I had such fun last year with Nonfiction November, I definitely wanted to participate again.
Each week has a different topic related to nonfiction. I don't read very much nonfiction, but this event reminds me of all the books I wish I had read.
Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions –
A Neighbourly War: New Brunswick and the War of 1812 - Robert Dallison
Dead Wake - Erik Larson (audiobook)
The Frozen Thames - Helen Humphreys
Hark! A Vagrant - Kate Beaton
Never Cry Wolf - Farley Mowat (audiobook)
Yes Please - Amy Poehler (audiobook)
Divine Collision - Jim Gash (audiobook)
The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial - Peter Goodchild (audiobook)
Boy Born Dead - David Ring (audiobook)
Moonlighting With Einstein - Joshua Foer (audiobook)
Mandela: An Audio History (audiobook)
Symphony for the City of the Dead - MT Anderson (audiobook)
This Boy's Life - Tobias Wolff (audiobook)
1. What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys was a wonderful book! It was in the nonfiction section at my library, but I've also seen it labelled as historical fiction. Humphreys looks at each year that the Thames froze over and different events that occurred during that time. Sometimes it would be thirty years between freezing, so it was always an event.
If it doesn't count as nonfiction, my next favourite book was probably Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer. Foer investigates (and participates) in the competitive world of memory and also how memory works. There were a couple other books mentioned in the book that made me want to look into.
2. What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?
Other than The Frozen Thames, none of the books were that memorable that I'd recommend. They were all okay, but few had that compelling narrative voice. Although, Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton was a pretty good comic, even if her blend of literature and history and Canada was a little obscure.
3. What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet?
I didn't get much science nonfiction read this yeawhich usually like to do. I also didn't read many memoirs.
Many of my books were from the YA Sync free audiobook program from the summer and I still have a couple left to read. YA Sync certainly exposes me to books I wouldn't read on my own, like Symphony for the City of the Dead, about the Seige of Leningrad, which had some truly horrific scenes in it.
4. What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
Reflecting on the books I read, finding out some of the new, good nonfiction books around from this year, and trying to review some of the books I never got around to reviewing.
