Stranger than Fiction

The Remarkable Life of the Skin: An intimate journey across our surface , by Monty Lyman, 2019, is a science book for the general public about the body’s largest organ. Lyman is a medical doctor in Oxford, UK, specializing in dermatology who has worked in different areas of the world for his training as well as for researching case studies for this book. This book is my choice for the category  Health  of the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge. The book is organized into 10 chapters which focus on the various aspects of our skin. For example: ‘Skin Safari,’ describing the various layers and microbes of the skin; ‘Towards the Light,’ about the sun’s effect on the skin; ‘Ageing Skin,’ self-explanatory; ‘Psychological Skin,’ looking at ways people are affected by skin conditions and illnesses; ‘Social Skin,’ detailing how the kind of skin we have (diseases, color, tattoos, etc.) influences how we are perceived by others; etc. In addition, there is a Glossary, an extensive Referen...

  Alan Rickman was one of my favorite actors. He was such a convincing character, no matter which kind he played, and – oh! – that voice! When he died in January 2016, I felt such a loss; all the plays and films he would never be in. But in 2022, when Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries (edited by Alan Taylor) was published, I was looking forward to knowing more about his life and thoughts. However, with 480 pages, which include a section of photographs, illustrations from his diaries, index, appendix and preface, there isn’t much detail about his life. This book is my choice for the category Memoir/Biography of the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge. The diary entries are from 1993, when he started writing regularly, to 2015, which was shortly before his death. There is an Appendix of the occasional diary entries he made earlier. This is described as, “Alan Rickman kept occasional diaries from around 1993 to 1982 and the again, more fulsomely and regularly from 1993 to the ...

A new year and a new challenge! Again, I’m joining the Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shellyrae at her blog, book’dout . The stated goal of the challenge is to encourage participants to read nonfiction during the year. Each year, there are 12 topic categories, and those who accept the challenge choose a goal to complete by 31 December. This year’s goals are: Nonfiction Nipper : Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories Nonfiction Nibbler : Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories Nonfiction Nosher : Read & review 12 books, one for each category Nonfiction Grazer : Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal, or none at all, just share the nonfiction you read through the year. I aim to become a Nonfiction Nosher, because I already have books on my TBR pile for 10 of the categories (and multiple books for some of the categories). So I’m ready to start noshing. The categories this year are: History Memoir/Biography True ...