Happy Nonfiction November every one! I’m so excited to be sharing this awesome event with you once again. This week, we’ll kick off Nonfiction November with our first discussion post, which I’ll be hosting right here at Doing Dewey. As with every discussion question this month, the link-up will be included in the Monday post and will be open until the end of the week. We’ll then post a round-up of the links you share every Friday. You can check out the full schedule and see the other bloggers who are hosting here. Now, on to our first discussion question! Actually, first an extra note – let’s hashtag #NonficNov, same as last year 🙂
Your 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?
What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?
Always a tough question! I’m not sure why I’m making myself answer this 🙂 Although actually now that I look, there are only really two contenders, so I’ll share them both.
The first is Neil Gaiman’s The View From the Cheap Seats. I’ve been reading a bunch of Gaiman’s books in hopes one would really blow me away and this was it. It was so good! The essays were clever, witty, thoughtful and at times hilarious. Just like listening to him give a talk.
The second is Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl. It gives the best idea of what it’s like to do science in academia of any book I’ve read, but it was also accessible, moving, and beautifully written. I learned a lot about plants and enjoyed the connections she made between her story and the lives of the plants she studies. I thought this succeeded as both a book about science and as an enjoyable memoir.
What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?
I’ve been recommending Stiff by Mary Roach a lot lately. I’ve recently moved to the Bay Area and she’s a local author, plus I’ve met several people who like science nonfiction and haven’t read any of her books yet. All of her books include a ton of fun facts and are really funny, but so far, Stiff is my favorite.
What one topic or type of nonfiction would you like to read more of?
You know, I’m not sure there’s a specific nonfiction subgenre I feel I’ve been neglecting. I could still do a little more pushing myself outside my comfort zone with books on social justice, but the biggest change I’d like to make to my nonfiction reading is to read on more diverse topics. I feel as though I’ve focused in on pop science and nonfiction about social issues, rather than continuing to focus on my
What are you hoping to get out of Nonfiction November?
I’m always excited to find more nonfiction readers out there, so I’m mostly looking forward to getting to know some new bloggers! I’ve also read some really good nonfiction in the past few weeks, so I’m glad to be posting the reviews during Nonfiction November.
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Amanda (A Bookshelf Monstrosity)
Yes for Stiff by Mary Roach! If you liked that one, you’d probably really enjoy Morgue by Vincent DeMaio as well.
Looking forward to reading everyone’s posts 🙂
DoingDewey
I probably would, although I’m starting to feel that I’ve read enough books about death that it’s getting weird. In addition to Stiff, I’ve read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Being Mortal, and a book about being a medical examiner in NYC. I’m worried reading more might be creepy! Maybe next October 🙂
Rachel
I loved Stiff!
DoingDewey
Me too! 🙂
Naomi
I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I did read Lab Girl and loved it!
DoingDewey
I’m glad! I’ve actually been recommending that one quite a bit too and have had it recommended to me as well 🙂
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review
Oh, I really need to read Lab Girl. I love it when scientists are also excellent writers (as also in Being Mortal, one of my faves from this year).
DoingDewey
I thought Being Mortal was pretty fantastic too! And if you haven’t read it yet, I’d highly recommend The Emperor of All Maladies as well.
Shannon @ River City Reading
I love, love, loved the first few chapters of Lab Girl, but it started to fade a bit for me as the book went on (I think maybe my expectations were also a little too high). I do really want to read Stiff, though – I haven’t read enough Mary Roach!
DoingDewey
I’m sorry to hear Lab Girl didn’t grab you! I think hype can make it harder for a book to really do it for me too. And I also want to get to more Mary Roach! Bonk, Gulp, and Spook are all still on my to-read list 🙂
JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing
Lab Girl is getting a lot of buzz now and definitely sounds like my kind of book. Hooray for Stiff!
DoingDewey
Lab Girl was really my kind of book too 🙂
emma
I saw this late, and I had forgotten about it, so I’ll have to wait for Friday to post mine!
DoingDewey
Sounds good! Thanks for joining in 🙂
Toady
Lab Girl might be my sort of thing, but I am really interested in what you end up thinking of A Warrior of the People. That is right up my alley.
DoingDewey
It ended up reading a bit YA to me, but I enjoyed it. The story was incredibly inspiring and if it’s your kind of story, I’d still recommend picking it up 🙂
Ellie Warren
I think I had too high expectations for Stiff, I seem to remember her humour coming across a little forced. Was pretty interesting though, but definitely not as funny as people made out.
Thanks for hosting!
DoingDewey
Hype can be really hard on a book! And humor, I think, is tough too. I always find it hard to describe in reviews and I think taste in humor can be very individual.
looloolooweez
Oh, I’ve been dying to read Lab Girl. And Mary Roach is fantastic — I recommend her books pretty frequently, too!
DoingDewey
I’m excited I still have some more of Mary Roach’s books to get too! I’ve enjoyed all of the ones I’ve read 🙂
Unruly Reader
Oh, I love your picks! Agreed — Lab Girl was a perfect look into her life as a scientist. So much passion for her work.
I’ve been waiting to get my hands on the Neil Gaiman audiobook, because he reads it himself.
DoingDewey
Waiting on the audiobook sounds like a great choice! I’ve heard Neil Gaiman speak and I think it could be worth re-reading his essays as an audiobook to hear him read them.