Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Nonfiction November: My Year in Nonfiction

It's the first week of Nonfiction November! This is a project to celebrate great nonfiction books and to encourage book lovers to read nonfiction during the month of November, co-hosted by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness, Katie at Doing Dewey, and Becca at I'm Lost in Books. I hemmed and hawed about participating, but you know what . . . I've already been commenting on other blogs about this, so I'm kinda involved. I might as well officially participate and link something to the Week 1 topic. Ok, so here goes . . .

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?

I have been commenting all over the blogosphere that I only read ONE single, solitary nonfiction book this year . . . but looking back over my Goodreads account (good thing for that), I did read a few others. Um, whew. It turns out I read a whopping FOUR nonfiction books so far this year. I know, I know--you are blown away!! I will pause and let you recover.

Alright, so my favorite nonfiction read of this year, out of that overwhelming and impressive number, is the one I have just completed ....

And that would be Suki Kim's memoir of her year teaching in North Korea, Without You, There Is No Us. I just posted my review of this book yesterday, which you can find right here.

What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?

The nonfiction book I've recommended most over the past few years is probably Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken--although I think everyone in the entire world has read it now, so I can stop recommending it! Hooray, my work is done.

What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven't read enough of yet?

I'd like to read more nonfiction about topics I don't know as much about--science, for example. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a great example of a nonfiction book about science that allowed me, as a non-scientist, to learn something new and push me out of my comfort zone as a reader. I'd love to hear some recommendations for other science books that I might try. I've heard many great things about On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss, so that ought to go on my list.

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

Well, primarily, to read a few more nonfiction books! Although I mostly read novels now, for pleasure and entertainment, I used to read plenty of academic history books. My degrees are in history, and long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I taught American history at the college level. I still enjoy reading history, but sometimes I have issues with history books written for popular audiences that aren't adequately researched or sourced, or that include too much speculation or conjecture (it's hard to let go of that professional training! No joke--it's like a curse).

Right now, I am reading Avi Steinberg's The Lost Book of Mormon: A Journey Through the Mythic Lands of Nephi, Zarahemla, and Kansas City, Missouri. Steinberg, a non-Mormon, traveled to the landscapes associated with the Book of Mormon, searching for clues about the Mormon holy books, and makes an argument for considering the Book of Mormon as an influential work of American literature. It's about as quirky as it sounds, and so far I'm enjoying it.

Two other nonfiction books I'd like to read soon are Jenny Nordberg's The Underground Girls of Kabul and Lives in Ruins: Archeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson. I'm in the queue at my library for these, so we'll see when I can get my hands on them, but they both sound terrific.

Thanks to Kim, Katie, and Becca for organizing Nonfiction November! I will look forward to reading many interesting posts over the next few weeks, and adding to my Toppling Tower of TBR.

28 comments:

  1. Shameful confession... I've still not read Unbroken. I know everyone loves it, but I just don't know! On Immunity, however, *is* on my hold list at the library :) I suspect it will be awesome.

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    1. Oh, dear, my work is NOT done. :) It's so, so powerful. And now there's going to be a movie . . . but of course, the movie is almost never as good as the book, right?

      On Immunity does sound fantastic! You know, I'm going to go put a hold on that myself . . .

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    2. Okayyyy I've put it on hold but I'm still unsure ;)

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    3. Well, good! Yes, it's written for a popular audience, and the prose is kinda pedestrian, but the story is enthralling.

      My holds list at the library is getting a bit unwieldy because of this whole Nonfiction November thing . . .

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  2. Unbroken was amazing, you are totally right :D Oooh, and yes you should totally read The Underground Girls of Kabul. I just finished that one myself. So interesting!

    I hope you have a great month of nonfiction reads!

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    1. Thanks--you too! Yes, I absolutely want to get to The Underground Girls of Kabul! Ugh, there are 7 people ahead of me on my library's queue for it, and their copy hasn't even arrived yet. I need to prod them to order more copies!

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  3. My list is starting to become ridiculously long. I'm really curious in The Lost Book of Mormon as I grew up in the church (don't practice any longer) and am always interested in learning more. And The Underground Girls of Kabul! And Without You. Gah--so many!

