Saturday, October 26, 2019

Nonfiction November Begins (in October!), Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon, and the Texas Book Festival



I know, I know, it's still October, but the books started rolling in and I just couldn't wait. Bill Bryson's new book, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, is one of those books that drives my spouse crazy. I read a little and then run to find him with a Did-you-know fact from the book, and then I go back and read some more, and run to find him again. A great start to Nonfiction November in, um, October.




Here's what has come in for me so far from the public library for Nonfiction November:

The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human
Phantoms on the Bookshelves by Jacques Bonnet
Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid & Beyond the American Dream
The Moth Presents Occasional Magic: True Stories About Defying the Impossible
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
The Daemon Knows: Literary Greatness and the American Sublime by Harold Bloom
Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life by Dacher Keltner

What should I read next? How can I possibly decide?






I'm spending part of this weekend at the Texas Book Festival in Austin. As usual, I've charted out all the authors I'd like to hear and books I'd like to buy. I'd need about five of myself to see and do all the authors and books on my list, of course. Sigh. Still it's wonderful to have so many good choices. I'll be sure to give a full report soon.


Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon is always a bit of a juggle for me, but this weekend I expect it will be even more so, with four balls in the air. I'm (1) attending sessions at the Texas Book Festival; (2) approving and updating last minute nominations at the Cybils; (3) going to my granddaughter's birthday party; and (4) reading for Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. Whew! Let's see how this goes!






Lory at The Emerald City asks an interesting question in her post last week: What Counts as Reading?  What do you think? Audiobooks? Ebooks? Books you skim? Books you read very quickly? Thoughts?





Cybils nominations will end Friday, October 25, and it will be time then for serious reading and discussing. I'm delighted to be the chair of Fiction Picture Books / Board Books again this year. I love hearing the thoughts of the other judges working with me on Round 1. I wish I could say more about my favorite books, but, for now, I'll just say that picture books just seem to get better and better every year. How many years have I been doing this? I don't know, but I know I did Cybils the very first year I started my blog, and I have done them every year since then.








Last week was the Brazoria County Fair, and it was delightful to walk around the fairgrounds and smell the cotton candy and the goats and chickens and to see my daughter-in-law's pickles and photography take home ribbons, including this wonderful collage of her kids, my grandkids, getting ready for the fair. Aren't Annie and Wyatt adorable? It's Annie's birthday weekend, too, and we'll be celebrating at the Kemah Boardwalk for her fourth birthday on Sunday.




What was your week like?

Did you read any good books? Tell us about them.

What other bookish things did you do? 

What else is going on in your life?

We'd love to have you to link up here and/or at the Sunday Salon page on Facebook each weekend (Saturday-Sunday-Monday) and let us know what you have been doing. I hope you will visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Other places where you may like to link up are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.


My linkup for Sunday Salon is below. 

32 comments:

  1. Love the pictures of Annie and Wyatt! Boots, belt and hat. :) True Texans, right?!

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    1. They sure are! My husband's people have lived in Texas for over two hundred years. Texans before there was a Texas.

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  2. I loved The Body and shared tidbits from it with EVERYONE who would listen to me. My husband was happy when I finished it.

    I count everything as reading - even instruction manuals. I don't track all of my reading but it's still reading.

    Your grandchildren are adorable!

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one driving people crazy with The Body.

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  3. I have Justice and really want to read it, but I have so many to read!

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  4. I'm going to have to read about this Dewey's 24-hour readathon!
    I finally had two good reads in a row this week. I've had a bit of a dry spell.
    I think anything counts as reading a book. Some I take out knowing I will skim it but still get something useful. There are books you start and know it can't hold your interest and it's okay to abandon it, there's too many other books out there.

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    1. I like your thoughts about what counts as reading a book. I agree with you. You do not have to read every word.

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  5. I always want to participate in Dewey's readathon but it seems like it's never the right time for me. I hope you do well and have fun at the Texas Book Festival! Have a great week!

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    1. It wasn't the best weekend for me to have a readathon, but it ended up okay, I think.

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  6. Your grandkids are adorable.
    Your reading list for NonFiction November has some intriguing titles. I’m looking forward to learning more about them.

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. After I got those books in, I requested another half a dozen! Oh my.

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  7. You have a lot on your plate, be sure to take time to breathe :)

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  8. You've got lot going on this weekend!! I wish there was a book festival like Austin's in this area... sounds like so much fun. I had to miss the readathon, but can't wait to get started with Nonfiction November. You and Kathy have both convinced me that The Body belongs on my list. Hope I can get it in time.

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    1. Our Texas Book Festival was started by former librarian Laura Bush when she was the governor's wife. It's celebrating its 24th year now. Every area needs a book festival like this one. Just the kids' Read Me a Story Tent is worth the trip here.

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  9. Oh my gosh Annie and Wyatt are adorable!!! My little guy's name is Wyatt too. :) And a State Book Festival sounds so fun!

    Twelve by Twelve needs to go on my list. :) Have a great week!

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  10. I didn't do well with the Dewey readathon this time around. It was my daughter's last day and I had to drive her 2 hours to LA to catch her flight out so that didn't leave much time for reading.

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  11. This weekend is all about power outages, wind, fire, and smoke.

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    1. I hope you and all of those around you will remain safe.

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  12. I wasn't thinking about Nonfiction November when I ordered several new books recently, but now it's working out nicely!

    Thanks for sharing, and enjoy your week...and the month.

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  13. One of these days I'm going have time to participate in the readathon. Always a good time. Lots of good things in that stack of books. And, Yay on the ribbons!

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  14. I've notice the same thing with Bryson's books. I just want to share interesting tidbits with anyone around me. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  15. You are busy! The Texas Book Festival sounds like so much fun. I really need to find a way to get myself to something like that. I can never do BEA because I'm always still in school. Someday!

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  16. I've been reading a bit more nonfiction this year, but I'm not ready to spend a whole month reading nonfiction. If you are looking for another read for Nonfiction November, I recommend What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren. I read it this month and it was really good.

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  17. I happened to pick up some nonfiction books this week. And your post reminded me that yes, there's Nonfiction November! Just in time!

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  18. What delightful Fair pictures! Your grands are very photogenic!

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