I’m on the lookout for more books to add to my TBR pile (and then probably ignore for three years…) - hit me up with non-fiction recs? What’s your favourite non-fiction book? One you’ve re-read multiple times, one that’s stuck with you or had a big influence on you? Any topic! #BookRecs #NonFiction - ThreadSky

heroicendeavour.bsky.social • 159 days ago

I’m on the lookout for more books to add to my TBR pile (and then probably ignore for three years…) - hit me up with non-fiction recs? What’s your favourite non-fiction book? One you’ve re-read multiple times, one that’s stuck with you or had a big influence on you? Any topic! #BookRecs #NonFiction

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hipporebecca.bsky.social•159 days ago

Some recent ones I’ve read and enjoyed are tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman, Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll (and if that gets you into Northern Irish history then there’s also Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe) Somebody Told Me by Danny Wallace and Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s invisible life by Anna Funder

kirstywallis.com•159 days ago

I don’t read a lot of non fiction but ‘watching the English’ by Kate Fox is something I read as a student that was truly enjoyable and I have come back to several times. ‘All that remains’ by Sue Black is also good but definitely not for everyone :)

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

I’ve read both of those! And definitely agree. ‘Watching the English’ was full of those ‘oh shit, we DO do that, don’t we?’ moments of recognition.

kirstywallis.com•159 days ago

I read it as a ‘published ethnography’ as a first year undergrad and loved it so much my assignment that was supposed to be a critique was definitely not critical 😆 it’s so accurate!

ianjsimpson.bsky.social•159 days ago

Dark Money https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/

The Map that Changed the World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Map_that_Changed_the_World

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

I like Simon Winchester’s books but that’s one I’ve not read yet!

ianjsimpson.bsky.social•159 days ago

It's a lovely insight to both geology and canal building.

cawkous.bsky.social•159 days ago

https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526144164/
This has been my favourite book in quite sometime, examining why it is so difficult to get equality in the cultural sector.

chadmbriggs.bsky.social•159 days ago

Seeing Like a State by James Scott https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300078152/seeing-like-a-state/

Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_and_the_Great_War

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

I want to say I’ve read the Tolkien one, it rings a bell and feels like something I would have read! But I may be mixing it up with something else…

dreamsofpdx.bsky.social•159 days ago

About the only non-fiction I read at the moment are biographies/memoirs. If you want recs of those, I'm more than happy to share, but really, it's just people I like and want to read about. 🙂

I'm here when you get your random fiction itch.

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

I can’t remember the last new fiction book I read! It’s been a few years since I read any fiction, and then it tends to be my old favourites.

dreamsofpdx.bsky.social•159 days ago

I know you don't get bitten by the fiction bug very often. But when you do, I've got you covered. :D

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

Don’t hold your breath. 😂

jofitz.bsky.social•159 days ago

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drunkards-Walk-Randomness-Rules-Lives/dp/0141026472

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

That sounds, well, random! And interesting!

franknorman.bsky.social•159 days ago

Raceless by Georgina Lawton is an amazing memoir, with some exposition of racial identity and colourism too.

empresspenguin.bsky.social•159 days ago

Every chance you've already read these, but:

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

We Keep The Dead Close by Becky Cooper

People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry

Currently reading Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe and really liking it.

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

Thanks for the recs! I have Henrietta Lacks and been meaning to read it for years, but I’ll check the others out.

patchedelbows.bsky.social•159 days ago

Of recent(ish) ones:
LOVED both Penn Vogler books, Stuffed and Scoff.
Murder: The Biography by Kate Morgan.
Pop history ones Unruly by David Mitchell (get the audiobook!) and At Home by Bill Bryson.
Show Me the Bodies, Peter Apps (MASSIVE trauma cw though!)

patchedelbows.bsky.social•159 days ago

Don't usually read biographies but I really enjoyed Grace Dent's Hungry and Katherine Ryan's The Audacity for their shared queendom. The author-narrated audiobooks are excellent

reddite.bsky.social•159 days ago

Schama- Landscape & Memory https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/161627/landscape-and-memory-by-simon-schama/

Wilson- The Holy Roman Empire https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/177599/the-holy-roman-empire-by-wilson-peter-h/9780141047478

Davies- Vanished Kingdoms https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/178480/vanished-kingdoms-by-davies-norman/9780141048864

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

Thanks! I have the Davies one (but not read it yet), I think I have the Schama one, but I’ll check it out!

nedpotter.bsky.social•159 days ago

I love a non-fiction oral history... LOVE them.

Yes, Yes, Y'all: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade stands out.

Studio 54: The Legend by Anthony Haden-Guest.

Casino: the rise and fall of the mob in Las Vegas.

All just first person really, lovely stuff.

woodsiegirl.bsky.social•159 days ago

If you haven't already read it, Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine is probably the single book that's had the most impact on my thinking

heroicendeavour.bsky.social•159 days ago

I’ve not read it. I read ‘No Logo’ years ago but I don’t think I’ve read anything else from her.

rosiehigman.bsky.social•159 days ago

I'd second Shock Doctrine. I've also read Doppelganger recently which is really thought-provoking

woodsiegirl.bsky.social•159 days ago

That's on my list too 😊

librarykirsten.bsky.social•159 days ago

Possibly this was just my specific brain stuff, but I found the first chapter of The Shock Doctrine too upsetting to get through - descriptions of torture and abuse of mentally ill people. But I did love Doppleganger.

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