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A place to talk about non-fiction books that you are reading.

I am currently reading The Letters of Samuel Beckett: Volume 1, 1929-1940 and it makes me smirk a little how hard I sometimes find it to let go of the myth of an author and replace it with the image of an actual person ;)

I like to read letters of famous persons, every now and then, and for the reason you were saying Jenny!

I'm currently reading Jan Wong's China: Reports From A Not-So-Foreign Correspondent. She's a Chinese Canadian woman who went to lie in China during the Mao times and is now a reporter in Canada. She writes about the changes in people's thoughts/attitudes in China from the Mao times to the late 1990s. It's an interesting look at China, it's people and their thoughts during some very changing times.
Because she's Chinese the people of China often don't realize she's a reporter and give some candid replies to her questions.

Jenny, I like reading letters, too. They bring a famous name to life.

Just finishedConstellation of Genius: 1922: Modernism Year One. It was very well written and a straightforward read. It's about 1922,when both Ulysses and The Wasteland were published. It's done like an almanac,going through the year looking at how all the different literary/cultural/other events interlink. I gave it five stars.

@Gill "Constellation of Genius: 1922" went straight onto my list with a big exclamation mark. It seems like a really good candidate for a non-fiction group read as well, which we are hoping to get started on in October.

@ Judy: how did you like it? It sounds very interesting seeing that it is generally very hard to know what life really looks like in North Korea.

@ Petra, do you have a special interest in China, or is it the author you were interested in?

The last non-fiction book I read was I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast Highwhich tony danza wrote and it was about being a high school English teacher. It was a pretty good read. ^_^

@Jenny: I found this book (Jan Wong's China: Reports From A Not-So-Foreign Correspondent) in a Thrift Shop. I do like reading books set in Asia and thought this might be an interesting addition. I read the first few pages in the shop and the writing was interesting and caught my interest right away. That said, the book sat on my bookshelf for about a year before I read it.

Petra wrote: "@Jenny: I found this book (Jan Wong's China: Reports From A Not-So-Foreign Correspondent) in a Thrift Shop. I do like reading books set in Asia and thought this might be an interesting addition. I ..."

That actually happens to me quite a lot, sometimes books sit there for years before being read - and it feels like they are waiting for the time to be right...obviously a perfect excuse for always having to have several new books on the shelf ;)

Amber wrote: "The last non-fiction book I read was I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast Highwhich tony danza wrote and it was about being a high school Engl..."

That would be a good one to use in the mini challenge for the Back To School category. I may have to change mine to this one. It sounds good.

It is a good read Elizabeth. ^_^ I enjoyed reading Tony Danza's book about being a English teacher. I hope you enjoy reading it.

I've moved this thread to our brand new Non-Fiction folder ;)

I'm trying to get through Arguably: Selected Essays. It is tough! It's not at all what I thought it was going to be, and I'm definitely missing out on much (most) of the references he makes. It is becoming a crash course in history, sociology, etc. I don't know whether I'm enjoying it or just treating it as an unexpected lesson!

Denise wrote: "I'm trying to get through Arguably: Selected Essays. It is tough! It's not at all what I thought it was going to be, and I'm definitely missing out on much (most) of the references he makes. It is ..."

Oh wow, I just had a look at it and it seems that Christopher Hitchens is juggeling quite a large amount of topics there. I like the idea of building a bridge beween culture and politics, however I can see how one can get lost in labyrinth of unknown references there. Stay strong ;)!

I think Christopher Hitchens can be quite a hard read. I find him so forceful (maybe another way of saying opinionated!) that I am constantly questioning the connections he makes and the conclusions that he draws. My dislike of being bulldozed into a particular point of view makes it hard for me to agree with him, even when I do!

Gill wrote: "My dislike of being bulldozed into a particular point of view makes it hard for me to agree with him, even when I do! "
Nicely put Gill, I see what you mean, eventhough I haven't read any of his books so far. However I have vivid memories of once searching an introduction that would link history and the rise of philosophy in it's very beginnnings and ended up reading A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell. Being highly entertaining in parts, the arrogance towards his subject left hardly any room for objectivity, which made me abandon the book after a while. If ever I feel I need a book on how 'Russell perceives the universe' I will pick it back up again.

