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I like non-fiction as long as it's not preachy. Darth_Katie Send a noteboard - 14/09/2009 06:25:42 PM
Non-fiction can be written in such a way that it is stimulating and exciting to read as well as useful for understanding points of view, historical events or current world problems.

So...my survey is as follows:

1. Do you read non-fiction on a regular basis? If so, what do you typically read?


I don't read that much non-fiction, but what I do is usually science or history. I really really hate preachy political agendas, so I usually stay away from current events, political analysis, that sort of thing. And self-help books are just dumb, for the most part. I read what is interesting to me.

2. Do you enjoy (whether you have read it recently or not) any of the following categories of books?

- history


Yep.

- biography


It depends on who it's a biography of. Usually not that much.

- religion


I am a religious person, but I am pretty picky about what kind of religious opinions I want to read about. So not usually. I'm currently reading Between God and Man by Heschel for a philosophy class, and I am really enjoying it, but I most definitely never would have picked it up without it being required reading. Pretty glad I did though.

- world cultures


Never have, but it sounds interesting enough. I read National Geographic, does that count? :P

- science and mathematics


Most of what I read is sciencey.

- political theory


Hells to the no.

- philosophy


Maybe. My interest in philosophy has reached an all-time peak since I took philosophy for the first time last year, so maybe I'll start.

- art and architecture (including film and TV)


Art, yes. Architecture, not so much.

- psychology


I consider psychology a science. The kind I like to read, anyway.

- literary criticism


I read introductions to novels, does that count? :P

3. What is your favorite work of non-fiction (please exclude religious/devotional works from this question)?


Well, my pet non-fiction reading project is linguistics, so I'm gonna have to go with The Unfolding of Language by Guy Deutscher.

Though I did quite enjoy David McCullough's biography of John Adams.

4. Would you be interested in reviews of non-fiction books on this site?


Yeah, but it depends on what the book is.

5. Have you read any non-fiction book recently that was terrible? If so, what?


No, if I think it's going to be terrible I don't read it.

6. Was there a non-fiction book that you read that changed the way you thought or felt about world issues (again, please exclude religious and devotional works from this question) ?


Hmmm... none that I can think of right now. But I think every time you learn something new your worldview changes a little bit, so there's that.

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


Interesting question. I'm gonna have to go with non-fiction. Because fiction generally sets out to tell a story, and books about the occult don't do that. Besides, if The Secret gets to be non-fiction, then so does Tarot Cards for Dummies.
8. In your personal library at home, what percentage of your books are non-fiction?


Well, I share a rather extensive library with my dad who reads just about exclusively non-fiction, so I would say about about 3/4 of that is non-fiction. Of my personal books that I bought myself/were given specifically to me, probably about 1/8 is non-ficiton. But I mean really, why bother buying non-fiction when I have so much to pick from for free? :D

That's it...for now.


