The comments on my earlier post "
How many of these books have YOU read?" went like this:
Kailana said... I have only read 20 or thereabouts. There are a lot of others that are on my tbr pile...
Stephanie said... I've read even less on this one. 11, I think was the total...
Bonnie Jacobs said... I've read all 100 of these books I listed...
Bookfool said... I've only read about 10 of those - even worse than the other list...
Margreet said... I count 23 I've read from your list! Hmmm, I'm pleased with myself now..lol...
Marylyn said... I counted 35 that I have read and quite a few that I must get and put in my pile...
I can tell you why this list messed up your stats, folks. I read more nonfiction than most of you do. Marylyn and Margreet and Kailana, do you read much nonfiction? You have read more of these books than Stephanie and Bookfool. Do you two read mostly fiction? Take a look at my sidebar where I have two lists: What I'm reading now and Books recently completed. Notice how many are fiction and how many are nonfiction. Why don't more of us like to read nonfiction? Maybe I need to take a survey:
1. When did you last read a nonfiction book?
2. What book was it?
3. Why did you read it?
4. How would you rate it, and why?
5. What was the best part of it?
6. What was the worst thing about reading it?
7. Do you have any nonfiction at your bedside? Why or why not?
8. Are there nonfiction books on your TBR list? Why or why not?
Okay, friends, have a go at my little survey, and let's think about our reading lists. [Oh, yeah, the photo above is Jack Finney, one of my favorite writers. See my comment for March 22, on the next page.]
The comments on my earlier post "How many of these books have YOU read?" went like this:
8 comments:
I tend to read Non Fiction books as part of group reads. It isn't often that I pick up a non fiction book on my own!
The last non fiction book that I read was in November 2006 and it was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.
I read it because it was nominated for a group read. I really enjoyed it, and gave it a 4/5. I do have a few non fiction reads on my lists, but not that many. I am not sure why really. I think it is probably because there are so many good fiction books that I want to get to, and that is what I see the most recommendations for!
1. When did you last read a nonfiction book?
2. What book was it?
3. Why did you read it?
4. How would you rate it, and why?
5. What was the best part of it?
6. What was the worst thing about reading it?
7. Do you have any nonfiction at your bedside? Why or why not?
8. Are there nonfiction books on your TBR list? Why or why not?
1. I last read a non-fiction book just a few days ago.
2. A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
3. Because it looked interesting and I had been hearing good things about it.
4. I would only give it about a 3.5. I know lots of people loved it, but it didn't do a lot for me.
5. Finishing it... I just could not get into it.
6. I just could not get into her jumping around writing style.
7. I always have a non-fiction close by. I try to read one or two a month. So, I read it, I just do not read the same non-fiction as you do.
8. I have non-fiction books everywhere. I am currently thinking that I might read my copy of the autobiography of Adrienne Clarkson (Canada's former Governor General) that I own.
I don't often read non-fiction, so that can't be the reason why I read 1/4 of the books you listed. I went back to the original post, and see that most of the boooks I read are indeed fiction. Some of the titles are 'old Book Buddies' books, that must be the reason
1. When did you last read a nonfiction book? Of the 23 books I've read this year, 7 were nonfiction - the last one finished on Thursday of last week.
2. What book was it? Coffee, Tea or Me by Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones
3. Why did you read it? I love memoirs!
4. How would you rate it, and why? 4/5 - It was a fun read.
5. What was the best part of it? There's no part in particular that stood out; I just enjoyed reading about their experiences.
6. What was the worst thing about reading it? I was pretty horrified by a couple of comments about people who were drunk and planning to drive after various parties.
7. Do you have any nonfiction at your bedside? All the time. Why or why not? I'm particularly enamored of war memoirs at the moment and when I finish one, I buy another.
Thank goodness for gift cards.
8. Are there nonfiction books on your TBR list? Yep. Why or why not? Same thing - I'm really enjoying memoirs, but I always have some nonfiction to read. I read a lot of history, last year.
I think Kailana's comment applies to me, as well - I read plenty of nonfiction, but not the same titles you read. What really jumped out at me about your list was the repetition of certain authors (7 by Jodi Picoult; 4 by Barbara Kingsolver). I read a pretty broad variety and tend not to read the same authors repeatedly. Jack Finney is an exception; I've read everything I can find by him.
Bookfool said, "What really jumped out at me about your list was the repetition of certain authors (7 by Jodi Picoult; 4 by Barbara Kingsolver). I read a pretty broad variety and tend not to read the same authors repeatedly."
I don't read the same authors repeatedly, either, when their books are alike. Jodi Picoult writes about current issues "grabbed from the headlines" so that every one of her books is different. Barbara Kingsolver's books on my list include her nonfiction as well as fiction, and the same for Madeleine L'Engle.
When I noted that I apparently read more nonfiction than most of you, I was not in any way saying that was a BAD thing for either one of us. My NF reading should more properly be called "studying" because I make notes and organize them for teaching and writing.
Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh, for example, is a novel I use in my classes on Religions of the World that I teach at Chattanooga State. I read it for the interactions among religions: Muslims, Sikhs, and one Hindu family in a small village. The same goes for The Chosen by Chaim Potok and Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult, both of which I've used in that class. That's religion.
In the Ethics classes I taught for Tennessee Wesleyan, I used current novels and movies to make points about cloning and other issues. Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper is about using genetics to "make" a compatible sister for a sick child so the baby's stem cells could be transfused into the sick sister. That's ethics.
Many of the NF books I've been reading lately include biographies, history, and travel because I'm writing a book myself. For this task, I need to read more deeply into an author's bibliography than when I read for sheer pleasure. That's research.
And by the way, Jack Finney is an exception for me as well. I waited 25 years for his follow-up time travel book after Time and Again was published in the 1970's. Yes, I also have Three by Jack Finney and read everything I can find by this man. His thinking intrigues me.
Well, I also have to admit that I do not really read books with a strong religious content. Madeleine L'Engle is like the exception, and I stuck mainly with her novels.
1. When did you last read a nonfiction book?
Last October! (I did read Mutant Message Down Under in November, but I think we decided that one would be considered ficton!)
2. What book was it?
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.
3. Why did you read it?
It was a group read for Genre Stew on the Oprah site...and it looked really interesting.
4. How would you rate it, and why?
I rated it a 4.5!! VERY good!
5. What was the best part of it?
It was a memoir and I like learning about other peoples lives.
6. What was the worst thing about reading it?
After the whole mess with James Frey, it's hard for me to read memoirs objectively. I'm constanly asking myself if I really thought it was true!!
7. Do you have any nonfiction at your bedside? Why or why not?
Nope. Not yet!!
8. Are there nonfiction books on your TBR list? Why or why not?
I specifically joined the Non-fiction reading challege...because I knew it would be a challenge for me. I have a preconcieved idea that non-fiction won't hold my attention like fiction. So I have a whole list of non-fic books I want to read this year!!
Oh, no, I didn't think you were saying it was a bad thing. LOL
I've read two Jodi Picoult books; I don't remember if either of them were on your list, but so far I think her writing and research are excellent but I felt a little let down at the end of both. I can't say quite why. I usually try not to read the same author more than twice a year, if possible (sometimes I get sucked in by quick, light reads - Janet Evanovich and Jennifer Crusie) - regardless of how varied their subject matter is.
Madeleine L'Engle is another exception - I have a whole shelf of her books, fiction and non. Me, too on Finney. I love his stories. The only one I didn't care for (a novel) was The Night People.
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