Reading List: September

{living}
{*I had intended to post this post last week but our beloved pomeranian - who had been sick for a while and diagnosed with congestive heart disease and not given long to live - took a sudden turn for the worse, literally as I was beginning to type this up, and died less than 2 days later.  Needless to say I am just getting back to this post to finish it up and post it)

In honor of back-to-school, this month's reading list includes some nonfiction books I've read recently that I found interesting (and of course might teach you a thing or two you didn't know before)

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak
    I have always loved Nancy Drew. I also knew that Carolyn Keene was a pen name, used by  multiple authors (even throughout the "original" book) and that the "original" books had been revamped in the 60's or 70's, but this book really fills in the who, what, where, when, and why, and reads almost like a novel while doing it.  The author also shows Nancy's place in a changing modern society and how she has always been both modern and nostalgic all at the same time, delighting generation after generation of little girls and grown women alike.


Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
    This book takes a closer look at a part of The Bard's life that, if you're like me, you may not have ever really thought about before, and about which little is known.  But in the process of telling about the probable life of the woman who married Shakespeare a good picture of the lives of women in general in the time period is presented.  Including some facts that may surprise you.

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers
    This book travels through the history of the celebration we call Halloween separating the fact from the folklore.   Following the trail the leads from ancient beliefs and rituals to the Halloween we know (and love) today.  I found some of the modern development of Halloween particularly interesting, and let's face it the history of Halloween isn't something we really hear much about, at least beyond it's connections to All Hallow's Eve and All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day, or the Celtic festival of Samhain.  And of course it's a timely read as October fast approaches.

Neverland: J.M. Barrie, The DuMauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan  by Piers Dudgeon
    This one I can not technically say I recomend as of yet since I just started reading it, but it does promise to be a potentially interesting read, although I'm a bit hesitant about some of the suppositions I feel like the author will be making throughout the book.  Regardless of that though I am interested to read about the connections between J.M. Barrie, the boys who inspired Peter Pan, and the DuMauriers - I never knew there was a connection before.  One thing I would say about this type of book though, is to be cautious of blindly accepting certain conclusions that the author may push.
Even if the book contains plenty of primary source "evidence" remember that that evidence is often carefully curated and possibly edited to support the authors point.  Also consider that we are often looking at primary source materials through a modern filter, sometimes fully understanding the the time period may shed a different light on the material.  As I said I just started reading this one so it may be that none of what I just said applies to this book, but it's something that's always important to keep in mind when reading any book of this type.