One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten (Good) Books I Read

Building 903 by Lois Lowry...Dystopian

Sons by Pearl S. Buck...Sequel

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym...Elderly

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon...Intriguing

Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel...Surprising

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor...Relationships

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser...City

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig...Re-living

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir...Adventure

Whistler by Ann Patchett...Mysterious

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.  

Nonfiction November 2026: My Year in Nonfiction

 

Week 1 November 2-8 - My Year in Nonfiction - Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorites? Have you had a favorite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more?  What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? 

Hosted by Heather. Heather is a veterinarian living in Ohio who blogs at Based on a True Story. She reads all genres but really loves nonfiction and fantasy.

What books have you read? 

This year, I read 71 nonfiction books. I read 130 fiction books. 

What were your favorites?

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (Science)

String Too Short to Be Saved by Donald Hall (Memoir)

This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through US History by Beverly Gage (Travel)

Congratulations By the Way: Some Thoughts on Kindness by George Saunders (Happiness)

The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly (Memoir)

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane (Nature)

Goldfinches by Mary Oliver, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Picture Book; Poetry; Nature; Children)

Stillmeadow Daybook by Gladys Taber

Moveable Feasts: Paris in Twenty Meals by Chris Newens (Foodie)

The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad (Writing)

Have you had a favorite topic?

Breakdown of my nonfiction this year:

Biographies/Memoirs 14

Politics/History 11

Writing 10

Foodie 7

Travel 7

Happiness 7

Science 6

Birds 6

Poetry 6

Books about Books 1

Is there a topic you want to read about more?

I'm always interested in reading a good travel book and a good book about nature. 

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? 

I hope to learn about more good nonfiction books.

The Sunday Salon: 70!

We are glad you are here at the Sunday Salon. Welcome!

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

It's my birthday on November 1st, and I am turning seventy years old! (My nice niece Bekah made this cake for me when she was first learning to decorate cakes, about twenty years ago.) 

I shall celebrate today by going out to eat and visiting a bookstore, and we are planning to celebrate big at the Texas Book Festival in two weeks.

Update on my dad: His cough is better, but he is experiencing some of the side effects of steroids (sleeplessness) and antibiotics (digestive issues) and weakness. He appreciates all the good thoughts and prayers! (I am grateful for these, too, as I try to be a good daughter and bring out meals and medicines, and take him to his appointments.)

Update on our gas leak: Our gas (and, consequently, our water heater and dryer and furnace) is still turned off, awaiting our plumber. 

What I Read Last Week:

The Radiance: A Novel by Ayad Akhtar (Fiction)

Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín (Fiction)

Building 903 by Lois Lowry (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Calamity Club by Katherine Stockett (Fiction)

Nonfiction coming soon...

Nonfiction November starts Monday! 

For more details, 

take a look at this post. 

If all goes well, several of us from our library's friends group

will be giving out books on our city's Trick or Treat Trail.

I shall be this witch.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Building 903 by Lois Lowry: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

(Mostly) Bookish Costumes

The Sunday Salon: The Radiance, The Shampoo Effect, The Calamity Club, and Cat Love

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

The wonderful Tina of Turn the Page 

sent me this

lovely box of birthday surprises.

I will be opening everything

on my birthday on Sunday.

Good Thing #2:

We took a hike at 

Brazos Bend State Park last weekend,

and saw some cool critters.

Good Thing #3:

The view out the window

of my yoga class this week.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below. 

Building 903 by Lois Lowry: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by 

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish. 

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

 a. the book's beginning and 

b. page 56 (or another page) 

in the book you are currently reading. 

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

"Don't do that, Stephanie!" Tessa cringed, even though she was laughing, when she saw her friend put her thumbs into her ears, wiggle her fingers, and make a silly tongue-out face toward the street-cam on the corner as they turned down the road that led to their houses. 

Lowry, Lois. Building 903, p. 3.

The list was arranged alphabetically, and her name had always been preceded by her father's and followed by her brother's. Now, suddenly, the next name after hers was that of her mother: Virginia. And Theo was gone.

Lowry, Lois. Building 903, p. 56.. 

Today's Featured Book: 

Building 903

by Lois Lowry

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Published: September 29, 2026

Page Count: 240 pages

Summary: 

Twins Tessa and Theo live in a world ruled by the tyrannical Koziris, where there are no dangers or rebels... or so they've been told. In this world, citizens live long lives, and while many hate Koziris, they are comfortable and safe. So, when Tessa's brother disappears, nobody wants to discuss it. But then Miriam, their 135-year-old neighbor bound for the retirement community, slips Tessa a key—not only to her brother's disappearance, but to the source of all real magic . . . books. As Tessa and her parents begin their search for Theo, Tessa learns that books not only tell us stories—they open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination. Once that truth has been revealed, Tessa won't be able to rest until she has retrieved her twin and society itself has been transformed.

Lois Lowry is a pioneer in writing about dystopias, and in Building 903, she shows us another one, a world where there are no museums, no libraries, no art, no stories. Tessa knows only this life, but her neighbor, being relocated by the state, changes everything when she gives Tessa a key to a locked closet.

Building 903 shows us the reasons people need books; Building 903 shows us why authoritarians want to ban books. Books open the mind to other experiences, other lives, other ways of existing, other ways of thinking. Building 903 reminds us of these things.

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.      

If you could retell a Halloween story or trope from a fresh angle, what would you choose and why? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

What about a cheery scary story? 

  

(Mostly) Bookish Costumes

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.