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 Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:55 pm
So, one challenge I set for myself is to read 12 nonfiction books this year. I am definitely behind so far. I've only read two:
1. Believe It, Be It by Ali Vincent (who was on the Biggest Loset TV show)
2. The Runner's Rule Book by Mark Remy (a humorous book put out by Runner's World magazine)
Right now I'm working on something a little heavier: The First War of Physics by Jim Baggott, about the various atomic bomb programs during WWII. Is anyone else tying to add a little nonfiction to their reading lists?
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:49 am
is it really a challange to read one book per month?
actually now that i think about it reading 12 non-fiction books seems like torture. lol. i think the only ones i've ever read were the child called it series and pages out of my history book. sadd i know
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 12:01 pm
Sadly, I have to agree with NaRu-chan. The closest I usually get to nonfiction is historical fiction or my history book when I have history. sweatdrop Nonfiction is just too....real for my taste, it never gives you a chance to use your imagination. gonk
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:57 pm
I recommend Freakonomics & Superfreakonomics. Interesting cases of human motivation done by two micro-economists.
I'm doing the LibraryThing 1010 challenge. Nonfiction is progressing well, though I'm shocked at how much high fantasy and science fiction I've managed to read, even in the last 30 days. I need some more memoirs and classic titles to round out the list.
Naru & Elron, try checking out the new shelf at your local library/bookstore non fiction section. The genre covers a lot, and not all of it is super dry or serious. I read a memoir/cookbook/culture book at the beginning of the year which really didn't belong anywhere, so was classified as nonfiction.
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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:23 pm
I agree with the suggestion about the new books section of the library. I've found some neat stuff there. I am a runner, so a lot of my nonfiction books are about running, but there is no real rhyme or reason to most. Last year I read 11 Nonfiction books (out of 109!):
1. Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein - about a girl at a fitness camp, and how weight affected her image and life.
2. Roasting in Hell's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay - a short autobigraphy by the guy who does the Hell's Kitchen show (he's alo a marathoner).
3. Rats by Robert Sullivan - About rats! And specifically about a loony guy who spends a year studying rats in an ally in New York City. I looked it up because it was referenced in The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
4. Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli - a chronicle of the Harry Potter craze by one of the members (she was webmaster of the Leaky Cauldron fan site).
5. World War One: A Short History by Norman Stone - Sounds dry, but it was interesting, and an easy read (I finished it in 8 hours).
6. Origins of the Specious by Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman - a book about myths and misconceptions of the English language.
7. Running Through the Wall edited by Neal Jamison - a collection of accounts about ultra-distance running.
8. The Ultimate Challenge by Walt Esser - another ultrarunning book...not very good.
9. Personal Record by Rachel Toor - also about running. Most of the pieces were articles Toor did for a running magazine.
10. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami - partly about running, but more a memoir.
11. 50/50 by Dean Karnazes - About Karnazes' journey running 50 marathons in 50 days, in all 50 US states.
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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:51 pm
I've been meaning to read Moose. What did you think of it?
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:06 am
celesi I've been meaning to read Moose. What did you think of it? A little odd. She makes it an interesting story, but I am not sure I like the way she went about it. It's very personal, but by the nature of the accounts, she mentions some very unflattering personal things about other people, and that seems wrong to me.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:19 am
clovereffect celesi I've been meaning to read Moose. What did you think of it? A little odd. She makes it an interesting story, but I am not sure I like the way she went about it. It's very personal, but by the nature of the accounts, she mentions some very unflattering personal things about other people, and that seems wrong to me. Yeah, that's tricky. I think that's a problem with writing memoirs, finding the balance between telling the truth and being sensitive of the other people that impact your life. Non-narrative nonfiction is really starting to grow on me. I finished Superfreakonomics a week ago, and I'm really wishing the local library carried something fresher than 40 year old textbooks.
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 4:17 pm
I finally finished The First War of Physics by Jim Baggott all about various countries atomic programs during WWII and the beginning of the cold war. It was very interesting, going back and forth between the science, politics, and also they spying programs.
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 4:00 pm
I'm intrigued by Rats. I have only ever read a very short review on it, but for some reason it really stands out to me. Would you recommend it?
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:57 pm
I'm not sure where you all come from...But I read a pretty good nonfiction book, "The United States of Europe" by T.R. Reid.
It's about the European Union, it really helped me understand Europe and what's going on over there. Where they're at as a nation, and other things. Especially why we should keep an eye on their development. wink
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 1:27 pm
Reina-T v2 I'm intrigued by Rats. I have only ever read a very short review on it, but for some reason it really stands out to me. Would you recommend it? Tough call. It's not hard to read or anything, but face it...it's about rats. The author seems to think quoting Walt Whitman every third page makes his rat book into poetry rolleyes IT'S ABOUT RATS YOU DOPE! Also, I despise Walt Whitman. I am currently reading a true crime book called The Butcher by Philip Carlo, about a Mafia capo named Tommy Kitera who killed at least 60 people and buried them on Staten Island. I'm also reading Truman by David McCullough...it's over 900 pages long, and I'm only reading a few at a time, so it'll take me a while.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:33 am
I just recently started Celtic Myth and Magick by Edain McCoy. It's a book about, surprise surprise, Celtic myths, their gods and how they perform magick. It's partially as research for my story that I'm revising and adding more to and partially for fun, as I've always been interested in religions.
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 7:52 am
You could always cheat and read a biography or an autobiography. Might be more interesting? And it's not fiction! heart
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 11:18 am
I don't read much non-fiction, but thats probably because i am bombarded with non-fiction (text books) all day at school. Hey calculus is deffinatly non-fiction, but I'll probably do that challenge next year when I have more time to expand my "reading range."
Lots of good suggestions though. smile
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