Top 10 Non-fiction Books | Favourites Week

In which I talk about my non-fiction books . . .

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[tomreadsthings]

We have SUCH similar reading tastes 😀 I have Jane Austen at Home on my tbr for November. I read Ruth Goodmans how to be a Tudor and loved it. The Elegance and Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century book sounds SO SO interesting. I would love to read something similar but for the 18th Century as well! I am becoming more and more obsessed with John Mullan and his work on Jane Austen. I have been watching all of his lectures on youtube! Such a great video 👍🏻📚

[meghanthestorygirl]

I love what you said about the Lucy Worsley book - how she puts Jane Austen firmly in the context of the world around her. Whenever I'm reading anything history related I always want to know more about the context. It's so fascinating!

[bookishshenanigans]

So many good Victorian non-fiction books to add to my wishlist! I'm planning on reading John Mullan's book for the next Jane Austen July and I am already excited :) Loving favourites week.

[CharlieBrookReads]

Another great list Xxx I have a Bill Bryson on my shelves to read ... Need to bump it up and actually get to it XX ❤️

[buddhabillybob]

Fascinating list, as always! I have four new books for my TBR. Thanks again for another information-packed video. You set the standard for BookTube.

[CuriousReader]

I was looking forward to this one in favourites week; what a great list! Definitely want to read Jane Austen at Home, as well as several Victorian-related nonfictions you discussed.

[HoneysuckleLane]

I’ve read Jane Austen at Home, and I loved it! I thought Lucy Worsley found the perfect balance between fact and speculation. I also enjoyed her book If Walls Could Talk, which was a detailed history of the home. I definitely plan to read more of her work in the future.

[sarahel]

Thank you for your recommandations Katie, and for your whole favorites week which I highly enjoyed!
This Jane Austen biography is amazing! I also really enjoyed the John Mullan book.
I also love to read history books, memoirs (a favorite of mine is Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, one of the most poignant books I've ever read) and literary criticism. I read Murder by the Book by Claire Harman earlier this year so I guess I will like The Suspicions of Mr Whitcher, and I'm also very interested in How to be a Victorian . In fact as I get older I tend to enjoy non-fiction more than fiction :)

[scallydandlingaboutthebooks]

I read and loved the Mullan for Jane Austen July this year and it reminded me that I can enjoy reading literary criticism. Haven't read any for decades. I tend to read non-fiction that has a narrative or a strong element of the personality of the author which I suspect is me wanting non-fiction that gives the rewards of a good novel. History and memoir hit the spot, but also some writing about nature, places and people. Robert Macfarlane is the perfect proponent of this sort of thing for me.

[TheHistoryShelf]

Hi there! Just discovered your channel! I'm a huge history and nonfiction reader, so I really grooved on this video. Orlando Figes is one of my favorite historians, so that is an excellent choice! I absolutely loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, as well! I believe they attempted to make a limited series tv adaptation on either Amazon Prime or somewhere else...it must not have been good, because I haven't heard a peep about it since. ;)

[novellenovels]

The Lucy worsley book is on my want to read this and you have inspired me to put more on the list. My favourite non fiction book is this is going to hurt by Adam Kay

[a.g.]

Great video!💕 I LOVE Jane Austen!💖 As I read more & more about her life i appreciate her work & creative talent more & more. Will definitely be getting those books. Thanks sooo much for sharing!☺

[marlenecabada]

I really enjoyed reading A Portrait of Jane Austen by David Cecil.It is a lovely hardback book with beautiful illustrations! Anyway, I loved your recommendations.I always keep my tbr open for your reviews and recs. I have How to be a Victorian, and What matters in Jane Austen.Two of your recs that I have yet to read.

[genresandjournals]

I’ve enjoyed the two Bryson books I’ve read. I’m looking forward to reading more by him.
I enjoyed Jane Austen at Home and I can’t wait to get to How to be a Victorian.
What Matters in Jane Austen sounds fantastic too! Great list! ❤️

[theaelizabet]

I Loved SPQR and Jane Austen at Home, and enjoyed The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. Thank you for recommending What Matters in Jane Austen. I’m reading it right now and it’s as eye-opening as you’ve said. My favorite nonfiction read for this year, however, is likely to be Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. Its narrative nonfiction at its best.

[geraldwoolfolk]

I put eight of your ten favorites on my Need to Read list. I read a lot of non-fiction. Some favorites: "Closing if the American Mind" by Allan Bloom, "Contingency, Irony and Solidarity, " by Richard Rorty, "Mayflower, " by Nathaniel Philbrick, "Bloodlands, " by Timothy Snyder, all of Robert Citino's books on the German military, and many more.

[margaretg]

As always a great video.
I read the "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" ten years ago and you have just reminded me it is time for a re-read.

[bookish.bulletin]

I like how most of your non-fiction favourites are works of literary criticism. Not everybody reads like that. I'm inspired to pick so many of the ones you mentioned. Also, I had no idea that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher is a non-fiction book!

[RaineyDayReads]

I really loved What Matter’s in Jane Austen and enjoyed Jane Austen at Home, as well. How to be a Victorian is now on my list for Non-Fiction November!

[CarolynsReadingRamblings]

Wonderful Katie! I NEED to finish What Matters in Jane Austen and read Jane Austen at Home for Nonfiction November. I'm very interested to check out the others you mention, specifically Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century, How to Be a Victorian, and the Suspicions of Mr Whicher (which, until I saw this video, I thought was a novel lol). My favorite nonfiction books (and I need to read many many more so this list can expand) are, first, a bio on Martha Washington that I read when I was 10 that I think was called "Martha Washington: Portrait of a First Lady" but I could be completely wrong. I have been trying to find this book again for years and have sadly had no luck. My other 2 are sort of memoirs by comedians/actors. The first is My Point and I Do Have One by Ellen DeGeneres which is really just funny/serious ramblings with anecdotes, and 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal which is the book version of his play that he wrote about his childhood😀.