Current reading On The Map: Why the world looks the way it does by Simon Garfield. Liking it so far!

Paul, I just had a closer look at it again and it really sounds very intriguing. My eye got stuck on the part of the blurb where it is speaking about "the research conducted on the different ways that men and women approach a map" because it's been the story of my life as a child, as every vacation with my parents started with a them coming close to divorce due to insurmountable differences concerning their personal philosophy of "how to read a map". I am traumatized.

Jenny wrote: "Paul, I just had a closer look at it again and it really sounds very intriguing. My eye got stuck on the part of the blurb where it is speaking about "the research conducted on the different ways t..."

Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey is mildly amusing and I have A History of the World in Twelve Maps on the shelf to read soon

Paul wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Paul, I just had a closer look at it again and it really sounds very intriguing. My eye got stuck on the part of the blurb where it is speaking about "the research conducted on the di..."

Someone else with a mild obsession with maps here I gather ;)

I am still reading The Letters of Samuel Beckett: Volume 1, 1929-1940. The last few letters I read he sent to friends a publishers from my former hometown Dresden. It is so interesting to see a place that you know so well reflected through someone elses lense. Reading this book is like walking through dozens of museums. I thought I knew quite a bit about Beckett, but I wasn't fully aware of HOW passionate he was about art. The amount of artwork that I have scribbled down to at least get a look at them via internet fills two pages now. I love when your universe all of a sudden get's so much bigger when reading about other peoples lives and passions. I guess that's the beauty of memoirs, letters and journals.

All the map's book look fascinating Paul, and so does the Samuel Becket Letters Jenny! Adding them all to my already over-flowing to-read list....

I just began Carlo Gebler's Father & I: A Memoir. Seems interesting.

I just started Tales from the Underground, a Natural History of Subterranean Life bu David W. Wolfe. It is more than a decade old but is fascinating -- full of amazing facts about the Archaea domain of life. I think the title came to my notice from one of the other book groups on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

Correen wrote: "I just started Tales from the Underground, a Natural History of Subterranean Life bu David W. Wolfe. It is more than a decade old but is fascinating -- full of amazing facts about the Archaea domai..."

Looks fascinating. Just gone on the TBR list.

Just started Otter Country: In Search of the Wild Otter. So far so good

I decided to read all Gerald Durrell's books and have just finished (and reviewed) "3 Singles to Adventure". To say this describes an expedition in 1950, it's remarkably fresh and entertaining.

Jean I've heard really good things about his books, especially the first of his trilogy, but I haven't yet picked one up myself, so your post is a good reminder that I should. From the reviews I read I get the impresson that a lot of people weren't sure how much fiction he threw into the non-fiction though ;)
How many books have you read already, and how many more to go?

Jean wrote: "I decided to read all Gerald Durrell's books and have just finished (and reviewed) "3 Singles to Adventure". To say this describes an expedition in 1950, it's remarkably fresh and entertaining."

Jean, I'd like to read more of Durrell's books too. Did you manage to find them in the library, because they don't seem to be very easy to get hold of?

I think that they are all still in print. Penguin have some titles and Summersdale have others

Jenny - yes do give them a go! Of course his anecdotes are highly coloured, but if you've ever worked with animals or kept any pets you'll find them totally believable! This time round I've read 4 so far. There are over 20, mostly about his expeditions and setting up of his zoo, a couple on animal welfare and 3 or 4 actual fiction. I made up my complete list from helpful Wikipedia. The next one I'll read is

The New Noah

and my reviews are
The Corfu Trilogy

and Three Singles to Adventure

(They include spoilers, but to be honest I think you could unhide these as it's not like a whodunnit!)

Shirley (and Paul) - I had been buying them secondhand from Amazon or charity shops, as I think the Penguin Kindle prices are extortionate for a download! But now Bello have reissued 15 of them on Kindle, at £2-odd each, which is much better than the £6 Penguin charge. A Gerald Durrell book is definitely worth the price of a cup of coffee!! The Corfu Trilogy rights still seem to be only Penguin, but as there are so many by Bello and they can really be read in any order that's a better way to go if you read ebooks.

