Here’s the prompt for Week Two of Nonfiction November:
Week 2 (11/4-11/8) Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking. (Frances)
What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to?
As far as the overall categories are concerned, I tend to gravitate toward history and biography, with a distinct slant toward reading about literary figures. However, there are certain periods of history that appeal to me (the Wars of the Roses and the Tudors, for example), and there are certain authors that I trend toward, usually buying any books that I come across. Here are some of those authors:
- Bill Bryson
- Doris Kearns Goodwin
- David Grann
- Erik Larson
- Kate Summerscale
- Claire Tomalin
- Lucy Worsley
As you can see, several of these names are historians and biographers. I also like reading about art and true crime.
Do you have a particular writing style that works best?
Where writing style is concerned, I obviously want the book to be well written. In nonfiction, writing can get pretty academic and stuffy. If I’m not reading a book for a particular research goal, then I prefer the style to be more informal, maybe even with a touch of humor. However, Goodwin uses a more formal style, but it is eminently readable and not stodgy.
When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking.
Yes, of course, the covers influence me to buy books. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. However, I’m more influenced by the author than the cover, usually. Titles not so much in nonfiction, because they are often stodgy or ruined by those stupid subtitles they all seem to have now. I think the cover that I liked best from my reading of the last year was the one for The Salt Path (note no subtitle).
What? Me Read? 
I also like reading about history, art and true crime! 🙂
My nonfiction reading is mainly history and biography too and I’ve enjoyed books by some of those same authors. I haven’t read The Salt Path but I do like that cover!
It’s pretty good. All the books in that series have nice covers, but I understand that the others aren’t as good.
Larson and Summerscale are favourites of mine too. I see Summerscale has a new one just out – The Peepshow, about the Christie murders. I’m hoping to read it soon, and also Larson’s The Demon of Unrest, about Lincoln.
Yes, I heard about The Peepshow from another blogger, and I’m looking forward to the Larson. Actually, I think I might be one behind on his.
We like more or less the same kind of nonfiction, and I also love some of the authors you have mentioned. I am not familiar with all of them. If you like biographies I can recommend one of my favourite biographic authors, Mary S. Lovell. My favourites are A Rage to Live (about Sir Richard Burton, the explorer), A Scandalous Life (about Lady Jane Digby) and The Mitford Girls, always fascinating to read about them.
Oh, yes, I have read one book by Mary S. Lovell, about Beryl Markham. I had forgotten about her. These sound interesting. (I think Richard Burton is fascinating but only read one very boring biography of him, so I’ll look for this one.)
This is a fascinating read. Even my husband, who is not a reader, read it while we were on a holiday many years ago. It was a constant fight who should be reading it.
I do tend to look for books by authors I have found to be good researchers and good writers. I like to have books that center on truth always, but do not have a bleak outlook.