What Non-Fiction are you reading in June, 2017?

Time for a new thread!

I finished up the entertaining and informative The Reluctant Art: Five Studies in the Growth of Jazz by Benny Green. Green was a very good writer but very opinionated. I found that both factors added to my enjoyment of these essays, though I did not always agree with those opinions. I did learn a lot about jazz history.

Light Bulb Baking: A History of the Easy-Bake Oven by Todd Coopee
3/5 stars
This is a short history of the Easy-Bake Oven, a toy for young girls (and later on marketed to boys) to learn how to bake. If you ever had one or wanted one, this is a must read.

I'm reading Popular by Mitch Prinstein which explains that status and likeability are two different things and that we can change our popularity level even if it's essentially rooted in our high school experience. There's a good section on online stuff and it's well-referenced.

Hi. My first visit to this group.

I normally read about one NF for every four or five novels, but lately (and inexplicably) I've been on a rip for history. My current title is 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Turning Points in Ancient History). In the past month:

The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World, by Greg King and Sue Woolmans;
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, by Joshua Hammer; and
Russia: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Timothy J. Colton.

Not unexpectedly, there are themes that run through them.

>4 Meredy: Welcome, Meredy! I loved Hammer's book!

H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald.

I'm reading the excellent Casey Stengel: Baseball's Greatest Character, a new biography by sportswriter by Marty Appel.

Buying Time: Environmental Collapse and the Future of Energy, work-related, but so far a good, multi-perspective view of the relationship of energy, economics, and environmental impacts on policy.

I've finished Burning Down the House: Fighting Fire and Losing Myself by Russell Wangersky.

I'm reading Viking Age: Everyday Life During the Extraordinary Era of the Norsemen by Kirsten Wolf.

I've been going pretty slow on The Darkened Room: Women, Power, and Spiritualism in Late Victorian England, but it's good. I hope to finish it during some travel next weekend.

Started Huey Long as I was in the mood for a biography.

Update: Finished it. Quite a good albeit lengthy read.

Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History—without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
5/5 stars
McRobbie tells the fascinating and factual tales of real life princesses who are far from the fairy tale princesses we all grew up with as children. Many of these women had miserable lives and some caused a lot of misery. The author also deals with the inbreeding of the royals causing their children to be born with genetic defects and there is a section on the dollar princesses who were not royalty but were rich and married into royalty.

The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
4.5/5 stars
Bill Bryson is an enjoyable writer and I was not disappointed in this book originally released in 1990. You would think that a book on the English language would be as dry as toast but I found it fascinating and Bryson's writing made it a joy to read. I especially got a kick out of the chapter on Word Play and there were sections that just made me laugh out loud. The section on Names was also quite interesting and dealt with meanings of words that are not the same in different countries like when Standard Oil was thinking about to changing its name to Enco till they learned the enco meant stalled car in Japan. Highly recommended! I wonder if he has ever thought about updating the book and discuss what changes have happened since the original.

I finished the LTER, Electric October. It was an enjoyable baseball book focusing on 6 less famous participants in the 1947 World Series, their background, the seven series games, and their lives afterwards. Juggling 6 lives occasionally created a bit of confusion but it presented a good picture of the reality of baseball lives, the ups and downs, negotiating fame and a family through it all.

I am just beginning to read The Private lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe and I am really enjoying this book

I'm reading The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio by Andrea Mays.

I'm about to start Rewild which is about putting nature back into our lives. Looks very interesting.

Just started October: the Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville. I'm not that interested in the subject having read several other accounts over the years, but I love China's writing style in both fiction and non-fiction so thought I'd give it a go.

Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
4/5 stars
Armstrong discusses the phenomenon of the continued fan obsession of the Seinfeld show despite having ended in 1998 and its influence on American culture till this very day. The book is definitely geared to Seinfeld fans and from a few reviews that I read of this book, it covers some material already covered in other books on the show of which there are quite a few. I have not read any of the other books but I found this book very interesting and it has inspired me to re-watch the series again.

I'm new here. Just wondering if it's appropriate to post here a link of a new non-fiction book. Kind of history book though it's the story of my grandmother?

Joining to shill your book is frowned upon here, so thanks for checking first.

When I looked at my stats last year I was sad I didn't read more non-fiction so this year I'm doing better. Right now I have only one novel going, but 3 nf books -

1000 Years of Annoying the French which is what you'd think, the many ways the French and English have clashed over the centuries and how funny the English think that is.

On Trails by Robert Moor which is a study of trails both chemical, animal and human. Interesting, but there are some rat holes.

Evolution or sometimes known as Evolution in Action by Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu which is a gorgeously photographed coffee table size book about comparative evolutionary biology regarding the skeletal system. Basically how nature selects and changes a creature's bones to fit its ecological niche. It only involves current animals, not extinct ones and the skeletons are beautifully articulated and preserved.

Bookmarque,

Thanks!

I'm reading The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee.

>22 Bookmarque: I am going to add 1000 Years of Annoying the French- sounds like something I would like. Thanks for the recommendations.

I just finished my read of The Darkened Room and posted a positive review.

I'm almost done with Rewild and am really enjoying it, with lots of ideas buzzing around in my head now.

>22 Bookmarque: I'm on 37 F 31 NF this year so far, and reading one of each at the moment. It would be more equal if I hadn't had May in recovery from an operation and read a load of novels then!

In a typical year, I read about 1/3 nonfiction and 2/3 fiction.

Hello. I'm new here.

Technically, I started this book in June (Yesterday) so I can post here, still. I started The Working Class Republican.

>29 AnaPierro: Welcome AnaPierro!

Welcome ana!

I will be rereading Galileo's Daughter, for a book group. Havent read it in ages. just remember how well written and researched it was. Ive since read two other books by this author and have her new one Glass Universe that I need to get to soon.

>31 cindydavid4: I enjoyed Galileo's Daughter.

I enjoyed it too . Dava Sobel is a wonderful writer . The subjects she picks are always interesting .