Week 1 in Nonfiction November 2019, runs from Oct 28 - Nov 1
First week is hosted by Julz of
Julz Reads. We have a few questions guiding us on what we have read so far this year.
- What was your favourite nonfiction read of the year?
- Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?
- What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?
- What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
List of nonfiction books read this year (by category)
History:
- Linnés skånska resa (Carl von Linné's Scania Travel) by Ove Torgny
- Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore (audio)
- Skånes slott och borgar by C Karlsson, P Karlsson, M Christensen
- Med Örnen mot polen by Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi (Scientific account of the Andrée expedition 1897)
- Politik och passion - Svenska kungliga äktenskap under 600 år (Politics and Passion - Swedish Royal Marriages during 600 years) by (editors) Henric Bagerius and Louise Berglund
- Eleanor, The Secret Queen - The Woman who put Richard III on the Throne by John Ashdown-Hill
Biographies or memoires:
- Till minne av en villkorslös kärlek by Jonas Gardell. The author is a famous entertainer in Sweden and this is his memories of his mother. It is very touching.
Grammar and studies:
- Grejen med verb (The Thing With Verbs, my transl.) by Sara Lövestam
- Grejen med substantiv (The Thing With Nones, my transl.) by Sara Lövestam
- Grejen med ordföljd (The Thing With Word Order)by Sara Lövestam
- F in Exams. The Best Test Paper Blunders by Richard Benson
My favourite nonfiction read this year
My favourite book(s) have to be Sara Lövestam's three small books about Swedish grammar. They are hilariously funny, and makes a rather boring(? or not) subject into something spectacular. I made me realise that the Swedish language is rather more difficult than I imagined.
Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?
Looking at the list of books I have read, I realise that for this year, I have a little bit more variety in my nonfiction reading than usual. Mostly, my nonfiction relates to history. This covers both historical events and specific persons. Of the 11 nonfiction books I have read, only five can be directed towards this category. I can be quite pleased that I have read a little bit more various nonfiction books so far this year.
What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?
That would have to be the same as my favourites; the grammar books.
What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
To continue reading several books I have started but got stuck. The books I have chosen are:
Simon Sebag Montefiore (one of my favourite historian authors) Stalin, The Court of the Red Tsar
Andrew Wheatcroft, The Habsburgs
Penelope Fitzgerald, Edward Burne-Jones, A Life
Cressida Connolly, The Rare and the Beautiful, The lives of the Garmans
Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money
I realised when starting that I have already read about The Lives of the Garmans. However, the other books are rather thick, so I will not add another one. Will probably not be able to read them all. I have started two books (of course, can't just read one at the time!); Simon Sebag Montefiore's biography about Stalin and Niall Ferguson's
The Ascent of Money. Always a current subject!
I am glad you enjoyed the books on Swedish grammar so much. They sound fun.
ReplyDeleteThey really are. Makes me more interested in grammar than when I was at school. That just shows that you can make anything interested, if you meet it from the right angle.
DeleteIt is nice that you've read a little more widely with regards to nonfiction this year, and found some books you perhaps wouldn't naturally pick up. I hope you're able to make a good dent in your TBR for the month. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHope so too, although I have chosen some really thick books. I am now ploughing Stalin, The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Very interesting, frightening and unbelievable. Montefiore knows how to make history come alive.
DeleteAs an ex teacher, I like the sound of F in Exams. Good luck with your NonFiction November goals.
ReplyDeleteThank you, it is a good challenge. I have quite a few thick books, so don't know how many I have time to read.
DeleteYes, it was quite fun. Some pupils don't even try, just write a very funny comment when they fail the subject.
Oh, how interesting! I don't hear about much translated nonfiction, so I really enjoyed hearing about your reading this year. And I love that you found some fun books on grammar :)
ReplyDeleteYes, the grammar books are a real treat. Who could imagine one would laugh out loud on reading about grammar!
DeleteI think coming from a "small" language, we tend to read a lot of translated fiction and/or nonfiction. Although, Sweden has rather a lot of very good authors, of which I guess, our thriller authors are quite well known abroad. I enjoy a nonfiction book by a good historian, and we also have a few very good such authors in Swedish. I think though, many of them might not be translated into other languages.