Active Users:1447 Time:21/08/2025 08:24:53 PM
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules
I loved Radzinsky's Rasputin bio Tom Send a noteboard - 14/09/2009 06:58:46 PM
He also wrote a FANTASTIC biography of Stalin that I highly recommend - it purges all the other bios of Stalin like the enemies of the people they are.

I think it is worthwhile to post a survey to start people talking more about non-fiction on this website as well. To me, reading fantasy and science fiction all the time is a bit like eating junk food or playing computer games - it's fun and entertaining, but when you're done and look back on the time spent you sometimes sit there and say, "What have I done?!"

Yup. Which is why I find it a little disturbing that so many people read more Fantasy than anything else. It's great and I love it but my brain requires something more.

Yes. I read the entire Mistborn trilogy (and I have Warbreaker on the shelf waiting to be read) and amazon is shipping the new Dan Brown as we speak. However, my brain also needs more and so I try to broaden my reading spectrum more and more.

- world cultures

I used to love this as a child. The high gloss books with photos and snippets of information about a place and culture were marvellous.

I still love those sorts of books, though now I like the ones with glossy photos and then in-depth articles next to them.

I like looking at pictures and reading art history.

I have a lot of coffee table books (some of them big enough to make into coffee tables) like that. Of course, I also have the "art photography" books that are essentially high-end soft core porn because it's just as cool as having porn on display but yet much more chic.

7. Do you consider books about the occult to be non-fiction or fiction? Why?

In what way do you mean about? Do you mean an occultist version of The Bible, or similar? Most likely, though, whatever your answer, I'd probably consider it to be non-fiction.

I meant more that people discuss experiences and things that likely did not happen - whether it's Aleister Crowley claiming to have summoned the devil in a ritual or Carlos Castaneda claiming to have been on a drug trip in Mexico with Yaqui shamans when records show he was checking out books that day from the university library. A certain amount of occult books present cultural traditions, but some seem to be actively making things up.

Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
Reply to message
Non-Fiction survey Tom - 14/09/2009 05:38:04 PM 1226 Views
Heh. jh - 14/09/2009 05:58:59 PM 939 Views
You associate non-fiction with work? Are you a non-fiction book reviewer by day? Tom - 14/09/2009 06:35:59 PM 777 Views
Nah... jh - 14/09/2009 06:56:41 PM 791 Views
I like non-fiction as long as it's not preachy. Darth_Katie - 14/09/2009 06:25:42 PM 957 Views
So...Bill O'Reilly's out but Aleister Crowley is in, right? Tom - 14/09/2009 06:34:38 PM 852 Views
I didn't say I wanted to read occult books. Darth_Katie - 14/09/2009 09:40:40 PM 1388 Views
Fun. Legolas - 14/09/2009 06:31:28 PM 1035 Views
Machiavelli is a good case study for translation vs. original language Tom - 14/09/2009 06:48:46 PM 787 Views
Fact not fiction. Rebekah - 14/09/2009 06:43:32 PM 971 Views
I loved Radzinsky's Rasputin bio Tom - 14/09/2009 06:58:46 PM 859 Views
Re: I loved Radzinsky's Rasputin bio Rebekah - 14/09/2009 07:10:01 PM 881 Views
You're going to force me to start a Dan Brown discussion in a different thread. Tom - 14/09/2009 09:00:32 PM 800 Views
Well, I can do it here, no worries, just think of it as non-non-fiction. jh - 14/09/2009 09:06:34 PM 854 Views
This is pretty much it. Rebekah - 14/09/2009 09:09:18 PM 851 Views
Re: Fact not fiction. Cockatiel of Doom - 17/09/2009 12:40:31 AM 900 Views
Re: Fact not fiction. Rebekah - 17/09/2009 03:08:34 PM 807 Views
Re: Fact not fiction. Cockatiel of Doom - 17/09/2009 11:57:22 PM 750 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey mapthis - 14/09/2009 07:25:20 PM 783 Views
Legacy of Ashes sounds interesting Tom - 14/09/2009 08:59:38 PM 802 Views
Re: Legacy of Ashes sounds interesting mapthis - 14/09/2009 09:09:30 PM 814 Views
So nossy - 14/09/2009 10:14:47 PM 769 Views
Re: So mapthis - 14/09/2009 10:35:40 PM 759 Views
I do read sometimes. Craig - 14/09/2009 08:01:03 PM 984 Views
If you liked Jesus, Interrupted... Tom - 14/09/2009 08:58:26 PM 850 Views
Added to The List. *NM* Craig - 14/09/2009 10:28:14 PM 356 Views
I read it quite a lot, obviously. Camilla - 14/09/2009 09:20:40 PM 882 Views
I have Antonia Fraser's bio of Oliver Cromwell. Tom - 15/09/2009 05:14:06 AM 823 Views
Re: I have Antonia Fraser's bio of Oliver Cromwell. Camilla - 15/09/2009 08:07:28 AM 871 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey random thoughts - 14/09/2009 09:24:35 PM 995 Views
I'd be interested to know the title of that Lincoln book. *NM* Tom - 15/09/2009 05:11:14 AM 383 Views
Tried by War by James M. McPherson random thoughts - 15/09/2009 07:01:30 PM 856 Views
Thanks! *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:07:50 PM 388 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey ranagrande - 14/09/2009 10:05:56 PM 796 Views
I'm sorry. I just can't take "pro wrestling" seriously enough to comment on it beyond this. *NM* Tom - 15/09/2009 05:15:13 AM 376 Views
What, pro wrestling is awesome! ranagrande - 16/09/2009 05:59:44 PM 1010 Views
Sweet nossy - 14/09/2009 10:09:21 PM 938 Views
My problem with Fisk is his naivete Tom - 15/09/2009 05:10:00 AM 797 Views
If you're referring to the passages I think you're referring to... Legolas - 15/09/2009 11:06:04 AM 939 Views
I need to read more American Indian books random thoughts - 16/09/2009 07:01:21 PM 784 Views
Good survey! smaug - 14/09/2009 11:40:58 PM 932 Views
Ah...but where do you draw the line on the occult? Tom - 15/09/2009 05:07:14 AM 769 Views
Intent. Craig - 15/09/2009 06:02:39 AM 801 Views
Yea, I would tend to agree. smaug - 15/09/2009 11:10:03 AM 841 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Chas - 15/09/2009 12:25:57 AM 821 Views
You should consider reading more non-fiction. *NM* Tom - 15/09/2009 05:04:55 AM 402 Views
It's under consideration. Chas - 15/09/2009 11:50:47 PM 704 Views
I read a lot of it for my classes, so I read very little of it for leisure. Ghavrel - 15/09/2009 12:46:23 AM 909 Views
As someone who read Ab Urbe Condita in Latin...the book you reference "delenda est". Tom - 15/09/2009 05:04:05 AM 813 Views
It's infuriating, yes. *NM* Ghavrel - 15/09/2009 06:22:36 PM 377 Views
Mea culpa; the book in question is Zoch's Ancient Rome. Ghavrel - 15/09/2009 06:45:22 PM 729 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Vodalus - 15/09/2009 01:07:13 AM 844 Views
I did a survey about personal libraries, too... Tom - 15/09/2009 05:01:12 AM 811 Views
great survey. Avendesora - 15/09/2009 02:17:26 AM 1063 Views
Re: great survey. Tom - 15/09/2009 04:56:50 AM 848 Views
Interesting questions! Sophy - 15/09/2009 07:20:05 AM 962 Views
I'm not sure if it's a translation issue, but Tom - 17/09/2009 03:10:49 PM 897 Views
That's the English titel yes! Sophy - 18/09/2009 07:03:45 AM 1087 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Jonielle - 15/09/2009 11:35:48 AM 1109 Views
Try reading something new you think you'd like and post a review! *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:11:47 PM 332 Views
Books on Napoleon.... Napoleon62 - 15/09/2009 08:03:55 PM 830 Views
Narcissist. *NM* Craig - 15/09/2009 08:21:44 PM 344 Views
David Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon is wonderful. *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:13:03 PM 332 Views
i like non-fiction! temeraire - 15/09/2009 09:40:40 PM 879 Views
Lots of people have recommended The Omnivore's Dilemma to me *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:14:09 PM 388 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Cockatiel of Doom - 17/09/2009 12:49:35 AM 1080 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey ajah - 26/09/2009 01:49:16 AM 857 Views
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules

Reply to Message

Block Quote Paragraph Quote
Formatting
Smiley Codes