What's this? Reading two fiction books during Nonfiction November? Yep, that's what I did last week. Not what I would have wished, but I had to finish Gracelin O'Malley for book club and Baron in the Trees for my Classics Club spin.
The good news is that they were both really good reads. Gracelin O'Malley is page-turning, soap-opera-ish historical fiction set in Ireland during the potato blight. The Baron in the Trees is a folktale-ish story of an adolescent aristocrat who fights with his dad and decides to spend the rest of his life living in the trees.
She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer
The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher
Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training by Adam Stern
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman
Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz
Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott
They all came in for me at once, as they always do.
Last week I posted here at Readerbuzz:
Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinko spoke about his new book at Inprint Houston.
100 Scope Notes: Gallery: NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2021
Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves will be hosting the Thankfully Reading Weekend November 24 through 28. No rules...just hoping to get some good solid reading time in. To join in, sign up here.
Good Thing #1
Our book club met in person at the library.
Good Thing #2
Yoga at the Y!
Good Thing #3
We got together with a bit of family for an early Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is a place to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. It's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.
Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:
- 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 over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.
My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.
Two fiction is fine. You read so much -- and lots of non-fiction all year! DOn't worry about November -- it's a stressful month. Read what gives you joy!
ReplyDeleteRead what gives you joy! Yes, great reminder.
DeleteOoh, I'm very much interested in Bicycling with Butterflies and She Has Her Mother's Laugh.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving week, Deb. I'm thankful for the joy you bring to my blogging world. xoxo
Ah, thank you, Les! I'm happy you also bring joy to my blogging world.
DeleteI'm not really doing nonfiction month, but I am working on two nonfictions at the moment. Both are slow going. I'm also reading Louise Erdrich's latest, The Sentence. Her books are always favorites of mine.
ReplyDeleteYou take on some fabulous books, Dorothy. I'll be interested to see what you are reading.
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed The Baron in the Trees--even if it was out of sequence!
ReplyDeleteThe Baron in the Trees---completely charming.
DeleteReading fiction in November is just fine... I recently took a break from nonfiction to read Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout and loved it! She Has Her Mother's Laugh is on my wish list, so I'll look forward to your thoughts. Hooray for in-person book club! Our library is just starting to host events again, so I'm waiting to hear whether the book club will be one of them. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Deb... and thank you for hosting The Sunday Salon.
ReplyDeleteI delight in hosting The Sunday Salon. Thank you, JoAnn.
DeleteAnd I can't wait to read Oh William.
That's the trouble with their being so many fun reading events and challenges. We have to be flexible with our reading plans. I'm alternating between print books and kindle books this year and it never fails that a really good kindle book pops up from the library during a print book month. lol
ReplyDeleteI love the cover of "While You're Sleeping" SO MUCH!!!!
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and Thankfully Reading, Deb!
All of the titles on the New York Times list are amazing.
DeleteGreat choices! Who cares what’s fiction? I’m traveling again, will visit blogs when I get back. Meanwhile I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks, Mae. See you when you return.
DeleteI have been mixing it up with fiction and nonfiction. As long as you enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving, Deb.
ReplyDeleteSure, it's all good.
DeleteSo many good books! Yes, they do tend to come in all at once, don't they? :) Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteYes, I wish there were a way to control that.
DeleteI'm also reading fiction, but that's what I choose to read. I'll do the "assignments" for Nonfiction November, if it works out. But I know I read lots of nonfiction all year. Don't sweat the small stuff, I say!
ReplyDeleteAs long as you enjoy your books, that's all that matters. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Yvonne.
DeleteI really tried to keep November as free from fiction as possible but then about a dozen mostly unsolicited review books showed up in the last two weeks, and I was still trying to catch up from October!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a great reading week
I wish Nonfiction November came at a less-busy time of the year.
DeleteBeing Irish I am going to have to read the O'Malley series!
ReplyDeleteI hope you will, and I hope you'll share your thoughts, Jackie.
DeleteI've had to add fiction audiobooks to break up all the nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a little annoying when all your book holds come in at once? A little exciting to see all the pretty books but annoying all the same. At least for me.
Thankfully Reading is tempting since my husband will be on call all Thanksgiving weekend but I really need to review some books instead.
Happy Thanksgiving! I'm glad you were able to celebrate with family already!
I think I will do some combination of reading and reviewing during Thankfully Reading.
DeleteHappy Thanksgiving! I'm glad your fiction books were good. I was very tempted by fiction last week, but I stopped myself from grabbing it and stuck to nonfiction. :)
ReplyDeleteI hate to be deterred from my path, but sometimes we have no choice.
DeleteGreat looking books! Have a great week, and thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI do have a lot of wonderful books awaiting me.
DeleteLove the lost in thought and heriditary book. I've been thinking of reading more non-fic and more brain books, I've got to give the brain energy.
ReplyDeleteNonfiction definitely feeds your brain.
DeleteI'm doing the same thing. Some fiction, some nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteI should be happy that I'm getting anything read at this time of the year.
DeleteYou had a great week and it looks like another one ahead. Happy Reading!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lori!
DeleteI have read far too much fiction this nonfiction November!
ReplyDeleteAnything that's not nonfiction frustrates me.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed your fiction reads. I have Committed on my TBR. Sounds really interesting.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!
I did enjoy both of the books. Committed does sound interesting.
DeleteI admire how many non-fiction books you've read - my aim was to read 3 or 4 this year and I stalled on the first one! Have a great week and happy reading.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think I actually like nonfiction better than fiction.
DeleteYour non-fiction books sound rather interesting! This year my personal challenge was to read more classics and more non-fiction books which has worked out quite well so far. I'm only sad I didn't get more time to read this year but who knows what next year might bring.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week and happy Thanksgiving!
I can't complain about not having time. Retirement will do that for you.
DeleteSounds like you have some good reads.
ReplyDeleteI do. I hope to get to some of them today.
DeleteDon't they always come in at once? :)
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
It seems to be a library law.
DeleteYay for yoga! I enjoy doing yoga on my own but I have a number of friends who really only love in class format and I know having classes opening up again here and there has been such a relief! I love the sound of She Has Her Mother's Laugh and Lost in Thought. I've been thinking a lot about heredity and the whole nature vs nurture debate. My son is basically my husband's clone. Of course that could be nature or nurture but there are so many times where my son will do something or inform us of a presence and my husband will suddenly remember that he did the same thing or even better remember a phrase that his father would tell him that perfectly fits Will's behavior. My husband's childhood is suddenly making a lot more sense to him! Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated with genetics.
DeleteHope you have a great week. I haven't read any of the books you mentioned but then I don't read much non-fiction I'll have to check out a few.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will!
DeleteSounds like you had a great week. Enjoy this week's return to nonfiction. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteYes, I do like nonfiction.
DeleteThe Baron in the Trees sounds interesting as does Lost in Thought....and I need to get at least some non-fiction in this month :)
ReplyDeleteI should start Lost in Thought soon.
DeleteWe decided to stick to a small gathering this year.
ReplyDeleteYou always have a wide variety of books! Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Reading. Here is my link for this week: https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2021/11/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-8.html
ReplyDeleteLost in Thought appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteThat cover of While You're Sleeping is so sweet! I don't read children's books but I always love books about books. I hope you've had a lovely Thanksgiving with your family!
ReplyDelete