This is my third discussion post for Non-Fiction November, an exciting event celebrating non-fiction hosted by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness and Leslie at Regular Ruminations. Every Monday this month, a discussion question will be posted. Then each Friday there will be a link-up for discussion posts and non-fiction reviews, with each linky entry entered in a prize drawing at the end of the month! Today’s topic is…
Book Pairing: Match a fiction book with a nonfiction book that you would recommend.
I’ve actually been considering adding occasional posts pairing fiction and non-fiction, so I was especially excited for this topic. I enjoy pairing fiction with non-fiction because it’s a lot of fun to see how accurately the fiction stuck to the facts and to completely immerse yourself in one topic. It’s also a great way for people who prefer fiction to find non-fiction that might interest them and vice-versa.
And Then She Fell is a fun, light regency romance. If you haven’t tried reading a regency romance before, I’d recommend it, if only to stretch yourself as a reader by trying a new genre. Although I don’t think regency romances are going to become a genre I read obsessively, this book was enjoyable and an exciting change of pace. It also had a lot more adventure than I expected. If you already love regency romances, I probably don’t have to sell you on this one. What I would like to convince you to read then is An Elegant Madness. The writing style was a bit dry, which might be off-putting even to someone who loves non-fiction, but the material inside was so fascinating, this was still a four star book for me. If you love regency romances or non-fiction that gives you a feel for a particular era, I think you could really enjoy this book. It might also be a good read for someone just starting reading regency romances, since it explains what society was like at the time and the lingo you need to know to get everything in a book set in that time period.
Do you have any non-fiction/fiction pairings you’d suggest?
Doing Dewey 
I think An Elegant Madness sounds terrific. But then, I have a soft spot for madness.
It’s certainly a fantastic title! I enjoyed it quite a bit 🙂
Fun pairing! I don’t read a lot of romance myself, but the nonfiction half od this sounds like it could be a good read.
Even though it was a bit dry at times, I thought it gave me a good feel for what the era was like, so I enjoyed it 🙂
I love nonfiction books that really put me in a different time period, so this sounds like something I would really like.
Oh, in the case, I would also highly recommend The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England. It included so many little details about life in that time, it gave me a whole new perspective on what it would have been like to actually live in that time period 🙂
Pingback: Nonfiction November Week 3 Round Up | Regular Rumination
Hmmm I’m not a romance person, so these wouldn’t be for me. But I love the idea of the fiction/nonfiction pairing because it makes NF more manageable for the people who read little of it.
I agree! I love both fiction and non-fiction, but I enjoy spreading the word about non-fiction more because I feel like it so often gets an undeservedly bad rap. Recommending books that pair well with fiction or that read like fiction (or both!) seems like a great way to introduce other people to the genre 🙂
I was actually thinking about your post later on today, after I commented. I think that this post is more than fabulous, mainly because it is a romance. How many romance readers read nonfiction??? Probably few. So this post is awesome because you’re taking a genre that most people wouldn’t necessarily lends well to NF and did just that: pair an NF with an F!
Thanks Rebecca 🙂 Romance and non-fiction are very different genres, so it’s pretty cool that there’s still a connection to be made between the two.
I completely agree. I mean, its not every post that keeps me thinking for hours afterwards, especially one about romance???? So you did a great job with this one.
Everything I know about the Regency period came from regency romances — I really ought to learn some actual history some time. Putting both of these books on my TBR, thanks!
Wonderful! I love learning the actual history behind historical fiction and I hope you enjoy it too 🙂
HOW did I not KNOW ABOUT THIS?! I love your pairing btw, I am googling them now. I’ve gotten more into NF by being back in school, but I’m noticing a difference between pop-culture NF (or fun NF as I call it) and academic NF that makes me want to gauge my poor eyes out.
Are you doing a NF challenge for 2014? Or do you know of any NF challenges?
Hopefully they’ll do this again next year, because it’s been a really fun event 🙂 I’m doing some non-fiction challenges that are listed on my 2013 challenge page and hopefully those will go on next year. I’m pondering the idea of running one myself as well, since I still feel like there isn’t a challenge that’s exactly what I’m looking for.