Fiction and Non Fiction books

I usually have several non-fiction and fiction books on the go at any one time. At present I am reading: 'Treasure Island', R L Stevenson, again and 'The Name of the Wind', Patrick Rothfuss, in fiction, and 'Henry VIII', Alison Weir and 'A Military Life of Constantine the Great', Ian Hughes in non-fiction.

Alice-nice-Alice said:

I think it was called Falling Star

I'll put that on my booklist, thanks; it's Falling Star: Misadventures of White Star Line Ships if anyone else wants it. Yes, a sad end to the Titanic. I like the fictionalised version in the film as the sets were based on the original - so elegant. It's hard to imagine what the passengers and crew went through. Even now, they build ships with compartments that allow water over the top - that's hard to fathom too. 

I read ages ago a well illustrated history of the White Star Line, I think it was called Falling Star. The line had an unfortunate history of collisions, being sunk by enemy fire, and of course the famous iceberg. If I remember correctly all its liners names ended in -IC. eg: Georgic, Brittanic, Olympic, and so on. Eventually it was swallowed up by Cunard. They were such beautiful liners, an age of elegance, so long as you didn’t get sunk 

I agree about E of A, and indeed British history in general. A few years ago I set myself the challenge to read it all from the Roman invasion to recent. I didn’t do it in chronological order but chose the best books by the best authors in hardback as and when I could find/afford them.

I didn’t complete my challenge in the end, ground to a halt at around the end of the Stuarts. But then some years on and now reading intensely about the interwar war years, its politics across Europe, its literature and its poetry. I find it fascinating comparing say Ezra Pound, Wyndham Lewis and Richard Aldington with their right wing mindset to T.S.Eliot, (intensely Roman Catholic), and the Brithsh/American left wing. Its also fascinating what happened to all these writers after WW2. The Spender & Isherwood connection post war is fascinating too but rooted in the interwar. This has involved some detailed reading about the war itself, which convinces me we have progressed no one jot since the Romans departed. 

You observed in another post about disliking revisionism, though didn’t specifically use the word. And again my understanding of history through the reading leads me to agree with you. There is clearly no absolute truth, no absolute right and wrong. When we put ourselves in the position of say the Tudor court without arrogantly taking 21C values with us, things make sense and we are I believe better humans for appreciating that their truth was quite different to the perceived truth of the 21C. This is challenging though for an inevitable consequence is that we have to accept the why of 1930s Germany, of Stalin’s Soviet empire, even Putin. 

Definitely a fan of non-fiction, have a stack of books waiting to go 

Thinking about it, I love finding a book I know I'll keep re-reading, and try to buy a hardback or luxury edition. It's such a joy handling books with good quality paper, images and an interesting cover. I bought a hardback, colour-illustrated edition of Charles Dickens Christmas Stories, and read it every Christmas, end to end.

Non fiction for me. With good line spacing and font and I do like some pictures but not essential.

I agree - I enjoy a more satirical take. Russell Jones's books are ones I'd particularly recommend  - The Decade in Tory and Four Chancellors and a Funeral - I'm reading the latter at the moment. Although how much you enjoy those books will probably depend on where you are on the political spectrum.

I also heartily recommend The Secret Barrister's books which talk about the legal system and the problems within it. They're much less politically biased and very insightful.

I'm not good at non fiction books. I like to find out specifically about non fiction things I'm interested in. I find the internet much more useful for this than a book.

Rayyah said:

If you're not sure where to start, I'd just pick a topic you're already curious about rather than worrying about the non-fiction label. It's much easier to get into when you're genuinely interested in the subject.

Yes, that's the best way!

I mostly read non-fiction. I love books on astrophysics and physics in general, they make some really complex ideas surprisingly accessible.

I also enjoy anything related to history and different cultures. I find it fascinating learning how cultures developed over time, the historical context behind them, and how that has shaped languages, traditions and behaviours today.

Philosophy is another subject I'd definitely recommend if you enjoy asking "why" about the world and how people think. It's one of those topics that links really well with history, psychology and culture too, so there's plenty to explore.

If you're not sure where to start, I'd just pick a topic you're already curious about rather than worrying about the non-fiction label. It's much easier to get into when you're genuinely interested in the subject.

Books on recent history that are fun to read, I think it depends on how old you are, but a lot of modern history is more like old news to me and when it's stuff I remember and the narrative around it has changed to a sort of official version then I get really cross as it often doesn't respect the way those events were lived.

There are some really good non-fiction books that almost read like fiction ones.

I recommend reading biographies and, in particular, autobiographies, because these always tell a story. Reading them can feel similar to reading a fictional novel at times.

Some history books can be similar. It doesn't have to be ancient history, there are lots of books on more recent events that are fun to read as well.

I'll try that - thanks. I had vaguely heard of her but didn't know the background.

This may be a bit off the wall, but I would highly recommend two fantasy novels by Guy Gavriel Kay: Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. Together, they trace the last years of Sarantium’s equivalent of the Emperor Justinian through the eyes of a mosaicist working on the Sarantine version of the Hagia Sophia. Very good on the social history of Sarantium/Constantinople in about the fifth century (a lot on the chariot racing factions and the nika riots).

If you can get hold of it, Robert Browning’s Justinian and Theodora is a good history of the period (and one of the books that inspired Kay’s Sarantium).

Last proper novel I read was Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes. It was a good read.

There are loads of fiction books about Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of the French King Louis VII, then divorced him and married King Henry II of England, mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John, theres an even better biography of her by historian Alison Weir. Her's on of the most amazing stories in history, even the biography almost reads like fiction, she was one of the most remarkable people I think the world has ever seen.

Thank you all for suggestions so far! 

Added the two Julie Andrews autobiography books to my Wishlist (Def want copies as she's in my two fav films!)

A book on Chocolate I will have to look at borrowing from the library, plus books about nature and singers I like 

Stuart333 said:

I have books on all sorts of things. Generally things I thought I wanted to know about in more detail.

Yes, I like to keep a micro-library with subjects that take my fancy, like clouds or sailing ships. We are so very lucky to have cheap second-hand books easily available. I also like generic books - encyclopaedias. These are old, quirky books, good for dipping into when you feel restless and don't know what you want to read:

Information is Beautiful by David McCandless

Who or Why or Which or What by John Oldale

Any other book suggestions are welcome.

There is a page on NAS on some non fiction books about autism as well, focused on women (so not sure whether it applies to you.)

"Non-fiction"

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/identity/autistic-women-and-girls#:~:text=guidance%20content%20sources.-,Non%2Dfiction,-Autism%20and%20masking