So, just twenty two non-fiction books read last year but there were some really good books amongst those so I thought I would do a separate post to talk about a few of them.
First, I must apologise for being a bit AWOL in commenting on posts for a couple of days. I took a tumble in the kitchen and knocked my head quite badly, so took a day or two to be quiet and get over it. I'm fine now but my head still has a nice lump and I have a really impressive black eye! Not a great start to 2024.
So, books. In 2023 I read a few less non-fiction books than other years but those I did read were excellent and very memorable. These are a few of the best:
La Vie: A Year in Rural France by John Lewis-Stempel is what it says on the tin - a recounting of the author's move to France and how he settled in, started a garden and got to know the locals in the village. The writing was 'sublime' and I absolutely loved this short little book.
The Hunt for Mount Everest by Craig Storti is a historical account of the discovery of Mount Everest. I say 'discovery'... the locals always knew it was there, obviously, but it was a bit of a myth to western explorers and even when its existance was confirmed the Dalai Llama managed to keep the world at bay for many more years. Lots of interesting political history in this one and I do love books about climbing and how it emmerged as a serious 'thing' amongst Europeans.
Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin is self explanatory. I didn't review this but that doesn't mean I didn't think it was absolutely superb. I learnt so much and want to read more biographical works about Austen and her works now. I have Lucy Worsley's book to start me off, hopefully get to that this year.
The Accidental Detectorist by Nigel Richardson was such a fun, enjoyable read. Quirky and bonkers in places but also a lot of history and information about the various buried hoards that have been found all around the UK. Plus, you know, 'mad' people. (My favourite sort.) LOL! Highly recommended.
Outlandish by Nick Hunt. The authour considers the various landscape anomalies that exist in several European countries and goes to look at and experience them. I still think about this book, it was outstanding quite honestly, 'beautifully' written and so informative and full of atmosphere. Absolutely loved it and hope to read his, Walking the Woods and the Water this year.
Along the Enchanted Way by William Blacker. This is another book I'm still thinking about. The author goes to live in the Maramures region of northern Romania, a region that has not changed in centuries. He's practically adopted by the community he lives with and also gets to know the local gypsy population too. I don't know when I've ever read a book with a more intense sense of place: forests, villages, wintery landscapes, it was like moving back to the middle ages. Wonderful.
So that's just six of my favourite non-fiction books for 2023. It's a cracking year when I can pick out six superb books like this and could easily have included a handful more.
Some honorable mentions. Two books by Kate Humble, A Year of Living Simply and Home Cooked, both gorgeous. Bringing in the Sheaves by The Reverand Richard Coles charts the life of a well known TV Vicar - enjoyed it a lot. A Spoonful of Sugar by Brenda Ashford - nannying during WW2. 50 Shades of the USA by Anna McNuff - cycling across the 50 states of the USA. I could go on and on, it's been a stellar year for me for non-fiction. Let's hope 2024 is equally as good.
22 comments:
Thank you for some good ideas for non-fiction reading, I've made some notes!
The biography of Jane Austen was wonderful, wasn't it? I've placed holds with my library for a few of the others you have mentioned. They all sound good but my library doesn't have them all.
As you know, non-fiction is not really one of my favourite reading genres, unless they are 'coffee table' reference books, which can be picked up to read small sections at a time.
So, slightly 'off-piste', I was wondering if you ever watched the television adaptation of 'The Detectorists', which starred actor Toby Young? I only ask, because we have been watching the television docudrama 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' in which Toby Young plays the part of Mr Bates. We became so engrossed that we signed into the ITV player, so that we could binge watch all four episodes back-to-back - a genuine first for us!
Anyway, I digress and everyone else is probably wondering what the heck I am wittering on about!
I do hope that you are fit to be seen out in public again very soon and that next time you will take more water with it :) - Seriously, I wish you a speedy recovery and don't get overdoing things too soon :)
So very sorry to hear of your fall, Cath! Please keep taking very good care of yourself - that can all get very nasty. I don't blame you for wanting to take some time to recuperate. Thanks for sharing your book list. I'm interested in the biography of Jane Austen. I know there's been a lot written about her, but I really find her an interesting person!
I'm so glad you are okay, and hope the bump and black eye are better soon. You probably won't go shopping for a while.
I have The Accidental Detectorist pre-ordered and it should arrive in February. I love Detectorists, and the whole idea of doing it. I got Tom a detector years ago, but there really isn't anything on our land to "find".
You always find such interesting nonfiction books! I love hearing about your favorites, because I'm always looking for good nonfiction to read myself. :D
Oh, wow, Cath. I'm really happy to hear that your fall didn't turn out to be even worse than it did. Luckily you didn't break any bones, but that must have been quite a scare for both of you. That's one of my major concerns as the days go by, a bad fall that changes the rest of my life forever. It's all too common a thing.
We read the same number of nonfiction books, but your choices were much more satisfying to you than mine turned out to be to me. I could only come up with five that I would recommend to others, so just dropped the NF list this year.
A friend of mine from London moved to France when he retired, somewhere in the countryside there, and he really loves it. I think it took a couple of years for the locals to accept him as someone who would likely stick around for the long haul, but it's all turned out well for him. His pictures and stories make me jealous.
Do take care.
