Nonfiction November has been one of my favorite reading events over the past few years…to the extent that I tend to put off reading many nonfiction titles I’m interested in until November! It looks like the official event is on hiatus this year, but I still have this huge list of nonfiction books I was planning to read. So, I thought I’d still dedicate November to reading nonfiction…and hopefully share some nonfiction-focused posts.
Here’s what I have on my radar to read this month. I won’t get to nearly all of these, but I need options!
A Different Kind of Daughter by Maria Toorpakai (May 3, 2016)
I wish I could remember who recommended this one, but it made me think of The Underground Girls of Kabul, which I loved.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF DAUGHTER tell of Maria’s harrowing journey to play the sport she knew was her destiny, first living as a boy and roaming the violent back alleys of the frontier city of Peshawar, rising to become the number one female squash player in Pakistan.
Darling Days by iO Tillett-Wright (September 27, 2016)
The ladies at All the Books podcast and Eva at Paperback Princess recommended this memoir…and the author was peripherally involved in the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard divorce.
Unfolding in animated, crystalline prose, an emotionally raw, devastatingly powerful memoir of one young woman’s extraordinary coming of age—a tale of gender and identity, freedom and addiction, rebellion and survival in the 1980s and 1990s, when punk, poverty, heroin, and art collided in the urban bohemia of New York’s Lower East Side.
In the tradition of the best investigative journalism, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs 5 days at Memorial Medical Center and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled mightily to survive and to maintain life amid chaos.
Generation Chef by Karen Stabiner (September 13, 2016)
I jumped on the opportunity to read this chef/restaurant story because I love all things food…now I have this ARC sitting in front of me, so this one is high on my November reading list.
Inside what life is really like for the new generation of professional cooks—a captivating tale of the make-or-break first year at a young chef’s new restaurant.
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren (September 13, 2016)
This is one of those memoirs that did not initially sound appealing to me, but the rave reviews have convinced me to give it a try. I tried to time my library hold to come in for Nonfiction November, but I’m still 6th in line, so likely won’t be reading it this month.
Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy (2010)
In honor of Conroy’s passing earlier this year, I promised myself I’d read the only one of his books I hadn’t yet read. But earlier this week, I heard his final book (A Lowcountry Heart) was published on Tuesday, so I’ll have to fit that in before this year is out also!
Bestselling author Pat Conroy acknowledges the books that have shaped him and celebrates the profound effect reading has had on his life.
The Man Who Wasn’t There by Anil Ananthaswamy (August 4, 2015)
Monika at Lovely Bookshelf recommended this one.
In the tradition of Oliver Sacks, a tour of the latest neuroscience of schizophrenia, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, ecstatic epilepsy, Cotard’s syndrome, out-of-body experiences, and other disorders—revealing the awesome power of the human sense of self from a master of science journalism.
The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner (January 5, 2016)
This memoir has been on my TBR list all year…one of those books I was “saving” for November!
A riveting, deeply-affecting true story of one girl’s coming-of-age in a polygamist cult.
Which of these do you recommend…or not? What’s your favorite nonfiction book of the year so far? Is anyone else planning to focus on nonfiction this month?
Five Days at Memorial was SO good! I used a read/listen combo and had no trouble getting through it. My favorite nonfiction this year has been Just Mercy and When Breath Becomes Air. I have a few books set aside for NF November, but I”ll probably read Commonwealth first.
So Memorial seems to be the one out of this list getting all the love! Maybe I’ll have to rethink the length. When Breath Becomes Air is one of my 2 favorite nonfictions of this year too…I finally got to it somewhat recently!
And I can forgive you for pushing nonfiction back if it’s for Commonwealth 🙂
I’m still hoping to do some nonfiction reading next month (if I can read at all!). I loved Five Days at Memorial – it’s totally worth its hefty page count and definitely the best of those I’ve read on your list 🙂
It seems to be winning the day out of the ones on this list! I’m leaning towards taking it on.
Wow, what a great lineup!
This is a really great list! You’ve got me curious about a few. My younger son is a chef, and I see how hard it is. Generation Chef, might be good for me and him! A Different Kind of Daughter sounds fantastic, too! I started Lab Girl in the summer and couldn’t get into it. I’m sure it’s just me though because everyone else seems to love it. I’ll be interested to hear what you think.
Wow – that’s awesome! I have huge respect for chefs – it’s a tough industry!
Thanks for the heads-up on Lab Girl…that’s what I love about library books..I can take the risk with no downside!
Nonfiction November was one of my favorites too. Hopefully it will be back next year.
If you review Generation Chef you can link up with my monthly Foodies Reads linkup for the chance to win more books!
I know, me too 🙂
And, I’ll keep that in mind…thanks!
A lot of people seem to be doing Nonfiction November, even if it isn’t an official thing. One of my goals for next year is to read more nonfiction. I don’t read nearly enough of it.
Jump on in! And, it was one of my goals this year, too!
I have The Sound of Gravel, unread, and I think I would like Lab Girl. My reading group last night decided to read Witches by Stacey Schiff. Personally I plan to focus on wrapping up the 1962 list of My Big Fat Reading Project by the end of the year.
I’ve heard good things about both and The Witches is a doozy! Too long for me this year…I’ve been shying away from long books ever since getting burned by City on Fire.
