Week 2: (Nov. 5 to 9) – Fiction / Nonfiction Book Pairing (Sarah’s Book Shelves):
This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title.
It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story.
I love any meme or tag that helps me to address my out of control TBR, so I’ve used this pairing idea to trawl my TBR pile for books that go together or remind me of another book I have already read, in the hope it will put them front of mind and therefore, closer to being read soon!
The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper (review to come soon) with Kinglake-350 by Adrian Hyland (read by Mr Books a couple of years ago).
Both books give accounts of the Feb 2009 Black Sunday bushfires in Victoria.
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (review to come soon) with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley & A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft.
Hopefully the link between these three books is obvious!
October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville with A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton with Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder.
The House by Helen Pitt with Shell by Kristina Olsson
I could have found a lot more just from my TBR pile, but I didn’t want to overwhelm this post!
This is the first time I’ve actually participated in this particular question, so I’m curious to see what comes of it.
#NonFicNov
This Reading Life 
What a good idea, to grab them from your TBR! I'm probably going to steal it; I'm having an awful time with this post.Your Frankenstein pick is so timely; everybody is Mary Shelley mad this year and so we watched the old Boris Karloff Frankenstein film for Halloween. So much fun. 🙂 And I am now reading my first China Mieville novel….
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I was struggling too Jean, until I started browsing my TBR pile and thinking about which other books I have read, want to read or at least know about that would go with them.The fact that I was already in the middle of a pairing with my Frankenstein & Romantic Outlaws bio reading combo helped as well.
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I read Sophie's World ages ago but what an awesome read. I hadn't really studied any philosophy so that was like a crash course and so fun. Really cool pairings. Oh and I love that cover for Frankenstein!
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Like you, I read Sophie's World a LONG time ago, but remember loving it so much & I learnt so much at the same time, that I bought TCOP in the hope I'd learn even more! Now I just have to get around to reading it…..:-/
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Me too – I loved Sophie's World when I read it years ago – I still have my copy (I hope). I find some books on philosophy are hard to follow, but Gaarder's book is just right for me.
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Great pairing! I am presently reading Sophie's Choice for the Classic club's Dare me. Not so scary as I thought. Quite interesting, although you have to read small doses at the time to really think of what the different philosophers were aiming at.Excellent challenge. Might join in the future, when I am more in control of my reading and blogging!
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I'm going to read Gentleman in Moscow very soon as it is part of my Litsy Postal bookclub selection for the quarter. I didn't realize China Miéville wrote nonfiction. I should check it out when I read GiM.
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The Miéville/Towles pairing sounds fascinating. The Mary mother and daughter triplet would be good, too, but like you I didn't find Frankenstein that amazing. Great suggestions!
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I love that you have a couple of Australia-focused pairs on here.I'm especially tempted by the Romantic Outlaw combination as well as the Russian Revolution. But they all sound so interesting!
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I can usually find pairings from the books I've read during the year, but I like the idea of looking into my TBR pile too. I've read some of these (Gentleman in Moscow, Sophie's World, Frankenstein) and I like your pairing ideas.
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It was reading your post, Lisbeth, that meant that Sophie's World was front of mind when I was going through my TBR pile the other day 🙂
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I believe he has written a few non-fiction books – mostly socialist leaning, marxist ideology stuff. A review in The Guardian said \”Miéville writes with the brio and excitement of an enthusiast who would have wanted the revolution to succeed. But he is primarily interested in the dramatic narrative — the weird facts — of the most turbulent year in Russia’s history\”.
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Frankenstein was made more interesting by reading it at the same time as I was reading the bio. It may be why I think I got a little more out of the experience than you and Nancy did.
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Thanks Naomi – I like to support and promote our fabulous Australian writers in a similar way to your Canadian efforts. The Shadow Giller reviews turning up this month for Washington Black have convinced me to give it a shot (at some point) & I also sourced a copy of Motherhood, cause I thought it sounded intriguing/provocative.
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My TBR is so out of control that anything i can do to help me focus on it and get through it is a GOOD thing 🙂
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Great! I think I have to read your pair book, just looked into it, and it sounds interesting.
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What great topics and themes you've chosen for your pairings!
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Great pairings there Brona. I particularly like the Black Saturday/Opera House pairings. None of which I've read, but all of which I've wanted to.
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Well done, I haven't been able to come up with anything for this question myself.I am especially pleased to see Shell there, I loved that book!
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