what non-fiction are you reading now?

[NicknameTaken]

I just finished Lucy Worsley's If Walls Could Talk - great fun, very well-written and engaging. Next up is Tom Holland's In the Shadow of the Sword, about the origins of Islam.

Anyone else?

David Millar's autobiography "Riding Through the Dark" a re-read as the Tour de France kicked off at the weekend. Gritty, candid. He's on the commentary team on ITV4 and comes over well.

His detractors might quibble about whether this was non-fiction but that's their opinion.

Selena Hasting's biography of Nancy Mitford.

Donkeys - my husband read that and said it is great. I very recently read the Chris Froome one and am going to read the Millar one on the back of that as I enjoyed Froome's so much.

I am reading "Do No Harm, Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery" by Henry Marsh.

Having trawled through pieces worthy but dull on Lance Armstrong I thought DM at least sounded repentant, AnonymousBird!

(That book you mention is one I keep wondering about, please come back and tell us what it's like?).

Asperkids secret guide to social rules - imo it should be compulsory reading for teachers even if only the first chapter which summarises the rest of the book

Six easy pieces by Richard Feynman

I want to read The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. It's on my wish list but I am aware it would not be to everyone's taste

Defending the guilty by Alex McBride. Very good read, written by a criminal barrister.

Third Culture Kids
essays about Antonio Gramsci's vision of the state
paperback history of Islam

i like history :)

Cocky: The rise and fall of Curtis Warren, Britains biggest drug barron

I've two on the go - a memoir from the comedienne Francesca Martinez, and the follow-up to the Fast Diet book, Fast Exercise.

My favourite book of the year so far is a non-fiction one - Reasons to Stay Alive, by Matt Haig.

Looking forward to books out this autumn by Paul Gambaccini and David Hare.

What's the Paul Gambaccini one, Southeast? I might be interested in that.

It's a book about the year he spent on bail because of Operation Yewtree, Duchess.

That does sound interesting. I'm pleased to hear him back on the radio now :)

What an insight for single parents! Reading, Don't Come Crying Home. About an orphanage boy's childhood. How a child struggles for his identity without adult or parents to guide him. Tearful but forever hopeful. A kind of inspiration.

If This is a Woman: Hitler's concentration camp for women. By Sarah Helm.

Possibly the most heart wrenching book I've ever read but great flow and really informative, especially since a lot of focus in other similar books is on the men's camps. I cry every time I open it.

In need of a bit of lighter reading, have just started The Life and Loves of a He Devil by Graham Norton.

Re-reading The Road to Wigan Pier. Previously to that, My Lives by Edmund White which I really enjoyed. I probably wouldn't have picked it up myself but had to read it for a work-related thing and am really glad I did.

Re-reeading At Home by Bill Bryson. I'm not a non fiction fan but this is ridiculously entertaining.

Just started reading Meadowland - The private life of an English field by John Lewis-Stempel. So far so good - it's a study over a year of a field in Herefordshire at the foot of the Black Mountains.

Reading "Sapiens" right now, and really enjoying it!

Headscarves and Hymens by Mona Eltahawy.

Really, really good.

I occasionally choose an autobiography as something to de-stress with and picked up "My Animals and Other Family" by Clare Balding. It's deceptively simple, she writes very easily and honestly but imo some passages would provoke quite a reaction in AIBU or Relationships.

I think I'm going to read that book, Donkeys. I listened to her on Desert Island Discs this week and that spurred my interest (I used to think she was boring). And I know what you mean about autobiographies. I recently finished Graham Norton's latest book and that was just what I needed at the time.

Claire Balding's follow up book Walking Home was enjoyable too. I listened to her reading it on audio book and loved it. She won't win any prizes for putting on voices but she was very funny.

If This Is A Woman: Inside Ravensbruck: Hitler's Concentration Camp For Women by Sarah Helm

Just started The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell. I really enjoyed her Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, and More Weird Things ....

It's making me want to go to a bookshop already :)