Author Topic: Non-Fiction (Read 439710 times)

JoanK · « **Reply #2160 on:** May 18, 2012, 01:15:29 PM »

TO NONFICTION BOOK TALK

What are you reading? Autobiographies, biographies, history, politics?

Tell us about the book; the good and the bad of it.

Let's talk books!

Discussion Leader: HaroldArnold

Tome: "I hope you don't mind me popping in here"

Of course not. You add to whatever discussion you post in!

I admit, when I go to the library, I look at the mysteries first. But then, I look through new non-fiction, and usually see something I'm interested in. My husband used to say I'm like a squirrel, picking up odd facts about things and storing them away for later use.

It's difficult for us to imagine that time of the great flu. I forget about it, until I'm reading about some well-known person, and it says he/she died in the great flu.

JeanneP · « **Reply #2161 on:** May 18, 2012, 04:28:42 PM »

Yes, it was right after the first world war I believe when the Spanish Flu hit Europe. Millions died.
My family lost many in the War but never did hear of loosing any with the Flu.

My favourite ones to read are about the "Plague" that hit Europe a few centuries early. There are both fiction and nonFiction books on it.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #2162 on:** May 18, 2012, 07:17:08 PM »

Joan - our library is considering taking books off the shelves that don't circulate much. It's supposedly going to save them money in some way i don't understand.

A friend of mine wrote a great letter to the editor about the joys of browsing the stacks and finding a "prize" to read. I constantly do that. At the moment i have these "finds" that i'm reading: "this is Your Brain on Music", "Musicophilia" and a real fun one "A History of the World in 6 Glasses." a note on the flyleaf says "from beer to coca-cola, the 6 drinks that helped shape human history." i was just walking by the stack and tho't "that sounds interesting," and it is.

I'm also creeping thru The Greater Journey by McCullough. It's interesting, but i need a group to talk with about it.

Jean

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #2163 on:** May 18, 2012, 11:20:32 PM »

I just lost the whole first part of this message. I will try to do it again tomorrow when the old mind is "fresher". Have a good night all!

Babi · « **Reply #2164 on:** May 19, 2012, 08:36:39 AM »

Our library is undergoing a major addition to the building. At this stage at good portion of the
library is empty of books, and cartfuls of returned books are sitting in the back waiting to be
reshelved. A good half of the library is taped off, and helpers are available to go fetch any
book you may want from back there. A necessary precaution, of course. Can't have patrons
getting hurt or getting in the way of the workers. I'll be very glad when it's all finished and peace
is restored.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2165 on:** May 19, 2012, 10:20:27 AM »

Jean - isn't that just one of the great joys of libraries - all those unexpected finds? I recall may school summer holidays spent in the library in Bromley, browsing through all sorts of books that I would never have found on Amazon (has it existed then!) because I wouldn't have known I was looking for them. They found me.

I wrote one of my Open University assignments about the books of my childhood, and the Bromley Public library featured large - I can so clearly recall walking through the park with my mother every Friday afternoon to return our books and find some more. We always came home via Wilson's Coffee Emporium and bought half-price cakes, usually Swiss buns.

I'm glad to say that our new library in Haddington seems to be very well used by young families. When my children were at school I knew far too many mothers who seemed to think that borrowing books somehow reflected on their social status, so they bought everything new and never let their children just browse.

Babi - now that our new library is open, they are refurbishing the old one in North Berwick (they are about 10 miles apart) - as a result the library has been shunted into a horrible room in a long disused furniture factory. I finally found it (not easy, and no parking anywhere nearby, so that will lose them half of their clientele, especially as NB has a huge retired population) the other day and felt really sorry for the staff - they have had to put away most of the stock, and the whole place is so dingy and depressing. I suppose it will be worth it when the old one re-opens (it is going to include a new museum focusing on the 'coastal communities') but that's going to take a whole year. I think I'll stick to Haddington and Gullane during that time - I know I'm very lucky to have a choice.

