thread: Fav Non Fiction Books?

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  1. #1
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    Oct 2008
    Victoria
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    Fav Non Fiction Books?

    DH bought me a Kindle tonight (yay!), so now I am going through and trying to make a wish list. I had heaps that I wanted to read but now that I'm sitting here I can't think of any. I prefer biographies/auto biographies these days so please share any you have enjoyed

  2. #2
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    Jun 2007
    Western Australia
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    Fav Non Fiction Books?

    I'm in the middle of Chloe Maxwells book about her autistic son, Max. Our Boy Max or Our Son Max. I can't remember the exact title right this second but I can barely put it down.

  3. #3
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    Oct 2008
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    Oh thanks DD, that's actually one I saw ages ago that I wanted to read.

  4. #4

    Mar 2004
    Sparta
    12,662

    The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England/Elizabethan England
    Anything by Bill Bryson
    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    Salt
    Cod
    Under The Banner of Heaven
    Into Thin Air
    Into the Wild
    The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Alison Weir not Antonia Fraser although the Fraser text is also interesting). Actually any of the Alison Weir biographies are interesting. Elanor of Aquitane, Queen Isabella, The Lady in the Tower.....
    Geisha. The One by Liza Dalby
    Freakanomics/Superfreakanomics
    The Wolf of Wall Street/Catching the Wolf of Wall Street (These two are autobiographical)
    The Women of the Cousin's War.
    The Cloudspotter's Guide.


    If you read Three Cups of Tea you gotta read Three Cups of Deceit and then his rebuttal which was published in Outside magazine. Gripping stuff.
    Last edited by Phteven; January 31st, 2013 at 08:34 PM. : more...

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Jan 2006
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    Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson was pretty good, for an autobiography. Dude who decides to build girls' schools in Pakistan after a mountain-climbing accident out there.

    Did you want just biographies/autobiographies or any non-fiction books?

  6. #6
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    Oct 2008
    Victoria
    4,601

    Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson was pretty good, for an autobiography. Dude who decides to build girls' schools in Pakistan after a mountain-climbing accident out there.

    Did you want just biographies/autobiographies or any non-fiction books?
    Thanks TFB, that one sounds interesting.

    I'm after anything that is true life I guess. I used to read a book a day before I had kids though haven't read much lately, now that I'm getting back into reading I can't get into fiction for some reason.

    Thanks Zazou, Into the Wild is one of my all time favourites, off to google the rest

  7. #7

    Mar 2004
    Sparta
    12,662

    Three Cups of Deceit is written by the guy who wrote Into The Wild.

    I found it heaps harder to read fiction after having children too although I've got back into it recently.

  8. #8
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    Oct 2008
    Victoria
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    Love all those suggestions Zazou

    Thanks PN, that looks really good too.

    Never going to get to sleep tonight! Too busy googling and wish listing lol

  9. #9

    Mar 2004
    Sparta
    12,662

    Mao's Last Dancer
    Wild Swans
    Angela's Ashes
    A Hospital by The River

    ETA - PN you made me break my no new books until I have finished all my other books resolution. Kindle is dangerous - it combines the instant gratification of bookshops with the ease of online shopping
    Last edited by Phteven; January 31st, 2013 at 08:51 PM.

  10. #10
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    Fav Non Fiction Books?

    Oh thanks DD, that's actually one I saw ages ago that I wanted to read.
    No worries
    Most of the biographies I'vs read are wrestling biographies so I can't help too much in that department But I thought that one book may be interesting to you.

  11. #11
    Registered User

    Nov 2008
    in the ning nang nong
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    If you like the Freakenomics books, try Undercover Economist too

    I'm also getting quite into Biographies and Autobiographies.

  12. #12
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    Nov 2008
    in the ning nang nong
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    I also like reading speeches.

    And judgments (I know, weird, but they're really interesting ... things rarely get to the High Court or Court of Appeal if they're not complicated and fascinating).

  13. #13
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    Fav Non Fiction Books?

    I also like reading speeches.

    And judgments (I know, weird, but they're really interesting ... things rarely get to the High Court or Court of Appeal if they're not complicated and fascinating).
    Sounds like something I'd be interested in too nutter

  14. #14
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    Nov 2008
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    Sounds like something I'd be interested in too nutter
    This is because all original vintage thread killers are inherently awesome.




    Ooo - I also like crime stories, but not ones about sexual violence (especially paedophilia).

  15. #15
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    Fav Non Fiction Books?

    This is because all original vintage thread killers are inherently awesome.




    Ooo - I also like crime stories, but not ones about sexual violence (especially paedophilia).
    That we are nutter (awesome) that we are

    I'm going to a comedy show tonight that's a former WWE wrestler, Mick Foley. He's got a book out called 'Have A Nice Day' which is his biography - but even though it's got a fair bit of wrestling in it, it's got a lot of his early stuff too, like high school stories and such.
    It actually opens your eyes as to what they do on the road + what they have to do to get to 'the big leagues'. The only other ones I read are sports auto/biographies
    My MIL has read Dawn Frenchs autobiography and she highly recommends that one.
    My FIL is a huge book fan, and I'm seeing them today so I'll ask him if he's read any good ones lately

  16. #16
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    Jan 2006
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    Oooh, if you like Miranda Hart then you may well like her autobiography. If you don't like her, don't read it. It's like reading her radio/TV show.

    Zazou, will have to read "three cups of deceit" as I found the 3 cuppas book interesting, but a bit "I'm American so I am great all the time".

    Damnit, just realised that Jasper Fford wasn't writing a biography when he did his Thursday Next books. But you could pretend it was real, that would be such a blast. The later ones treat the early ones as a biography, does that count?