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Non-fiction Reading Challenge 2021 (set your own goal!)
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I love science books, and the occasional themed memoir or other nf. I have no idea what a reasonable goal for me would be, but I'll certainly come here to record all that I enjoy, to encourage y'all!
I'll try for 10, says the person who told herself she wasn't going to do any challenges this year. Ha!1. Finally A Vegan: My journey to Veganuary and beyond by Stephanie Jane
2. H is for Hawk by Helen Mcdonald
3. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
4. Vegan Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Reduce Inflammation, and Live Longer—The 16:8 Way—With over 100 Plant-Powered Recipes to Keep You Fuller Longer by Petra Bracht, Mira Flatt
5. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
6. Faith after Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do about It by Brian D.McLaren
7. The Fine Art of Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills and Leave a Positive Impression! by Debra Fine
8.Social Anxiety : Easy Daily Strategies for Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness, Build Successful Relationships, and Increase Happiness by James W. Williams
9. The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Edith Eger
10. Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance by Jessamyn Stanley
11. Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear. Get On the Mat. Love Your Body by Jessamyn Stanley
12. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
Edited to make goal 12 instead of 10, since one of the books listed above was started in 2020 and finished in 2021.
I'll join and set my goal for 12. One per month should be very doable and will fit in with my other challenges as well.
1. The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea - Finished
2. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler - Finished
3. Hiroshima by John Hersey - Finished
4. The Best Is Yet To Come: Faith For Today, Hope For The Future
by Greg Laurie - Finished
5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Finished (Since it's semi-autobiographical I'm counting it for this challenge.) - Finished
6. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl - Finished
7. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson with David Oliver Relin
- Finished
8. From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons From A Dog Named Lava by Jay Kopelman - Finished
9. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel - Finished
10. Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin - Finished
11. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, Lynn Vincent - Finished
12. The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel - Finished
Reached my goal but I'll continue to list my non-fiction reads until the end of the year.
13. A Brother's Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse
by Richard B. Pelzer - Finished
14. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion - Finished
15. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - Finished
Why did I look at this challenge? Just can't resist it so I am joining in and I'll set my goal for 12.Updating Dec 2021
Only 8 this year so I'm 4 short.
1. The Trauma Cleanere by Sarah Krasnostein
2. Chinese Poetic Writing by Francois Cheng
3. For all the Tea in China by Sarah Rose
4. Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder & things that sustain you
when the world goes dark by Julia Baird
5. Emotional Female by Yumiko Kadota
6. Far From Home by Rosie Ayliffe
7. On Us by Mark Scott
8. Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne Lamott
Thanks for taking joining in folks - it'll spur me on to reading something a bit different from my usual gory crime or thrillers :o)
Oh yes please do! ;)Two books that I've already read that I recommend widely to NF-newbies are Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? and Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals.
If people want something a bit shorter, the Scientists in the Field series, for middle grade kids, is gorgeous and has lots of information I didn't know. For example Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cat, by the incomparable Sy Montgomery, clearly explains the complexity of mitigation efforts to help the cheetahs in the wild, especially in Namibia. For that matter, Montgomery's other books, like The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood, How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals, and How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals might appeal to many of you.
Tracking for my NF challenge'1. Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cat.
2. Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind
3. Condor Comeback
4. The Hyena Scientist
5. Illumination in the Flatwoods: A Season with the Wild Turkey
6. The Way We Are
7. The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common
Birds
8. Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
9. Bee People and the Bugs They Love
10. A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
9 more listed in message 41, Dec. 6.
I have no idea if I'll hit 'nice' number 20, or 24, be done right now. ;)
I read quite a bit of nonfiction--I'll start with a goal of 12. It looks as I've met that goal.01. Spook by Mary Roach F
02. Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa, M.D. Finished
03. The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea Finished
04. MWF seeking BFF--Rachel Bertsche F
05.Farewell to Manzanar--Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston F
06. The Power of Nice--Thaler and Koval F
07. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming--Mike Brown F
08. Bare Bones--Bobby Bones
09. Decluttering at the Speed of Life--Dana K. White
10. Homesick--Jean Fritz
11. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World--Jack Weatherford F
12. Who was Frida Kahlo?--Sarah Fabini F
13. I am an American-Jerry Stanley F
14. Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock--David Margolick F
15. Heartland--Sarah Smarsh CR
Cheryl wrote: "Oh yes please do! ;)Two books that I've already read that I recommend widely to NF-newbies are Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? and [book:Some We Love, Some We Ha..."
These sound very interesting, Cheryl - I've added them both to my ever-growing "want to read" shelf.
