Nonfiction tales of lawn love, competitive chow

Nonfiction gets a bad rap. Many of us associate the very word with drudgery, with textbooks thicker than bricks, and about as readable. Summer, especially, has staked out the term "beach book," which almost always means fiction, novels so light we could tie them to our plastic lawn chairs and just float away. But nonfiction is as varied as the seasons. For summer, we've selected some light, summery topics.

"Eat This Book" takes a bite out of the world of competitive eating, and "American Green" takes a detailed look at that American obsession, the perfect lawn.

But more serious topics nudge their way in, too. "Rumspringa" examines the life-changing decision Amish teens face when offered a chance to try life in the outside world. "Blue Monday" reviews the life and musical contributions of rock legend Fats Domino. Chef Anthony Bourdain and food writer Michael Ruhlman take foodies on different trips inside the culinary world's nooks and crannies. And the bluntly named "Mom's Cancer" uses a cartoon format to bravely tell a tale of a family's health crisis. Not your usual summer fare, perhaps, but even summer has its cloudy days.    —Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Breaking away
The cover is extremely promising — a teenage girl in Amish attire and head covering, lighting up a cigarette. But does Tom Shachtman’s “Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish” (North Point Press, $24) live up to that promise?

North Point Press

Almost. Shachtman’s book isn’t just about rumspringa, the tradition in which Amish teenagers experience the outside world before (ideally) returning to the fold and becoming full members of the community. It’s also a comprehensive look at Amish culture as a whole.  Shachtman interviews dozens of Amish teens and adults, and covers almost every aspect of their tradition: nuptial customs (weddings usually take place in November); the challenges facing Amish farmers in the modern-agribusiness world; the role of women in the Amish culture, and how some of them chafe against it; the contrast between Amish and “English” schooling; and of course rumspringa.

The prose is often stilted. Shachtman uses the word “youngsters” without irony, and refers rather dweebily to rebellious Amish youths “smoking tokes of pot,” and timelines tend to get muddled. Still, he presents a complete, unsensationalized portrayal of Amish teens, and of the reasons so many of them return to a culture that is both restrictive and reassuring.   —Sarah D.Bunting

Pictures from a struggle
The book's title is so blunt it's likely to chase many would-be readers away. “Mom's Cancer” (Image, $13) is Brian Fies’ graphic-novel rendition of the storm that tore through his family when his mother was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer, caused by, one doctor says, "one of five things — smoking, smoking, smoking, smoking or smoking."

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Fies confesses that the pressure made him realize how "perfectly nice" families fall apart. His sister the nurse jumps into action, calling on her medical knowledge to become "an aggressive advocate for Mom in the same way that Sherman was an aggressive advocate for the union."  A younger sister, herself with a brain injury and living at home, deals with the bulk of the everyday issues. Mom is at times resolute, at others confused. All of them are achingly recognizable and achingly human.

Fies slips plenty of humor into the book, but it's humor tinged with fear. Drawing radiation treatment as a Frankensteinian laboratory, he writes "Artist's conception. Your terror may vary." When tension grows high, he sketches himself and his sisters as superheroes, battling over who has the hardest burden. At other times, his anger can't help but spill out, as he watches blithe smokers pass by, mentally comparing them to the wizened bodies he sees at the cancer clinic, literally dying for another puff. And it's impossible not to nod in agreement when he depicts two conversations between himself and his ex-stepdad — one depicts what they actually say ("Your mom still doesn't say much"), and the other what they mean ("So you tell me what I'm missing."). Without giving anything away, its ending is hopeful, although an added afterword changes things.

"Mom's Cancer" may be a hard book to market. Many readers won't be able to get past the title, and even if the book rings true, it's not exactly a cheery gift — although it should become required reading in medical schools. But those who do pick it up will find it a brave and honest tale. Meeting "Mom" and her family will help you appreciate and understand your own.    —G.F.C.

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