miss.malhi Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I really want to read some non-fiction this summer. I'm not too interested in the biography/autobiography deal, but any good book recommendations are highly appreciated. Thanks!! go orlando magic! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biochem Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Oh!! there is a really good book I must! read over summer.its non-fiction I think. Its called Persian Boy. My mother said it was a great book she read. Summary:The Persian Boy is a 1972 historical novel written by Mary Renault and narrated by Bagoas, a young Persian from an aristocratic family who is captured by his father's enemies, castrated, and sold as a slave to the king Darius III, who makes him his favorite. Eventually he becomes the lover and most faithful servant of Alexander the Great, who overthrew Darius and captured the Persian Empire. Bagoas' narration provides both a Persian view of the conquest and an intimate look at the personality of the conqueror. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 The bible is a good piece of fiction...Non fiction is as follows-Meditations, by Rene DecartesBeyond Good and Evil, Fred. NietzscheThink, Simon BlackburnThe above are all philosophy related. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJBARU Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Collected Essays - George OrwellDianetics - the modern science of mental health - L Ron HubbardQu'ran, Bible, other religious texts.If this is a man - primo levi (autobiography, but good) Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliase Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.A very interesting non-fiction novel... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilia Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I agree that parts of the Bible are interesting for all sorts of different reasons. (Also, Biblical allusions might turn up in your A1 language!). Ellen Foster is a wonderful book about a girl who's trying to deal with her evil family. A bit sad, but also funny and moving. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faith Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Here are some I really likeemotional intelligence- Daniel GolemanThe Last Lecture- Randy PauschAny of the chicken soup booksTuesday With Morrie- Mitch Albom Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeStijl Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I highly reccommend A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. If you're into philosophy and self-improvement, then you'll probably find it refreshing and enlightening. I know I did. Another good one is Teen Angst? Naaahhh... by Ned Vizzini. Sure, it's what he calls a "quasi-autobiography", but it's written in novel form, which gives it a different "flavour" (for lack of a better term). Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) I really enjoy all of Bill Bryson's novels They're travel novels with some very interesting and enlightening insights into people and cultures. He also did a brilliant novel taking you through a brief history of science and its important ideas aimed at the non-scientific (A Short History of Nearly Everything). Of all of them, I especially enjoyed Notes From A Small Island and Down Under.EDIT ^^ Just thought I'd add, he's also a hilarious and brilliant writer They're not at all boring! Edited June 10, 2009 by Sandwich Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneyfaery Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Blink + The Tipping Point, both by the same author. Maybe the God Delusion or The Selfish Gene or something else by Dawkins? It'll be 'educational'.The Gargoyle is also an amazing read - totally draws you in and consumes you, but it's fiction. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge123 Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Although I admit that I have not read it yet, I've heard great things about Paris, 1919, if history's your thing. Also, my TOK teacher is a fan of "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JourneyTo Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 I highly recommend The Whisperers and Natasha's Dance, both by Orlando Figes. The Whisperers is a history of private life in Stalin's Russia, built on interviews and oral history. Natasha's Dance is a cultural history of russia, but what really stands out about it is the way he organized it; rather than do it chrologically, he categorized it by the different aspects of russian culture. His writing also just flows: they read almost like narratives. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond has been on my reading list for a while now. I've heard some fantastic recommendations for it.Because I haven't read it, I can't give a summary, but I can say that the premise that Diamond wrote the book on is really interesting. Here's the wiki page on it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_germs_and_steel Edited June 15, 2009 by sweetnsimple786 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbert Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 I would recommend anything that has to do with philosophy, so maybe "Sophie's World"Graham Greene and Tobias Wolff are both pretty good.Maybe some biographies as well. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5.98e24 Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 I recommend A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking. It's basically a dumbed-down version of the classic A Brief History of Time. (It also talks about wormholes!)Also, try Dawkin's books, like his most famous, The God Delusion. The Blind Watchmaker also seems very interesting. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-2-3 Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 A brief history of time : ) Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa92 Posted April 19, 2010 Report Share Posted April 19, 2010 I would also highly recomment:A streetcar named desire - William TennesseThe catcher in the rye - J.D. SalingerCatch 22 - Joseph hellerOn the road - Jack KerouacThose are all really relevant books in terms of IB .. they offer a lot of background knowledge and themes that you might be able to link to in the pros that ae studied this year in class Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted April 19, 2010 Report Share Posted April 19, 2010 Freakonomics and its sequel, Superfreakonomics. They're both by Levitt and Dubner. They're about economics - but in a cool, real-wordly sense. No confusing jargon And very funny, intriguing and thought-provoking at parts too. They're quite popular these days - at least with people I know.My favourite piece of non-fiction, though, must be Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. It's not everyone's cup of tea - not highly humorous nor written in a simple, easy to understand language. It uses complicated words. Its sentences are long and sometimes hard to comprehend. But this is a book which I have loved and currently love and will continue to love. Its ideas are so incredible, and as the book goes through its chapters, it just becomes breath-taking. By the way, it's about media epistemology and how television is making people become desensitised, etc. It'll probably be a good read for TOK Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SushiMonstar Posted April 19, 2010 Report Share Posted April 19, 2010 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Glau Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 lol is that really non-fiction?October Sky by Homer H. Hickam Jr. It is really good, they also made a movie to go along with it, nice to watch after reading the book. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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