I've finished my first book for the challenge - & it's not one I'd thought about including as it's a bookring I signed up for in 2006! It's reappeared after nearly 10 years & continuing it's journey :o)"As Always Jack"- Emma Sweeney
I will join as I find I am currently reading a couple of nonfiction books. I read about six each year, but will go for twice that (in other words, about one nonfiction per month).1. Not Buying It by Judith Levine (finished 3/3/2021)
2. What They Don't Tell You About Objectivism by Russell Hasan (finished 2/9/2021)
3. Hiroshima by John Hersey (finished 3/4/2021)
4. Born Creative: A Memoir of Paint, Passion, & Purpose by Nita Leland (finished 3/2/2021)
5. The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin by Jan Stocklossa (finished 3/8/2021)
6. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (finished 5/18/2021)
7. Educated by Tara Westover (finished 7/14/2021)
8. 100 Ways to Understand Your Cat by Roger Tabor (finished 7/15/2021)
9. Brat: An 80s Story by Andrew McCarthy (finished 8/17/2021)
10. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (finished 9/8/2021)
11. Mobituaries by Mo Rocca with Greenburg (finished 9/11/2021)
12. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Sierestad (finished 11/15/2021)
Completed!
12/12
If you want a book for adults that easily digestible and is not history or biography, stretch yourself a bit with Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind. I gave it three stars but that's for my own personal reasons... I think it will have wide appeal to readers who haven't already read everything on the subject that they can get their hands on.
A non-fiction challenge? What a good idea! It’s not something I usually track, but I seem to have about 10 non-fiction lurking from my 2008 - 2010 acquisitions alone, then there’s all the books on my ‘travel’ shelf for the 666 Challenge. I think I need this challenge! I’ll aim for 15.1. A Very Easy Death (Een zachte dood/Une mort très douce) by Simone de Beauvoir (in Dutch)
2. The Sex Lives Of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost (in Dutch)
3. The Lost Heart Of Asia by Colin Thubron. I’ve got two more of his books on Mount TBR. Could this be the year of Colin Thubron?
4. An Unreasonable Man by Henrie Mayne
Currently reading/languishing on the half-read pile of doom:
- Families And How To Survive Them by Robin Skynner and John Cleese. One of my oldest. I’ve read a whole chapter so far... Not really in the mood at the moment.
First two already read this year:1. A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir, an account of her feelings during her mother’s final weeks, diagnosed with terminal cancer when in hospital after a fall. They didn’t tell her what was wrong, she thought she had an operation for peritonitis! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2. The Sex Lives Of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost. Troost’s girlfriend worked for an international aid organisation and got sent to Kiribati so he tagged along, thinking he’d write a novel on this beautiful Pacific atol. He didn’t until much later. Interesting, annoyingly flippant, could have tried harder to find out more about how the locals lived and thought. Read and reviewed in Dutch: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3/15 The Lost Heart Of Asia by Colin Thubron An account of a mostly solo trip through Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, etc., just after the Soviet Union broke up. Discombobulated populations made up of a mix of ethnicities and beliefs which have been banned since 1917, including many ethnic Russians and people who hail from the former Eastern Bloc whose only roots are in the Soviet Union. Lots of history, many visits to tombs, interesting conversations with all sorts of people. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Setting my goal at 251. In The Ghost Country: A Lifetime Spent on the Edge by Peter Hillary
2. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Adalucia by Chris Stewart
3. Rachel Calof's Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof
4. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
5. Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony by Jeff Ashton
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I've just started The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia. Looks interesting so far.
4/15: An Unreasonable Man by Henrie MayneThe true story of a family, but mainly the father, Arthur Mayne who was a colonial administrator in British India, drove a Red Crosd ambulance in Italy during the First World War, then went to Switzerland and organised relief parcels for POWs, then organised repatriation and missing persons tracing after the war. During WWII, he helped bring up his daughter, while his wife helped with casualties during the Blitz. They had a volatile marriage and only tolerated each other whilst on the move, so toured most of Europe, part of Africa and the USA between the wars.
Book three finished "The Prison Doctor" - Amanda Brown. An interesting, & often shocking, look at the life of a prison doctor but I did find her attitude rather irritating at times!
Book 4 "The People in the Playground" - Iona Opie - a look at children playing in the school playground & a bit disappointing if I'm hoinestBook 5 "The Diary of a Bookseller" - Shaun Blythell
Unsurprisingly just what it says it is - the diary of a bookshop owner! It's now being offered as a bookray for UK/Europe - please let me know in BC forum if interested :o)
I'm sure I've forgotten to come record some, but two I've got in front of me atm might interest some of you:I just finished Illumination in the Flatwoods: A Season with the Wild Turkey which is one of those lovely 'man's place in nature' ruminations as well as a naturalist's in-depth observations about an interesting bird. I gave it four stars.
The Way We Are is the opposite - many very short 'essays' about human nature from a sort of pop sociological viewpoint. Some are interesting, and I'm going to get through it, but it's a bit too superficial for my taste. Otoh, for someone who wants something handy to read because they're busy with real life, it might suit perfectly.
Hi, Cheryl. I have the Joe Hutto book here on my TBR shelf. I bought it after watching a program about him and his turkeys on PBS several years back. It was a wonderful documentary - on the program,"Nature" as I recall. I really should read the book one of these days.
Reading Vince Neils bio "Tattoos & Tequila" but can only manage it in small doses!!!
I just loved The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds and recommended it to my brother and mother, too. It is US-centric about the particular species of birds, but the feelings towards them and towards nature as a whole, and the author's grace in expressing those feelings, and the humor and poignancy in the stories, are universal.Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations is intense, moving, illuminating. I love a lot about the US, but some of 'my fellow Americans' so disappoint and frustrate me. Racism hurts our nation's soul, not to mention our ability to fulfill our potential as a world leader... I don't take for granted my invisible 'white'-ness.
