Nonfiction November kicks off today with My Year in Nonfiction, hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story.
Strictly speaking, I should call it Memoir November (Memvember?!) – doesn’t have quite the same ring but it is more accurate in my case, given that the majority of my nonfiction reading is memoir. Specifically, I’ve read 23 memoirs, and ten other nonfiction titles this year.
What books have you read?
Most of the nonfiction books I’ve read are listed under my annual Memoir and Nonfiction Reader reading challenges.
What were your favorites?
Most of my nonfiction favourites so far this year have been memoir – grief, as described by Sloane Crosley in Grief is for People, by Lidia Yuknavitch in The Chronology of Water, and by Freya Bromley in The Tidal Year. I also loved the stunningly beautiful Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent, and was gobsmacked by Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams.
Have you had a favorite topic?
I read a lot of grief memoirs, but this year grief has combined with my other favourite topic – swimming (Bromley and Yuknavitch). I also enjoyed Bonnie Tsui’s Why We Swim.
Is there a topic you want to read about more?
I had a vague plan at the beginning of the year to tackle the stack of grief texts I have (of the academic variety, not memoir). I have only read one (Finding Meaning by David Kessler).
What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
As always, the ‘book pairings’ posts are my absolute favourite, and usually the happy cause of a growing TBR stack in November. I’ll also be on the look out for memoir recommendations.