Rated YA-MA discussion

Talk about any non-fiction books that you're reading in this topic.

Who has read Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and found it informative and entertaining?

Well it is a very informative book and worth while, to me anyway. Dragons of Eden sounds very interesting I'll have to find it.

I borrowed this book from my aunt and it answered a question I my history teacher couldn't which was "why didn't the Native Americans build huge cities and conquer the world."

I'm glad to see this topic getting some attention finally. :)

That's another intriguing book, I'm not intending to study anthropology or archeology, but I think it is interesting to learn about. Stacia many people don't read non-fiction books unless they are forced which is sad since there are many great books out there.

I never read non-fiction. It's not because I don't want to, it's that I find that in every case where I tried I had a hard time computing what was written. It's as though my brain just isn't hardwired for books that are not fiction.

However, I think maybe that's because I haven't found one that was written in a way that stimulated me? I have to say that Lies My Teacher Told Me looks awesome! I really want to get that book and try to read it.

Wendy F, that makes sense because I know some people that have that trouble. Jared Diamond wrote sort of a sequel to Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies which might be worth reading but I haven't got so I don't know.

I'd read a few non-fiction back before joining GR. I know that non-fiction tends to be seen as not entertaining, but this isn't always the case! Sometimes it can be entertaining to read non-fiction if the subject is one that personally interests you.

However, within the past year or so, the only non-fiction I've read has fallen more on the side of memoir and biography non-fiction. Polygamy is a fascination of mine, so I tend to look for books in which the person giving the account came from this lifestyle. I also have a strange interest in munchausen syndrome and stockholm syndrome, so those are other subjects I'd probably read about.

As for books that give an account of a time period, race of people, rise of a certain type of technology, etc. I haven't read many of those. There was actually one I bookmarked to check out not too long ago about the history of a certain motorcycle gang. I might possibly be far too obsessed with Sons of Anarchy if I'm seeking out reading material to reflect the subject!

I tend to try really hard but quickly find my mind wandering. I don't get that same sense of connection with them and then before I know it I've completely lost interest. It drives my mother insane.

That's why I can only do it if the subject is one that I'm very interested in. I don't think I could just pick up a random rec for a non-fiction book.

Oops Talia, I didn't see your question when I typed my other reply.

Unless you're a hardcore fan of a celebrity, I'd stay away from celebrity and politician memoirs. I've only managed to read a couple that were worth my time.

I find that in most cases, when a memoir or biography is interesting, it usually comes from someone whose memoir came about because of a life experience that happened to them.

My non-fiction shelf looks pretty sparse. I know I've read more NF before joining GR, but trying to remember the list would be a pain. *edit* Yay for this topic bringing to mind a book I read back in college, so I got to add one more book to the shelf!

Does anyone even know of a place where I could look for YA non-fiction? I haven't read any YA NF that I know of, and I'm not interested in grabbing one on Miley Cyrus or something ridiculous like that. :p I'd like to see some real-life accounts (maybe abuse or something) in YA NF.

I guess this one might count?

I really don't read biographies or other similar books, I'm more into the science area of non-fiction.

That's great though. I like seeing what others are reading. Maybe you'll get us looking at books we hadn't considered before.

Maybe, hopefully