Sunday, November 22, 2015

Nonfiction November



It's Nonfiction November and I am late to the game.

Forgive me, but this hasn't really been Nonfiction November as much as it has Cybils November. I've read 231 children's fiction picture books this month with 23 left to read. That's a lot of children's fiction picture books.

How about if I run onto the field, despite the late hour? To some, nonfiction is fiction's ugly stepsister. But not to me. Nonfiction is one of my favorite genres. Of the 168 books I've read and reviewed so far this year, 73 were nonfiction. That's close to half. And lots of my favorite reads of the year were nonfiction.

So here I go. Again, I ask forgiveness for the brevity of my posts: I just wanted in the game, but I didn't care if I scored.


Week 1 (November 2-6) – Your Year in Nonfiction hosted by Kim  





What are your favorite nonfiction reads of the year?






Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience


Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania


Being Mortal by Atul Gawande


Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen


Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans


In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides


The Wright Brothers by David McCullough





              







I signed up for the Nonfiction Book Swap.



Interesting. Guess who my partner is for the Nonfiction Book Swap?




Ironic, yes?




What nonfiction books did I pick for her?

Nonfiction that reads like a novel, of course!





Week 2 (November 9-13) – Book Pairing

I was challenged to pair up a nonfiction and a fiction book.


I decided to match up a fiction book I read and loved this year with a nonfiction book I loved in the past.



Both are about the 1900 Storm in Galveston. 
The fiction book has elements of nonfiction. 
The nonfiction book has elements of fiction.

Maybe that's why I liked them both so much.




Week 3 (November 16-20) – Nontraditional Nonfiction hosted by Rebecca


I listened to two nonfiction audiobooks this year. Oddly, I won both of these from Armchair BEA. And, again oddly, these were both brilliant nonfiction books. Hard to believe that both the audiobooks I listened to this year were both nonfiction and beautifully written.











Week 4 (November 21-27) – I Am Malala Read Along Discussion hosted by Katie 

I read I am Malala. It's the hard-to-believe-it's-happening-now story of a girl whose school is closing just because it's a girls' school. Malala speaks up and becomes the target of the Taliban. 

So much hatred in the world. How can girls in school be a threat? And what kind of philosophy can seed girls in school as a threat? 

So much good that came from Malala speaking up. So much courage. 

What a story.





Did you participate in Nonfiction November? What were your favorite nonfiction books this year? I hope you will share them in the comments. I'm always looking for more good nonfiction.





What is the Sunday SalonImagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 
 It is now being hosted here.


Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.

21 comments:

  1. That is an excellent pairing! Isaac's Storm has been on my wish list for a while, but I'm not familiar with The Promise. It sounds excellent. Your audio recommendations are both on my list, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Some good nonfiction books. I have a few that I am in the middle of, and hope to slowly finish in between novels!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so glad you joined in----it was a fun post to read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not much into nonfiction, to be honest. I want to be, but I'm not. I do have quite a few right now on hold at The Free Library of Philadelphia on ebook, but we'll see which ones take "a hold" of me when they actually come up. My wife read Dead Wake and loved it. I think she also read his Devil in the White City too and liked that too. I doubt I'll get to either one, because really the size, especially of Dead Wake, puts me off. I prefer my works shorter and more succint, but who knows? Maybe some day, some week, some month, some year, I'll change my mind. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Enjoy your reads...my favorite nonfiction books are of the memoir type. And yes, wouldn't it be great to love reading books for the information they provide? I've done a lot of that in the past...now I am going for enjoyment...LOL.

    But you seem to enjoy the nonfiction ones, so go for it!

    Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I seem to be all about the self help these days for my nonfiction although the books you show look interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  7. My nonfiction this year has been a little sad. But I love the fact you decided to jump on this ... there is always always time for another read.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I do enjoy non-fiction, I just don't work hard enough at reading it! I like memoirs and books about social issues. My favorite non-fiction was a book I read about 7 years ago by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee. She went on to become a member of Parliament in Amsterdam while the radical Muslims tried to have her killed because she was speaking out against jihad. Hers is an amazing story and still very current. The book was called INFIDEL. She and I are close in age and I will never forget her story.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oooo. I LOVED Being Mortal. Amazing book. I'm glad it was one of your favorites, too. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really liked Being Mortal. In fact I bought it for my library because it is on the HOSA club reading list this year. Not sure what high school students will think of it but perhaps a few will pick it up. I currently have DEAD WAKE checked out but won't have a chance to get to it before I have to return it to the library. I will try again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I read quite a lot of non-fiction but mainly history and biographies. Seeing your list I do think I should be broader in my choices but I always end up going with what I know. Have a good week - good luck with the rest of the books you have to read!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but I'm working on a couple right now - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and You Are Here. Thanks for stopping by my reading list for this week!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You got some great reading done! Keep up the good work. I have I Am Malala on my reading list.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow almost 50% non fiction reading - that is fantastic. I am not a big NF reader, but I am probably missing out on a lot of good things!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good for you for jumping into NN even though it's a bit late! Looks like you've read some great nonfiction this year!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I like non-fiction that reads like fiction!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love all of these books.

    Happy Reading!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My It's Monday, What Are You Reading

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your list of best nonfiction is excellent. I still need to get to The Wright Brothers! I guess I liked The Indifferent Stars Above about the Donner Party. But also liked Between You & Me and My Salinger Year.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your list of best nonfiction is excellent. I still need to get to The Wright Brothers! I guess I liked The Indifferent Stars Above about the Donner Party. But also liked Between You & Me and My Salinger Year.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ooh, both those books about the 1900 storm in Galveston look interesting...

    ReplyDelete

I hope you will leave a comment so I know you have visited. If you stop by my blog, I will always stop by yours.

Note: Disqus commenting is only available on the web version of the blog. Please switch to the web version if you are using a mobile device.