Nonfiction November 2025 Results

 

What I Read in November!

Original Selections for 2025

I am very pleased with my results for this year's Nonfiction November reading challenge. I chose nothing but memoirs, and managed to read seven of the ten selections. I gave up on one and ran out of time for the last two, but overall it was a great month of reading. Click on the links for my reviews.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (4/5)

Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life by Abigail Thomas (3.5/5)

Altitude Adjustment: A Quest for Love, Home, and Meaning in the Tetons by Mary Beth Baptiste (3.5/5)

The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates (4.5/5)

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks (4.5/5)

I Am I Am I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell (4.5/5)

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (3/5)

One of the nice things about this challenge is that I get to discover a lot of nonfiction books that appeal to me. Here are a few that I've added to my TBR list:

Discovered on Musings of a Literary Wanderer 

(Angela)

Discovered on Books are My Favorite and Best

(Kate)

Discovered on Books Are My Favorite and Best

(Kate)

Discovered on Musings of a Literary Wanderer 

(Angela)

Discovered on Turn the Page

(Tina)

Discovered on Readerbuzz

(Deb)

Nonfiction November 2025

 

Nonfiction November is one of my favorite blogging challenges. While I rarely participate in the weekly prompts, I love spending an entire month reading nothing but nonfiction. For me, this year looks to be the year of memoirs. You can learn more about this challenge here. 

I've been saving these books for the better part of a year and I'm excited to finally get to them. Have you read any of them? Which should I start with?

Click here for my previous Nonfiction November posts.

A Month in Summary - November 2024

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

November 2024

Whoa! How can it be December?! November flew by, didn't it? We got home from Northern California on the 5th, the same day that my husband's book came out, (which was the only good thing about that day), celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary the following day, had two successful events for Rod's new book, and enjoyed Thanksgiving with family and friends. I'm ready for a nap!

I'm surprised with such a full calendar, I was able to finish six books, but it helps that I was close to the finish with two of those. I participated (unofficially) in the Nonfiction November reading challenge, which is always a good way to focus on some of the books on my shelves. My favorites were three memoirs, each by a new-to-me author. If you enjoy memoirs, be sure to take a look at my reviews for those in the top row of the collage.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

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)

Movies & TV Series:

Collision - An older PBS series starring Douglas Henshall from Shetland. Quite good.

Shrinking (Season 2) - Love this series, in spite of a few silly episodes.

White Collar - Meh. The first two episodes were fun, but the we lost interest and quit after the fifth episode.

The Long Shadow - Based on a true story, this was too long and quite dark.

The Morning Show (Season 2) - I started watching the first season a couple of weeks ago and am addicted to this show. I prefer to watch one episode of a show every day or so, but this one had me binging with three to four in a single day.

Celebrating 36 years!

I'm still posting the occasional blog entry about our trip to Canada in 2023, and hope to finish up so I can begin sharing photos from our trips to Vancouver Island and the Tetons.

Nonfiction November 2022

I love this reading challenge just as much as the 20 Books of Summer event. I've been saving several of my nonfiction books specifically for this challenge and I can't wait to dive in. I cheated a little bit by reading Sailing by Starlight before the official start of the challenge, but I'm sure you all understand why. 😊

Click here for details about this annual reading event. 

Have you read any of these books? Which do you recommend?

Nonfiction November 2021 Wrap-Up

November is typically a very busy month, what with getting our RV ready for storage, celebrating our anniversary and, of course, Thanksgiving. I didn't expect to read a lot for this challenge, so I'm quite pleased with my results (especially since one of the books I read is over 500 pages). 

My favorite books were The Splendid and the Vile and A Homemade Life, both of which earned 5-star ratings.

I gave up on Untamed and Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure.

I'm still listening to Broken Horses and am currently reading I Miss You When I Blink. I plan to continue with nonfiction selections until the end of the year. 

This is one of my favorite reading challenges and it was fun to "meet" new bloggers and see what they read during November. I've added dozens of titles to my TBR list, thanks to everyone's great recommendations. 

 

Original Selections

My Year in Nonfiction Thus Far (2021)

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?

Click on titles for my reviews:

On Island Time by Hilary Stewart (4/5)

The Sewing Room by Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton (3/5)

The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck (2/5)

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver (2/5)

Blue Horses by Mary Oliver (4/5)

Felicity by Mary Oliver (4/5)

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (4/5)

Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (second reading 2/5; first reading 4/5)

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (1/5)

I read quite a bit of poetry this year, focusing on Mary Oliver's collections in April during National Poetry Month. I found some gems in her works, but my favorite nonfiction read of the year is On Island Time by Hilary Stewart. 

This year's reading goal is to focus on the books I own, but have gone ignored for many years. My list for Nonfiction November is comprised of about 50% old and 50% new-ish titles. Of course, I'm beginning with one of the more recent releases rather than the oldest. ;)

Nonfiction November 2021

 

It's that time of year for one of my favorite reading challenges! I enjoy nonfiction, but don't read enough of it throughout the year, so it's especially nice to spend an entire month focusing on memoirs, biographies, travel essays and history. My involvement is pretty low key, as I don't usually participate in the weekly events, but for those interested, you can find all the details on Katie's blog (Doing Dewey).

My stack of books is overly optimistic since I rarely read more than 4-6 books a month (and one of those is usually a book group selection), not to mention that Thanksgiving will be a bit more hectic than it was last year. But it will be fun to see how many of these books I finish before December. Wish me luck!

Have you read any of these? I should probably start with the ones that have been on my shelves for the longest time, right? 

Nonfiction November 2020 Reading Challenge Results

 

I knew this was an ambitious selection for the Nonfiction November reading challenge, but I thought that by extending it into December, I'd be able to read most of these books. And yet, with the distraction of the election, my husband's shoulder surgery, Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas I only managed to finish five from this shelf. I gave up on three others and still have four remaining. I don't mind the lower numbers, but I do mind the low ratings. While none of the five I finished were winners, I am glad I finally got around to reading them. 

Books Read (click on link for review):

Educated by Tara Westover (2/5)

Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh (2/5)

Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene (3/5)

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson (3/5)

Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (3/5)

Books Abandoned:

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl by Susan McCorkindale

Name All the Animals by Alison Smith

Saved for Future Reading:

Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

The Longest Road by Philip Caputo

Jacob's Room is Full of Books by Susan Hill

Nonfiction November 2020

Nonfiction November is one of my favorite reading challenges. I don't usually participate in all the monthly memes/activities, but I love getting recommendations for new books, as well as spending the entire month reading nothing but nonfiction.

So far this year, I've only read seven nonfiction books, which surprises me. I would've thought I'd read a higher percentage in relation to the 48 books I've finished so far in 2020, but I guess not. To date, I've read the following (click on the links for my reviews):

The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff (5/5)

Inheritance by Dani Shapiro (3/5)

Option B by Sheryl Sandberg (5/5)

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (3/5)

Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher (2/5)

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (4/5)

When My Time Comes by Diane Rehm (4/5)

The above photo is an optimistic selection, so I may continue reading from the dozen I've pulled from my shelves (several of which have been there for decades!) until the end of the year.