Helenliz reads non-fiction

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Helenliz reads non-fiction

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1Helenliz
Redigerat: mar 21, 2014, 5:18 pm

I don't read an awful lot of non-fiction, but I want to try and increase that ratio a little. So target set of 1 non-fiction book per month.

1 - The White War, Mark Thompson, ***
2 - Walking Home, Simon Armitage, ****1/2
3 - War child to War Horse, Maggie Fergusson, ***
4 - The short life and long times of Mrs Beeton, Kathryn Hughes, **

2qebo
jan 3, 2014, 8:35 am

Looking forward to reviews. Non-fiction covers so much territory, I'm always curious what grabs someone's interest.

3mabith
jan 3, 2014, 10:08 am

Well, I think you know how I feel about it... I do always think there's a deal less risk that a book will turn out to really be bad unexpectedly with non-fiction. It can definitely happen, but it's just a bit easier to see what you're getting into ahead of time.

4Helenliz
jan 10, 2014, 8:26 am

It's taken long enough, but I've finished my first book of 2014. hurrah!

The White War
Author Mark Thompson
***
Non-Fiction
TIOLI#15.
2014 CAT 2 History

I read this because I saw a documentary about avalanches and one of the ten things you didn't know about avalanches is that in WW1 on the Italian front they were triggered deliberately by troops as a means of attack. This book didn't answer the question but from knowing (just about) that italy were on the allied side in WW1, I now know far more. In some cases it's even more harrowing reading than the Western front, because the leaders seemed even more incompetent and unable to understand the facts if they hit them across the nose. An Italian punishment for being weak in the face of fire was to bring back decimation (a nice Roman tradition). Lots were drawn and those drawn executed. Not the guilty identified, it could be anyone from that brigade.

He used particular individuals to show progress of the war, and to reflect on what they did afterwards; be that Rommel in WW2, Mussolini in Italian politics, or writers & poets. He also compared & contrasted the literature spawned by war, be that the war poetry or the novels after the fact. the Italians remain miffed that Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms is the most well known book of the Italian front (but having read some extracts, I think I can see why!). As ever, the seeds of WW2 and later problems are sown in WW1.

At times I felt there was some assumption of knowledge, but for the most part that later resolved itself. An interesting read, but not a restful or comforting one.

5Helenliz
feb 15, 2014, 1:23 pm

Book 16
Walking Home
Author Simon Armitage
****1/2
non-fiction
TIOLI#15

This is by one of my current book crushes, I think everything he writes is excellent. This follows the poet as he walks the Pennine way, from top to bottom, as he was born, grew up and still lives in a town towards the bottom of the route. He does so earning his bed and board by giving poetry readins - not charging, but allowing people to give what they think he deserves. It's a slightly artificial construct, but it is a fun expedition. The book is told on route sections, with stories promted by various sights and sounds as well as details of the route and the readings. A good expedition tale for the armchair traveller.

6mabith
feb 15, 2014, 1:50 pm

Walking Home sounds lovely, and like a great future gift for my dad. Thanks for the review!

7Helenliz
feb 21, 2014, 2:08 am

Book 19
War Child to War Horse
Author Maggie Fergusson
***
Audiobook
TIOLI#4
CAT 6 Biography

This was interesting, as much for how I felt about it as the content. It is a life told in 7 chapters, each of which Michael Morpurgo responds to with a short story. I liked a couple of the stories, but I don't think I'd like him very much.

8Helenliz
mar 21, 2014, 5:19 pm

Book 24
The short life and long times of Mrs Beeton
Author Kathryn Hughes
**
Non-fiction
TIOLI# ?

I have to admit that I was disappointed by this. It felt overly long. It was interesting, but the early chapters were written with too much hinting at what happened next, and the later ones spent bemoaning the fact she'd died. I know that you can't exactly build suspense in a biography, when the ending is known in advance, but I thought this was written in a peculiarly circular manner. It also seemed to have a lot of digressions, but then didn;t finsih up an interesting thought. So towards the end she quotes Nancy Spain on the whipping episodes in EDM, where Spain says they're held under lock & key. My immediate question would be "well are they?" and that goes unanswered. I may have missed it, but while one son, Mayson, is involved quite heavily in the story, the other just fades out. Orchart gets married, but where he ends up from there wasn't clear. And I thought the family tree in the front cover was very unclear and badly laid out.
It was interesting in places, but it felt overly padded, not very well constructed and incomplete. Not one I can recommend.

9mabith
mar 21, 2014, 5:45 pm

That's too bad about the Mrs. Beeton book! Far better to have a short, interesting book that acknowledges any limitations in studying the subject.

10Helenliz
maj 7, 2014, 1:17 pm

Book 29
Wild Swans
Author Jung Chung
***
Non-Fiction
TIOLI#10

This tells a family story of three women in China. They are very different lives and some of what they suffer is difficult to read. It is very informative, without being dull. However, I did find that the author's politics did tend to intrude on the book from an early stag and there was a number of statements that the author could not possibly have first hand information about with no reference or other footnote as to where this statement was derived from. Sentences took the form "Mao thought xxx" with no reference as to if this was fact or her speculation. But, those quibbles aside, it was a book that deserves to be read.

11Helenliz
maj 7, 2014, 1:17 pm

Book 33
Cider with Roadies
Author Stuart Maconie
****
Non-fiction
TIOLI#1

I admit to being biased, I think Stuart Maconie is fab. This is the tale of his daliance with music as it lasted form his first gig (The Beetles, aged 3) to his departure from NME in the early 90s. It's full of anecdotes, not all of them involving a rock and roll lifestyle, a fair few involving a dodgy club or another in Wigan and a flirtation as a musician. All told with a fine turn of phrase, a wry humour and some genuine giggles. Very good read.