'True Life Stories' written by everyday people

[Rosinish]

Ruskie,

You know me too well 

Yep, that's my kind of thing for sure!

I love 'True Life Stories' especially 'unknowns' as everything in the content is interesting because there's no previous knowledge of those people having been highlighted in careers/television etc. which adds to the mystery.

I don't see a 'cheap' used version of this one but I may search on ebay!

Looks to be a good read too, thanks for the link 

Annie

[Ruskie]

Do you have kindle Annie? Or a tablet? 

[Rosinish]

Do you have kindle Annie? Or a tablet? 

Ruskie,

I'm an 'Old School' person 

Kindle = Coal/Logs/Peat, & Tablet = Anadin/Paracetemol 

Neither & if I read that sort of thing, I like a Book which has large writing which I can turn pages, mark them, take with me anywhere I go & not have to worry that my battery will run out at an exciting point or having to scroll up/down/across, not for me as I like to read in full sentences not like poetry with no rhyme 

Annie

[Ruskie]

Do you have kindle Annie? Or a tablet? 

Ruskie,

I'm an 'Old School' person 

Kindle = Coal/Logs/Peat, & Tablet = Anadin/Paracetemol 

Neither & if I read that sort of thing, I like a Book which has large writing which I can turn pages, mark them, take with me anywhere I go & not have to worry that my battery will run out at an exciting point or having to scroll up/down/across, not for me as I like to read in full sentences not like poetry with no rhyme 

Annie

 
I understand what you're saying Annie. 

[John915]

Good afternoon,

The book given in the link by Ruskie looks fairly interesting. Being out of print or not readily available secondhand  doesn't mean it is completely unavailable.

Try your local library, West Sussex for instance has an archive of books not generally for issue.  But can be taken out if you ask, it takes a couple of days because they have to locate it (storage is in Chichester on the industrial estate). Then put on the van that goes around all the libraries each day.

I think most library services offer something similar.

John915

[saw119]

I adore social history books but I also find them frustrating sometimes if they don't cover the one highly obscure subject I want covered. 
Many social history books are too London centric or too rural centric. I have often thought that I'll have to write the book myself if I want to read it.

BTW does anyone know a good book on 17th century social history?

[iluleah]

I adore social history books but I also find them frustrating sometimes if they don't cover the one highly obscure subject I want covered. 
Many social history books are too London centric or too rural centric. I have often thought that I'll have to write the book myself if I want to read it.

BTW does anyone know a good book on 17th century social history?

 

Someone loaned me a book several years ago, it was written by a Scottish guy, who was writing based on the diary/ life of his great grandmother who was the teacher in a tiny village of Exton Rutland in the 1800s.

I would never have picked it up myself as it was an all mustard yellow cover with a sketch picture and the title told me nothing.
He had changed the village name but used all the children's nicknames, gave descriptions of life there and the children and people in the village and once I got around to reading it ( knew I had to as I was going to be asked about it by the person who loaned it to me) it was fascinating and all about my ancestors, their neighbours and friends, "the people at the Hall" and things like " 'Dalbies' not attending school again as his father was convicted of deer stealing at the Park" something I was able to research and found records of

I hate to say I can't remember the name of the book or who wrote it so no chance of finding it again as I would really love to own a copy of it.

[Bearnan]

I just loved Mrs Milburns Diaries: An Englishwoman's Day to day Reflections 1939 - 1945.

Set in Coventry and surrounding countryside.

[ThrelfallYorky]

As - if desperate - I'll read ANYTHING, even the sauce bottle, I can't say I'd never read anything labelled "true life" - but I'd find it a non-attractive label.
I read fiction, and also often biographies, very occasionally autobiographies, many books about areas of life I'm interested in for one reason or another - for example, have read several biogs/ autobiogs of BBC Directors general from period of Broadcasting history I'm interested in, but not really interested in their personal lives! Read loads of factual books, history, architecture, Art History, etc. Always in real print, on paper.
Simply can't get interested in most of the "Misery Memoirs" as a local librarian calls them, started a few, found them depressing - as soon as I found something else to read, picked that up instead.