Nonfiction November is finally here! I swear I’ve been saving up a list of books to read this month – but surprisingly have still read quite a few this year. Nonfiction November — hosted this year by Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) Julie (JulzReads), Sarah (Sarah’s Book Shelves), Katie (Doing Dewey), Rennie (What’s Nonfiction) — is a month-long celebration of everything nonfiction.
What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?
I’m tied. I just finished Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. I was holding off reading this because I was sure it was a case of hype over substance, and I am so happy I was wrong. Yay book club pick! I flew through this book! Another winner is Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. While Educated flew, this book took me weeks to get through. This story was just so sad. Reading as members of the Osage were picked off by predatory whites while also being held back by the legal system – not at uplifting book but the story was fascinating. This feels so important still with the news about Native voting rights and events at Standing Rock. I just read this is going to be a movie and I hope it is as well done! But then I also read So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and I don’t even have the words to do it justice. I cried, I raged, I thought about this book a lot. Just read it.
Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?
Like the rest of my reading life this year, my nonfiction has been kind of a hot mess. Politics (A Higher Loyalty), murder (I’ll Be Gone in the Dark), mental health (Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad and Criminal in 19th Century New York) and sex toys… Looking through my goodreads shelf I definitely need some celebrity memoirs in the mix. I have my eye on Busy Phillips’ and Ellie Kemper’s new books to scratch that itch. I started From the Corner of the Oval last night and it is a delight!
What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?
I think everyone needs to read So You Want to Talk About Race so I’ve tried to talk that up. For “lighter” reading I’ve been pushing I’ll be Gone in the Dark (so creepy!) and Killers of the Flower Moon.
What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
I love loading up my to read shelf during November. There are so many great books I miss hearing about. I love seeing other book nerds excited about book pushing! I’m trying to avoid books by white dudes where I can so I have an eye out for suggestions particularly to keep reading more diversely.
So what am I missing that you love? If you aren’t doing Nonfic November get over to Sophisticated Dorkiness to check out all the posts!
Gun In Act One 
I’m reading Killers of the Flower Moon right now! And So You Want to Talk About Race is very much on my list. Educated and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark are definitely the nonfiction heavy hitters this year.
I’ve been doing well not reading books by white men (the biography of Princess Margaret written by a white man made me scream) but not so good on the authors of colour spectrum…hopefully NFN can help!
I really must get round to reading Educated – it sounds so good. Glad it lives up to the hype!
Love this! I have also recommended Educated for absolutely everyone, and So You Want to Talk about Race is going to be one of my perma-recs for people who want some good nonfiction to read.
Yep, I must be the last person left who hasn’t read (and loved) Educated.
I called my mom to tell her to put it on your list so there is at least one other 🙂
Yay! Glad you’re loving From the Corner of the Oval…such a great light, fun pick!
From the Corner of the Oval! Yay! I hope it’s great on audio. On the podcast, Alice said she really, really loved Ellie Kemper’s book — I think she said it was one of the best celebrity memoirs she’s read (which is a lot!). I’ve recommended Killers of the Flower Moon a lot this year, often to people who don’t read a lot of nonfiction because it has a really compelling (and so maddening) true crime story.
I’ve heard great things about From the Corner of the Oval — I’m gonna have to read it!
I tend to read nonfiction throughout the year, as it is one of my preferred audiobook genres. I have both Educated and Killers of the Flower Moon in my queue. However, like almost every other genre lately, I find I cannot listen to most nonfiction if there is anything remotely political in there. So I have stuck with quirky nonfiction, rom-coms, or rereads. One of these days, I will be able to get back to reading everything.
I’ve heard really good things about Killer of the Flower Moon and I’d like to pick it up, although I hadn’t realized it covered such a depressing topic! Your mix of nonfiction topics read this year sounds like fun 🙂