Rosemary

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #2166 on:** May 19, 2012, 12:13:28 PM »

I will try again to get the post I started last night, without sending it off into the ether. I was saying that the reason I don't read too many NF books is that they are so bloody long. At least the ones that interest me. I love David McCullough's books, but they are "tomes" in the real sense of the word. I have his "John Adams" on my shelf, and have read the first few pages, but I got it too soon after the TV presentation, and wasn't inspired to continue reading. His newest one sounds really good. But...with my two f2f book groups and following the groups on Sr. Learn and Srs. & Friends and EONS, it is really almost a chore for me to get into a looooong book. Our book groups have sort of put a page limit on what we read, i.e. less than 400 pages preferably. I remember, early on in our book group, we selected the Marie Antoinette book, Abundance by Sana Jeter Naslund. We all enjoyed it, but a lot of folks commented on the length. We also read "Ahab's Wife" by same author. Glutton's for punishment, yeah?

JoanK · « **Reply #2167 on:** May 19, 2012, 02:26:44 PM »

I love "browsing". I was delighted to find a browse function on my kindle. You can hit browse, narrow it down by subject as much as you want. Then they are arranged by popularity. I skip about 10 pages to get to the wierd books that no one ever reads. I've found some real gems that way, and usually quite cheap.

JoanK · « **Reply #2168 on:** May 19, 2012, 02:32:42 PM »

Reading a fun book called "The Squeaky Wheel". Written by a psychologist who is also a stand-up comic, it's about how to complain effectively (and how to react effectively when someone complains to you). Covers both complaints to organizations and to family members. Interesting, funny, and (I hope) useful.

JoanK · « **Reply #2169 on:** May 19, 2012, 02:56:12 PM »

Yes, definately useful! It suggests practicing complaints. I started organizing my first complaint, about my computer music program. i've had so much trouble with it, i'd stopped playing music while on my computer, something I really used to enjoy. I made all the mistakes the book talked about: assuming there was nothing i could do, complaining a lot to people who couldn't do anything about it.

So I decided to organize a complaint. In about 5 minutes of gathering info, so that I could explain exactly what the problem was, I discovered how to fix it myself!

I'm celebrating by listening to Mozart while type!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2170 on:** May 19, 2012, 03:53:22 PM »

PatH · « **Reply #2171 on:** May 19, 2012, 07:27:27 PM »

Anything that leads to listening to more Mozart is good.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #2172 on:** May 19, 2012, 09:54:11 PM »

High five Joan!

Do you know about Pandora Radio? I just love it. I've been on long enough that i hardly ever have a song come up that i don't like. My son just told me about "iheartradio" it works the same as Pandora, you choose a song or an artist and then they play more of that kind of music and you say yes or no.

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2173 on:** May 19, 2012, 10:25:43 PM »

here is another good one for classical music - http://www.radiosuisseclassique.ch/en/webradio

Babi · « **Reply #2174 on:** May 20, 2012, 08:57:40 AM »

A whole year? Ugh! They must be doing a major overhaul. I don't know how long the new
addition to our library is going to take, but our staff is looking a bit strained, too.

I totally understand, TOME. I now approach the 'looooong' books with caution, also.
I really want it to be worth my time. We do,...instinctively, I guess...tend to value our
time as we grow older.

JOANK, I trust you are sharing with us the 'weird' gems you find.

Is "Squeaky Wheel"
one of them? Actually, I'm pretty good at writing effective letters of complaint to
organizations. I don't do it often, but they tend to get results.

marjifay · « **Reply #2175 on:** May 20, 2012, 10:57:48 AM »

Babi said, "Actually, I'm pretty good at writing effective letters of complaint to
organizations. I don't do it often, but they tend to get results."

Good for you, Babi. I also do that occasionally. I also write letters to my Congress people.
I think a letter probably impresses companies or people more than an easily sent email.