Interesting survey, thanks! I am now happily considering reading more non-fiction. :) Someday, anyway ... when I have time again ...
Insert theme music here.
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Non-Fiction survey Tom - 14/09/2009 05:38:04 PM 1153 Views
Heh. jh - 14/09/2009 05:58:59 PM 839 Views
You associate non-fiction with work? Are you a non-fiction book reviewer by day? Tom - 14/09/2009 06:35:59 PM 661 Views
Nah... jh - 14/09/2009 06:56:41 PM 689 Views
I like non-fiction as long as it's not preachy. Darth_Katie - 14/09/2009 06:25:42 PM 850 Views
So...Bill O'Reilly's out but Aleister Crowley is in, right? Tom - 14/09/2009 06:34:38 PM 745 Views
I didn't say I wanted to read occult books. Darth_Katie - 14/09/2009 09:40:40 PM 1292 Views
Fun. Legolas - 14/09/2009 06:31:28 PM 934 Views
Machiavelli is a good case study for translation vs. original language Tom - 14/09/2009 06:48:46 PM 691 Views
Fact not fiction. Rebekah - 14/09/2009 06:43:32 PM 876 Views
I loved Radzinsky's Rasputin bio Tom - 14/09/2009 06:58:46 PM 756 Views
Re: I loved Radzinsky's Rasputin bio Rebekah - 14/09/2009 07:10:01 PM 778 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 692 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 750 Views
This is pretty much it. Rebekah - 14/09/2009 09:09:18 PM 752 Views
Re: Fact not fiction. Cockatiel of Doom - 17/09/2009 12:40:31 AM 795 Views
Re: Fact not fiction. Rebekah - 17/09/2009 03:08:34 PM 688 Views
Re: Fact not fiction. Cockatiel of Doom - 17/09/2009 11:57:22 PM 646 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey mapthis - 14/09/2009 07:25:20 PM 682 Views
Legacy of Ashes sounds interesting Tom - 14/09/2009 08:59:38 PM 705 Views
Re: Legacy of Ashes sounds interesting mapthis - 14/09/2009 09:09:30 PM 701 Views
So nossy - 14/09/2009 10:14:47 PM 669 Views
Re: So mapthis - 14/09/2009 10:35:40 PM 654 Views
I do read sometimes. Craig - 14/09/2009 08:01:03 PM 884 Views
If you liked Jesus, Interrupted... Tom - 14/09/2009 08:58:26 PM 742 Views
Added to The List. *NM* Craig - 14/09/2009 10:28:14 PM 309 Views
I read it quite a lot, obviously. Camilla - 14/09/2009 09:20:40 PM 773 Views
I have Antonia Fraser's bio of Oliver Cromwell. Tom - 15/09/2009 05:14:06 AM 720 Views
Re: I have Antonia Fraser's bio of Oliver Cromwell. Camilla - 15/09/2009 08:07:28 AM 776 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey random thoughts - 14/09/2009 09:24:35 PM 889 Views
I'd be interested to know the title of that Lincoln book. *NM* Tom - 15/09/2009 05:11:14 AM 338 Views
Tried by War by James M. McPherson random thoughts - 15/09/2009 07:01:30 PM 755 Views
Thanks! *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:07:50 PM 348 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey ranagrande - 14/09/2009 10:05:56 PM 683 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 328 Views
What, pro wrestling is awesome! ranagrande - 16/09/2009 05:59:44 PM 910 Views
Sweet nossy - 14/09/2009 10:09:21 PM 845 Views
My problem with Fisk is his naivete Tom - 15/09/2009 05:10:00 AM 733 Views
If you're referring to the passages I think you're referring to... Legolas - 15/09/2009 11:06:04 AM 836 Views
I need to read more American Indian books random thoughts - 16/09/2009 07:01:21 PM 690 Views
Good survey! smaug - 14/09/2009 11:40:58 PM 828 Views
Ah...but where do you draw the line on the occult? Tom - 15/09/2009 05:07:14 AM 673 Views
Intent. Craig - 15/09/2009 06:02:39 AM 706 Views
Yea, I would tend to agree. smaug - 15/09/2009 11:10:03 AM 733 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Chas - 15/09/2009 12:25:57 AM 724 Views
You should consider reading more non-fiction. *NM* Tom - 15/09/2009 05:04:55 AM 359 Views
It's under consideration. Chas - 15/09/2009 11:50:47 PM 595 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 771 Views
As someone who read Ab Urbe Condita in Latin...the book you reference "delenda est". Tom - 15/09/2009 05:04:05 AM 702 Views
It's infuriating, yes. *NM* Ghavrel - 15/09/2009 06:22:36 PM 334 Views
Mea culpa; the book in question is Zoch's Ancient Rome. Ghavrel - 15/09/2009 06:45:22 PM 633 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Vodalus - 15/09/2009 01:07:13 AM 752 Views
I did a survey about personal libraries, too... Tom - 15/09/2009 05:01:12 AM 715 Views
great survey. Avendesora - 15/09/2009 02:17:26 AM 900 Views
Re: great survey. Tom - 15/09/2009 04:56:50 AM 746 Views
Interesting questions! Sophy - 15/09/2009 07:20:05 AM 843 Views
I'm not sure if it's a translation issue, but Tom - 17/09/2009 03:10:49 PM 790 Views
That's the English titel yes! Sophy - 18/09/2009 07:03:45 AM 974 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Jonielle - 15/09/2009 11:35:48 AM 936 Views
Try reading something new you think you'd like and post a review! *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:11:47 PM 294 Views
Books on Napoleon.... Napoleon62 - 15/09/2009 08:03:55 PM 725 Views
Narcissist. *NM* Craig - 15/09/2009 08:21:44 PM 300 Views
David Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon is wonderful. *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:13:03 PM 294 Views
i like non-fiction! temeraire - 15/09/2009 09:40:40 PM 772 Views
Lots of people have recommended The Omnivore's Dilemma to me *NM* Tom - 17/09/2009 03:14:09 PM 343 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey Cockatiel of Doom - 17/09/2009 12:49:35 AM 974 Views
Re: Non-Fiction survey ajah - 26/09/2009 01:49:16 AM 757 Views
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