To date this year, I have read or listened to 51 books, 13 of which were nonfiction (unless you count the Epic of Gilgamesh, of which I’ve read three different translations – hopefully to be reviewed on Friday). So approximately a quarter of my books were nonfiction.
My favorite nonfiction book of the year would have to be Severed, by Frances Larson. Although all of these books were fantastic , I guess that’s the one that really stands out to me.
The nonfiction book (of these) that I have recommended the most is Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande. This is actually the book that inspired me to give up my fruitless job search and go back to school to be a physician’s assistant. Of course, I’m far from PA school at the moment, but I’m working my way there slowly. Unfortunately, this book was read before I decided to start up a new blog. So there’s no review.
One topic in nonfiction that I would like to read more of is social justice – especially in terms of mass incarceration, and the horrifying ratios of mentally ill or minority inmates compared to “normal” or white inmates. I have a bunch of these books on my wishlist, so hopefully I’ll get to them soon.
One thing I hope to get out of participating in Nonfiction November is to catch up on my nonfiction reviews. It’s also nice to meet other intelligent people who review books other than YA. Don’t get me wrong – I love my YA. But there are a glut of blogs out there that only review YA, and it’s hard to sift through them to find the more intellectual people.
What about you? Do you have any nonfiction planned for this month?
Hibernator's Library 
Severed is totally on my radar.
I'm doing a giveaway for Stolen Years: Stories of the Wrongfully Imprisoned on November 11, which I think you'd really like. So please stop by later this month for a chance to win a copy!
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I'd like to do more reading about social justice issues too. I think I may actually read all nonfiction this month! I've got a pile I'm pretty excited about 🙂
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I try to make a large portion of my reading non – fiction. I think that it is important to read.
IU like your story about how Being Mortal inspired you to make changes. The power of books cannot be overestimated.
Happy reading in November!
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I lost track of my books read. You have some interesting looking books that I will have to check out.
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That does sound right up my alley. I'll check it out. Thanks for letting me know!
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I envy you the ability to read non-fiction non-stop. I can't do that myself. Just today, someone accused me of never reading to escape – apparently I read too much serious stuff. But actually I do a lot of escapist reading because I have to in order to stay sane.
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Thanks Brian! I think reading non-fiction is important too. I'm thankful for audiobooks because they allow me to read non-fiction without tiring out my brain too much.
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I keep a spreadsheet. Though I realized after I made that beautiful picture that I have read one more non-fiction book this year that I totally forgot to put on my list of completed books. But I'm not gong to change that picture. It's too perfectly symmetrical.
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I really must hunt down my copy of Being Mortal – almost every single #nonficnov participant has nominated it so far.
The Biology of Desire and the Sixth Extinction have also crossed my radar and made it bleep! Which one did you prefer?
Your comment about YA made me smile – I've been feeling a similar desire to move away from YA. At 47 yrs of age I can now safely say that I am not the target audience for these books. If I want a light, easy read I tend towards cosy crime now 🙂
The Classics Club is also a great way to met like-minded bloggers (if you like reading classics that is!)
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Hi Brona! Yes, if you have Being Mortal, you should read it sooner rather than later. I've noticed that it's showing up quite a lot on #nonficnov – that and Boys in the Boat.
I'm more interested in the topic discussed in Biology of Desire, but I think Sixth Extinction was better. Also, I saw the author of Biology of Desire (Marc Lewis) at the Nobel Conference this year, and he turns out to be a bit of a jerk. An intelligent jerk, but still. 🙂 Not that being a jerk should change what I think about a book…but I imagine it does unconsciously.
Don't misunderstand – I read YA. I just don't want it to be a major portion of my reading. But I'm also starting to get sick of how repetitive and unoriginal it's becoming. Seriously? I get to read another dystopic love triangle? YAY! I'm starting to lean more towards older (classic) YA and to fluffy adult books.
I'm a member of the Classics Club, and I agree, it's a great place to meet like-minded people.
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Ha, Severed sounds like such a fun, kinda gross but wonderful read. I'm hoping my library has it.
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It's more common for me to alternate fiction and nonfiction to keep things fresh, but I am kind of on a nonfiction kick right now! We'll see how it goes 🙂
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I LOVED Severed, too! I don't think I've seen it on any other lists, so it's great to find someone else who has read it. I have Being Mortal in my stack for this month and I'm so excited to finally read it.
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I hope you can read it. It was great…I was surprised at how few reviews there were of it considering how great it is and it's unique topic.
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I hope you love Being Mortal as much as I did. I'm glad to see someone else has read Severed, because it was totally fantastic. 🙂
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I've seen Being Mortal on many lists — I need to add it to mine. I have Boys in the Boat on there too. Right now I'm reading Why Do Only White People Get Abducted by Aliens, a memoir about teaching in the Bronx. Happy Nonfiction November!
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I have wanted to read Far from the Tree for forever! I actually checked it out from the library, but there was no way I could finish it in two weeks! I definitely need to buy my own copy.
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Why Do Only White People Get Abducted by Aliens is a fascinating title. I may have to check it out. 🙂
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Yeah, Far from the Tree took me FORever. But it was worth it.
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