Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction

by Linda Maxie

Trust a librarian to help you find books you’ll want to read.

Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction is a librarian’s A-list of nonfiction books organized by subject area—just like a library. Linda Maxie (Library Lin) combed through 65 best books lists going back a century. She reviewed tens of thousands of books, sorted them according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and selected an entire library’s worth for you to browse without leaving home.

Here you’ll find
• Summaries of outstanding titles in every subject
• Suggestions for locating reading material specific to your needs and interests

In this broad survey of all the nonfiction categories, you will find titles on everything from the A-bomb to Zen Buddhism. You might find yourself immersed in whole subject areas that you never thought you’d be interested in.

416 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2022

About the author

Linda Maxie is a retired librarian with a passion for matching the right book with the right reader. After earning an MLS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she spent her library career obsessively poring over book reviews to build outstanding collections to connect her patrons with perfect books. After retirement, she continued her quest with Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction (LCCN), a portable library of outstanding nonfiction covering the entire Dewey Decimal Classification system. She follows that effort with this volume of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. She lives in Virginia with her husband Roger, and their rescued mixed-breed canine, Dusty Marie.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books about books. Truly one of the best genres out there, right? We all love books, and so a book about books is just about as good as it gets. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know I veer heavily towards nonfiction (and depressing nonfiction, at that!). There are many reasons for this, but a big one is that I just love learning, and so when Linda Maxie reached out to me to offer up her book, Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction (Spoon Creek Press, 2022), for review, I absolutely leapt at the chance. A book all about nonfiction? COUNT. ME. IN.

In this wonderful book set up exactly like a library, Linda Maxie takes the nonfiction lover on a stroll through the shelves, organized Dewey Decimal System-style (and not without a discussion about the pros and cons of said system, and the cons of its creator – major high five to Ms. Maxie for bringing that up! It’s something I learned of only in the past year or so, so I’m pleased that it’s getting more attention), with suggestions for each category, ranging from 001 (Knowledge) to 996 (Polynesia and Pacific Ocean Islands). In between is the whole library and a world of reading possibilities.

Each book suggestion has a few lines of description, enough to either intrigue the potential reader or let them know this book isn’t for them. The introduction encourages the reader to take notes in the wide margins (AND I DID!!!), make lists, and gain a better understanding of how the library works and what kind of books are available in each category. If you’re not a huge wanderer of the shelves, this would be a fabulous introduction to what you’ve been missing.

I had so much fun going through this book. I made lists of the books I wanted to read (it’s, uh, a LOT), and I kept track of the books mentioned that I had already read (fifty-one, baby!). I tend to read mostly from my TBR, so this was a great reintroduction to what belongs where on the library shelves and what I’ve been missing out on by sticking to specific sections. Ms. Maxie’s suggestions, compiled from lists of award winners and nominees and other best-of type-lists, tend toward more recently published books (though there are some older ones whose information and/or subjects are still relevant), which I very much appreciated; it’s a bummer to find a nonfiction book that sounds fascinating but whose publication date makes you realize everything between the covers will be out-of-date. Not a problem at all with this book!

If you love books about books but have always wished the authors would include more nonfiction on those lists, you will absolutely love Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction by Linda Maxie. And if you’ve got a nonfiction lover in your life, pick a copy up for them, because this would make a great gift!

Thanks to Linda Maxie for the opportunity to read and review this book. I truly enjoyed it!

[Luke Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treat and a feast that you can use by sitting and adding books to your Goodreads App. A dream of curation, but also a curse: how many of us spend more time finding out if there is a book out there that we want to read rather than actually reading? I'm guilty.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trust a librarian to help you find books you’ll want to read.

Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction is a librarian’s A-list of nonfiction books organized by subject area—just like a library. Linda Maxie (Library Lin) combed through 65 best books lists going back a century. She reviewed tens of thousands of books, sorted them according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and selected an entire library’s worth for you to browse without leaving home.

Here you’ll find
• Summaries of outstanding titles in every subject
• Suggestions for locating reading material specific to your needs and interests

In this broad survey of all the nonfiction categories, you will find titles on everything from the A-bomb to Zen Buddhism. You might find yourself immersed in whole subject areas that you never thought you’d be interested in.
416 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2022

[Sweet-Unicorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is "library Lin's curated collection of superlative nonfiction". It is the book I didn't know I needed in my life listing a large amount of suggested nonfiction books to tempt you into reading. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jay Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've waited for a long time for a book like this. If you love non-fiction that's truly great, this book is going to help you find it.

[TC Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding guide and summaries of the best nonfiction books. Begin your reading journey to knowledge with this book.