Week 1 (10/27-11/2) Your Year in Nonfiction: Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorites? Have you had a favorite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? (Hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story.)
I haven't read very many works of nonfiction this year* since I usually like to save them for this reading challenge. Of the six that I've read thus far, my favorites are The Backyard Bird Chronicles and Keep Moving. My favorite topic is memoir/biography, which is my focus for the month. I'm looking forward to reading everyone's posts/reviews, and adding more titles to my TBR list.
The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts (3.5/5)
Keep Moving by Maggie Smith (4/5)
There Was an Old Woman by Andrea Carlisle (3/5)
I've Tried Being Nice by Ann Leary (3.5/5)
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten (4/5)
*I've noticed in other bloggers posts that they are sharing all the nonfiction titles they read since last year's Nonfiction November challenge. My books from that challenge are below:
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain (2/5)
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (5/5)
The Brave In-Between: Notes From the Last Room by Amy Low (4/5)
Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron (5/5)
The Wild Trees by Richard Preston (3.5/5)
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2/5)
All links take you to my reviews.
I'm reading Left on Tenth right now on. your suggestion. So far I am liking it; her writing style makes it really easy to read.
ReplyDeleteHelen, I thought it was quite good, especially on audio. Hope you continue to enjoy it!
DeleteI never used to like biography, but I've found recently that I quite enjoy memoir - and I feel like there's a bit of a different vibe between the two. You Could Make this Place Beautiful is such a nice title, I'll have to check out what it's about!
ReplyDeleteKeira, I prefer memoirs since they tend to be somewhat shorter than a complete biography. Maggie Smith's memoir is beautifully written, which makes sense since she's a poet. I plan to read it again, maybe in the coming year.
DeleteHappy Nonfiction November! Off to check out your book reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Olivia! Hope you find something that piques your interest.
DeleteYou have some good nonfiction titles and I think I still want to read Say Nothing. Did you not like it as audio or did you read it? The premise interests me. IN fiction I liked the Northern Ireland troubles and IRA story by Flynn Berry.
ReplyDeleteTina, I listened to Say Nothing. From my blog post, I wrote, " Matthew Blaney's exceptional narration (and lovely Irish accent) should have held my attention, but this is a book that needs to be read in print, perhaps with a yellow highlighter in hand. I wound up listening at 1.50 speed (my usual is 1.0, but that was far too slow for this book), but it still felt excessively long. I lost track of several of the people mentioned, and the chronology was difficult to keep track of as I listened." There's more in my original post.
DeleteThose are some good books. I look forward to what you find to read this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joy. My selections for this month are in this post, if you're interested.
DeleteI haven't read quite as much nonfiction this year, but plan to write a week 1 post this weekend. I enjoyed Ann Leary's essay collection, mostly on audio, last winter and also The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Say Nothing is still on my list.
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, I had to reread my review of Leary's book to refresh my memory. I guess it's not one that will stay with me very long.
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