March was way better than depressing February, spring has officially started even if the weather in London tries to firmly deny it, days are longer an I’m finally not so light-deprived. All of this and a week of vacation have contributed to getting me back on track with my reading habits. March was not as good as January and not as bad as February so I guess I’m back to my norm in terms of number of books read, however when it comes to the type of things I read I’m still surprisingly high on non-fiction, I’m not sure what the reason is, I’m just drawn more to real stories recently, maybe because the reality in news is so ugly I try to find proof that humanity is not doomed, that there are good things to find out there.
What are your reason for reading non-fiction?
Here’s what I read:
22. Somewhere Towards the End – Diana Athill (r) – a book by an author so full of energy in her eighties that I in my thirties can only be amazed and a tiny bit jealous
21. Bon Voyage and Other Stories – Noel Coward (r) – sadly the first DNF of the year
20. A History of Architecture in 100 Buildings – Dan Cruickshank (r) – pretty pictures, subjetive choice of buildings, not so good writing
19. Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans – Dan Baum (r) – fascinating book about New Orleans, a universe in its own right
18. Moriarty – Anthony Horowitz (r) – I really enjoyed this take on the Holmes universe
17. Modern Man: The Life of Le Corbusier, Architect of Tomorrow – Anthony Flint (r) – thought provoking book about one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, presenting facts and ideas and allowing the reader to make his/her own judgement
16. Let Me Tell You – Shirley Jackson (r) – an absolute gem, there is so much to find in this book that I cannot recommend it enough
15. Hostage – Kristina Ohlsson (r) – a smart well paced crime/thriller with interesting characters
Photo by Violetta Kaszubowska @ vkphotospace
bookskeptic.com 
I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction recently, in fact just more than half of the books this year have been. In my case I’ll have to put it to what was going on in October onwards, which is when I bought the books I’ve been reading. I suppose I’ve just found a lot of good ones – and also I tend towards the non-fiction in my NetGalley requests too, as modern fiction tends to leave me a bit cold.
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I’m drawn to nonfiction if I’m interested in the subject. Sometimes I want to feel smarter about something (I love that feeling), and sometimes I like to get to know more about a person. People fascinate me, real or imagined.
Diana Athill sounds like an amazing woman – I’d like to read about her! And I’m always tempted by Shirley Jackson.
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Oh, yes, non-fiction certainly makes me feel smarter too. Which in turn makes my whole family suffer as I walk around imparting my newly gained knowledge on them 😉
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Haha – that happens here, too!
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I read to learn and experience, both in fiction and in nonfiction, but I tend to read about 5 fiction books to every nonfiction. I find nonfiction takes me longer, and takes more concentration, so I think I put it off. But I have a lot of nonfiction on my TBR! I intend to read that Shirley Jackson book after I’ve finished reading all of her novels and memoirs.
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I was also always putting non-fiction to an undefined later, that’s why I’m so surprised about my current non-fiction spree, but it does take a lot of focus.
I’m really interested in your reaction to that Shirley Jackson book!
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