We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but this year, thanks to a few books I’ve seen around, I have been. For me, reading is more of an escape and a form of relaxation and that’s the reason I don’t pick up much non-fiction in general. This year though I’ve been finding myself reading more than just my regular fiction and that’s due to some book bloggers who gushed over books that I may not have ever thought to even look at.
Some of the non-fiction that I read this year:
The Whale: In Search of Giants of the Sea by Philip Hoare
The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown
The Shipwreck that Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America by Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith
Life in Medieval France by E.R. Chamberlin
I’m also planning to read a book about the Anglo-Saxons too. I saw a show on the National Geographic Channel about this man in England who found a Saxon hoard with a metal detector and now I’m fascinated by Saxon gold, the lifestyle, and history. Right now I’m reading Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach which is both fascinating and gross. Yep, geek is showing but I’m OK with that today.
I read a lot of historical fiction and I usually end up googling people and places after I finish, especially if it’s a book I enjoyed. I think I read more non-fiction than I think I do in that manner but when I step into a bookstore, the first place I don’t end up is in the non-fiction section, unless it’s cookbooks and I don’t count those. I hope to add a lot more non-fiction to my reading list next year, thanks to the help of a few bloggers.
Just Book Reading 
I haven’t read the books you mentioned, but they sound compelling.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
I’m not a big nonfiction person either, and so far I haven’t been converted, lol!
It’s been a slow process for me. 🙂
I quite enjoyed The Far Traveler, although it could have been better; still, that’s the right kind of nonfiction for me. 🙂
I agree. There were parts that drug on a little but overall I thought it was an interesting book.
I try to alternate fiction with non-fiction, a habit I picked up in graduate school when I was getting my MA in theology. My reading speed would take such a dip after working through heavy theological treatises, that I needed a way to speed back up. Cozy mysteries and romance novels did the trick, so I continue to alternate reading, though now I read more fiction than non-fiction. My latest intriguing read is “The Mind & the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force” by Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley. It’s fascinating! It’s all about how the brain can rewire itself to adapt to new circumstances, and the upshot is that we can actually rewire our brains through concentrated mental effort. This is better than sci fi because it’s real research that is already changing medical science. Now if I can just work it into one of my Birder Murders, I would be ecstatic, but I’m not seeing a good fit between neuroplasticity and my really nice Minnesota birder who happens to find bodies along with birds.
I can see the value in alternating fiction and non-fiction. Thanks for the recommendation — sounds like a keeper.