction Novels You Must Read
By Aanya Shahdadpuri
You’re always looking for them. Whether you know it or not, you’re searching for the kind of books that make you gasp in disbelief, make your heart race and your palms sweat. The kind that makes you marvel and laugh and the kind that leaves you in awe. They’re the kind of books worth staying up till 3 am for, the kind that forces you to flip page after page.
These are those kinds of books.
It’s 2020, and uncertainty and confusion are as widespread as the pandemic. So take a minute and dive into some novels that remind you just how much we’ve discovered, accomplished and created as a scientific community.
1) Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Bordering on a business, technology, and medicine mash-up, Bad Blood by John Carreyrou is an intense recollection in the form of investigative journalism. Carreyrou delves into the secrets of the greatest silicon valley fraud to exist and the people behind Theranos—a health technology company once claimed to be revolutionary. CEO Elizabeth Holmes promised a product that would change blood testing worldwide; her machines would only require a tiny droplet of blood and instantly be able to scan for multiple diseases. This idea was targeted to make fast healthcare accessible to everyone. Theranos had a valuation of over $10 billion—and as it turned out—had no product at all. This is a novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat; a true thriller that touches just slightly on the verge of a dystopia.
2) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
In her debut novel, Skloot reveals the history behind medicine with true integrity. Written in a narrative/document style, she peels back layers of buried evidence stemming from the 1950s to depict the connection between medicine, ethics and racism. In the 1950s HeLa became the first collection of cells able to be cultured outside of the human body. They came from a woman named Henrietta Lacks. When Henrietta went in to get a tumor looked at, her doctor scraped off part of a tissue to use as a sample without her consent. Soon, bottles of her cells were being bought and shipped for a price less than a meal for two. HeLa cells are pivotal in dozens of medical advancements: the polio vaccine, HIV, genome mapping, and many potential cancer cures. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a testament to who we owe thousands of medical breakthroughs. It asks who owns the stuff our bodies are made of? It makes you wonder, how could someone forgo consent? And: but where would we be if they hadn’t?
3) Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
Before Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon, three brilliant mathematicians worked tirelessly at NASA to make his jouvwrney a success. Shetterly writes the true story of three female, African-American ‘computers’ and how they overcame the sexism and racism of the 1930s to achieve one of America’s greatest feats. Their names were Kathrine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. Typical of the 1930s, the women were deemed inferior to their male counterparts, until sheer grit and intelligence proved them to be leaders in their fields. They shaped history with the curve of their protracters. Hidden Figures is a poignant retelling of the courage, assertiveness, and intelligence displayed by African-American women at the time.
Don’t worry, we won’t keep you any longer; we know you must be dying to get your hands on one (or all) of these stories! All books are available in the library (make sure to place a pick-up order from the library catalog first!) Amazon, or any local bookstore, both in-person and online. Happy reading!