RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion

Moving forward in the genre challenge, we have non-fiction genre for this month, a genre which is a bit unpopular among the hardcore fiction readers, but interesting and enlightening all the same.

If you are a dedicated non-fiction reader then we request you to please recommend some awesome books to our fiction-head members. Others, please feel free to ask for suggestions and recommendations. Reviews of books are greatly appreciated and we are okay with anyone posting relevant links too.

There are absolutely no limits so you can interpret this genre in its broader sense and include other similar genres and/or subgenres that you feel might have a wee bit of similarity with the main genre. You can also include books that are not particularly centred around the main genre but has its components or elements somewhere in the story.

The main intent of this challenge is to incorporate different kinds of books and genres in our normal reading routine to make the experience more fun and entertaining. Please do not lose yourself in the technicalities as we all know how literary genres can be confusing.
If you have any doubts or questions, then post them below and we'll be happy to answer/discuss them.

Here is the DEFINITION for this month's genre:

Non-Fiction: Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition. Note that reporting the beliefs of others in a nonfiction format is not necessarily an endorsement of the ultimate veracity of those beliefs, it is simply saying that it is true that people believe that (for such topics as mythology, religion). Non-fiction can also be written about fiction, giving information about these other works.



Here's a quick summary of the levels:

Level 1: Casual Reader: 1 book (easy)
Level 2: Frequent Reader: 2 books (moderate)
Level 3: Bookworm: 3 books (mildly strenuous)
Level 4: Bibliophile: 4 books (strenuous)
Level 5: Bookiopath: 5 books or more (challenging)

Please mention what type of books you'd be reading:

PB: Paperbacks
HB: Hardbacks
EB: E-Books
AB: Audio Books

Please feel free to announce your to-read books along with the level you are targeting for below. Though it is not necessary as you can announce your reads as and when you decide or read them.

PLEASE READ (especially new members):
1. You can read any number of books for the respective genre every month.
2. You can join the challenge at any stage (in any month.)
3. You can drop out of the challenge any time you like.
4. You can select different levels every month.
5. Use this discussion board to share your reads with other members of the group.
6. Please be active and don't hesitate to ask questions or recommend books.
7. You can couple this challenge with any other challenge here (or anywhere else.) We all do it and it makes it all the more fun.

This month's genre will be a challenge, because I usually don't read much non-fiction. I think I'll look for some biography/autobiography books, especially those about entertainers. That might be a lighter type of book, instead of something like politics or science.

Hey Cheryl, thanks a lot for putting up the thread. I really appreciate it :)

I have a book planned for this book - a second-hand book I just bought off a new seller - Great Cases of Scotland Yard, Volume 2 (Will be reading vol 1 after that as it hasn't been shipped yet.)

I'm glad to help out, Heena. I know you have alot going on, and it's not hard to copy and paste the genre intro post from last year.

I am starting an 8 week grad school summer session this month, so may not be participating much this month and not at all in July. Have fun!

Adelaide wrote: "I am starting an 8 week grad school summer session this month, so may not be participating much this month and not at all in July. Have fun!"

Adelaide,

Have fun with your new endeavor! I hope it'll be both interesting and enjoyable. The group will be here when you're ready to retunrn.

Thanks Cheryl!

Hello all! Hope you're all doing well. For this challenge I'm only aiming for level 3, because I have a whole lot of classics and other books that I didn't get to last month.

Probably just 1 for me this month since I don’t usually read nonfiction

Just started Eat a Peach by David Chang

1.) The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road by Finn Murphy
3 stars

2.) Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
3 stars

1.) Pirates of the Carolina (PB) - Terrance Zepke

I’m not having alot of luck finding non-fiction books I want to read this month. I tried two, but each were over 500 pages long - way too long to say what they had to say. I’ll keep looking. Maybe I’ll find something good later in the month.

1) Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s by Lori Majewski. 3 stars. Fun book that breaks down 36 new wave songs from the 1980s. 36 is too many. I ended up skipping the ones by bands that I hated. (Honestly, I hate most 80s music. I graduated high school in 1986 and I am sick of it.) I read around 80% of the entries.

Adelaide wrote: "1) Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s by Lori Majewski. 3 stars. Fun book that breaks down 36 new wave songs from the 1..."

Oh I thought the book would be about the bands and how they formed, etc., rather than just the songs. I could see how that could get tedious.

There's info about the bands, but there's not enough variety in backgrounds. The book is fun enough, just too long.

Kathy's Nonfiction List:

1. Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer. Travel/Action. Polar Exploration in the 1600s. 4.75 stars. Read 6/9.
2. The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story by Kate Summerscale. True Crime. Famous poltergeist case of the 1930s. The psychical researcher determined that Alma was shop lifting and throwing objects around for attention. 3 stars. Read 6/16.
3. Missing 411: Eastern United States by David Paulides. True Crime. A tabulation of missing people in state and national parks. 3 stars. Read 6/23.

2.) A Garden Miscellany (HB) - Suzanne Staubach

3.) Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library. By Don Borchert
3 stars. A librarian’s memoir about working at a suburban L.A. public library. So much of the job is dealing with the public, who aren’t always very nice.

3.) Queen of Scots (AB) - John Guy
4.) The First Conspiracy (AB) - Brad Meltzer

5.) Little Heathens (HB) - Mildred Armstrong Kalish
6.) The View from the Cheap Seats (AB) - Neil Gaiman
7.) The Murder of King Tut (HB) - James Patterson

If anyone really enjoys Patterson, than The Murder of King Tut is a great non-fiction choice to squeeze in. Really enjoyable with typical Patterson short chapters and easy format and vocabulary.

4.)A Woman's Experiences in the Great War: An Australian Author's Clandestine Journey Through War-Torn Belgium by Louise Mack
3 stars

Dagny wrote: "Three books is it for me for this month, my lowest for the year so far! I had another book which sounds interesting on hold, but figured it would never make it in time and sure enough it didn't."

I had that happen, too. And it seems to take me longer to read a non-fiction book than a fiction book, so I read less in a month. At least we got some books in for this challenge.