Adventure on the Wine Route; Extraordinary Insects; and What's So Special About Dickens?

 

During the first week of Nonfiction November, I finished four nonfiction books. I've heard about Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer's Tour of France for years, and now I know why...it is a great travel book for anyone interested in knowing more about wine. Bonnie at Bonnie's Books recommended If God is Love Don't Be a Jerk, and it sounded so wonderful that I bought it the same day. If you, like me, are worried about the contemporary Christian church and its ties to right-wing politics, you might be interested in reading this book. I'm slowly making my way through David Copperfield, and it seemed like the right time to read a little more about the author, so I picked up What's So Special about Dickens? It is aimed at the middle school crowd, but it hit just the right notes for me. And Extraordinary Insects told me every cool fact I've always wanted to know about bugs. Even if you aren't an insect person, you might find this book fascinating.

The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher

On Animals by Susan Orlean

Rewild Yourself by Simon Barnes

She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer

I've been creating a library for our naturalist group for over a year. I had to find books, sort them, catalog them, and label them. This week I finally wrapped up the project, and I will be placing them on a new bookshelf at the meeting room of our Texas Master Naturalist group soon.

I've managed to find and read 69 of the Cybils nominees for Fiction Picture Books and Board Books so far. That sounds good, right? Until you learn that I have to find and read a total of 251 books...

I'm delighted to see that Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves will again 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.

Last week I posted here at Readerbuzz:

Nonfiction November: A Book Pairing

Memorable Things Characters Have Said: Quotes from Book Characters that Have Stuck With Me

Wondrous Words: What's Nonfiction Anyway?

Good Thing #1

No traveling this week! 

Good Thing #2

I went back to my Christian meditation group for the first time since early last summer.

Good Thing #3

I went back to the Y for yoga for the first time since early 2020.

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. 

What's Nonfiction, Anyway?

 

 It's the start of Nonfiction November, and I thought it might be time to take a look at the word, "nonfiction."

So, what is nonfiction?

The whole idea of what nonfiction is can be confusing. Fiction, we tell kids, means something that is not true. Nonfiction is the opposite of fiction. Nonfiction, then, is something that's not not true? Good grief.

From Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Nonfiction is writing that is about facts or real events.

But wait. What is a fact? And isn't all writing about facts or about real events? 

One site for kids explains nonfiction this way: Non-fiction literally means that it's NOT fiction. This means that the content is real and based on truth, rather than made up or created from the imagination.

Based on truth? Hmmm.

From the Random House Unabridged Dictionary: the branch of literature comprising works of narrative prose dealing with or offering opinions or conjectures upon facts and reality, including biography, history, and the essay (opposed to fiction and distinguished from poetry and drama).

Opinions? Conjectures? Oh dear.

And what about all those people, including the highly esteemed Mark Twain, who say that fiction is more true than nonfiction? Huh? 

I think it's time to stop talking before my head explodes. 

Help me if you can. What is nonfiction?

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Memorable Things Characters Have Said: Quotes from Book Characters that Have Stuck with Me

I've obtained much of my knowledge of the world from book characters. I forget most of the time that they are simply characters in a book...

Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is wildly inspiring to me:

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

The White Queen in Alice in Wonderland has surprising wisdom.

Alice laughed. `There's no use trying,' she said: `one CAN'T believe impossible things.'

`I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. `When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. 

                                                                  ─•~❉᯽❉~•─

The Little Prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's book of the same name is an amazingly clever fellow:

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

Susila, in Aldous Huxley's Island, knows a lot about living, too:

"It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly. Lightly my darling…"

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

Miss Emily Maxwell, Rebecca's teacher, in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin offers great wisdom:

“Look at the pebbles in the bottom of the pool, Miss Emily, so round and smooth and shining." 

"Yes, but where did they get that beautiful polish, that satin skin, that lovely shape, Rebecca? Not in the still pool lying on the sands. It was never there that their angles were rubbed off and their rough surfaces polished, but in the strife and warfare of running waters. They have jostled against other pebbles, dashed against sharp rocks, and now we look at them and call them beautiful.”

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

Adunni in Abi Daré's The Girl with the Louding Voice won my heart when she said this:

“My mama say education will give me a voice. I want more than just a voice, Ms. Tia. I want a louding voice,” I say. “I want to enter a room and people will hear me even before I open my mouth to be speaking. I want to live in this life and help many people so that when I grow old and die, I will still be living through the people I am helping.”

