Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "ben-macintyre"
Travel Reading
I tend not to read much while travelling. I'm usually drafting blog posts and stories on my phone for one thing! But I like to take a good mix of good reads for when I get to my destination.
I prefer light reads when away. I am escaping from the usual routine so want to escape through books too. I'm currently enjoying Ben Macintyre's The Last Word on Kindle which takes a light look at the use of language and is good fun. Highly recommend.
I also loved his Operation Mincemeat. Not a light read so to speak but a cracking and true story told at a great pace.
What do you look for in a good read?
I like to be entertained, escape my cares for a bit, and ideally learn something too.
When reading fiction, I learn something from how the characters are portrayed, how the dialogue is put together etc. I get so much from books and hope you do too.
I prefer light reads when away. I am escaping from the usual routine so want to escape through books too. I'm currently enjoying Ben Macintyre's The Last Word on Kindle which takes a light look at the use of language and is good fun. Highly recommend.
I also loved his Operation Mincemeat. Not a light read so to speak but a cracking and true story told at a great pace.
What do you look for in a good read?
I like to be entertained, escape my cares for a bit, and ideally learn something too.
When reading fiction, I learn something from how the characters are portrayed, how the dialogue is put together etc. I get so much from books and hope you do too.
The Wonders of Non-Fiction
The majority of my reading, whether in paperback or on my trusty Kindle, is fiction to be honest. But I’m a fiction writer so you would expect that.
However, my non-fiction “reading diet” has increased over the last couple of years, partly because I also blog for an online community magazine and a good general knowledge, as well as good sources of research, are useful for that.
But I have found I wanted to read more factual work in between the escape from it all in fiction kind of books.
I’ve enjoyed a few of Ben Macintyre’s books and have developed a greater appreciation for what is known as creative non-fiction.
Gone are the days of worthy tomes gathering dust on shelves somewhere and rightly so. You want books to be in the hands of eager readers and that goes for non-fiction too.
And non-fiction writers still have to know their audience and draw their readers in every bit as much as fiction writers must do.
So what do I look for in a good non-fiction work?
1. I still want to be entertained and often that is with a narrative that grips and is telling me an exciting “story”. The only difference with fiction is that here the story is a true one.
2. I want to learn something new and/or back up the knowledge I already have on a topic. (Ideally I’d do both).
3. I want the non-fiction book I’ve picked to encourage further reading on the topic and give me a source of ideas as to where to turn next.
So what are your favourite non-fiction books? Have you made any great discoveries this year?
However, my non-fiction “reading diet” has increased over the last couple of years, partly because I also blog for an online community magazine and a good general knowledge, as well as good sources of research, are useful for that.
But I have found I wanted to read more factual work in between the escape from it all in fiction kind of books.
I’ve enjoyed a few of Ben Macintyre’s books and have developed a greater appreciation for what is known as creative non-fiction.
Gone are the days of worthy tomes gathering dust on shelves somewhere and rightly so. You want books to be in the hands of eager readers and that goes for non-fiction too.
And non-fiction writers still have to know their audience and draw their readers in every bit as much as fiction writers must do.
So what do I look for in a good non-fiction work?
1. I still want to be entertained and often that is with a narrative that grips and is telling me an exciting “story”. The only difference with fiction is that here the story is a true one.
2. I want to learn something new and/or back up the knowledge I already have on a topic. (Ideally I’d do both).
3. I want the non-fiction book I’ve picked to encourage further reading on the topic and give me a source of ideas as to where to turn next.
So what are your favourite non-fiction books? Have you made any great discoveries this year?
Non-Fiction
I have got into non-fiction a lot over the last few years and am glad to have discovered it. Sometimes ideas for stories spark from a non-fiction book so I am glad about this for that reason too!
Reading non-fiction has increased my knowledge of certain time periods which is great in and of itself and I suspect will fuel ideas for further stories later on.
I’ve known that happen before. You suddenly find something out and it triggers an idea. Sometimes it can be finding out what you thought was true might not be or at the very least there is another side to things which is also worthy of exploring in my fiction work.
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is a case in point here as it made me think again about Richard III.
I love the way non-fiction has finally shaken off its “worthy but dull” image. Well at least that was the image I had for it.
The likes of the Ben Macintyre books on various aspects of World War Two history read like novels. I like that.
Reading non-fiction has increased my knowledge of certain time periods which is great in and of itself and I suspect will fuel ideas for further stories later on.
I’ve known that happen before. You suddenly find something out and it triggers an idea. Sometimes it can be finding out what you thought was true might not be or at the very least there is another side to things which is also worthy of exploring in my fiction work.
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is a case in point here as it made me think again about Richard III.
I love the way non-fiction has finally shaken off its “worthy but dull” image. Well at least that was the image I had for it.
The likes of the Ben Macintyre books on various aspects of World War Two history read like novels. I like that.
Stories to Remember
I write this blog during the week where we remembered the 80th anniversary of D-Day. There are stories we really should remember, whether they are in book form, or are in the form of personal testimonies, many of which were heard/seen on the media this week from surviving veterans.
I’ve recently read Double Cross by Ben Macintyre. This tells the true stories of the D-Day spies who were used to deceive Hitler. A great read and one I’m happy to recommend.
I also recommend the same author’s Operation Mincemeat, which is the true story of “the man who never was”.
The depth of research in books like these is incredible, rightly so, but the purpose of these books is to show the background to the history we know and to shed light on things which, at the time, rightly had to be kept quiet.
I’ve developed a real love for non-fiction books like these in recent years. My only regret is not discovering them sooner!
I do like the development in non-fiction using some of the techniques of fiction to get wonderful information across to readers in an entertaining way. History, and factual books generally, do not have to be boring!
I’ve recently read Double Cross by Ben Macintyre. This tells the true stories of the D-Day spies who were used to deceive Hitler. A great read and one I’m happy to recommend.
I also recommend the same author’s Operation Mincemeat, which is the true story of “the man who never was”.
The depth of research in books like these is incredible, rightly so, but the purpose of these books is to show the background to the history we know and to shed light on things which, at the time, rightly had to be kept quiet.
I’ve developed a real love for non-fiction books like these in recent years. My only regret is not discovering them sooner!
I do like the development in non-fiction using some of the techniques of fiction to get wonderful information across to readers in an entertaining way. History, and factual books generally, do not have to be boring!
