I cannot recommend Perilous Enchantments: a True History of Faeries by Sarah Clegg highly enough
And for some reason it’s only AU$1.99 on Kobo at the moment despite being a very new release
https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/perilous-enchantment-3
nonfiction
Five stars:
Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan (2026) is a memoir of a life as a Chinese refugee from Viet Nam and the ups and downs of being an actor. Recently he's best known for playing Wayland in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Before that it was Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_10/never_say_die.html
"Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy" by Kerry Kennedy. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: A vivid, and intimate biography of Ethel Kennedy, written by her daughter, Kerry Kennedy. Inside the life of an iconic American. When her husband Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, drew national attention for her grace, dignity, and resolute commitment to furthering his work in human rights, which she did for the rest of her life. Ethel was so much more than a dutiful wife and keeper of Robert's extraordinary legacy of service. She was extraordinary in her own courageous, curious, compassionate, and witty self.
I think this is a marvelous book. Anyone who knows me, knows I love to read books about the Kennedy family. Not scandalous ones, but books that share their gifts to the world, and their legacy of public service. I highly recommend this book.
"I Will Be Good: A Dublin tenement girl's journey to freedom, by Peig McManus. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2023.
Book description: 'Peig McManus was born into the last of Dublin's tenements before moving to one of Ireland's first social housing estates in Cabra. Her father believed that children should earn their keep and learn to face reality as soon as possible. That reality was poverty, class prejudice and strict Catholicism. This book is the story of a girl who rebelled against societal expectations and dreamed of further education. It tells of a young woman whose hopes of marriage to a Scottish sailor ended in the heartbreak of a daughter given up for adoption; of a mother who needed something more than her 'place at home'; and of a pioneering citizen who became one of Ireland's foremost campaigners for educational reform.
"Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" by Caroline Bicks. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: A first-of-its-kind exploration of Stephen King and his most iconic early books, based on groundbreaking research and interviews with King—all conducted by the first scholar to be given extended access to his private archives. This book will provide insight to anyone curious about how great books get written and published.
This book is partly a biography of Stephen King, and partly a memoir of Caroline Bicks, and her being drawn to Stephen King's writing. It contains much detail about Stephen King's early manuscripts and his life, especially before he became famous.
I enjoyed it very much, and highly recommend it.
#nonfiction #biography #memoir #writing #books #reading @bookstodon
"A Voice Like Mine" by Deb Haaland. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: Former cabinet secretary, organizer, congresswoman, and New Mexico 2026 gubernatorial Democratic nominee Deb Haaland shares her story, offering a powerful and personal look at what it means to be the first to accomplish so much, all of which is detailed in this book. A remarkable life shaped by poverty, alcoholism, and single parenthood. She is a true public servant and carer for people and the welfare of the environment and the planet.
#nonfiction #memoir #politics #environment #IndigenousPeople #books #reading @bookstodon
I am absolutely going to read this book.
"Not Today, Fascists: The Lies That Got Us Here, and the Truths That Will Reunite Us" by Jennifer Welch.
Book description: A piercing, incisive, no-holds-barred take on the rising threat of theocracy in America and a fresh vision for how we can take back our country. As a progressive atheist from a Bible Belt red state, Jennifer Welch has a unique perspective on the intersection of religion and politics in America. She has seen how the far right has used religion across denominations to coalesce power, and how their messaging, particularly the Evangelical prosperity gospel, reinforces economic inequality.
This book explores: how America is moving not only toward fascism, but also theocracy; the current administration&’s harmful platform and how it&’s hurting everyday Americans; why the separation of church and state remains a fundamental principle of our country and the ways in which rogue actors are seeking to dismantle it; the role of Big Church and its economic and political sway over our government; how politicians on the left can create an effective platform and messaging on human decency, structural equality and a populist economics perspective to win elections.
#nonfiction #politics #religion #fascism #books&literature @bookstodon
"Disposable Palestinians: Israel's Wars and Genocide in Gaza" by Bashir Abu-Manneh. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: Palestinians are undergoing another era of disposability and their existence in Palestine is in peril. "Disposable Palestinians" tackles this reality head on. It advances disposability as a key concept for understanding Israel's restructured settler colonial regime during the Oslo period. It explains how a flawed peace process becomes a war process that targets Palestinian society, and why every Israeli war since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000 is more violent, more destructive, and consistently popular in Israel – leading to the current genocide in Gaza.
This book was very informative, and also extremely disturbing, especially given much of the world's acceptance of the ongoing genocide, and the world's complicity in it. Israel could not engage in this genocide, if the countries of the wold did not close their collective eyes to it.
#nonfiction #genocide #history #Israel #MiddleEast #Palestinians #books #reading @bookstodon
Just downloaded The Nerd Reich and can't wait to dive into this! https://bookshop.org/a/77/9781668221426 #Books #Bookstodon #Nonfiction
"The Liberation of the Camps: The End of the Holocaust and Its Aftermath" by Dan Stone. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2015.