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

Even a monster can offer us wisdom, like the monster in Patrick Ness' book, A Monster Calls:

"If you speak the truth," the monster whispered in his ear, "you will be able to face whatever comes."

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.  

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?

Can I Write a 50,000 Word Novel With No Ideas for the Characters or the Plot?

 

I felt like I was stuck at home for so long, and then in recent days, we have taken trips to North Texas, to Chicago, to Arkansas, and then to North Texas again. We loved seeing our family and we loved doing some traveling, but we are happy to be at home now.

I got my vaccine booster on Thursday. Hurray! I can see a return to my Christian Meditation group and the YMCA very soon.

I'm officially old! I celebrated a wonderful 65th birthday last Monday. 

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures & Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm reading nothing but nonfiction this month:

Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch

Extraordinary Insects: The Fabulous, Indispensible Creatures Who Run Our World by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

What's So Special About Dickens? by Michael Rosen 

If God is Love, Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Path that Makes Us Better Humans by John Pavlovitz

The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher

SJ at Reading with a Llama notified me last week that I was the winner of her Halloween Giveaway! I will be receiving three books, a tote bag of my choice from Mabel & Nanny's Designs Etsy store, and a Witches Brew scented candle from Sandy Hollow Fragrances & More. Here's the tote bag I chose. Thank you so much!

NaNoWriMo has begun. I have no characters. I have no plot. I don't even have an idea for my book. Will that stop me? No, I will write anyway. Let's see what happens.

Last week I posted here at Readerbuzz:

Nonfiction November: Week 1: Your Year in Nonfiction

Books I Would Hand to Someone Who Claims Not to Like Reading

Hiking in Arkansas: Lost Valley Trail and Hawksbill Crag Trail

Good Thing #1:

I got my vaccine booster!

Good Thing #2

We are not traveling this week.

Good Thing #3:

I had a fabulous birthday.

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. 

Hiking in Arkansas: Lost Valley Trail and Hawksbill Crag Trail

We recently returned from a week of hiking in Arkansas. 

The first day we arrived we did two hikes.

LOST VALLEY TRAIL 

Buffalo River National Forest

3.09 miles

376 ft. elevation gain

1 hr. 55 min.

'

HAWKSBILL CRAG TRAIL

Ozark National Forest

3.36 miles

780 ft. elevation gain

1 hr. 56 min.

Books I Would Hand to Someone Who Claims to Not Like Reading

You say you don't like to read? Forgive us, but we librarians think that's impossible...Optimistically we feel like you just haven't found the right book.

Or perhaps you once loved to read...but someone, perhaps a high school English teacher, forced you to read something you loathed and now you have lost your love for reading?

Never fear. 

Here are some books you might try. 

Something short like a graphic novel?

Maus. March. Relish.

How about a novel told in verse?

Out of the Dust.

The Lover's Dictionary.

Or a novel written in the form of a diary?

These is My Words.

A comic book?

Strange Planet.

The Far Side.

Maybe a kids' book?

Where the Sidewalk Ends. 

Anne of Green Gables.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Something with compelling characters.

Lonesome Dove.

True Grit.

Something people have read and loved for centuries?

Favorite Folktales from Around the World.

Something browsable. Just read the parts you want and skip the rest...

The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World.

Atlas Obscura.

Lonely Planet's Beautiful World.

Something with a movie tie-in?

The Martian.

Ready Player One.

Something spooky or mysterious?

The Secret History.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

A book by a fabulous writer?

Anything Bill Bryson.

Anything Erik Larson.

Anything Charles Dickens or Jane Austen.

And if these don't work for you, please don't give up. Contact me. I have lots of other ideas...

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.  

Nonfiction November: Week 1: Your Year in Nonfiction

Week 1: (November 1-5) – Your Year in Nonfiction with Rennie at What’s Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

What nonfiction books have you enjoyed the most this year?

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Doug Tallamy

Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael Sandel

The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It by Robert Reich

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders

Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Disappearing Spoon and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of Elements by Sam Kean

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Fred Rogers: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by Fred Rogers

Yes, and…Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr

Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year? 

Native Americans...nature...writing...political systems...and spirituality

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? 

Yes, and...Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

I hope to read at least a few out of the stack of nonfiction I've accumulated this year:

What's So Special About Dickens? by Michael Rosen 

The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs by Tristan Gooley

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott

Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch

Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz

7 1/2 Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett

She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death by John Kelly

On Animals by Susan Orlean

Something Needs to Change: A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need by David Platt

I also hope to find some great new-to-me nonfiction books.