Have you ever written a letter to a company complimenting them on a product? The first time we did this, we were surprized to get a coupon for a free item. We don't do it often, but every once in a while when we find we have found a product that really delights us.

Marj

JoanK · « **Reply #2176 on:** May 20, 2012, 03:09:08 PM »

Marj: what a great idea.

Jean and Barb: Those are good. I've tried them both. For now, I'll get reaquinted with my own music (a Beethoven violin sonata this morning). Don in The Classical corner on Seniors and Friends usually has a classical music program on Sunday mornings that we listen to. but not today, since it's a national holiday in Canada.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2177 on:** May 20, 2012, 05:28:38 PM »

Marjifay, I do try to write to companies if one of their employees has given really good service. I feel it's important to do this as well as writing when they get it all wrong (which I also do!). I don't think I've written about products, but it's a good point.

Incidentally, when I flew to Philadelphia with British Airways the earphones at my seat did not work so I couldn't watch the film or listen to music. I asked the attendant about that and she was pretty hopeless, had no idea where they were even supposed to plug in, and just said 'oh they're always breaking'. I didn't think too much about it but the girl next to me told me I should write to BA so I did. They replied and gave me a generous number of air miles, which I thought was good (though heaven knows when I will use them as I hardly ever go anywhere!)

Rosemary

Babi · « **Reply #2178 on:** May 21, 2012, 08:27:04 AM »

MARJ, I remember reading an item that said something to the effect that few people
actually write to their congressional reps. Percentage-wise, that is. So, when they
get an unusual number of letters on a subject, they know it's an area that people are
upset and about and watching closely. So, they do sit up and take notice.
I don't remember writing any letter complimenting a product, tho' I have given positive
feedback on surveys. One unusual 'contact'...I came across what I thought was a very
fine prayer for a person with a difficult job and heavy responsibilities. With some
trepidation, I e-mailed it to the President's office. I don't know if he ever saw it,
but I think he would have appreciated it if he did.

Probably the most 'pointed' letter I ever wrote was to the Director of Nursing of a
local hospital, detailing for her the entire experience of a friend of my daughter, in
their care following an accident. I didn't write it for a good while, as I didn't want
to interfere if the young lady in question decided to sue. Since she didn't, I wanted
the DON to at least know how bad things had been and how vulnerable the hospital had
been to a suit. That one I got a response to. A courteous thank you and assurance that
the incidents described would be looked into.

marjifay · « **Reply #2179 on:** May 21, 2012, 08:44:47 AM »

Rosemary wrote, "I do try to write to companies if one of their employees has given really good service. I feel it's important to do this as well as writing when they get it all wrong (which I also do!). "

I agree, and also try to do this when someone goes out of their way to provide especially good service. One morning on my way to work I saw that our trash can that we'd set out the night before had tipped over and spilled a bunch of stuff. Thinking "Oh, heck, I'll have fun picking that up when I get home" I hurried off to work. I was pleasantly surprised to find just the empty trash barrel, but not a scrap of paper or trash lying around. I was so pleased that I wrote an appreciative letter to our city maintenance manager, and he replied thanking me and saying they'd put a copy of my letter in the men's personnel files.

Marj

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #2180 on:** May 21, 2012, 10:23:30 AM »

I have written letters to various food companies, expressing likes or dislikes about the product. Normally, if I have liked something, I will get some coupons in the mail. I think, once, even a complaint letter garnished a couple of coupons, with their wish that I try the product again or some other of their products. I do use Email for some of these letters, and even though the response time is not always as rapid as I would like, I usually do receive a response. Oh, and my mother used to say, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", which in my youth, I had no idea what she was talking about! LOL

marjifay · « **Reply #2181 on:** May 24, 2012, 03:05:39 PM »

Speaking of writing complimentary letters to companies, I am going to have to write to MacDonalds and rave over their shakes. I hadn't tried one for years when they changed the recipe and they were awful. But we tried one the other day, and OMG! They are wonderful. They even put whipped cream and a marischino cherry on top. Heaven.
(Please don't tell me how many calories they have...)

