I’m looking to expand my nonfiction reading and I have so much admiration for your wide array of knowledge about everything… so, any recs regarding nonfiction books?

deadcatwithaflamethrower:

Recs for non-fiction.

Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes, for obvious reasons. (Where are you hiding, book. Shelves too full. Need moar shelves.)

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words (Randall Munroe, xkcd)

What If? (same author; so worth it, eldest podling loves them both)

The New Way Things Work – more science, still awesome

*picks up notepad and goes downstairs to stare at library shelves*

Historical Atlas of… by John Haywood. Useful guides, a set of three: Ancient World, Classical World, and Medieval World; 4 million years ago to 500 BC, 500 BC to AD 600, and AD 600 to 1492. Hella useful maps WITH explanation on what was going on WITH good index and glossary in the back.

Any book in the Wonders of series by Brian Cox

Titanic, an Illustratd History, Don Lynch – this book isn’t just useful for getting a non-movie story about the Titanic, but for showcasing Edwardian Life at the time on both that boat and others like it, the fallout, and what it changed in terms of naval navigation, safety, and the importance of Wireless communication.

Norton Anthology of English Literature – dense motherfucking set of books but they’re really comprehensive. (And remember, this is English as in the country/kingdom, not the language. American Lit or otherwise are other sets) Basically starts from the earliest stories we still have in full form and moves on through to the end of the 19th century, since 20th century lit is usually it’s own field

A History of the English Language by Albert, Baugh, and Cable. – I hate this book. I fucking hate it. But if you want to understand why the English language is a complete clusterfuck, this is going to explain it to you in the most comprehensive fashion. Just don’t try to read it all in one sitting or your brain will mutiny.

Language, the Basics, R.Trask – FAR easier to read than A, B, & C above, and focuses on language structure as a whole instead of just English. Useful as fuck.

1491, by Charles Mann – I will probably never stop pimping this book. It’s not a linear narrative, but it’s also so comprehensive and does what a lot of texts still won’t do–acknowledges that civilization in the Americas is far older and FAR MORE COMPLEX than the 13k Clovis hypothesis (which was discreded immediately but KEPT AND TAUGHT ANYWAY).

Native American Testimony, Peter Nabokov – do not keep alcohol in the house while reading this, but if you want actual testimonials about how shit things were during the1800s…here’s a good place to start. Lakota Woman is an autobiography by Mary Crow Dog and is another source for how shit the reservations were/are in the 20th c., though the writer’s husband is often a controversial figure in many circles. (She gave birth to one of her children at Wounded Knee during a standoff with the FBI.)

The rest of it, at the moment, aside from random book finds, is the willingness to reword a Google Search over and over again until I find a thread that leads me to the information I’m looking for–but you said books, so here are books. ❤