I’m not a huge reader of non-fiction but my book shelves reveal my weaknesses – books about genetics, pop-science, the Art Deco era, and memoirs (am I allowed to count them as non-fiction?) make up the bulk of my non-fiction reading.
On the strength of that (and a little belatedly), I have decided to take part in Nonfiction November (spotted at JulzReads and Sarah’s Book Shelves).
This week’s non-fiction topic is ‘book pairings’ – pair a non-fiction title with a fiction title.
Swimming and relationships – Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton and Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Genetics, what we ‘feel’ at a cellular level and relationships – The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley and The Heart Broke In by James Meek
The 80s and what we learnt – Life Moves Pretty Fast by Hadley Freeman and The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis
The perils of social media – So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson and Asking For It by Louise O’Neill
Food and relationships – Consuming Passions by Michael Lee West and Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
New York and relationships – I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley and Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell
I love the NYC-Sex and the City pairing – very fun! “I Was Told There’d Be Cake” sounds kooky, but I like it!
Cake is an essay collection and some of them had me screaming with laughter – worth checking out if you want something light.
Very good Kate, not an easy task. I looked at my bookshelves and came up with the following: Mateship With Birds by Carrie Tiffany and The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia; Bush studies by Barbara Baynton and The Bush by Don Watson; An Author Hit the Dust by Arthur Upfield and On Writing by Stephen King; and finally Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson and The River by Eric Rolls
Love your Mateship with Birds pairing (I thought that book was brilliant). I did also think about Murray Bail’s Eucalyptus with my two-volume set of Eucalyptus guides by Stan Kelly.
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I’m going to try this one next week, but I think it’s not going to be easy…
This is my Week 2 https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/11/07/non-fiction-november-week-2/
I need to get I was Told There Would be Cake, sounds great!
It’s good fun and there are a couple of essays in the collection that are really, really funny.
Interesting pairings! As a swim mom, I definitely need to take a look at Swimming Studies!
Your pairs are too clever for me Kate, but I’ll offer Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time and Cixin Liu (Chinese SF writer), The Three Body Problem.
Well that’s a good one to know Bill because I just couldn’t get through Hawking’s book. The beginning of each chapter was brilliant and engaging and then somewhere halfway through I would drift off… I once read that the book is the bestseller with the highest DNF rate 😀 Perhaps I just head straight to Cixin Liu?!
I went through a stage of reading science books but yes try Cixin Liu, he’s very good.
Oooo the social media pairing is very intriguing. Are those both books you’d recommend?
Absolutely. The Ronson is amazing (and one of my few five-star reads this year). O’Neill’s novel is truly harrowing and very well written.
Great pairings! I think Life Moves Pretty Fast is probably going on my ever-expanding TBR list.
It’s worth it for the chapter on why Dirty Dancing is a great feminist movie, alone.
I need to check out Swimming Studies! I was a swimmer growing up and liked Claire Fuller’s book!
It’s a very unusual book but I think if you used to swim, there will be lots of bits you’ll identify with.
I’m the same – don’t really read NF but have *so^ many NF books in the TBR. I’m trying to do German Lit Month for November but I will bear this in mind for next year!
Great pairings – I really want to read the Ronson.
Review of the Ronson to come but not really sure what I can say except ‘EVERYONE WHO USES THE INTERWEBS, READ THIS BOOK’. It was gripping.
I was pleased to come up with one pairing… impressive to come up with so many good one. Swimming Lessons/Swimming Studies both appeal to me.
It was my first year doing the pairings so I suspect next year there will be just one!
I love your NYC pairing — and now I’ve added the Sloane Crosley book to my TBR. Great review!
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Look at you go with pairings! I love your choices and you’ve made me add Asking for It and Swimming Studies to my TBR. And I loved Kitchens- it was so charming!
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