Glad you are not too badly hurt. I had a bad fall a year ago and thought my nose was broken until the x-rays came back. I think we all need to move slower and stop hurrying (challenge for me as I am nearly always late for work yet need to be a role model). My sister thinks we should practice our balance by standing on one foot to brush our teeth (she read this in the New York Times) but I tried it once and nearly fell into the bathtub.
Some interesting selections, thanks for sharing.
You might like to participate in the Nonfiction Reader Challenge at bookdout.wordpress.com and share your reads with others.
Sorry to learn of your fall, I’m glad you are doing better.
Hi Cath, I am so sorry to hear about your fall. That is scary and I am glad you are feeling better. I fell a few years ago and it turned out to be nothing that bad but it could have been. We have to be so careful.
Nice group of books and the Romania travel book interests me. It's such a mysterious country and with the exception of Dracula very few novels are set there.
Sue: You're most welcome. I hope you enjoy any that you try.
Jennifer: I completely agree, Tomalin's biography of JA was amazing. I want to read some of her letters too, and some more fiction, Gill Hornby's Godmersham Park for instance, 'Miss Austen' by her was excellent.
Yvonne: Yes, I know you're not massively into non-fiction. It's probably just as well as you'd only end up like me with even 'more' books to read!
We didn't watch The Detectorists when it first began but after I'd read this book we did see a few on iPlayer and really enjoyed them. Such a gentle series.
LOL about the take more water. And I don't even drink. And P's worried people will think I'm a battered wife! But we popped to M&S this morning and no one took a blind bit of notice. The bruise is very purpley-red and could easily be mistaken for a birth-mark. And Brits notoriously mind their own business of course. Thank you. *hugs*
Margot: Thank you. A moment's inattention and suddenly you're on the floor in a heap. It can indeed get very nasty and the medical people have kept a close eye but 'so far, so good'. Fingers crossed.
Jane Austen has spawned a huge industry of spin-off books, lit criticism, biographies and so on. Theory has it that she's spawned more off-shoot fiction than anyone else. Even, more up your alley, some quite good crime fiction. It's all variety and I love it.
Nan: Thank you. Well, I thought I wouldn't go out shopping too. And then I thought again. If I was young enough to be going out to work I wouldn't have any choice but to go out, so we popped off to the supermarket and not a single person batted an eye. Too funny.
I too love the idea of detectoring but am a bit old to take it up now I think (although maybe not.) It ties in with archaeology and I love reading about that too and watching TV docs. I know you have access to some BBC output, Prof. Alice Roberts has a new series of her Digging for Britain just starting. It's been going for years and there're lots of past episodes on Youtube.
Lark: Thank you. Any of these are worth trying I think but if was going to suggest one or two for you it would be The Hunt for Mt. Everest and The Accidental Detectorist. :-)
Sam: That's precisely what I thought as I hit the ground, life-changing falls. I got lucky this time. I try to be careful moving around the house as I know I have one very weak knee. But it seems I'm not careful enough and I find that scary.
As to non-fiction, I've become very picky and try to choose subjects that I know will interest me. Even then you can make a mistake and end up with someone whose writing is dry and uninteresting. I was lucky this year but not always.
Whether people make a success of moving to France does seem to depend on being willing to mix freely with local people. I'm glad your friend is doing well.
Constance: Wow, that sounds like a bad fall if you thought your nose was broken! It's so easy to just lose your footing and go down and, as Sam said, life changing injuries occur. I find it scary how easily that happens. You did give me a laugh though picturing you trying to stand on one leg to clean your teeth. I can't do that anymore as one of my knees is problematic. I could not now walk down that hill to DdM's beach like we did in 2022 and that grieves me.
Shellyrae: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have a look at that later. And thanks too for your kind words.
Kathy: This is it... it could've been worse and you thank your lucky stars when you're bruised but have not triggered something terrible. It was a bad fall and I feel incredibly lucky even though I look a sight.
I can't recommend the Romania book highly enough, it gives an excellent flavour of one part of the country. You're right though, there's very little fiction set there. A shame.
So sorry to hear about your fall, and if you have a black eye, you must have hit hard. A few years back, at least 6 or 7 years ago, I fell while walking on the sidewalk in downtown Santa Barbara. I hit flat on my forehead and it felt like I might have a concussion. But I was well enough to go to work the next day. I just remember that experience very well. I do worry about Glen and I tripping on something (in the house) and I try to be very careful now but it is hard to always be mindful.
So, getting back to your favorite nonfiction books, we bought Outlandish shortly after you reviewed it. Thank goodness, because Glen and I have a pact not to buy any books (except ebooks) until September, so anything we don't have now will have to wait awhile. I am also interested in the book about Romania and the one about Jane Austin.
Tracy: Thank you. Yes, I did hit hard. I caught the side of my head on the end of the door so that swelled up like an egg, and then the bruise spread right around my eye and cheek. Falling outside is pretty awful too and the sidewalk is 'hard'. You were lucky not to be concussed. This is the thing, it's so hard when you're moving round the house 'always' remembering to walk slow and not hurry. You have undo a lifetime of getting to things as quickly as possible.
I hope you enjoy Outlandish. Good luck with your plan not to buy any books until September. Lots of people doing that this year. I'm not imposing a book buying ban on myself but I am going to try to read a lot more older books that I own and get those off the tbr pile.
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