The Content Reader

We are nearing the end of November and are already on week 4 in Nonfiction November challenge. This week is hosted by Rebekah @ She Seeks Nonfiction . I find this weekly challenge difficult. Mainly since I read mostly historical nonfiction, and I am not sure it changes anyones world views. I will probably go a slightly different path, so, let's see where I end up.  Week 4:  Worldview Changers:    What nonfiction book or books has impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way?   I went to my book shelves to check out my nonfiction books. I choose three of them that has impacted me. Maybe not changed my world views but the historical events had a great impact on many people. The Sleepwalkers , How Europe Went to War in 1914  by Christopher Clark This must be the most thorough research and writings on the first world war. Mainly centered on the origins of the war. The main event, we are told, are the shots in Sarajevo killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand, h...

Authors' books I have saved on my shelves which names start with C. Turns out to be only five books, of which four are non-fiction. My reviews under links.  Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell - a funny book with quotes from customers in bookshops. Here is an example which highlights the mix of culture today, and confusion. I would say that anything that makes someone want to buy a book is good. Although this customer, sadly, did not go for the book: "CUSTOMER:  Do you have a copy of Bella Swan's favourite book? You know, from Twilight? (Bookseller sighs and pulls a copy of Wuthering Heights off the shelf) CUSTOMER: Do you have the one with the cover that looks like Twilight? BOOKSELLER: No. This is an antiquarian bookshop, so this is an old edition of the book. CUSTOMER: But it's still the one with that girl Cathy and the dangerous guy, right? BOOKSELLER: Yes, it's still the story by Emily Brontë. CUSTOMER: Right. Do you think they'll make ...

My reading in 2016 was slightly interrupted due to unexpected, but nice circumstances. Therefore I Light in August by William Faulkner and Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh). I somehow have a feeling that I just haphazardly read books, without much thought behind. Might not be wrong, but I felt a little bit "wobbly" with my reading. For 2017 I will be more disciplined and try to approach books in a more consolidated way. Best book of the year! did not read as much as anticipated. As usual I more or less liked the books I read. Those I really disliked I did not read. I think it was two ( However, there are, as always, some books that stand out more than others. Here are my favourite reads for 2016 in no specific order. Bess: the Life of Lady Ralegh, Wife to Sir Walter by Anna Beer The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco The Other Rembrandt by Alex Connor De gömda rummen (Habitaciones cerrada...

This is a very complex book about finding the cause to the First World War. It is not possible to point to one specific cause to the start of the war. Christopher Clark makes a fantastic job in showing us the various events that lead to this terrible war. ”The European continent was at peace on the morning of Sunday 28 June 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie Chotek arrived at Sarajevo railway station. Thirty-seven days later, it was at war. The conflict that began that summer mobilized 65 million troops, claimed three empires, 20 million military and civilian deaths, and 21 million wounded. The horrors of Europe’s twentieth century were born of this catastrophe; it was, as the American historian Fritz Stern put it, ’the first calamity of the twentieth century, the calamity from which all other calamities sprang’. The debate over why it happened began before the first shots were fired and has been running ever since. It has spawned an historical literature of unpara...

Two challenges that I am following and enjoying to see what your choices are. Here are mine for this week. Book beginnings on Friday Rose City Reader , is hosting Book beginnings on Friday . She says: Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name. Friday 56 Freda’s voice is hosting Friday 56 and the rules are: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) *Post it. *Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. *It's that simple. My book this week is The Sleepwalkers - How Europe went to war in 1914 by Christopher Clark I have just finished this very, thick book, which I have been...

This is a real classic and a book that we decided to read in one of my reading groups. It was totally different from what I thought it would be. I thought it would be heavy, tragic and with horrible details of the times at the front. It is horrible of course but told in an easy and accessible prose. It is told in first person singular with the voice of nineteen year old Paul Bräumer, a soldier at the Western front during the first world war. We follow Paul from the first staggering steps as a new soldier into the more routine soldier who has been there and seen it all. It is told in a matter-of-fact way that makes you feel you are standing beside him and experience all the things he experiences. That is probably also why you can identify with him. You follow him in school with his friends who also enrol. During the initial training which does not prepare them for what they are about to experience. Through the bullies who think the most important thing is the drill and who punish the ...