Richard Russo’s latest book, “Elsewhere,” a memoir.

My choices in reading tend towards nonfiction. Given a choice of reading a novel or a nonfiction tome on sociology, history, urban planning, et al, I’m going to choose the latter nine out of 10 times. If I want something a bit lighter, I’ll opt for essays, or even a biography.

Writers that manage to do both, especially that small group that do both well, garner my attention. Some of those writers I’ve written about here and in some other blogs of mine; David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen, and Barbara Kingsolver are three that quickly come to mind. I’ll add a fourth to that list in Richard Russo, now that he’s released a memoir. Continue reading →