Book description: A moving, deeply researched account of survivors’ experiences of liberation from Nazi death camps and the long, difficult years that followed. Decades have passed since the tortured inmates of Hitler’s concentration and extermination camps were liberated. When the horror of the atrocities came fully to light, it was easy for others to imagine the joyful relief of freed prisoners. Yet for those who had survived the unimaginable, the experience of liberation was a slow, grueling journey back to life. In this unprecedented inquiry into the days, months, and years following the arrival of Allied forces at the Nazi camps, the author/historian draws on archival sources and eyewitness testimonies to reveal the complex challenges liberated victims faced and the daunting tasks their liberators undertook to help them reclaim their shattered lives.
This is a well written and detailed history and portrait of these times. I highly recommend this book.
#nonfiction #history #Holocaust #WWII #freedom #Nazis #Jews #books #reading @bookstodon
A Review of A Curious Presence: https://lydiaschoch.com/a-review-of-a-curious-presence/
📖 **When The Solution Is Worse Than The Initial Problem**
I was advised by a friend to intersperse fiction books in between my reading of non-fiction material. He said that it would help with concentration and removing boredom. Taking his advice to heart, I have started doing exactly as advised. This has led me into a quandary. The latest fiction book that I chose is over one thousand pages of historical fiction. The choice of book came from an online recommendation. I am currently on page two hundred and eighty-eight and it has been a struggle getting this far. Ostensibly a 'palate cleaner' my current choice is boring and can in no way be described as a page turner. The easiest solution would be to stop reading and move on; however, I find that really difficult. I know it is a personal flaw and something that I need to address and change. In the meantime, I will continue to struggle and hope the thousand-page mark comes quickly.
#DNF #Reading #Fiction #Nonfiction #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon
A fun month of #Reading in October, with Dean Street Press again dominating the winners. #Mystery and #Romance this month, two months to read two books to meet my goal of 20 #Nonfiction so back to a focus on #LanguageLearning after this break
@bookstodon
#bookstodon
"Winter in the Morning: A Young Girl's Escape from the Warsaw Ghetto" by Janina Bauman. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: Janina Bauman was a year older than Anne Frank when the Second World War broke out. When Hitler's decree forced her family into the Warsaw Ghetto, bright, lively Janina suddenly found herself in a cramped flat hiding with other Jewish families. At first, the curfews and casual cruelty meted out by the German occupiers could not dim her passion for books, boys and romance. Then came the raids, and Janina with her sister and mother, had to keep on the move, hiding in the ruins of the ghetto to avoid being one of thousands rounded up every day and deported to the camps. Their escape to the 'Aryan' side was followed by two years in hiding, taking shelter with those willing to help them and living in constant fear of betrayal, told through her teenage diaries.
I expected this book to be similar to "A Diary of a Young Girl, but this story is much different in perspective, and I loved it every bit as much, and the story does not end there, but continues on after the war. I highly recommend this book.
#nonfiction #memoir #history #Holocaust #WWII #persecution #jews #Books #reading @bookstodon
"The Trial of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Eyewitness Accounts from the U.S. Coast Guard Hearings" by Michael Schumacher (Editor) My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2019.
Book description: Drawn from testimony at the Coast Guard’s official inquiry, looks anew at one of the most storied, and mysterious, shipwrecks in American history, The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. One of the most famous shipwreck stories in Great Lakes history. It is also one of maritime lore’s great mysteries, the details of its disappearance as obscure now as on that fateful November day in 1975.
This book contains so much detail, and the full reports of the agencies that investigated this tragedy. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested.
#nonfiction #history #GreatLakes #shipping #books #reading @bookstodon
"What Now: On Palestine, Freedom, and Our Global Future" by Tareq Baconi. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: A philosophical and political treatise on what liberation for Palestine—and all people—will look like in the twenty-first century. Palestine is a litmus test for our global future. The ongoing genocide is showcasing what it means for Palestinians to be taken to the brink of extermination. The outcome will have repercussions that will go beyond the Middle East, extending outward across the world, and will determine whether the struggle for decolonization will succeed or fail.
This book was not an easy read for me. I tempered that with the idea that it is written from the perspective of a peopled who have experienced a trampling of their human rights for generations, by a people who were once themselves oppressed. This is ongoing, and the west has generally participated in this effort, with little effort to facilitate a forceful stop to the genocide. Some in the west have spoken up, but talk is not action.
#nonfiction #MiddleEast #Palestine #books #reading @bookstodon
"History by a Hair: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings & Solving a 200-Year-Old Mystery" by Richard Kurin. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: The definitive account of how a discarded strand of hair found in Thomas Jefferson’s Bible led to a sweeping, multi-year genomic investigation, drawing on technological advances in DNA to finally resolve a 200-year national controversy.
