Are motivational books literature?

Whenever I think of literature I think of poetry, novels, drama, and some non-fiction like biographies or travel writing. But rarely do I think of motivational books as literature. All of the above genres I mentioned, with the exception of motivational books, involve some sort of narrative or highly stylized grammatical structure in their specific genres. With motivational or self help books I think of strategies or procedures, maybe the occasional inspirational story. But I don't think there are enough stories in most motivational books to consider them to have a narrative structure however. So I decided to look up what defined literature to narrow down my analysis and figure it if motivational books met the criteria. Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines

Literature
1archaic : literary culture

2

: the production of literary work especially as an occupation

3

a (1) : writings in prose or verse; especially : writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest (2) : an example of such writings <what came out, though rarely literature, was always a roaring good story — People>

b : the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age

c : the body of writings on a particular subject <scientificliterature>

d : printed matter (as leaflets or circulars) <campaignliterature>

4

: the aggregate of a usually specified type of musical compositions

So looking at this we can see that motivational books don't fit most of these definitions except for one. Definition c allows for motivational books to be considered literature because motivational books are centered on a certain subject. They are devoted to help people in their specific issues. So although motivational books lack many of the traditional conventions of literature they can still be counted as literature according to this definition. For me this might open other categories that I hadn't considered as literature such as self help books, blogs, articles, pamphlets and many more. As we start to consider what whether what we read is literature or not we we will be to analyze those works in a new light because we will be to use the techniques in literary criticism.

Pushed

The most recent book I've been reading (besides Winnie the Pooh for my final paper) is another one that falls under the nonfiction category. I still have a hard time believing how many things I read that are nonfiction. I'm not entirely sure what subcategory of nonfiction this would fit under.

It's a pretty educational book that implements research and stories to explain the state of modern childbirth and maternity care in the U.S. Would that be educational? Is that a subcategory of nonfiction?

Behold, this new and social media

And behold, I say unto you my brethren, how else may a student studying at a university that is choice above all other universities but even still situated across many lands from his family effectively converse  with them if not by new and social media?

Behold I say unto you, nay. A man hath no form of communication and connection to the will of his heart with distant family were it not for facebook, youtube, instagram and blogger.

The Red Dirt Bride

I am truly amazed at how many subgenres there are in nonfiction. So many that I didn't realize a lot of what I enjoy reading is nonfiction. It usually falls under the ever expanding category of blog posts. Especially as a soon-to-be mom, I love me some mommy blogs!

But what I also didn't realize is that I write nonfiction for a living. How did I not know that, right?

Let me explain. I am a freelance writer for a blog called, The Red Dirt Bride. I write two types of posts. One type is advice in a series called Between the Rings which is everything a bride needs to know to plan her wedding from engagement to "I Do." I'm not entirely sure how to categorize the second type. It's a mix of sort of biography, journalism, and just plain old blog post. These posts are called Real Weddings. I get photo submissions from wedding photographers and then write a post about the wedding based on the photos. (Click on the Real Weddings link above to see what I mean.)

What Has Struck Me

As I have looked back at the posts I have made in this blog, all the works that I have discussed and all the genres that I have explored, I have pinned down certain topics that have caught my interest (which have also appeared in posts from our English class bubble) and which I would like to further explore:

The Crack-Up

As part of my personal learning plan for nonfiction, I've begun reading The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I'm a huge Fitzgerald fan and I think his life is absolutely fascinating. The Crack-Up is a compilation of some of his best essays, along with his notebooks, and personal letters to and from his friends and family. This makes it the perfect way to not only experience nonfiction but also to delve into Fitzgerald's personal life.
Fitzgerald's essays are remarkable in their perspective and depth. In "Echoes of the Jazz Age," published in 1931, he analyzes the culture of the 1920s and how everything from media to financial success affected behavior. In "My Lost City," published in 1932, Fitzgerald tells the tale of falling in and out of love with New York City over the years. One of my favorite parts -

"As the ship glided up the river, the city burst thunderously upon us in the early dusk - the white glacier of lower New York swooping down like a strand of a bridge to rise into uptown New York, a miracle of foamy light suspended by the stars. A band started to play on deck, but the majesty of the city made the march trivial and tinkling. From that moment I knew that New York, however often I might leave it, was home."

I love this passage because of its connection to ordinary fiction. The imagery in this piece could make anyone see what he saw that day. This is also why I love all of Fitzgerald's nonfiction - he still treats the subject matter as a story that needs to be told to the reader, which helps us connect with his words the same way we would with his novels.

The many possibilities of nonfiction!

I was excited to think that as a part of nonfiction week I would get to talk about something I love to spend countless hours procrastinating on: travel blogs. 

I really cannot begin to describe how addicted I am to travel blogs and how much I've come to view them as actual literary pieces as we've talked about social media in English class. What I love about travel blogging is the accessibility of it. The bloggers are able to instantly share their experiences pretty much as they are happening, and the readers are able to embark on journeys with them sometimes seeing real-time pictures of places that are thousands of miles away.

Of course, there is also the literary component of them. I have noticed that the blogs that I love most are those which are crafted in a way that reels me in, through the literary elements they employ to convey how they feel about their travels to their readers. One of my favorite travel blogs is Anywhere But Home:

"How can I even describe why? Maybe it’s the look of the city – beautiful, ornate buildings crumbling in the old town, towering blocky church towers, secret courtyard gardens and grape vines hanging off every house. 

Maybe it’s the friendliness of the people I’ve met – the family who spent 15 minutes bartering with taxi drivers on my behalf at the airport, the monk who blessed me in the metro station and enlisted passers-by to translate so we could talk, the women in the market who break into smiles when I attempt Georgian, or even my adorable new roommates."

A device, for instance, that is seen being used here is anaphora, the repetition of the phrase "Maybe it's the..." The blogger uses this device to create a sense of an enumeration of the countless things that one can find in Tbilisi, Georgia to love.

Do you follow any travel blogs you think I should also check out?  

Why did I write it?

This was the question that Elie Wiesel asked himself about his memoir Night, which recounts the story of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp as a young boy. This haunting and impacting piece was my introduction to a genre of non-fiction in high school. Prior to having read this, I mostly enjoyed
literature in the form of fiction and drama. I perceived these hypothetical and imagined stories to be a defining element of literature. I felt comfort in being able to escape in these crafted works and would have dreaded the thought of reading something more connected to reality.

I experienced a BIG change of mind when I read Night, nonetheless.

“Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of madness?”