Non-fiction Readers REPRAZENT!

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This is the thread where readers of non-fiction get together to feel superior to people who primarily read made-up stuff.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 6 July 2006 10:48 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah 'cause nobody ever made up anything in a non-fiction book...

― Meg Busset (Mog), Thursday, 6 July 2006 12:42 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah 'cause that's really the issue.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 6 July 2006 12:57 (nineteen years ago)

Didn't we have this thread already?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 6 July 2006 13:30 (nineteen years ago)

Well, we had this thread.

― The Player In The Redd Cap (Two-Headed Doge) (Ken L), Thursday, 6 July 2006 13:53 (nineteen years ago)

It's all a blur.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 6 July 2006 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

I love mountaineering books, even though I'd never do that stuff. If fingers turn black and fall off, I'm there!

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Thursday, 6 July 2006 16:01 (nineteen years ago)

Algernon. Do you really keep a diary? I’d give anything to look at it. May I?

Cecily. Oh no. [Puts her hand over it.] You see, it is simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication.

― tom west (thomp), Thursday, 6 July 2006 17:58 (nineteen years ago)

People who read fiction books as if nonfiction, REPRAZENT!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 6 July 2006 20:41 (nineteen years ago)

I love non-fiction. The last few books I bought focused on knitting. heh.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Thursday, 6 July 2006 21:30 (nineteen years ago)

i read fiction less than non-fiction, i do not think one is better than teh other.

― jeffrey (johnson), Thursday, 6 July 2006 23:55 (nineteen years ago)

What is the truth, anyway?

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Friday, 7 July 2006 00:28 (nineteen years ago)

My favorite thing to read about is food, and there are scads of non-fiction books lovingly focused on it. Fictional food has its moments, to be sure, but non-fictional food is the best.

― Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 7 July 2006 02:45 (nineteen years ago)

Which reminds me, I just got the reprint of "The Curiosities of Food", an 1850 catalogue of assorted foods eaten by peoples around the world strictly from the animal kingdom, which is a complete and utter delight. Every paragraph I have opened it to is bizarre and compelling and frequently utterly disgusting. It's an ideal bathroom book, at the very least.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 7 July 2006 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

I read about 50/50. Love fiction but abhor historical fiction...the real deal is so much more.
Goes in streaks though...last year I must have read a dozen non-fiction books about the late 19th century and the great war, this year I'm on a streak of very entertaining fiction that doesn't seem to want to be interrupted.
I'd much rather eat than read about food, I must admit.

― Docpacey (docpacey), Friday, 7 July 2006 06:08 (nineteen years ago)

I'm working on alternating between fiction/non-fiction, but I seem to be running about 3:1 no matter how good my intentions.

But I also tend to read specific non-fiction "things":
- food, recipes, memoirs, reviews, etc.
- travelogues
- anything related to (the history of) space exploration
- pretty much anything written by John McPhee and everything by Bernd Heinrich

though I'm working on venturing into other sections of the Dewey.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Friday, 7 July 2006 06:33 (nineteen years ago)

Chris: I'm going hunting for The Curiosities of food tomorrow - sounds positively delightfully revolting.

I'd much rather eat than read about food, I must admit
Have you considered eating while reading about food? With FoodNetwork on in the background?

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Friday, 7 July 2006 06:38 (nineteen years ago)

I love both fiction and non-fiction and would hate to have to choose between them. Non-fiction subjects of interest: politics, biography, biology/health/medical/science areas, and of course cooking/baking - especially dessert cookbooks.

This past year my son's second grade class discussed the difference between fiction and non-fiction. I made the mistake of trying to explain that non-fiction books could have things in them that weren't true. Not where you want to go with a 7 year old.

― Sara R-C (Sara R-C), Friday, 7 July 2006 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

I read about 50/50. Love fiction but abhor historical fiction...the real deal is so much more.

Oh no, I would disagree, as would those nice people who made that documentary about Mary Renault that was on the other night. I particularly love reading narrative history books and trying to figure out who would be the best supporting player to turn into a character in a historical novel.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Friday, 7 July 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

I'm actually going through one of my phases of being relatively more interested in fiction than usual. (Unfortunately, I'm not reading many books in general.)

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 7 July 2006 23:38 (nineteen years ago)

seven months pass...

I haven't read a new novel in about a year, I just realized.

Since then I've reread a few novels and they were all YA fiction bcz I loved them or wanted to see if I could remember them correctly.

I do want to read The Prestige and the Max Brooks' Zombie War book, and until there are copies available at the public library, no fiction. Nope.

― Abbott, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 01:48 (eighteen years ago)

Why read some story that was MADE UP?? That's what films are for.

― Dr Morbius, Friday, 2 March 2007 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

I've been taking a break from fiction lately. The last 5-6 books I've read have all been non-fiction.

― o. nate, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 15:48 (eighteen years ago)

Lately I've needed to take a break from nonfiction (thank you, academia) and so I've read poetry. Horrors!

