I'll make the Maiden Post in this Forum.

[Bunny]

Anybody else read Non-fiction almost exclusively? I rarely read Fiction, real life is usually more entertaining. I read mostly humor, political, or social science-type books, with an occasional true-crime one thrown in. I'm interested in what makes people tick, I especially enjoy reading about evolutionary psychology. Things like how social mores, altruism, and etc. develop over time is fascinating.

Anyone else?

[Maddy McCall]

1. Me---I do history for a profession...

It takes all of my time to stay current on the literature in my focal part of the field.

But, even when I am reading for pleasure, I like true crime books and stuff like that.

:-)

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. I read one or two fiction books a year

And several dozen non-fiction. My favorite topics are quantum physics, philosophy, sociology, psychology and schitzophrenia.

Although I do think all philosophy should be properly classified as fiction, along with the history books and all religious texts.

Show your support for the president, wear a FUCK BUSH button!

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
(We usually ship same or next business day by first class mail)

[Call me Deacon Blues]

3. I read a little of everything . . .

though I read more non-fiction than fiction, mainly because there's not a lot of fiction that really grabs me.

The last book I read was Charles Pellegrino's "Ghosts of Vesuvius", which I highly recommend.

[nickinSTL]

12. Could you give us a brief description of the Pellegrino book?

I've read one of his books before, Unearthing Atlantis, and enjoyed it.

I don't read a lot lately that isn't related to my grad program, but when I have the time, I read both fiction and non-fiction.

My non-fiction reading tends to be mostly history and archaeology.

[Call me Deacon Blues]

15. Here's what Amazon says about it . . .

A stunning and magical alchemy of science, philosophy, Bible study and brilliantly detailed on-the-scene reporting, Pellegrino's book moves effortlessly from the sweeping grandeur of infinite time and space to the briefest moment in the lives of ordinary men. In August A.D. 79, Mt. Vesuvius erupted and famously buried the city of Pompeii and, less famously, the city of Herculaneum. From this node of history, Pellegrino goes off on a sometimes cosmic search for the connections and ruptures that have shaped not only human civilization but the very course of life on Earth and the universe at large. Pellegrino includes easily understood nuggets of hard science, and his passion for his subject keeps the whole thing together. Rooted in the solid ground of rational investigation and intense research, the book never flies out of control but carries one along from point to point on a tour of Pellegrino's wide-screen thinking. The emotional heart of the book lies at ground zero in lower Manhattan, where Pellegrino and a small band of volcanologists put their skills to work making sense of the towers' collapse. As the column of white-hot volcanic ash descended on the ancient Roman cities nearly 2,000 years ago, so the 109 stories of the World Trade Center came crashing down, burying the dreams and aspirations of another civilization at the height of its power—or so says Pellegrino. This is a book to be savored, reread and passed along to future generations.

Maybe a little bit of hyperbole there, but I found it fascinating, compelling, moving, and mesmerizing. He's a great writer.

[Roxy66]

4. It was funny to me when people would ask why I watched so much news

I have stopped watching the news since the election, but I have to say I was a news junkie for a while. This by people who are interested in history, but not current events. I would rather follow real, current events...than Reality shows.

[Richardo]

5. I balance it out - probably about 50-50

Currently reading: Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer by Peter Turchi



In Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, Turchi takes readers on a delightful journey that explores cartography’s and writing’s many parallels. For example, Turchi explores the challenges of blank space and the blank page, the role of geometry in maps and of formal devices in writing, the goals of exploration and challenges of presentation, and the balance of intuition with intention. Each idea is richly illustrated with maps, drawings and other illustrations.

But next I'll probably read Michael Crichton's new one ("State of Fear") which is due out 12/7.

[Bunny]

8. Boy, that looks like a pretty brainy one there!

It would probably take me a while to get through that one! Working at a bookstore gives you the inside track on what's new, what's good, what sucks, etc., no?

The closest big bookstore to me is a Barnes and Noble (in Fox Chapel), and one of my occasional Saturday delights is to go there, browse, get a coffee, and then drop a pile of money on some new books.

I love that smell!!! :D

[Richardo]

11. Another perk is that we can borrow books...

...(hardbacks only) for two weeks, ostensibly to keep up with the latest stuff. That's why I can read the new Crichton, Al Franken, Christopher Buckley, etc without having to wait for the paperback to come out. :thumbsup:

[sniffa]

6. ditto here

i usuaLLy onLy read history, and biographies. i aLso devour poker theory books.

currentLy, i'm reading patriots. the men who started the american revoLution by a.j. Langguth for the 2nd time. it's a great book for a nerd Like me. :P

i'm brushing up my revoLution.