I found the writing to be first rate, though somewhat technical, at least for someone like me with no science background. That said, the book was still a most interesting read.
#nonfiction #history #genetics #science #books #reading @bookstodon
"A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John" by Matthew Hild. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: This book is a biography that looks beyond the celebrity image to explore her music, personal struggles, and humanitarian work. It follows her journey from a shy childhood in England and Australia through country-pop success, international stardom in Grease, and her reinvention with hits such as “Physical and others.
I'm so glad I read this biography. Not only was it interesting, but it brought back so many good memories for me. I don't think anyone could forget that voice.
"The Pope Against Nuremberg: How the Vatican Helped Nazis Escape Postwar Justice" by Gerald J. Steinacher. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: In the aftermath of World War II, the Nuremberg Trials promised a new era of international justice, holding Nazi leaders to account for their war crimes. Yet, beyond the courtroom, a very different struggle was unfolding. This book uncovers how the Vatican shielded war criminals, challenged the principles of postwar justice, and facilitated ratline networks in which Church leaders played a central role in spiriting Nazi perpetrators to safety, calling it Christian mercy.
There is so much historical detail and information here to document what happened over a period of years, resulting in the undermining of justice, and I venture to say, many knew nothing about the complicity of the Catholic church in this process. I know I was totally unaware of this. I highly recommend this book.
#nonfiction #history #WWII #NaziWarCrimes #CatholicChurch #books #reading @bookstodon
"Nuclear War: A Scenario" by Annie Jacobsen. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2024.
Book description: Annie Jacobsen gives us a vivid picture of what could happen if our nuclear guardians fail. There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of nuclear war. And one of the triggers for that war would be a nuclear missile inbound toward the United States. Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have.
This is a most disturbing book for our times, but I'm glad I read it. It is a combination of scenario and known fact.
#nonfiction #history #NuclearWar #technology #politics #secrecy #books #reading @bookstodon
https://pivic.blog/blog/excerpts-from-josephine-riesmans-the-last-temptation-of-beck/
I've posted a few excerpts from Josephine Riesman's new book 'The Last Temptation of Beck'.
Expect scientology, abuse, scare tactics, horrible behaviour to other musicians, and an unescapable feeling that Beck has wanted to leave scientology completely.
#Beck #JosephineRiesman #book #reading #abuse #scientology #cult #sect #NonFiction @bookstodon @bookstodon@fedigroups.social
"Tackling child sexual abuse: Radical approaches to prevention, protection and support" by Sarah Nelson. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2016.
Book description: This book is intended to inspire policy makers, practitioners, academics and journalists to rediscover courage in tackling child sexual abuse. Sarah Nelson proposes new models for child-centered, perpetrator-focussed child protection, for community prevention, and for work with survivor-offenders.
I found this book to be an interesting and thought provoking read. Child sexual abuse is a serious societal ill, and the author focuses on being continually vigilant and being open to new and progressive tactics in dealing with its trauma.
"Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America" by Eyal Press. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2021.
Book description: This book is about the work that society considers essential but morally compromised. Drone pilots who carry out targeted assassinations. Undocumented immigrants who man the “kill floors” of industrial slaughterhouses. Guards who patrol the wards of the United States’ most violent and abusive prisons. The author offers a paradigm-shifting view of the moral landscape of contemporary America through the stories of people who perform society’s most ethically troubling jobs.
I found this book fascinating and highly relatable, as I often wonder, when using a product, or wearing clothing, under what conditions was it manufactured, and how much remuneration did the workers receive?
#nonfiction #work #WorkingConditions #ethics #books #reading @bookstodon
"Less is More: Finding Joy in a Simpler Life" by Robin James. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2020.
Book description: This book is filled with a raft of practical tips and ideas to help the reader find happiness and contentment through simplifying different aspects of their lifestyle. Discover the art of finding more through having less: more time, more calm, more energy, more money, more you. This book will guide you toward a simpler way of life. Learn how to reduce your clutter and your stress levels, find advice on mastering your schedule and making time for what matters to you.
I read these kind of books because I almost always find useful take aways from them, as I did with this book. The author presents suggestions in a very practical and nonjudgmental way which is clear an orderly and easy to follow. Also, it is a short book.
"Opting Out: Women Messing with Marriage around the World" by Joanna Davidson (editor). My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2022.
Book description: Women around the world are opting out of marriage. This book reveals the conditions that make this widespread phenomenon possible in places where marriage has long been obligatory. Each chapter invites readers into the lives of particular women and the changing circumstances in which these lives unfold - sometimes painfully, sometimes humorously, and always unexpectedly. Taken together, the essays in this volume prompt the following: Why is marriage so consistently disappointing for women? When the rewards of economic stability and the social status that marriage confers are troubled, does marriage offer women anything compelling at all?
I found this book well written, organized and interesting.