Monday, November 8, 2021

Nonfiction November: Week 2: Book Pairing


Week 2: (November 8-12) – Book Pairing  with Katie at Doing Dewey: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story. 




I flew to Chicago a few weeks ago, and I brought these two books along for the trip. 

I read Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer (nonfiction) on the way to Chicago.

I read Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (fiction) on the way home from Chicago.

These two books were a perfect pairing.


Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer

(Nonfiction)

"From the acclaimed Ojibwe author and professor Anton Treuer comes an essential book of questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike. Ranging from "Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?" to "Why is it called a 'traditional Indian fry bread taco'?" to "What's it like for natives who don’t look native?" to "Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?", and beyond, Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) does exactly what its title says for young readers, in a style consistently thoughtful, personal, and engaging."

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley 

(Fiction)

"Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.

Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.

Now, as the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known."


What fiction and nonfiction books would make a good pair? Have you read either of these two books?

24 comments:

  1. Nice pairing. The part of Michigan I grew up in has an Ojibwe tribe so this definitely is interesting to me.

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  2. They do sound like complementary titles. Thanks for sharing,

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  3. Such an interesting suggestion, I hadn't heard of either of the books. Thanks, Deb.

    My book pairings are about Afghanistan.

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  4. I want to read both of those! I'm glad you liked them.

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  5. Great idea to read fiction and balance with a historic version of that era or events. I like your choices. I just read The Lincoln HIghway, and I wonder what nonfiction would pair with it.
    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  6. I love this pairing! And I almost used Fire Keeper's Daughter for my post as well!! LOL!

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  7. Pairings are so fun. I still haven't read Fire Keeper's Daughter, but it remains on my list.

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  8. That's a fun concept, pairing books. Hadn't thought about that before!

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  9. Fantastic pairing idea! I have Firekeeper's Daughter on my shelves and keep meaning to read your nonfiction title so now I will move it up the TBR list.

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  10. Both of these are now on my list! I don't usually think about pairing books, but I do often read a nonfiction after reading a fictional account of something that interests me.

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  11. I'm glad to hear that the books were good.

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  12. I have the fiction book on my TBR but now I feel like adding the non fiction to my TBR well. The title has hooked me.. often there are so many questions we have but can't ask them for fear of being offensive and rude.

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  13. I have Everything You Wanted to Know out from the library right now. Fire Keeper's Daughter caught my attention when it was released. That is such a gorgeous cover. I'm glad to know the book itself is good too.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  14. I've never done that, but it is an interesting idea. I'll have to give it some thought.

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  15. I have Firekeeper's Daughter coming up, and am looking forward to it. My goal this year was to read more books about and by Indigenous People. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer is one I will have to add to the list.

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  17. I'm sure everything I know about Indians is... not very much! That said, my family have always played lacrosse, which is a game invented by Native Americans.

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  18. I haven't read these books, but they sound like a great pairing!

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  19. I always like a good pairing with historical nonfiction. Great theme here.

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  20. Love these pairings! Firekeeper's Daughter is on my list, but I hadn't heard of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask.

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  21. I've done my second week pairing in three parts. I love the concept of pairing (and COMparing) books!

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  22. You are amazing! An awesome pairing, combined with a return plane trip! You should be in the book of records, lol. Mine is more traditional, lol: https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/11/08/nonfiction-november-2021-book-pairings/

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  23. I just read Firekeeper's Daughter a few weeks ago and adored it! Love how you've paired it.

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