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    1. Ah, ok, then maybe you'll want to try Steinberg's book! I'm guessing that practicing Mormons are NOT going to like it much . . . they are going to think he's poking fun at their scripture. My feeling is that Steinberg is trying to be respectful--he's genuinely very interested, but of course, he views the Book of Mormon as a work of fiction. Well, I need to read more of the book before I give my final assessment, but I'm finding it pretty interesting so far!

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  4. Unbroken and Henrietta Lacks were great! Steinberg's book sounds pretty interesting, too. I just looked up On Immunity and stumbled onto another book by the same author that looks really good - Notes from No Man's Land: American Essays. You would not believe the number of nonfiction titles I've added to my list this week...

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    1. That sounds interesting, too! I think we are all going to come out of this with a totally unmanageable number of new titles . . . There needs to be another nonfiction month before next November!

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  5. I'm also in the camp that still needs to read Unbroken!
    Since you're a history person, you might like Sam Kean's books...he writes about science, but more of the history of science topics. I read and enjoyed The Disappearing Spoon, which is a history of the periodic table.

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    1. Oh no, my bubble has been burst about Unbroken! I'll have to take up my mission again . . . so that everyone reads it before the movie comes out.

      I'll have to check Kean's books out--thanks! Ha, one of my kids is taking chemistry now; I'm sure she would just LOVE it if I started quoting from a book about the history of the periodic table. . .

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  6. I just started Without You There Is No Us last night--I'm not too far into it yet but am liking it so far.
    Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a really thought provoking read and would also be a great book club pick.
    (I haven't read Unbroken!)

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    1. Well, I highly recommend Unbroken! I never wrote a review of it, because I read it way before I started blogging . . . so all I can say is, go get a copy! As always, reading the book is such a better experience than watching the movie (they are filming it now). Also great for book clubs; my club read it and we had so much to discuss.

      I'll be interested to hear what you think about Without You . . .

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  7. Yeah, I'm the other one who hasn't read Unbroken yet . The Mormon book sounds interesting, I read biographies of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young a few years back, which I found very interesting, especially about the early years of Mormonism.

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    1. I've never read bios of Smith or Young before, but this is certainly very interesting! Part travelogue, part literary analysis--I really am not sure how you'd characterize Steinberg's book, but I am enjoying it.

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  8. I just finished Without You, There Is No Us and am working on my review now! I also loved Unbroken...and, if you haven't read Boys in the Boat, give that a try. The topic is different, but it reads like Unbroken. It was my favorite nonfiction of last year.

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    1. Ok, I will check out Boys in the Boat . . . Thanks! Ok, someone needs to write a great post on Unbroken so everyone will read it!!!! I never wrote a review on it--I read it way before I was blogging.

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  9. Unbroken was excellent; how resilient is the human spirit! This year my favorite is How We Learn by Benedict Carey.

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    1. I hadn't heard of How We Learn--just looked it up, and it sounds interesting!

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  10. Still haven't read Unbroken! On Immunity sounds really interesting, and I've been wanting to check out The Underground Girls of Kabul.

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    1. Gah, Nonfiction November caused me to break down and download a copy of The Underground Girls of Kabul! I was too far down in the library's list of holds, and their copy hadn't even arrived yet. Starting it now!

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  11. I just saw Without You, There Is No Us at the bookstore today. I will have to go check out your review!

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    1. It is definitely a good read for anyone interested in the strange, closed world of North Korea! Although it's one of those books that inspires as many new questions as it answers . . . . North Korea is just so fundamentally unknowable for Westerners--even for someone who spends a year there.

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  12. I'm reading so many similar books right now! I loved Without You, There Is No Us. And I just finished both Lives in Ruins and The Underground Girls of Kabul. All wonderful reads. I'm glad you're joining us for Nonfiction November!

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    1. Well, thank you so much for hosting it this week! This has really been one of the most fun blogging events I have experienced.

      I just finished The Underground Girls of Kabul--so, so, SO good!! I will have to wait until my library gets its copy of Lives in Ruins--but at least I'm #1 in the queue. :)

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  13. I've heard such great things about Unbroken. I definitely need to read it! Thank you for joining us for Nonfiction November!

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    1. Well, thank you for hosting it! I am really looking forward to the Week 2 posts coming up. What a fantastic event. This is absolutely the kind of thing I was looking to find--thought-provoking conversation about books!--when I started blogging.

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