It’s #NonFicNov month: we’re encouraged to read non-fiction (or analyze past non-fiction reads). To ease the way, Shelf Aware, Doing Dewey, Julz Reads, and What’s Nonfiction have some cool weekly prompts to ponder.
This week we pair up a fiction book with a related non-fiction one. Here are my suggestions!
If you like The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood …
… Try out Homer’s The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson
Each one gives a different twist, a new perspective to the Odyssey, and uses a musical / poetic lens for that. Penelopiad gives voice to Odysseus’s neglected wife Penelope, and Wilson gives a new spin to existing biases in this Greek epic.
Both have to do with psychoactive substances. Poppy War shows us how kingdoms can go to war over them. Food of the Gods shows us how these substances were possibly the reasons why the human brain could evolve leaps and bounds.
If you like (any) fairytale retellings, including Beauty by Robin McKinley and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter …
… Try out The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar
Those old fairytales and their modern retellings that you are used to are not as innocent as they seem. Tatar examines their historical origins, their cultural complexities, and their psychological effects on children.
If you like Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (or really any work by the Russian Greats of literature) …
… Try out The Possessed by Elif Batuman
Batuman’s book reads like creative non-fiction, as she mulls about the lives of those famous Russian authors (), all the while having travel adventures of her own.
If you like detective fiction, especially Sherlock Holmes‘ case files …
… Try out Forensics by Val McDermid
Holmes called it “elementary”. McDermid calls it a fascinating look into how crime scene evidence is collected, analyzed and interpreted. What we can’t achieve without Holmes’ keen observation skills, at least we can attempt it with modern forensic science.
Previous #NonFicNov posts can be found HERE.
22 replies on “#NonFicNov Week 2: If you like… Book Pairings”
Great post! Emily Wilson came to read at my work and she was fantastic!
Wow, I am soooo jealous! :O
If I could only choose one from your list, I’d choose Forensics! Thanks for sharing these great pairings. This is a fun exercise. 🙂
True, really jogs those memory cells! Forensics is really interesting, makes you rethink all those detective shows
Adding Food of the Gods! Thanks…
Awesome! It isn’t a conventional read, but thought it was very persuasive
I do love fairy tale retellings and I’m sure Tatar has some fascinating stories to tell. Another one that could fit well into that category was The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth, a novel about Dortchen Wild, the woman who told the Grimms many of their tales.
Oh I remember someone had recommended Forsyth’s The Witches of Eileanan to me. Hadn’t heard of the folktale retellings though. Will check out Wild Girl. Thanks! 🙂
Ooh I loved Val McDermid’s Forensics! Food of the Gods looks interesting. I’ve always been on the fence about The Possessed, I’ve heard it’s really good and I love all things Russian but I can’t decide if I’d like the memoir aspect of it. Might have to give it another look. Thanks!
Wonderful to meet a Russian lit fan! I know memoir version sounds a bit off, but it’s a whole new perspective. Worth another shot. You can try Batuman’s The Idiot (her college years with Russian lit) which I thought has a great cover.
So many great pairings! The Anna Karenina/The Possessed one is really interesting!
Haha. Two very different women dealing with life. Thanks for visiting!
Really interesting pairings, thanks for sharing them. I’ve read Forensics and Sherlock Holmes is a good counterpoint.
I love your detective/forensics pairing!!!
Yes, I think I liked it best of the lot too! Made me pretend-feel like one of those “profilers” on detective TV
Such interesting selections!
Ooh, I like your inclusion of so many classics and retellings! I definitely want to get to the new translation of The Odyssey sometime.
Thanks for hosting NFN! I’ve had so much fun participating 🙂
All of these sound fascinating. I was going to say the forensics connection interests me the most, but I also love fairy tales, and The Penelopiad sounds good too. I’ll just have to look for all of them!
Try Penelopiad first. I thought it would be heavy reading, but it wasn’t! I never knew historical fiction could be so enjoyable
Adding The Possessed to my wishlist 🙂
If you like modern retellings of fairytales, check out the new Fairy Tale Revolution books. I loved them – http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-fairy-tale-revolution.html
This was a great rec, great analysis. Thanks a ton!