Jean, I've just checked with my library and they have the first of the Corfu trilogy, and they even have it in original language, so I will get started there.

Jenny wrote: "Jean, I've just checked with my library and they have the first of the Corfu trilogy, and they even have it in original language, so I will get started there."

I can highly recommend a trip to the place he set up, this is the web site: We go a couple of times a year

Paul wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Jean, I've just checked with my library and they have the first of the Corfu trilogy, and they even have it in original language, so I will get started there."

I can highly recommend..."

Paul this looks great. Do you just go for a daytrip or do you usually stay there? I saw it even has camping!

My wife's parents live nearby

Jenny - Great :) be sure to say what you think about them.

Paul - I'd love to visit his place in Jersey some day. Have you read The Stationary Ark
or The Ark's Anniversary
which are both about it?

no not yet! will add to the tbr list though

I'm reading ALbert Camus' Lyrical and Critical Essays. Very good so far.

ohh, that sounds very good. I like Albert Camus a lot, I'd be interested to hear what you think of it.

@ Paul, I found this article online (actually an audio link to an interview) that I thought might interest you as it is about the long-lost half sister that Cheryl Strayed found back with the help of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail which I believe was your nomination, wasn't it?

Jenny wrote: "@ Paul, I found this article online (actually an audio link to an interview) that I thought might interest you as it is about the long-lost half sister that Cheryl Strayed found back with the help ..."

It was my nomination. And as I have it from the library I will be reading it regardless. It was a fascinating article, thank you.

I'm reading Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle as I'm on a bit of a Sherlock Holmes kick at the moment. I didn't used to like biographies but am getting more into them gradually. I think the problem was some of the ones I'd tried were so dry and boring even when I was really interested in the person they were about! This one is quite good though, balanced and non-judgemental and the writing is keeping my interest.

Laurel wrote: "I'm reading Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle as I'm on a bit of a Sherlock Holmes kick at the moment. I didn't used to like biographies but am getting more into them gradually. I thi..."

Sounds like a good one, Laurel! I wasn't really into biographies either but I can't get enough of them now. The tone is definitely important.

Oh yes, definitely! I started the first one of
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, but couldn't get into it at all! It's very highly regarded though, so I was probably in the wrong mood. They must both have cursed the fact that their writing styles were so different at times, although I'd heard that there was a mutual respect for what each did. And it's certainly entertaining to have an insider's view of what a literary novelist's life was like within the chaos of Durrell's family.

I'm sticking to Gerald. He never fails to pick me up when I need it.

Jean wrote: "Oh yes, definitely! I started the first one of
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, but couldn't get into it at all! It's very highly regarded though, so I was probably in the wrong mood. ..."

I have heard that about Lawrence Durrell from several different places, so it might not have been just your mood.

Thanks, Leslie :)

I read the complete Alexandra Quartet when I was in my twenties and loved it. At the time it seemed meaningful! I've looked at it briefly since then and wasn't nearly as impressed. However I bought it for my kindle when it was on offer, so will try it again some day. Maybe!

I've just started Ben Goldacre's Bad Science and have already laughed out loud a few times.

Fascinating stuff and having just discussed the book with a medical colleague (it seems I'm rather late to this party), I'm looking forward to Goldacre's devils advocate approach.

Elaine wrote: "I've just started Ben Goldacre's Bad Science and have already laughed out loud a few times.

Fascinating stuff and having just discussed the book with a medical colleague (it seems I'm rather lat..."

It is very good. I have also got Bad Pharma to read soon.

Paul wrote: "Elaine wrote: "I've just started Ben Goldacre's Bad Science and have already laughed out loud a few times.

Fascinating stuff and having just discussed the book with a medical colleague (it seems..."

Oh thanks Paul. It's now on my to be read list.

I have just started The Secret Rooms: A True Gothic Mystery by Catherine Bailey. Has anyone else read this? It's billed a true gothic mystery although I don't think that's entirely accurate, but it is very interesting and well-written so far.