Friday 31 May 2013

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint – Mark Twain

The Armchair BEA topic for today: NON FICTION

Now my initial reaction to this was: I don’t read non fiction. But actually, I never used to read non fiction. It always seemed like such hard work. Certainly after years of study.

But over time, I have actually developed an appreciation for non fiction. Must be my age. Learning to be more patient. And appreciative of reality.

I’m still not a fan of biographies. Auto or otherwise. I suppose I have never felt the need to know about other people’s lives. Certainly not about the lives of people I don't know personally. That said, I was given a copy of Nigel Slater’s Toast. And really enjoyed it. There was an element in it of reminiscence. Some shared childhood food experiences. And it was good to revisit them.
 
I was also given Waris Dirie’s Desert Flower. A whole different story, of course. Harrowing at times. Always instructive. Ultimately inspiring. 
 
Apart from that, I also liked Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence. But then I’d loved Deirdre Le Faye’s Jane Austen’s Letters too. Something to do with the Austen factor, methinks.

I do love books on language, linguistics and culture. I’m a fan of Professor David Crystal’s writings. On language and its development. And I always recommend Watching the English by Kate Fox and Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow. Non fiction with laughs. No, really. 

Otherwise I like books on health. And self help. And psychology. Is that the age thing? Possibly. But I figure any advice that could improve my life is good. And if it could make me the tiniest bit a better person, then fab…

Finally, I'd love to be able to read history. But it's just not me. At the moment, anyway. I've started watching history. Simon Schama, as an example. But reading it is way too heavy. For me. Except... that I did read A small corner of hell - dispatches from Chechnya. Anna Politkovskaya. Can you call that history? A conflict that continues. To a certain extent. Horrors that happened in my lifetime. Most without my knowledge. In a place I've only recently become aware of. Scary. Traumatic. And somehow compelling.
 
So while non fiction may seem a no-go, I’d encourage one and all to reconsider. Non fiction shouldn’t mean non!  Sometimes it’s the only way to go. Allez!

20 comments:

  1. It definitely depends on the non-fiction. I'm not sure if I've matured enough to enjoy it more, or if publishers are printing nonfiction books by better writers. I can't remember the last nonfiction book that I had to put down because it was just too dry and textbook like. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for the change.

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  2. I am too learning to read non -fiction these days . I started with Jean Sasson's books and I am really enjoying it. Your title is really funny.

    Love,
    Shainee
    apieceofshe.blogspot.com

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    1. Hey there, Shainee! I have JS's books in my Amazon basket thanks to your recommendations. I'll get round to them. Soonish. Hope the wedding préparations are going well :0)

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  3. Non-fiction gets a bad name, for sure. It seems to be unfairly judged but on the other hand it would be like one saying they don't like to read fiction. There are SO many books that surely one can find something she enjoys! Great points here (though I am a sucker for memoirs...)

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    1. I agree. There's vast scope for choice. I don't know why it gets such bad press. We'll have to work together to change perspectives... :0)

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  4. I enjoy nonfiction of all sorts. I probably read more historical nonfic than anything.

    You might enjoy The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson :)

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation. I used to enjoy JR writing in The Guardian. He's on my list... :0)

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  5. Unless they discover that vampires and werewolves are real, non-fiction can't hold a candle to fiction IMHO. I've read a few, but I think I'm strictly a fiction type of girl! :)

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    1. Lol! At least you know what you like. V important. U go girl!!

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  6. I work in a science library and help pick out the new books that we order. There are a lot of them that I would love to read--they seem so interesting, and not at all dry.

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    1. Totally. It's all perspective. And we just have to be open to new things... Thanks, Grace!

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  7. I don't read non-fiction too often, but I enjoy it on occasion. I do appreciate it much more nowadays that I'm older than I did when I was in my teens though. I'm still pretty picky when it comes to the subject matter. Not a big fan of most biographies either. They can get dull. Or are usually too depressing in most cases. But I'd probably be willing to to take on recommendations from trusted sources. I like picking up a lot of historical non-fiction when I do read them. But I completely understand how it wouldn't be for everyone. Lol.
    Great post! :D

    <3
    Pixie
    http://the-bookaholic.blogspot.com

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    1. I'm with you on the "recommendations from trusted sources". Really helps me open up and try new things :0)

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  8. Non-fiction is a genre I have to be the mood for but I think the genre is more diverse than most people give it credit for. I really like history and science non-fiction, and I agree biographies are kind of 'meh' unless they are historical. The modern person has to be really unique for me to want to read about their life, which probably why I Am Ozzy made my top list.

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    1. Really? I am Ozzy? I may look into that... Thanks! :0)

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  9. I don't read much non-fiction, but mainly because I am not sent much. With the anniversary of a couple of World War II figures I read Hana's Suitcase and The Secret Life of the Village Fool. My mom was interested in WWII, she lived it, and I caught the bug from her.

    I used to read a lot of self-help and health books, but since retiring from social work I have lost the interest. I suppose I should read a few, given my age I could use the advice. :-)

    I love these crazy quotes you have at the top of your posts. I'll be stopping by just for those--and stay for the post, Great lead-ins. Where do you find these? The quotes I find are most "serious." Thanks for the freat post. I'll be following you!

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  10. Hi there, Sue. Thanks for stopping by. I love the quotes too. Some people are so very articulate. And I think we all need health books n the like, whatever our age!! :0)

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  11. I'm a bit of the opposite - I mostly read non-fiction, with a fiction only thrown in once in a while! I just love the rush of learning something new about history, archaeology, lingustics, biology... it's all so fascinating :) I mean hearing about a romance blossoming between two made up characters is fun too... but I like how I can have a stack of books at my bedside and dip in and out of the Anglo-Saxons, evolutionary theory, philosophy in the 20th century... it's all very exciting!

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    1. Y'see, you make it sound exciting. And I like the idea of non fiction. Just in practice, I do struggle. Although, as I say, I'm better with age...!

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