Why is there less traffic on non-fiction thread than on here?!

Sounds good to me. Any hints on what you're likely to be including in the non-fiction bookclub?

Sounds good! I'm always on the look out for new books and authors and I don't really care whether they are fiction or non-fiction. Well-written and interesting would hit the spot every time. Agree with the PP who enjoyed Jared Diamond and Steven Pinker. Fiction-wise, more intelligent thrillers would be welcome... authors can't seem to write them fast enough.

Cote - totally agree. I vote for something big, historical and manly for the first discussion/giveaway.

Cote - totally agree. I vote for something big, historical and manly for the first discussion/giveaway.

I might try and do that, wiltingfast, though I'm not very good at long threads - I tend to dip in and out of MN a bit too much.

I have to say I don't read much non-fiction, except for specific things that I'm interested in (crochet, quilting, gardening etc). I just don't find non-fiction as escapist as fiction. There have been a few things that I have really enjoyed, some because of the subject, like Freakanomics, and some because the writing is so absorbing, like Michael Pollan especially A Place of my Own. I never go onto the non-fiction topic looking for recommendations, I think because most readers there enjoy autobiographies and historical books and I almost never get all the way through that sort of book.

Just thought of another fantastic one, The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee - a history of efforts to treat cancer. Fantastically interesting. And really digestible despite it's mammoth size. He doesn't seem to have written anything else but he really should!

Krakatoa by Simon Winchester also another vg non fiction read.

I've eyed it up but have not actually read it yet. Have added it to my watch list now! You should come join us on the 50 books thread, more non fiction recommendations would be really appreciated :)

wiltingfast, I think we have quite similar tastes - have read and enjoyed most of your list there (Guns Germs and Steel is one of those books I recommend to everybody). Have you read Viv Albertine's autobiography? - I read it around the same time as Bedsit Disco Queen and thought it was also v. good.

Here too , I read lots of non fiction, WW2 seems to be this year's pursuit but I also love popular science books, eg

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre,
Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond,
anything by Stephen Pinker,
Far from the Tree by Andrew Soloman

and books about iconic businesses or people, eg

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson,
War Paint by Linda Woodhead (about Elizabeth Arden & Helena Rubenstein) or
The Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Heylar.

Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracy Thorn was also a great read this year though it doesn't fit neatly into the above categories. I just like the book to be INTERESTING .

Am a bit bored of fiction tbh, especially "literary" fiction when IS the new GoT book coming out. Think I might have overdone it in my youth

Remus - I was thinking of "Sophia, Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary" which RachelMumsnet said was the last non-fic book chosen for the book club, not "Fanny and Stella".

I also see the fiction books chosen for the giveaways and web chats on here and have to say that the vast majority of them are women's books, talking about women, and written by women.

I would love a non-fiction book club on MN and really hope that it would not only choose books written by women about women etc. Just thought it needed to be said here, since Rachel has asked what sort of books we would like to read.

I'm interested mainly in:

• War strategy (Ghenghis Khan, Samurai wars, WWI and WWII)
• Science history
• Cutting edge science: biotech, genetics, Quantum Physics etc.
• Biographies of scientists and mathematicians
• Exploration, mountain disasters, contact with previously unknown tribes etc (like Remus)

A non-fiction book club sounds great to me. I enjoy reading memoir's and autobiographies, and occasionally self-help and humour books.

I'd like to recommend as a Giveaway/webchat a memoir/self-help hybrid book called Reasons to Stay Alive, by Matt Haig (out in paperback on 7th January).

Sue Perkins has a memoir out at the moment, and a webchat with her would be popular on here, I expect.

Cote - 'Fanny and Stella' is absolutely not a book about women!

Here

It would be a good idea to combine the Fiction and Non-Fiction topics.

Also re non-fiction book club: I'd be interested but probably won't join if it's just to read books about women.

YY, definitely would be, in fact I think it's on my 'to read when it comes in the library' list.

Yes, yes, yes to a non-fiction bookclub! I'm a woman, but read far more non-fiction than fiction nowadays (mainly because my tolerance for bad modern fiction is getting lower by the minute).

Non-fiction topics I'm interested in -
History - especially the Victorians, Edwardians and First and Second World Wars
'Quirky' history - especially medical stuff, murders etc
Exploration - especially anything to do with cold weather/mountain disasters!

Can I recommend, 'Fanny and Stella' as a potential giveaway and discussion book? I thought it was absolutely brilliant, and it's one that I suspect many people won't have come across. Sadik's list below makes me think that she'd be really interested in it.

Many thanks, Rachel. I'd definitely be interested in a non-fiction book-club. I'm particularly keen on biographies of interesting women, feminism, politics, economics, history up to a point, though up for trying most things.

I suspect for the first couple of those at least there'd be overlap with the feminism board, and there might be people who post there interested in taking part.

Is there a way to report a whole thread to MN? Seems like it might be worth suggesting collapsing books a bit to them.

Sadly, I think women read less non-fiction...which leads into negative stereotypes. Even historically, novels were considered "less" because women read them.

Totally agree, Duchess - it's not good to be over-splintering forums.

I'm also in agreement with Duchess. Seems no point in having that topic on MN when there's so little traffic, despite there being a lot of us here who read non-fiction.

Totally agree, Duchess.

Agree, Duchess - it'd be better to just have one adult books board, I think.

I tend to do the same as Remus. If I read some non fiction then it gets added to my reading list on the 50 books thread, so no need to go over to non fiction to discuss.

I think perhaps MN should just combine the Adult Fiction and Non Fiction under a new title that allows posting of all reading regardless of type.