Both of these books sound very interesting, Cheryl. Thanks for bringing them to our attention.
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression is engaging so far, but not super coherent. More like a 'kitchen sink' of all the research the authors found interesting, no theme. Bee People and the Bugs They Love is just for fun. I only gave it three stars but I never once thought of dnf'ing it and I do recommend it for anyone curious. Includes photos and some advice, along with stories and science.
Bookguide wrote: "A non-fiction challenge? What a good idea! It’s not something I usually track, but I seem to have about 10 non-fiction lurking from my 2008 - 2010 acquisitions alone, then there’s all the books on ...""Half read pile of doom" has me ROFL! I've got one of those:)
Bookguide wrote: Currently reading/languishing on the half-read pile of doom:I love that. Maybe once a year I clear mine off & start again. That doesn't mean I've finished them. Some go back on the shelf for another time... doh!
I'm up to 11 books read but am a bit behind with my reviews!6 "My Psychic Life" - Sally Morgan
7 "A Spell in the Wild: A Year & Six Centuries of Magic" - Alice Tarbuck (review still to do!)
8 "Too Much Information" - Dave Gorman
9 "Tattoos & Tequila: To Hell & Back With One of Rock's Most Notorious Frontmen" - Vince Neil
10 "The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City" - Jan Andrew Henderson
11 "A Nurse's Story: My Life in A & E During the Covid Crisis" - Louise Curtis
Edit: most reviews done!
Hit my target of 12!! Still reading on....12 "A Street Cat Named Bob" - James Bowen
13 "The Essential Bathroom Book " - Joseph Baxter
Congrats, Plum-crazy! You've got some interesting sounding titles there. I, too, have met my goal of 12. I didn't write reviews/comments for all of them though. I should really go back and do that.
Congrats, Plum-Crazy! That's marvelous.
K M wrote: "Congrats, Plum-crazy! You've got some interesting sounding titles there. I, too, have met my goal of 12. I didn't write reviews/comments for all of them though. I should really go back and do that."Congrats on meeting your goal too!
Lisa wrote: "I've exceeded my goal by one so far!"Nice one!
AddingEntangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, which I found disappointing,
Song of Myself which I will need to reread after reading some more analyses,
The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family which was kinda interesting,
Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put in Us and on Us, which I gave four stars to but don't remember,
Dancing the Cows Home: A Wisconsin Girlhood which is probably only interesting to those raised on farms in that era,
The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me which is the best memoir of this batch,
The Salt Path which is almost as good,
The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal about Aliens – and Ourselves which didn't quite convince me of the premise that alien life would resemble Earth life,
The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why which was overlong for its premise.
And lots of kids' non-fiction. Oops, obviously forgetting to keep a record is a bad idea!
Adding Are Dolphins Really Smart?: The Mammal Behind the Myth, which is pretty good... I do recommend y'all read my review because it has lots of the best info. from the book.
Thanks for helping spur me onto reach my goal. You all look to have read some interesting books & I'm going to do this again in 2022. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Bookcrossers
Books mentioned in this topic
Are Dolphins Really Smart?: The Mammal Behind the Myth (other topics)Song of Myself (other topics)
Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put in Us and on Us (other topics)
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures (other topics)
Dancing the Cows Home: A Wisconsin Girlhood (other topics)
More...
I'm aiming to read 12 non- fiction books over the year. (I figure 1 a month should be do-able) They might be humour, travel or biographies...I haven't decided yet.
Feel free to join me at any time - just set your own number of books.
NON-FICTION CHALLENGE - target 12
1 "As Always Jack"- Emma Sweeney (letters/memoirs) (finished February)
2 "Unexplained: Supernatural Stories for uncertain Times" - Richard Maclean Smith (paranormal accounts) (finished February)
3 "The Prison Doctor" - Amanda Brown (memoir) (finished March)
4 "The People in the Playground" - Iona Opie (study of school children at play) (finished April)
5 "The Diary of a Bookseller" - Shaun Blythell (diary) (finished April)
6 "My Psychic Life" - Sally Morgan (autobiography) (finished May)
7 "A Spell in the Wild: A Year & Six Centuries of Magic" - Alice Tarbuck (memoir/folklore) (finished June)
8 "Too Much Information" - Dave Gorman (humour) (finished June)
9 "Tattoos & Tequila: To Hell & Back With One of Rock's Most Notorious Frontmen" - Vince Neil (autobiography) (finished August)
10 "The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City" - Jan Andrew Henderson (History/travel/supernatural) (finished August)
11 "A Nurse's Story: My Life in A & E During the Covid Crisis" - Louise Curtis (memoir)(finished August)
12 "A Street Cat Named Bob" - James Bowen (memoir) (finished August)
Target met!! :o)
13 "The Essential Bathroom Book " - Joseph Baxter (history/humour) (finished September)
14 "Dad's Army" - Graham McCann (story of TV series) (finished October)