NONFICTION NOVEMBER: Your Year in Nonfiction

Jumping in to this a week late, but I found myself listening to two nonfiction books in a row this week, so it seems fated. Hosted by several bloggers, [Leslie (Regular Rumination, Katie (Doing Dewey,Rebecca (I’m Lost In Books) and Kim (Sophisticated Dorkness) ]  more information can be found here. Each week there are different prompts, and it ends with a read-a-long discussion of I Am Malala. I just checked my library, and unfortunately, I won't be reading along with Malala. By the length of the waiting list, I may get it for next November!

Week One: Your Year in Nonfiction

Some numbers: 
13 nonfiction reads, and all but one (a graphic novel) were audiobooks. (Nonfiction books are how I got myself listening to audiobooks. It felt more like I was listening to a documentary on CBC that just continued whenever I wanted it to.)  
Four were about comedians (Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Lena Dunham, and Martin Short). Two other books by actors: Wil Wheaton's book of essays and Aziz Ansari"s study into Modern Romance.
I also read 2 books which, while novels, were fictionalized accounts of real people (Malcolm X, and Beryl Markham) where I learned so much that I felt like it was a biography. 

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? 
Can I pick two? Cause they were very different? 
Brain on Fire  by Susannah Cahalan was a  look at the author's descent into madness, which turned out to be a brain infection. Very scary. She pieced together, based on her journals and her parents, plus hospital records, what all happened to her during her illness. 


 I Must Say: My Life as Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short and read by himself. Mostly for making me like him far more than I usually do, this book impressed me. It's still full of full-on Martin, but the famous people he knows, and how they broke into the big time, plus his beautiful marriage and unabashed Canadian-ism made me a fan.

What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? 
Probably Quiet by Susan Cain, a book about and for introverts. I also recommend How I Killed Pluto and Why it had it Coming by Mike Brown often to my high school physics students because it's a pretty good look at how Pluto got demoted.

What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet? 
Um, everything? Nonfiction is about learning; about people, and history, and science, and philosophy and life. I tend to read more memoirs and science related topics and I don't see that changing very much.

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
Remembering how much I like nonfiction when I pick it up, thinking about the nonfiction I've read this year, and maybe finding what are some other great nonfiction books books to add to my list.