Non-Fiction Friday

books

Non-Fiction Friday is a link-up where you can find all of the awesome non-fiction happenings of the week. Be sure to link-up your non-fiction posts too!

  • This isn’t specifically non-fiction news, but there’s a new book review site called Literally that I think has a ton of potential! First three people to ask are welcome to the invites I have :)
  • Using non-fiction in the classroom seems to be a hot topic, from this post on bookforum advocating replacing fiction with non-fiction to the many responding articles
  • This article on non-fiction for book groups was quite interesting, despite also advertising a specific book
  • New non-fiction in the up-coming week includes:
    • The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation
    • The Bombers and the Bombed: Allied Air War Over Europe 1940-1945
    • Rise of an Empire: How One Man United Greece to Defeat Xerxes’s Persians [The true story behind the events in 300]
    • Flowers in the Blood: The Story of Opium
    • Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived

  

13 Comments

Filed under non-fiction

13 Responses to Non-Fiction Friday

  1. Sophie

    I remember that we talked about fiction vs non-fiction in the classroom a while back on my blog too, and I think with the new(-ish?) Common Core Standards – which includes books like Autobiography of Malcolm X – there’s definitely going to be more non-fiction than before. I wouldn’t go to the extreme of saying that we should stop teaching novels in high school, period, since there are so many facets of fiction and we’re only exposed to one main type (classics) in high school. But great reading list from Natasha Vargas-Cooper regardless!

    And I saw Last Ape Standing on Goodreads, so I’m glad to see it on your list. Have a nice weekend! :)
    Sophie recently posted…The Thing About Having a Favorite AuthorMy Profile

    • Oh, I’m glad there has been some non-fiction added to the curriculum! I also think we still need some novels, but I don’t think I’ve ever read non-fiction for an English class and I think that’s a shame. I hope you have a nice weekend too :)
      DoingDewey recently posted…Non-Fiction FridayMy Profile

  2. tanya

    I’m just reading The Mad Sculptor now and should have a review up next week hopefully. So far it is only OK. A little too much back story.
    tanya recently posted…Cover Wars: The Rosie ProjectMy Profile

  3. Heather

    Oooo, what is Literally? I like the name! I wouldn’t mind an invite, if you still have some.
    I’m not sure I agree with the sentiment of not teaching novels in high school. For many people, it’s probably their only exposure to books and for others, like me, it was exposure that pushed me on into becoming the reader I am today. There were books I greatly enjoyed in high school that I came to a new appreciate of when reread when I was older, and there were books I read that I hated then and learned to love later (or in a few cases, continue to hate). If anything, I would say teach more accessible novels. Instead of Faulkner, Steinbeck, or Dickens, teach something more contemporary like John Green or Libba Bray. Or find a way to tie the two together. Like reading Bray’s novel The Diviners in connection with The Great Gatsby and Green’s Paper Towns with Kerouac’s On the Road.

    And yes, more nonfiction. I honestly don’t remember reading any nonfiction in school. One could even tie a nonfiction to a fiction. Like a book on the holocaust with Night by Elie Wiesel or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Or, dare I say it, history and English teachers could work together to have lessons go together? Have one reinforce the other?

    Whoa, didn’t mean to let my comment get this long! Sorry! lol
    Heather recently posted…Literary Love: Books You Still Haven’t ReadMy Profile

    • I love your idea of pairing books! I’ve always loved pairing books together, whether it’s fiction and nonfiction or a classic and a retelling. Plus it seems like the diversity would help more students find something to love. I’ve sent you a literally invite via e-mail :)

  4. Jillian @Addled by Books

    I heard about the Literally App last week and was really interested! I’d take an invite if you still have one!
    Jillian @Addled by Books recently posted…Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts – 2/13/14My Profile

  5. Angel

    Hi
    I’m visiting from SITS. Very interesting blog you have. Great discussion.
    Angel

  6. Monika @ Lovely Bookshelf

    I’m so excited about Literally, too. It just keeps getting better and better!
    I homeschool so, the non-fiction in the classroom/Common Core thing doesn’t apply to me, but I look for “living books” (to use a Charlotte Mason term) for non-fiction topics with my daughter (granted, she’s still really young!). I keep coming across more and more narrative non-fiction that brings history, science, etc. to life. I think it’s good to have a balance between fiction and non-fiction in our education. Like you, I don’t think I ever read a non-fiction title for an English class. :(
    Monika @ Lovely Bookshelf recently posted…Small Fry Saturday: Scarlatti’s CatMy Profile

    • I love that the people running Literally seem to be actively looking for user feedback. I think it could very easily replace goodreads for me if they add some of the features that are in the works. I was homeschooled when I was younger and I think it was an important, formative part of my education, plus I love narrative non-fiction, so I think it’s wonderful that you’re homeschooling your daughter and looking for narrative non-fiction books to read with her! :)

  7. Ann Walters

    Love your blog! I’m a huge fan of nonfiction — for myself, my childen, and my customers. (I’m a bookseller at an independent bookstore.) As the mother of two grown sons, I’ve found that they have become avid readers — but they only read nonfiction. They (and one in particular) hated the fiction that was assigned in school. Teachers just don’t seem to “get it”.

    If you have any invitations left for Literally, I’d be interested. I’m not a huge fan of Goodreads — for many reasons, one being that it is now owned by Amazon, which would love to put our little store out of business. :(
    Ann Walters recently posted…10 Love Stories for Valentine’s DayMy Profile

    • Wonderful! I think fiction certainly has its place, but non-fiction gets a bit of a bad rap it doesn’t deserve. It’s wonderful that your sons enjoy reading nonfiction so much :) And so cool that you work at an indie bookstore! I do buy from amazon for the convenience, but whenever I have the time to go to a bookstore, I make sure it’s an indie one.

      I’ve sent you a literally invite via e-mail :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

CommentLuv badge