 
 

Discussion Forums - Biographies & Memoirs

Topic: What Nonfiction Are You Reading?

Club rule - Please, if you cannot be courteous and respectful, do not post in this forum.
  Unlock Forum posting with Annual Membership.
Subject: What Nonfiction Are You Reading?
Date Posted: 1/9/2017 3:30 PM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Finished Choteau Creek: A Sioux Reminiscence by Joseph Iron Eye Dudley.  It's an interesting narrative of the author's life with his grandparents. They lived in a small house at the edge of the reservation which they heated with coal, wood and kerosene soaked corncobs.  The author tells about life in that house, a winter that he never forgot and the stories his grandparents told about the life that they had lived.  It's a gentle reminiscence that captures life of those precious years.  There are memories that lets the reader think about the beliefs of his family and incidents that verify those beliefs.  The love of his family obviously flows from generation to generation. 



Last Edited on: 1/18/17 8:21 PM ET - Total times edited: 4
Date Posted: 1/22/2017 8:47 PM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Am reading Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt and it's fun.  More about it later.

Date Posted: 1/23/2017 8:11 AM ET
Member Since: 11/28/2007
Posts: 5,676
Back To Top

I need to read lighter stuff right now, so I picked up Dewey - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.  It is unexpectedly charming and quite enjoyable, which has caught me by surprise, since I don't normally like books about someone else's pets. Because, honestly, your cat or dog, no matter how great, is never as great as mine. 

But this one is written very well, intertwining the sad and touching tales of a town and its people in the midst of economic decline, with Dewey's appearance.  Dewey warms hardened hearts and inspires hope.  Sounds hokey, but it's working.  I am quite enthralled. 

Date Posted: 1/24/2017 7:30 AM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Thanks for sharing Stephanie.  I read books about pets once or twice a year because there is something about them that gives my heart a lift. My next one is When Pets Die by Jon Katz.  Just finished Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt and it was soo very good.  In addition, I learned a good deal about the development of the rockets that took us into space.  There is the politics, the competition between the Army and the Navy, people's reactions as some of the captured Nazi scientists were put to work in this program as well as the role that intelligent women played in the whole affair.  I can't help but recommend it.  It's good. 



Last Edited on: 11/20/17 9:07 PM ET - Total times edited: 2
Date Posted: 1/24/2017 7:02 PM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Just finished Open by Andre Agassiz which is an astounding read.  Agassiz opens his heart and tells his story, both the good and the bad.  He is a sensitive, caring individual whose father was an ogre, driving him into tennis from the crib on.  As a tiny baby his mobile was made of tennis balls and a paddle was attached to his hand to hit them.  His father built a tennis ball machine (Andre called it the dragon) that shot balls at him quickly and constantly until he felt that Andre could quit.  Consequently, Andre hated tennis but it was all he knew to do since he dropped out of school.  However, he could pull every match out of his mind and talk about it in detail.  



Last Edited on: 1/30/17 8:11 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
Date Posted: 1/26/2017 4:13 PM ET
Member Since: 8/17/2009
Posts: 929
Back To Top

I'm reading The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. It tells what is known about the father of Alexander Dumas, the writer. It is a fascinating story of his life with lots of wonderful context about the French Revolution and the status of Blacks in France at the time. Highly recommended!

Date Posted: 1/30/2017 8:12 PM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Sounds so interesting Donna.  I'm going to put this one on my list to read.

Date Posted: 1/31/2017 3:02 PM ET
Member Since: 8/17/2009
Posts: 929
Back To Top

It was so good, R E K. I'm now reading No Ordinary Time, Franklin & Eleanor : The Home Front in World War II. It's a big chunk of a book that will take a while, but I am enjoying it so far.

Date Posted: 2/17/2017 7:22 AM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Am reading Brain on Fire My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.  Susannah develops a rare disease and almost dies from it before it is diagnosed and treated.  It is so stirring and interesting.  One wonders how this young woman is doing today.

Donna:  I ordered The Black Count...



Last Edited on: 2/17/17 7:28 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
Date Posted: 2/21/2017 4:26 PM ET
Member Since: 8/17/2009
Posts: 929
Back To Top

Let me know what you think, R E K.

Date Posted: 2/27/2017 2:55 PM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

It's arrived but I haven't started it yet.  I'll try to remember to let you know.  Your recommendations are always spot on for me!  Part way through Donna.  It's not what I expect but it is interesting.  More later.



Last Edited on: 3/4/17 5:10 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
Date Posted: 3/17/2017 9:35 AM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Finished The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss.  At first,l was unsure about this read but the author grabbed me and I was caught up in France's revolution and the life of Alex Dumas, a brave, brave man who did much for the country he loved.  His respect for his men and the residents of the areas he captured made him popular with both sides.  It's sad that he received so little recognition.  Now beginning The Wives of the Signers.



Last Edited on: 3/20/17 11:12 AM ET - Total times edited: 1
Date Posted: 3/18/2017 1:05 PM ET
Member Since: 8/17/2009
Posts: 929
Back To Top

Glad you liked The Black Count, R E K.

I have started a biography - Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. We will be visiting her former home on our trip to England this summer.

Date Posted: 3/19/2017 12:44 PM ET
Member Since: 1/10/2007
Posts: 1,597
Back To Top

I'm reading "The Road to Little Dribbling" by Bill Bryson.  I've never read his stuff before and so far, so funny. (My DH says we have the same droll sense of humor).  My reading is down this year due to life-in-the-way and this is the only NF I've read this year.

Date Posted: 3/19/2017 4:40 PM ET
Member Since: 6/30/2008
Posts: 3,450
Back To Top

I think it is unusual to find somebody who has not read A Walk in the Woods. That seems to be the most popular Bryson book.

Date Posted: 4/9/2017 6:40 PM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

Charles and Susan:  Which of Bryson's books would you recommend for a humor selection?  I need one for a reading challenge.

Date Posted: 4/20/2017 9:14 PM ET
Member Since: 8/17/2009
Posts: 929
Back To Top

I am on the last leg of No Ordinary Time, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. This is a fascinating book about America during the time of World War II and also the relationship betweenf Franklin and Eleanor. It's very long and dense in details, but very well done.

Date Posted: 11/10/2017 10:42 AM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2009
Posts: 3,154
Back To Top

I'm finishing The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sach.  It's soo interesting.   The author describes many cases of people with diseases, injuries and other events that change them physically and mentally.  Enjoying it very much.,
http://www.paperbackswap.com/What-Nonfiction-Reading/topic/310771/?l=25&ls=0
www.paperbackswap.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2018-30
114119
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:E3VJFUZE253EU7N2SUH5NEK3LTQMVFTG
<urn:uuid:49cf0884-1eca-4f6f-a5a2-10afd9e71442>
2018-07-19T23:54:22Z
64.88.173.79
text/html
sha1:TZAZ3I4LUCQCMJEOYSV5GRO36PLXQY7L
<urn:uuid:cdcca557-8a95-4695-b575-7b890092944c>
http://www.paperbackswap.com/What-Nonfiction-Reading/topic/310771/?l=25&ls=0
response
<urn:uuid:6fc51961-6ee7-4e20-8d15-816001e92aa3>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-61-216-17.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-30
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for July 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf