"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Nonfiction November, first week

Hosted at Sophisticated Dorkiness

Week 1:
My Year in 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? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

I have read 24 nonfiction books so far this year, which is about one quarter of my books. I categorize them this way:

  • 10 adult nonfiction books on a variety of subjects but mainly history. I don't think this book was my favorite of the group but I recommended it a lot: The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage. It looks at the history of mankind through the lens of six beverages: beer, wine, distilled beverages, coffe, tea, and coke. Very interesting. If only all history classes were this fascinating.
  • 8 YA nonfiction books. I really, really enjoyed the Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege on Leningrad by MT Anderson. Unfortunately, it is unlikely this book will be a teen favorite. I just finished this book last week and it is my favorite nonfiction of the year. A close second is The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.
  • 3 graphic biographies. My favorite is Steve Jobs: Insanely Great by Jessie Hartland.
  • 3 information books fora topical study or daily reading. I taught a class using this book, What's So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey. The class was in April. I've spent the rest of the year talking about it.

I really feel like my nonfiction reading is quite varied, so I don't really think I should do anything differently other than maybe adding in more topic based nonfiction to my reading list.

I hope to highlight my reviews and books during this month of a nonfiction focus. I also hope to finish the two nonfiction books I have currently committed to reading already and see if I have time for the read-along book: I am Malala.

Want to join in? Check out the this link for Nonfiction November.

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