dayna's 2011 nonfiction

My nonfiction reading usually outnumbers my fiction, so this year, in order to clear some shelf space, I'm making a concerted effort to read more fiction. Regardless, nonfiction is still where my main interests are.

(I won't be doing reviews here, as I'm fond of reading, not writing.)

Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins - pretty dry, and more theory than anything else

Forbidden Religion: Suppressed Heresies of the West - awful

The Road to Middle-earth - made me long for an annotated LoTR

Spellbound: The Surprising Origins and Astonishing Secrets of English Spelling - good for someone with a beginning interest in linguistics and etymology

The Stories of English - David Crystal is a kindred spirit. Viva descriptivism!

I just looked it up on Amazon, and you're right, Forbidden Religion: Suppressed Heresies of the West looks pretty lousy.

I hear you on an annotated LoTR. I'd love to have that!

Your list reminds me that it's been a while since I've read any linguistics/language books. I'm sure I'd like The Stories of English... I read his Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language a while ago, and it was fun to browse through.

Under A Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 - Short, nonfiction narrative about a massive conflagration of forest fires that devastated small Minnesota towns in the late 19th century.