Sunday, March 11, 2007

CHALLENGE: Non-Fiction Five Challenge

I have nonfiction books I want to read, the problem will be waiting until May to read them. If I break down and read one of these books I am listing here before then, I'll replace it with another book. There are always more books to read!

This challenge is sponsored by Joy at Thoughts of Joy... and these challenges are a great way to meet new people and read more books. My list, as of March, includes:



  1. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel. I've been wanting to read this ever since I saw the Galileo museum in Florence. Galileo's daughter was his only child to carry on his scientific legacy and this book is some of their correspondence. I also read Sobel's book Longitude this year and really like it too.
  2. Assasination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. I've seen Vowell on The Daily Show and she's very funny.
  3. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. After watching the Capote movie, I've been interested in reading this book. It's also on the Banned Book List.
  4. Zlato's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajavo I found this book on the library catalogue as I was looking for translated books for the Reading Across Borders Challenge. It looked interesting, so it's still on my to-be-read list.
  5. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson This book came along and I couldn't pass up the chance to read it. I planned to read one book per month, but I guess I got ahead. Excellent and fascinating.
  6. Wild Swans: 3 Daughters of China This fits my Reading Across Borders Challenge, and it is on the Banned Book List. Edit (April 25): This book is making me nervous. I don't know if I can do it. Everytime I look at it in the library, I don't like the look of it. And it's big. And it's on the list of books most not finished that I saw on a British site somewhere. So, I think I will remove it and put on either Running With Scissors by Austen Burroughs or Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut. I'll check and see what the deal is on changing books, and when the list must be finalized.

That's the list for now. I have some other nonfiction books that I'd eventually like to read as well, but these five will be a good start.

Possible Alternate Books: added as I find other good books

The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson or any of his other books

Reading Lolita in Tehran - Nafisi

The Bookseller of Kabul - Seierstad

Teacher Man - Frank McCourt

Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs

2 comments:

  1. Woo Hoo! Welcome to the Non-Fiction Five Challenge! I'm so glad you decided to join in on the fun. My husband listened to IN COLD BLOOD after we saw the movie Capote. He thought it was very good...kind of hard to say about something so gruesome and true, but I think you know what I mean. Your other choices look interesting, too! So, if you get the urge, go ahead and read. I'm sure you'll have no trouble in finding one to replace it. :)

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  2. I've got Galileo's Daughter on my shelf. It can be a bit dry at times, but it is a good book.

    Zlato's Diary I remember reading right after it came out during the Sarajevo war I think. Out of the mouths of babes - I beleive she was only about 10 years old at the time she wrote it.

    And Wild Swans I read a very long time ago. I love books about China, and this book was very enjoyable.

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