Marj

mabel1015j · « **Reply #2182 on:** May 24, 2012, 05:29:53 PM »

This is Your Brain on Music This was a book i noticed while walking by the shelf - note to librarians who want to remove little-read books from the shelves, DON'T. I find gems all the time while browsing the stacks.......... Altho i skimmed many pages at the beginning because he breaks music down to it's lowest denominator, like pitch, timbre, timing, etc, there were interesting tidbits throughout and the last section, a hypothesis as to why humans have developed and continue to develop music was very interesting and thought-provoking. Anyone who writes, plays, or just listens to and enjoys music might find it interesting.

I picked up at the same time Musicophilia by Sack and it was not as interesting. Most of it was about disease, or health syndromes and their relationship to music.

Another fun book i found browsing the stacks is A History of the World in 6Glasses It talks about the importance of beer, wine, coffee, tea and "coca cola" in history - i've forgotten what the 6th one was, i'm just reading about wine and Greece and Rome at this point. The most important point so far is that beer and wine were often safer than the water, beer was cooked therefore killing bacteria, and wine in itself was usually healthier than water. It was drunk, by "civilized people" diluted w/water.

Jean
Jean

JoanK · « **Reply #2183 on:** May 24, 2012, 06:44:34 PM »

You recommended "This is Your brain on Music" and I got it I loved it too.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2184 on:** May 25, 2012, 11:35:54 AM »

Oh, I have A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Jean - in one of my TBR piles. Glad to hear it is a fun read.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #2185 on:** May 26, 2012, 12:08:17 PM »

Just noticed that BBC America is showing a marathon of The Tudors today.

Jean

marjifay · « **Reply #2186 on:** May 27, 2012, 11:50:24 AM »

Just finished a very interesting book: GRACE AND GRIT; MY FIGHT FOR EQUAL PAY AND FAIRNESS AT GOODYEAR AND BEYOND by Lilly Ledbetter. I was amazed with what she had to put up with from her male co-workers there.

Per an Amazon reader, "This book recounts the odyssey of Lilly Ledbetter, a lady from Alabama who picked cotton in the rural South as a little girl and then grew up to become the spokesperson for Equal Pay for Equal Work. As it turns out, after working for Goodyear for nearly twenty years as a supervisor, she discovered that her pay was significantly lower (by almost half) than that of her male counterparts. Many of whom had treated her horrendously throughout her tenure at the Gadsden Goodyear plant. She took her case to court and discovered how mighty the powers of corporate America can be."

Marj

marjifay · « **Reply #2187 on:** June 01, 2012, 07:12:32 PM »

I'm reading Ron Chernow's WASHINGTON; A LIFE. Very interesting -- really brings George Washington to life.

Had to laugh. Because Washigton's father died when George was young, his family could not afford to send him to college. So he read a lot. One of the books he read was The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conservation. The No. 4 rule warned: "In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet." No.12 was "Bedew no man's face with your spittle by approaching too near him when you speak." (What Seinfeld would speak of as a "close talker," to be avoided. LOL)
Marj

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2188 on:** June 02, 2012, 03:13:20 AM »

Oh dear, I am always breaking Rule No. 4. Was humming my way round Tesco yesterday - got a few strange looks

How come it's acceptable to walk around all day with an i-pod stuck in your ears, but not to make your own music?

Rosemary

Babi · « **Reply #2189 on:** June 02, 2012, 08:58:56 AM »

Ignore them, ROSEMARY. I would find it cheering to hear someone humming happily as they
go about their day.

JoanK · « **Reply #2190 on:** June 02, 2012, 02:03:32 PM »

I'm always breaking number 4 also (hopefully not number 12).

