One of my New Year’s Resolutions this
year (I’m a great fan of NY Resolutions!) was to read more non-fiction. And I
have definitely tried. Looking back at my Books Read list, so far this year I have read 18 non-fiction, which isn’t bad.
OK, my preference is still by far to read fiction (fiction books read stand at 104) but I’ve done better
than last year when I only read 16 non-fiction in the whole year. And now it's autum. The trees are changing colour, the wind is howling and the days shortening. It's definitely the time to retire indoors and get more of that reading done. And to ensure that I read plenty of non-fiction, I've enrolled to do a Masters in Applied Economics. Of course, that's not the main reason for deciding to study further, but it is certainly influencing my reading.
Before I started the course, my
non-fiction choices were split roughly equally between biography and politics. My
current favourites, if anyone is looking for a recommendation, are the engrossing
biography of the six Mitford sisters, Take
Six Girls, by Laura Thompson and the thought-provoking Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari.Now, however, I’m being forced to venture into more academic books, to read things I wouldn’t necessarily choose for myself, and to read things that I know are going to be challenging. And – take a deep breath – I’m finding that this is a good thing! I’m enjoying having my brain stretched, being made to express myself with intellectual rigour, to source all the evidence I produce in an essay. It’s a great contrast to the way I normally write, which is to use my imagination, and to incorporate research in a way that suits the story rather than the facts (although facts are important, obviously).
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| Reading for the future? |
This is only the beginning of a two-year
course, so time will tell what influence it will have on me in the long run. I’m
hoping that the contrasts between the two types of reading, and the two types
of writing, will have a positive impact on my fiction. It’s certainly making
for an interesting life!
If you were to recommend one non-fiction book, what would it be?
Hmmm, I read very little non-fiction but am having a huge stab of guilt pierce me reading this ..... perhaps it is time that I ought!
ReplyDeleteOnly if you want to!
DeleteBlack Diamonds by Catherine Bailey. I can't say that it would stretch your brain but it gave me some different perspectives. The only thing is I had to buy the book as only half of it downloaded, along with all the references.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gwen. That's one of the ones I have read. It was recommended by a neighbour. I really enjoyed it.
DeleteI really loved Black Diamonds. My choice, though, would be Nicholas crane's The Making of the British Landscape - long, but well worth a read for anyone interested in what's around them.
DeleteThanks Jennifer. I'll look out for that - but maybe not one to be read during term-time!
DeleteFab post, Gill, but gosh, I'm suffering from reading envy. : ) You devour almost double the amount of books I manage in a year! I'm ashamed to admit I mostly read non-fiction as research, rather than for pleasure. I do enjoy reading 'how to write' books though and the best I've read this year was John Yorke's, Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them. An autobiography I really enjoyed (a book group choice) was This Is Not About Me by Janice Galloway. You've definitely made me consider the benefits of reading more non-fiction. Your course sounds so interesting. Good luck.x
ReplyDeleteThanks Rae. The course is fun, if demanding. The Janice Galloway was on my tbr list a while ago and somehow dropped off - I shall now reinstate it!
DeleteHow fascinating Gill, I did an MA in Social Work & studied history of mental health, social welfare etc. It still bugs me now that local 'squires' were allowed to fence off loads of common land thus stopping access by poor people to the means to grow their own food. Now those same descendants of the squires are building huge housing developments based in off shore tax break companies. I've just ordered the two books above from the library, they sound great!! I love non-fiction but I reckon some fiction does teach stuff too, like Charles Dickens, it shows us things in a much more emotive way than a list of figures. Good luck with the studying! I loved mine!! Do you have to pay for it in Scotland?
ReplyDeleteI do get qutie a few of my non-fiction books through the library, too, Lynne, but now you've reminded me that I can request ones that aren't there. Brilliant. And, unfortunately, we do have to pay for post-grad studies here in Scotland, but undergrad degrees still funded by the governement. Long may that continue.
DeleteI'm a bit obsessed with China after having been there so read biographies/travel around that - and I read quite a lot of 20th century social history - eg Julie Summers' books on WWII/post WWII such When the Children Came Home (about evacuees) and Fashion on the Ration.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate. I haven't heard of Julie Summers but that's one to look out for. Is there a particular book you would recommend re. China?
DeleteWhen I read your post I thought that I didn't read much non-fiction, however then I took myself off to do some writing and ended up researching the history of a local town so I could be accurate for the historical novel I am writing. I now realise that I read a lot more non-fiction than I first thought. The research I do often involves books, newspaper archives, reports, online websites, journals etc and I have come to the conclusion I probably read more non-fiction than fiction! What a surprise!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that you didn't think you were reading non-fiction. Possibly because you were enjoying it so much? Which is good, research should be fun.
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