Armchair BEA: Genre: Non-Fiction

May 31, 2013

History, biography, current events, science--the Genre of the Day is Nonfiction! Do you read it?

Yes. Yes. And yes!

I have loved non-fiction books for the longest time. I'm a history nerd, so I dive into history books like no tomorrow. I will read history books that start from Ancient Egypt all the way to the old west of Texas in the late 1800's to early 1900's.  There is so much life amongst the pages of history. From studying history, you can see where we are going in the future. History does have a funny way of repeating its self.

I also enjoy more light hearted non-fiction reads. My favorites are:
Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat by Gwen Cooper
Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat That Touched the World by Vicki Myron
Marley & Me by John Grogan
Ok, maybe not light-light hearted...a few of these did make me cry like a baby for good reasons and sad. There is just something about the love of and for an animal. It pulls at the heart and makes you see more good then bad around you and reading these true tales makes things a little better.

Autobiographies, they used to be tedious for me. The ones I had to read for school were just stuffy. The here are the facts and nothing else. Well, I found two that I have just loved! I will say I am a HUGE Duck Dynasty fan and I snatched these two up as soon as they came out.

The Duck Commander Family by Willie & Korie Robertson w/ Mark Schalbach.
Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander by Phil Robertson w/ Mark Shlabach
Faith, Family, and Ducks...That sums these stories up so well.

There has been one biography that has stuck with me through the years, it has moved where I have and back.

Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Author of the The Little House on the Prairie by Donald Zochert
My Love of Little House grew even more when I read this account.

My inspirational books is a big list, so I may end up having to name the authors.
Heaven is for Real: A Little Boys Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo w/ Lynn Vincent
This was a touching story that had me crying.
Now, the authors:
Dr. James Dobson
Dr. Kevin Leman
Max Lucado
I have read many touching,  heart griping, insightful books that have ranged from finding your Birth Order, parenting your child, and finding a Cure for the Common Life.

One extra! This one is late to the party. I needed it for school, but it fast became one of my favorite non-fiction works. I'm kicking myself for forgetting this one.
The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout

I know my list could on, but these are the books that really stand out for me and have made an impact on me one way or another.











16 comments

  1. I clearly need to come to you for recommendations on Non-Fiction books. I really don't read many of them, at all.

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    1. Anytime my friend, anytime! It's been slow in coming for me to really enjoy this genre, but I've found what I like it's enjoyable. :-)

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  2. Hooray for history nerds!! I'm right there with you ;) I'm wild about nonfiction. If I had to pick one genre to read for all time that would be it.

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    1. History is great! Sometimes life is better then fiction! What is your favorite period to read about?

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  3. I'm a new follower of your blog, via Armchair BEA :)

    I love to read history too, I don't think I could give up my history books!

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    1. Thanks for the follow!

      History is wonderful! What is your favorite period to read?

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  4. Amazing! Yours is the first blog that I read, where the blogger LOVES non-fiction so much!! You've read a lot and I diligently added them to my list of books to be read! I even joined Goodreads, after deleting my account so that I could add to the library. I used LibraryThing primarily, but decided to use GR since some added links to that site ;0

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    1. I'm glad I could add to your TBR! It took me a while to find the kind of non-fiction I liked, but when I did, it just took off!

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  5. Glad to see you love non fiction! Looking at your list, I was wondering if you have read either The Lost Dogs-Michael Vicks Dogs by Jim Gorant to In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. You might enjoy them.
    Kerri @ Turn the Page Reviews
    http://turnthepagereviews.com

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    1. I have not read those. Thank you for the recommendation! I will need to check them out. :-)

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  6. You have great recommendations. As a reader of fantasy and YA, I haven't read much non-fiction for fear it would be boring! I'm now intrigued to read The Sociopath Next Door!

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    1. Thanks! That was my fear for a while. I've always studied history, so that didn't seem to count for me. What brought me into the non-fiction were the book covers. :-) Those little animal faces hooked me. From there it just grew.

      The Sociopath Next Door was one that was recommend by a criminal justice teacher. It really opened my eyes and it would be a great book for character development for a villain in a book.

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  7. I loved Dewey too! Although that did definitely fall in the made-me-cry category :) If you like non-fiction about animals, you might also try All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot.

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    1. Dewey was a mix for me, happy and sad tears. Thank you so much for the recommendation! I need to check it out. :-) I do love non-fiction animal books.

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  8. Thanks for all the recommendations, I have not read ANY of those. I have started reading more non-fiction this year and really enjoying it, much to my own surprise.

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    1. You're welcome! :-) It's great when you find the ones your really click with.

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