Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Nonfiction Fun

What little reading time I've had lately has been spent on Bill Bryson's 500+ page book At Home: A Short History of Private Life. I went into it looking forward to the tidbits I knew I would learn and came through knowing whole histories of every day items and the evolution of civilization as we know it. All that to say, I've been reading and seeing some really good nonfiction lately. Three that I really want to read, but don't currently have available, are The Oregon Trail: An American Journey; The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game; and The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute. Strangely enough, all three of those titles interest me on a sentimental level, as items from my childhood. Anyway, all of this good nonfiction has made me want to jump into a TBR stack of nonfiction I've had on my shelves for awhile. 

Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope, by Wendy Holden. Coming out this May, Born Survivors is the story of three young women who carry out pregnancies while imprisoned in German concentration camps. According to the book jacket, this story marks these born survivors' (the babies from those pregnancies) first meeting for their 70th birthdays and the 70th anniversary of the ending of the war.

That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us, by Erin Moore. Moore takes 31 words to look at what seems to be little differences in vocabulary between the British and Americans, but upon further research reveals big cultural differences. I have a feeling this one will be an experience like At Home, which I am most excited about.

What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?: 195 Curious Questions & Intriguing Answers, by Andrew Thompson. Any odd question you can think of, big or small, will likely show up in this book. From why do snooze alarms go off every nine minutes? to What is Cancer?, this little book is a load of information waiting to be absorbed.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. Need I say more? First of all, it's Mary Roach. I've only begun to read her this year and it's been wonderful. Roach has a knack for taking a seemingly uninteresting topic and making it completely interesting. Stiff takes a look at not only what happens to bodies postmortem, but also what has been done with cadavers over the centuries of our civilization. More cultural, medical, and even religious learning in this one I bet!

Judging a Book by Its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere, by Lauren Leto. Leto writes her way through numerous famous works/authors and popular bookish topics, guiding readers through the wide world of literature in a funny and inspirational way. There are many interesting subtitles to support this description, such as: "Stereotyping People by Favorite Author," "How to Fake It," and "How to Speak Condescendingly About the Most Revered Authors/Literary Works."


Has anyone else noticed that nonfiction pieces have ridiculously long titles? But the subtitle sure does help reel the reader in! What nonfiction interests are on your plate readers?  

11 comments:

  1. I love the title of How to Judge a Book by Its Lover. I will read it for that reason alone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper sounds like a fun book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flipping through it I found some interesting questions! And it's set up in an easy Q&A format for reading.

      Delete
  3. I haven't read that Bill Bryson one I don't think! I'll have to check it out! The toilet paper one sounds good too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is good! I'll be writing more about it soon. It makes me feel so smart when I read for half an hour.

      Delete
  4. I love crazy-long nonfiction subtitles. They're just my favorite. I will read nonfiction specifically because of a giant subtitle. All of these sound fun -- definitely loved Stiff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! It's true. Without that subtitle, it's hard to tell what you're getting really. Now that I noticed, I will be paying closer attention to the titles.

      Delete
  5. I love long non-fiction titles.
    I'm glad that you're enjoying your non-fiction run! Isn't it funny how some reading years tend to be thematic without much effort? I notice that some years I read a lot of crime fiction, some years is non-fiction, others classics etc. This year does seem to be a strong non-fiction year. There's so much good stuff out there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yea. If it weren't for my self-enforced TBR challenge, I'd be out buying up some of this new nonfiction!

      Delete
  6. Nonfiction fun it the best kind of fun! :) I love the long titles too. They really do pull me in! I just finished two nonfiction books, one about women journalists and one about the possible role of Asprin in Reye's syndrome. I'm currently reading Shadow Scale, but am thinking about a book on the White House for my next read.

    ReplyDelete