The Northeastern Readers' Advisory Round Table studies NONFICTION: POPULAR SCIENCE WRITING.

(Note: All NE M RA RT discussions will be Virtual Zoom meetings sponsored by a member library. Members will recieve a link to sign-up via our Google Group, anyone else who is interested should email Leane at rapotential@gmail.com)

We are studying NONFICTION for the rest of 2022. This month we are delving into Popular Science Writing.  In November 2022, we will dive into Science: Nature Writing: Flora & Fauna.

Everyone reads the benchmarks: BOTH Neil deGrasse Tyson’s essay: “Our Earth as in the Heavens” from Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (2017) AND at least one of the following Mary Roach titles: Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (2005), Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (2008), Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (2010), Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal (2013), Grunt: the Curious Science of Humans at War (2016), OR Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law (2021).

Please also read a Choice title in this category either from the suggested lists below on our blog, or one that you choose yourself; and then post a review on our blog under Submit Choice Titles. This is a very broad topic and accessible Popular Science is an emphasis on the CHOICE list. Feel free to read any Popular Science book except for books on Animals, Plants (See 11/22/22.), and Biography.

For appeal, please focus especially on Narrative Style, Pace, and Author’s Intent.

See NE RA RT BLOG for more information and list of Resources.

Meeting every other month, the NE RA RT reads from one genre--and then discusses the appeal of that genre with each other emphasizing the building of a skill set of appeal categories and familiarity of genre particulars. They cover a different genre every meeting, allowing each of the participants to be introduced to the discipline of reading for appeal, as well as an initiation to broad genre categories. Everyone participating will be able to share analysis of titles and authors in unfamiliar genres that will stretch their capacity as readers' advisors.  The discussion leader is Leane Ellis (rapotential@gmail.com).