On the Plain of Snakes, Mobituaries, and The Only Plane in the Sky

I read six very good nonfiction books this week. I read the latest graphic novel memoir by Lucy Knisley, Kid Gloves, which tells the story of her journey through a difficult pregnancy. I rode shotgun with Paul Theroux as he visited Mexico in his latest travel book, On the Plain of Snakes. I learned ways to help create a culture of reading in Pamela Paul's How to Raise a Reader. Just for fun, I read Mo Rocca's book of obituaries of odd things and unknown people, Mobituaries. Artists, Writers, Thinkers, Dreamers: Portraits of 50 Famous Folks & All Their Weird Stuff by James Gulliver Hancock is my favorite sort of nonfiction, a quirky visual look at fifty famous people, a type of picture book for big kids. And, finally, I read what may be the best book of the year for me, the powerful, disturbing The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff. 

    

I'm continuing to read Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas by Stephen Harrigan. It's a big wonderful book at over 900 pages. I'm listening to an audiobook version of Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light in which author David Downie visits some of the less well-known spots in Paris. 

I've joined the Thankfully Reading Weekend hosted by Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelves. There are no rules to the weekend; we’re simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for the year. We thought it’d be fun if we cheered each other on a bit. If you think you can join in, grab the button and sign up here.

Here are the Nonfiction November posts I have written this month:

Nonfiction November: The Kinds of Nonfiction I Like Best (Plus My Absolute Favorite Top Ten Nonfiction Books)

Nonfiction November: My Year in Nonfiction (So Far)

Nonfiction November: Fiction / Nonfiction Book Pairing: Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea and Other Assorted Fiction and Nonfiction About Moby Dick

Nonfiction November: Be the Expert: Books About Nature 

I have one more post to go. It is a list of all the wonderful nonfiction books I've run across during Nonfiction November. Look for it later this week here: Nonfiction I've Added to My TBR.

And speaking of nonfiction, did you see this post? It's The 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years. I've read a respectable 18/50 and I'm happy to see that the list includes some of my favorites, like We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families; The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down; Random Family; Columbine; The Warmth of Other Suns; and Behind the Beautiful Forevers. I need to add some of the books from this list to my (now huge) nonfiction TBR.

I've read 181 out of 222 Cybils picture books and board books. Books are arriving daily. It still feels like I have a lot to read, with 41 more books to go.

I tried a pie from Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet and Savory Slab Pies this week. 

I'm very happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. I am delighted when you link up here and let us know what you have been doing. I hope you will visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about here:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

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.