Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Nonfiction

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022.

There will be a Blogtober post a bit later, but I really couldn’t pass up this week’s Let’s Talk Bookish topic! I honestly find these so interesting to do, and it’s a great way to really consider what and how I read.

Let’s Talk Bookish October 20th
Reading Nonfiction
(Hannah @ Hannah’s Library)

Prompts: Do you read a lot of nonfiction? What is the last nonfiction book you read? Are there any nonfiction books you always recommend to others? What are your favorite nonfiction subjects to read about?

I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I feel like I read a fair bit. At the moment, I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Conspiracies Uncovered, and I usually have a book about the writing craft on the go at any given point. The last one I read was You Say Potato: A Book About Accents, which is a really great look at the various accents that make up the UK and beyond.

With recommendations, it really depends on the particular tastes of the person I’m recommending the book to. I do think, however, there are some books which as many people as possible should read, such as Not That Bad, edited by Roxane Gay, Small Town Girl by Donna McLean, which offers an insight on the #spycops scandal, White Tears/Brown Scars, Everyday Sexism, and The Transgender Issue. I’d also include Nick Pettigrew’s Anti-Social.

I wouldn’t say it’s my ‘favourite’ subject to read, as such, but I do try and read as much around social justice issues as I can, as you can probably tell from the above. I can get quite taken with true crime or memoirs where folks have lived an unusual life or experienced something unusual. I do love reading about queer history, history of horror, and film literature. I think my tastes in nonfiction are as varied as my tastes in fiction!

If you want more recommendations or you’re looking for your next nonfiction read, some of the five star books I’ve read –

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression
Crisis? What Crisis?: Britain in the 1970s
Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer
Breakfast at Bronzefield
The Science of Women in Horror
The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World
A Little Gay History of Wales

And if you’ve read this and think “Oh, you’d love…” then I would love more recommendations! I’m always trying to stretch my wings with nonfiction. And if you read this and pick up any of the previously mentioned books, I’d love to hear what you think!