There’s just something about this time of year that screams out for non-fiction! Looks like you have some good options ready. I really hope you end up reading Darling Days! You know I like to read non-fiction all the time but I have some great ones kicking around right now that I really want to get to. I’ve read 28 non-fiction books this year and November seems like a great time to get some more in.
Can’t wait to hear what you think of some of these!
I agree! Awesome nonfiction count! I have no idea what mine is, but I know it’s way more than last year (which wasn’t a hard standard to break). Hope you do decide to do some nonfiction this month!
I really think you’ll like 5 days at memorial. It was excellent and moved fast despite the length. I typically only read nonfic on my morning train ride and this is one I was reading at night at home. I have to review Generation Chef but I did like it. I’m picking up Ghostland and RBG’s book tonight for my own make shift NonFic November.
Memorial is definitely the book getting the most love from this list!
Glad you liked Generation Chef and I’ve heard awesome things about RBG!
My favorite works of nonfiction this year have been Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance, which I am pretty sure you already read, Shrill by Lindy West, and Evicted by Matthew Desmond. Lab Girl was great. I’ve also recently enjoyed Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge, and Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. I have Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward, White Trash by Nancy Isenberg, Love Wins by Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell, and Substitute by Nicholson Baker on my TBR shelf right now.
I did read Hillbilly and loved it – one of my favorite books of the year! You’ve got quite an awesome list there…I have some of them on my radar but haven’t read any of them yet.
And – I noticed you said “formerly” – are you not blogging anymore?!
I have an ARC of A Different Kind of Daughter that I picked up at ALA and still haven’t read. I also really want to read Lab Girl, and The Man Who Wasn’t There sounds fascinating. I don’t know how much I will get to in November, but as usual I will enjoy seeing everyone else’s reviews (and adding more books to my TBR).
You’ve got some intense books on your list! I have some productivity books i’d like to read but if I had to pick some fun nonfiction, I have My Life in France by Julia Child to read. Good luck!
I loved My Life in France! Read it years ago.
Lab Girl was SO GOOD. I really recommend the audiobook. I don’t usually go for memoirs read by the author, but Jahren is really the only one who could read her story with such heartfelt emotion.
Oooh – I’m always looking for nonfiction that’s great on audio. Maybe I’ll try the library e-book checkout/audio cheat for this one!
Those are some fabulous books! I’ve been doing a lot of nonfiction reading this year but I haven’t read any of these. I do want to read Generation Chef and The Man Who Wasn’t There.
Generation Chef is up next for me…will need something lighter after Five Days at Memorial. Have heard good reports from some other bloggers!
I really loved The Man Who Wasn’t There. So fascinating and well-written. I didn’t realize Nonfiction November was on hiatus this year. 🙁 I was wondering why I hadn’t heard about it yet.
Now it’s not on hiatus anymore…and I’m co-hosting. Katie at Doing Dewey has the first link-up up today. Join in!
I’ll be participating unofficially, too. Look for my post November 1 and link up. And you MUST prioritize My Reading Life. Pat Conroy is a literary God.
Just finished it – was ok…not my favorite Conroy nonfiction (that’s The Death of Santini so far), but still was so comforting to read some Conroy. And I’m planning to read A Lowcountry Heart this month too – it’s his memoir on writing life that just came out last week…his last book (sob, sob).
The Sound of Gravel was riveting. I could not put it down. Disturbing too. Would be a great book club book!
Glad to hear that – I’ve been hearing awesome things about it from lots of people!
I keep meaning to do this event — official or not. Alas, I’ll likely fail … Sound of Gravel was AWESOME. I have some of the others sitting here waiting to be read.
I’ve heard such great things about it from so many people! Hope you can join in at least unofficially!
I read The Sound of Gravel earlier this year and really liked it, but I won’t predict whether it would be a good choice for you. I did want to read Five Days at Memorial sometime, just fell off my radar. This event looks good to me, the occasional fiction reader. I’ve probably read about one nonfiction book a month. Maybe if I decide to blog again before November’s up I can jump in and join or just read everyone’s posts about it 🙂 Enjoy!
One nonfiction a month is great! That’s more than I was doing last year! Memorial is pretty riveting so far.
just recently read The Sound of Gravel per a recommendation from a friend. It was sooo good!
Yay! I’m hearing that from a lot of people…I hope to get to it this month.
A reader I really trust has been encouraging me to read Lab Girl.
The Sound of Gravel is on my radar. A few years ago, I kept reading fiction and nonfiction about Fundamentalist Mormonism (plus, was watching Big Love), and I’m trying not get re-obsessed.
It’s so fascinating, right?! I assume you’ve read Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer? It’s so good!
Yet another vote for 5 Days at Memorial…I thought it was awesome, and I never read long books. (Also…we’re adults now…if you start to bog down in a text, just skip a few pages and start again…no one’s going to tell that we didn’t read EVERY word). Also a vote for Pat Conroy’s book; I’m not a Conroy fan and I enjoyed his reading memoir very much. Have a great Nonfiction November!!
Also, Rachel of Rachel Reads: Men We Reaped is a MUST READ. Still gives me the shakes just thinking about it.
Haha – so true about skimming! I’m closing in on the end and it’s been pretty riveting. It could definitely be a bit shorter, but it’s not bothering me too much.
I didn’t love the Conroy as much as his other nonfiction, but am looking forward to reading A Lowcountry Heart, which just came out.
Great options! I thought Memorial was ok, but Lab Girl was amazing 🙂
I’m really enjoying Memorial…almost done. And thinking about trying Lab Girl on audio.