It’s going to take a conscious effort on my part, I know, to make non-fiction a genre I read. Ultimately, though, I feel like there’s much I’m missing because I tend to dismiss non-fiction without a second thought. There have been instances in the past where that hasn’t held true, and I’ve loved those titles, yet I always seem to forget that. Which is why I’m throwing out this intention, and I’m making good on it right away. I’ve just brought these following books home with me from the library (or added them to my hold list)…
You can click on each one for more info about it, and if you do you might see a little bit of a pattern with those last two. There is a reason for it, actually, and it has everything to do with another non-fiction title I read and thoroughly enjoyed.
When I was in college I took a class on travel writing. This class had a whole lot of appeal and was being taught by one of my favorite professors. We had several books to read, but there was one in particular that I had much love for: Unsuitable for Ladies: An Anthology of Women Travellers by Jane Robinson.
I like armchair traveling, but to travel in the footsteps of pioneering women? Even better. These women went all over the place: Egypt, Africa, the Orient. They went in style, often shocking their peers, always making their way with a courageous attitude. They recorded what they saw, how they got there, and what obstacles stood in their path. In the end, this anthology was a rousing adventure, an uplifting look at the strides women took towards equality, and a view to worlds I may never see, some I could never see because the landscape has changed so much over time.
With that in mind, I find myself very much attracted to non-fiction about women abroad, hence those last two books above. And really, despite the fact that it seems like I’m diving in, I’m actually going to take this non-fiction thing slow. A little here and there. And I’ll see where it takes me.
Thanks for posting these! The last book looks very Amelia Peabody-ish! Love it!
The covers on these are gorgeous!
I don’t read a great deal of nonfiction, but I do seem to enjoy it whenever I do. More often than not I am lost in fiction, but once in a while the mood strikes to read a biography, or a specific work of nonfiction and I go to the library and find this whole world of amazing looking books. Several years ago I was wandering around the library and ended up stumbling across this fantastic book offering up a theory about Jack the Ripper. Man I loved that book. I keep meaning to check it out again.
Rachel – After you pointed that out I saw it, too. That’s still one series I have to get to (have the first one lying around here somewhere.)
Carl – I’m in the same boat as you. Fiction in my reading passion, but when I was putting together this post I kept remembering non-fiction I’d read and enjoyed. And there are so many interesting books being published that I can’t quite ignore them any more. What was the Jack the Ripper one? That’s always a fascinating topic!
The book is Jack the Ripper : first American serial killer by
Stewart P. Evans. It was well written and very interesting.