JeanneP · « **Reply #2191 on:** June 02, 2012, 07:39:12 PM »

I whistle a lot and get funny looks. Doesn't bother me.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #2192 on:** June 08, 2012, 09:47:55 AM »

I was about halfway through Dan Rather's book, when I discovered that it was a two-week book and I must return it to the library. That was all right as I found Rather, whom I had always thought a very good commentator on the news, to be bitter and egocentric.

Has anyone else read the book - finished it?

JeanneP · « **Reply #2193 on:** June 11, 2012, 08:34:51 PM »

Have been trying to find a Non Fiction book. "Five Chimneys" by olga Lengyel. She was a survivor of Auschwitz . Not found any copy yet. I can find on the Web but don't want to buy. Found that her book was made into the movie"Sophie's choice" Want to see if they both came out the same. I read Sophie Choice years ago.

CubFan · « **Reply #2194 on:** June 11, 2012, 09:22:37 PM »

Google - World Cat - type in the title Five Chimneys & your zip code. It will tell you the libraries in your area that have the book which you can then have your library get for you on interlibrary loan. I found that in my area there are several academic libraries with it.

Mary

mabel1015j · « **Reply #2195 on:** June 12, 2012, 12:02:40 AM »

Because i entered "History in 6 Glasses" in my Goodreads' list, it then recommended "Food in History" by Reay Tannahill. I like these kinds of books. I don't read every word, but skim thru many paragraphs, still i find bits and pieces that intrigue me. Having taught about Egyptian civilization over the years, a fundamental premise was to talk about how the Nile flooding each year bringing highly productive silt made for high levels of crop production. This was a very important aspect of their civilization. While writing about this, Tannahill casually says that those "rich black earth deposits (are now trapped behind the Aswan Dam)" !!! WHAT!?!

I know having the electricity was important, but my gosh, stopping that magnanimous gift of nature sounds excessive, maybe even stupid!?!

Frybabe · « **Reply #2196 on:** June 12, 2012, 08:46:44 AM »

That is a problem with dams, Jean, they keep rich soil deposits from flowing downstream into estuaries and deltas, at the same time, they prevent migrating fish from running upstream to spawning grounds (unless fish ladders are put in, and I am not sure how well they actually work). Oh, and they often create lakes behind them that have, in some cases, inundated whole towns in the name of progress. People have lost their traditional homes and livelihoods, but on the other hand, dams have also created jobs and provided people with a steady source of reliable energy. Often they create solutions to problems in one area only to create problems in others. In the case of Aswan, they lost Luxor (and other ancient archaeological sites), and organic replenishment of the soils (requiring farmers to use fertilizers they may not be able to afford). Does anyone know what they actually gained? I rarely hear about the upside of Aswan.

Babi · « **Reply #2197 on:** June 12, 2012, 09:38:10 AM »

MARY, that's a very helpful post. There has been more than one book I couldn't find
and didn't want to buy. World Cat sounds like the answer.

That is a severe drawback, having rich soil held back from where it is badly needed. Surely
someone ought to be able to find a way to dredge up that soil from behind the dam and make it
available.

marjifay · « **Reply #2198 on:** June 12, 2012, 02:47:35 PM »

Frybabe wrote, "I rarely hear about the upside of Aswan."

I've never heard of the upside OR downside of it, Frybabe. (lol) Seriously, I'm impressed with the stuff you know. I've heard of the Aswan Dam in Egypt I think. Will have to read about it.

Marj

Frybabe · « **Reply #2199 on:** June 12, 2012, 07:37:28 PM »

Thank you for the compliment, Marj. Actually, I am one of those jack-of-all-trade types who knows a little about a lot but am master of none. George says my wide ranging interests is one of the things that attracted him to me. I guess he had a few previous acquaintances who were rather limited in conversational interests. Like the rest of the bunch here, I like to read - a lot - and am an Internet explorer. I love having at my fingertips all those maps, pictures, and descriptions of all those places, people and things we read about here, for instance.

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Author Topic: Non-Fiction (Read 439710 times)