5x5- Non Fiction Edition
                  

Five lists of five featuring essential activities: Reading, Wrestling Working, Eating and Screwing

Five Books About Reading

Not a single gift for your Grand Theft Auto-addicted teenage son on the list, but some thoughtful, insightful and entertaining looks at books and why we love them.

1. U and I: A True Story- Nicholson Baker  (about John Updike)
2. The Polysyllabic Spree- Nick Hornby
3. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader- Anne Fadiman
4. How To Talk About Books You Haven't Read- Pierre Bayard
5. The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man- Marshall McLuhan

Five Books About Wrestling

While certainly not Shakespeare's rivals, pro wrestlers are natural storytellers, though normally they tell their tales with chair shots, bodyslams and scripted shouting.  Here are five sordid detail-heavy guilty pleasures to savor privately:

1. Have A Nice Day- Mick Foley
2. To Be the Man- Ric Flair
3. A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex- Chris Jericho
4. More than Just Hardcore- Terry Funk
5.Cheating Death, Stealing Life- Eddie Guererro

Five Books About Working

Not exactly escapist beach-reading here. This list is loaded with finely crafted prose exposing some harsh and supremely depressing realities about working in America.  Best read with prozac.

1. Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs- John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter
2. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting By in America- Barbara Ehrenreich
3. Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do-Studs Terkel
4. The Working Poor: Invisible in America- David K. Shipler
5. The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker- Steven Greenhouse

Five Books About Eating

Behind the scenes, in the farm, and in the factory looks at what goes on our plates. 

1. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals- Michael Pollan
2. Good To Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture- Marvin Harris
3. Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think- Brian Wansink
4. Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise- Ruth Reichl
5. Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America- Steve Almond

Five Books About Screwing

Practical, scientific, and social approaches to exploring sexuality.  Peter Segal is the Clark Kentuesque commentator from NPR and Mary Roach is awesome.

1. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex- Mary Roach
2. The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How to Do Them)- Peter Segal
3. Sex for One: The Joy of Selfloving- Betty Dodson
4. Guide to Getting It On- Paul Joannides
5. My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands- Chelsea Handler

C.B. Charles is a librarian from central Texas. He has been published in Francis Spanking and Scraping Hoof. He also freelances as a Russian and Czech translator.  He hopes to one day write a novel in either language.