Spotlight on…Non-fiction

Class is dismissed for this month. I won’t be telling you what you can do with your commas and semi-colons…

Instead, I’ll just round up some non-fiction books you might like to tuck into your ereader. Some people never read non-fiction, some never read anything but. Both groups are missing out. I can’t imagine not escaping into a good thriller/romance/fantasy/sci-fi, etc. At the same time—I will be honest here: non-fiction didn’t feature very highly on my reading list until the Kindle plopped into my life—I have found it’s a genre that has enriched my bookshelf.

I have three books to recommend to you, one of them by our own very lovely Carolyn Steele. The three are very different: one is sad, one is fun, and one is absolutely hilarious.

White Lilies in Autumn is about a young couple who tragically lose their very prematurely born baby. You’re probably thinking, well, yes, that’s really sad, but not exactly uncommon. True. However, this was not the only unhappy event in this young couple’s life. To say they had more than a lifetime’s tragedy in just a few short years is a little bit of an understatement. What astounds you, though, is the tenacity, loving bond between this two young people, and extraordinary unwavering faith. It’s a very humbling read.

On to something a little more jolly now…Carolyn Steele was a single mum with a young son. We all get those flights of fancy when we say, ‘You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to climb Everest/going to be a beach bum for a year/going to cycle to China and back.’ Most of our friends snigger into their sleeves and think, ‘Yeah, right.’ This plucky lady said, ‘I’m going to Canada for a year, and I’m going to look after an old lady with Alzheimer’s.’ Course you are, Carolyn. Aha! But that’s exactly what she did. What’s more, she fell in love with Canada and the natives (!) and now lives there. Travel with Carolyn during her twelve months in her now adopted country in A Year on Planet Alzheimer.

Finally, a side-splitting, rather irreverent, wry look at all sorts of things one particular Brit living in America finds quirky or irritating or just plain stupid. A no-holds-barred journal written…um…bluntly. If the f-word isn’t in your vocabulary or has never even entered your very pure mind (which I don’t believe of anyone for one minute), then this won’t be a book for you. For everyone else, it’s one that will have you laughing out loud. I’m so glad my hubby and I have one of those bed mattresses designed to absorb movement so that a restless partner doesn’t wake his/her partner up. I found myself shaking uncontrollably with laughter as my husband slumbered peacefully. Read Mr Bison’s Journal and enjoy.

Class will be resumed soon, be warned…

Author: Cathy Speight

Reviewer Cathy Speight is British and lives in England. The Kindle revived her passion for reading and after stumbling on a Facebook group of independent authors, she now does her best to encourage and assist indies as much as possible. Books by indie author form the majority of her collection. Cathy shares her views on the books she has read on her blog. View all posts by Cathy Speight