― Casuistry, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 18:08 (eighteen years ago)

I'm pretty excited to read Doug Hofstadter's new book I Am a Strange Loop. Other recent non-fiction reading includes Plutarch and Charles Baxter's Burning Down the House.

― W i l l, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 21:49 (eighteen years ago)

I do want to read The Prestige and the Max Brooks' Zombie War book, and until there are copies available at the public library, no fiction.

World War Z is non fiction.

― The Real Dirty Vicar, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 21:51 (eighteen years ago)

Hofstadter's book about translation is wonderful.

Presently reading The Story of French

Next up: The Affair of the Poisons

― Michael White, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 22:44 (eighteen years ago)

How is that Story of French? I flipped through it at Powell's and it looked like it might be yummy.

― Casuistry, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 06:52 (eighteen years ago)

For me it's interesting, Chris. I know more than half of what they're talking about by heart but it's full of all sorts of delicious little tidbits and I haven't been able to put it down. So far, so good. Also, their coverage of non European aspects is good(ish) and better than most books on the subject. The fact that she speaks French as a second language and he's a Quebecker means that it doesn't fall into the nombrilisme that most French writers would fall into.

― Michael White, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 16:06 (eighteen years ago)

I just happned upon this at the Strand.
It's got one blurb saying something like "Terry Jones says this is the best description of medieval life that he has ever read" and then on the next page the actual blurb of Terry Jones himself saying ""the best description of medieval life that I have ever read." I'm not qualified to judge that but I do know that reading the first couple of chapters helprd me to better understand the crazy Verdi opera I saw last night, Simon Boccanegra.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 20:57 (eighteen years ago)

Or perhaps I should say: it gave me something to think about while I didn't know what the heck was going on onstage.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 21:05 (eighteen years ago)

I remember reading about Hawkwood!

― Michael White, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 21:33 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe you read the book in England, Mikey, where it is in fact called Hawkwood?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 21:34 (eighteen years ago)

No. Kenny, I did not. I remember reading about him in an essay on Sir RichardBurton, I believe.

― Michael White, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 21:54 (eighteen years ago)

Am I the only one who ever calls you Mikey? Sorry. I thought I saw you use that name a few times, but perhaps you reserve that privilege for yourself.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 22:27 (eighteen years ago)

Sorry to be pissy. Not a huge fan of 'Mike' or 'Mikey' as my handle.

― Michael White, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 22:39 (eighteen years ago)

Well, how about 'Michel' or 'Misha'?

Anyway, that reminds me, maybe I should finally read that Sir Richard Francis Burton bio I bought all those years ago and have held onto through many relocations.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 8 March 2007 02:41 (eighteen years ago)

Sorry, CAPTAIN Sir Richard Francis Burton

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 8 March 2007 02:54 (eighteen years ago)

This one wasn't bad.

Michel always makes me think of my French teacher in high school and my sister and others still taunt me this way, but I don't really mind it. I never went or go by Michel in France. My ex mother-in-law could never bring herself to call me Michael; she called me Mickaël which I still find less than optimal since I actually spelled my name out phonetically in French for her once: Maille-colle. I adore Misha for reasons which I will not share and also the Irish pronunciation.

― Michael White, Thursday, 8 March 2007 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, that's the one I got.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 8 March 2007 16:18 (eighteen years ago)

it looked like it might be yummy.

For example, didja know that 'poutine' comes from 'pudding' which comes from 'boudin'?

― Michael White, Thursday, 8 March 2007 17:15 (eighteen years ago)

Isn't "pudding" related to "blood"? I remember reading some surprising etymology for "pudding".

No, it's "sausage".

pudding Look up pudding at Dictionary.com
c.1305, "a kind of sausage: the stomach or one of the entrails of a pig, sheep, etc., stuffed with minced meat, suet, seasoning, boiled and kept till needed," perhaps from a W.Gmc. stem *pud- "to swell" (cf. O.E. puduc "a wen," Westphalian dial. puddek "lump, pudding," Low Ger. pudde-wurst "black pudding," Eng. dial. pod "belly," also cf. pudgy). Other possibility is that it is from O.Fr. boudin "sausage," from V.L. *botellinus, from L. botellus "sausage" (change of Fr. b- to Eng. p- presents difficulties, but cf. purse). The modern sense had emerged by 1670, from extension to other foods boiled or steamed in a bag or sack. Ger. pudding, Fr. pouding, Swed. pudding, Ir. putog are from Eng. Puddinghead "amiable stupid person" is attested from 1851.

Anyway yes, you make the French book sound exactly like what I'd want it to be.

― Casuistry, Thursday, 8 March 2007 17:54 (eighteen years ago)

That said, 'boudin noir' is blood sausage.

― Michael White, Thursday, 8 March 2007 18:36 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I too will be picking up The Story of French as soon as possible.

― C0L1N B..., Thursday, 8 March 2007 19:25 (eighteen years ago)

I found it at the library! I like it so far.

― tokyo rosemary, Thursday, 15 March 2007 03:22 (eighteen years ago)

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