Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Nonfiction November 2017: Fiction/Nonfiction Book Pairings

 
This week's Nonfiction November topic is fiction/nonfiction book pairings, hosted by Sarah's Book Shelves!  I came up with three pairings to share with you all!

 
 
It's no secret around here that I'm a huge Tudor fan, and Anne Boleyn is my favorite of Henry's many wives - but what about her sister, Mary?  Although not an actual Tudor herself, I still find her to be a fascinating historical figure, and I thought it would be fun to pair a biography of Mary Boleyn with a fictionalized account of her life.
 
 
 
My love for royal families continues to the modern British throne.  I remember exactly where I was when I heard Princess Diana had died, and I was very deeply affected by it.  I haven't read this biography yet, but it's on my TBR.  I paired it with The Royal We, a fictionalized version of the love story between Prince William and Kate Middleton.
 
 
 
For my last pairing, I matched up Isaac's Storm, a chronicle of the disastrous and deadly hurricane in Galveston, Texas, in 1900 with The Uncertain Season, which takes place in Galveston after the hurricane.
 
Have you read any of these?
 

22 comments:

  1. I have the Royal We on my TBR. I would totally pick up the Princess Diana book too.

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    1. The Princess Diana book is slowly creeping up my TBR!

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  2. I've read Philippa Gregory's, though I have stopped the series, too much repetitive - I prefer deeper histfic, by Mantel for instance.
    I plan to read Isaac's Storm.
    Another cool novel related to Diana is An Accident in August. I highly recommend it, plus it's only 192 p.: https://wordsandpeace.com/2011/09/28/i-love-france-7-70-review-an-accident-in-august/
    My pairings are here: https://wordsandpeace.com/2017/11/07/nonfiction-november-2017-book-pairings/

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    1. Thanks, I will have to check that one out! I have to admit, I have also slowed down on Gregory's books lately.

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  3. I love nonfiction about royalty, so I’ll have to check these out! Thanks for the recommendations.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. Great post! Now I have more to add to my lists...

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  5. This is such a fun topic! I'm so intrigued by the Tudors as well, but have yet to read The Other Boleyn Girl so I should get to that. And The Royal We is on my TBR as well :)

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    1. The Other Boleyn Girl is a good one. I loved The Royal We, if you're a royal watcher like I am, you'll love it.

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  6. These all look good. I've read several by Philippa Gregory, but I think I burned out on her by reading too many in a row. I've also read Alison Weir and I think she is a fantastic writer for this era of history. I've not read this one, though.

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    1. I've just started reading Weir's new fiction series about Henry VIII's wives. I have a couple other nonfiction by her as well.

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  7. I love posts like these! I loved The Other Boleyn Girl (and most of Philippa Gregory's work, if we're being honest) and I've been wanting to check out some of Weir's work. The Isaac's Storm pairing is new to me and sounds really interesting, I'll have to check it out. Thanks for bringing these new books to my attention--I always love adding books to my neverending TBR. :) (no sarcasm, I seriously do!)

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    1. You're very welcome! I hope you enjoy them! Weir does both fiction and nonfiction for the Tudor era, which is interesting.

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  8. Alison Weir is a historian who I've heard is very accessible in her writing, and fun to read too (almost like fiction) so I would definitely be interested in her book! Nice post!!

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    1. Thanks, Greg! She actually writes both fiction and nonfiction, so it would be fun to compare the two.

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  9. I've read an earlier book by Weir and it was very engaging. I haven't read either of the books about Princess Diana, but I did just read a short story by Alison MacLeod about her in a collection called All the Beloved Ghosts (there are other stories inspired by historical figures too), which was very good. Good reading to you!

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    1. Thank you! I haven't read the Princess Diana book yet, but I hope to get to it soon.

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  10. The Other Boleyn Girls was such a good read. I didn't know there was a bio of Mary, but I'm definitely interested! Isaac's Storm has been on my list for a long time, too.

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    1. The Other Boleyn Girl is one I will actually reread often! I definitely recommend Isaac's Storm, such a tense story.

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  11. I love The Other Boleyn Girl and The Royal We - two of my favorite books! I really want to read the Diana book. Great recommendations!

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    1. Thank you! I love those two books, and the Diana book is slowly creeping up my TBR!

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!