[riverwalker]

7. all non-fiction for me

I find reality to be infinitely more mysterious, and fascinating than what an author sitting in a den can dream up.

[OrwellwasRight]

9. Somebody Read Our Minds...

Check out this discussion to meet some folks who will be here real soon:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1981314

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[cali]

10. Some of my favorites

The Uses of the Past, Herbert J. Muller- a beautifully written book of profiles of former societies. A mix of history, philosophy and anthropology.

On Human Nature, E.O. Wilson- the noted biologist's take on the subject

Two Cheers for Democracy- E.M. Forester- Just extraordinary.
Essays covering politics, the arts and human nature

Diary of a Man in Dispair- Fredrick Reck-Mallaczwen- Diary of of a Prussian nobleman, executed at the end of WWII. Keen observations of a culture swallowed by madness.

[wryter2000]

18. I consider E. O. Wilson fiction

I slogged through much of Sociobiology in grad school. I was whelmed.

Stephen Jay Gould fan here. Big time. "Of snails and scales" from Dinosaur in a Haystack is one of the finest essays I've ever read. I'm so sorry we lost him.

[Jade Fox]

13. I've noticed that in the last several years I no longer read fiction....

which I read gobs of when I was younger.

I think when I was young I read fiction to learn about the lives of others
and philosophy in general. I'm glad I read so much. It was an education.
But now I more trust my own judgement and just want the facts, so I
read non-fiction.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

14. I mostly read non-fiction too.

I guess reality is more interesting to me than fantasy.

[Tracer]

16. The non-fiction books that I've read in the past few years ...

... have pretty much all political, anti-* books. I think I've read every one of 'em!

If I could pick out the one book that informed me most of all, it would be "The Age of Sacred Terror" by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon.

It's a long and dense book, but give a complete history of the rise of the Islamist movement. I recommend it.

[wryter2000]

17. LOL

I write fiction, but I read mostly non-fiction. Go figure.

Haven't figured out how to add this to "my forums" yet. I hope it'll become clearer.

On edit: why am I not surprised to find the Tower of Power fans here? I think Emilio reads novels during his down time.

[Richardo]

19. wryter: go to "Non-Political Forums" and hit the link for 'Add to Faves'

And there ya go!

[wryter2000]

20. Thanks

I found it. To say the least, you're the most.

[MountainLaurel]

21. Me, me

Before I started graduate school, i.e., back when I had time for pleasure reading, I almost never read fiction. Inthe back of my head, I felt there were too many thing to learn out there, and too many good books coming out in sociology, criminal justice, religion, women's issues, etc., for me to "waste" time on fiction. And now that I'm about to graduate, most of the books on my "to read" shelf are still nonfiction. Interestingly, most of the fiction I have is young adult-oriented, the result of a course I took, where there was too much good stuff to read and too little time.

[Crunchy Frog]

22. Yes. Sorry I'm responding to this so late.

I definitely read alot more non-fiction than fiction, though that may change as I'm in kind of an escapist mode right now.

I'm interested in alot of the same stuff you are. My favorite authors for evolutionary psychology are Frans DeWaal and Sarah Hrdy.

[Bunny]

24. What do you think of Robert Wright?

I thought The Moral Animal was fascinating, while Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny was somewhat less so.

[Crunchy Frog]

25. I haven't read him.

I guess I'll have to check him out.

[BurtWorm]

23. I also read nonfiction almost exclusively

It's rare that a work of fiction will hold my interest. I still crave a good fiction book very often. I just hardly ever find any.

[Tangledog]

26. I used to inhale novels

Gave up almost totally. For various reasons, I just didn't care any more.

I still like science fiction, though; it's the literature of ideas and possibilities.

Other than SF, I do history (mostly local/New England), biography (some "great Americans", some musicians or composers), and pop and semi-pop science.

[Tafiti]

27. Wow. Sounds exactly like me.

The last time I read a work of fiction was my junior year of college. The class? Intro to fiction. I guess there was no escaping it! I did enjoy it, but for me, short stories are always just as good as entire works, and take a fraction of the time to read. To add to your explanation, if I'm gonna read a book, I want to LEARN something, so I'm almost exclusively non-fiction. However, soon I will read the Da Vinci Code, b/c I've had it recommended from so many credible sources that I must dive in.

[Bunny]

28. I read it a while back.

The Da Vinci Code was the last piece of fiction I read. I thought it was a very fast read, interesting but kinda far-fetched.