2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

 The 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge is hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  Check out the details HERE. There are twelve categories and I have a few books sitting on the shelf, ready to roll for the new year.  I am going for the Nonfiction Nibbler category of six.

That said, if I see some nonfiction of interest during the year I will just read more than the planned six.  

Categories:

History

Memoir/Biography 

True Crime 

Science 

Health

Food

Travel 

Garden

Myth, Legend and Folklore

Islands

How-To

Published in 2025 

Right now I am trying to decide which book to start within the history and memoir categories.

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (also a classic) or Olive, Mabel and Me by Andrew Cotter.  Maybe both for January ! It's always fun making the lists of books.

Check out the challenge link at Book'd Out.and join in.  Would love to see what others are reading!

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Roundup

 I had signed up for the book challenge at Shelleyrae's site Book'd Out and went for the Nibbler category of six books. 

Here's my round up.

1. Social History - Changing Roles by Dr. Vivien Newman
2. Popular Science - The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland
3. Language
4. Medical Memoir - Trauma by Dr. James Cole
5. Climate/ Weather
6. Celebrity - Taste by Stanley Tucci
7. Reference - The Lyrics by Paul McCartney
8. Geography - Stonehenge by Francis Pryor
9. Linked to a Podcast
10. Wild Animals - Aesop's Animals: The Science beyond the Fables by Jo Wimpenny
11. Economics
12. Published in 2022

My favorite book in this reading challenge was The Lyrics by Paul McCartney. I was fortunate enough to have seen McCartney with Wings at a concert in Germany in 1976. It was amazing.  Big fan here!

 Trauma was another one I could recommend for the medical memoir.

The Nonfiction Reader Challenge is hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  Check out the sign up post and info HERE.  It's never too late to join in on a reading challenge in my opinion!

The Lost Family by Libby Copeland and Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

 

The Lost Family was an interesting nonfiction book about DNA testing.  Through spitting into a tube and sending your sample to Ancestry or 23andMe some people have found surprises in their family lines.

Some are welcomed into a family they never knew. With others, they've been met with mistrust as the "new family" think they’re interested in money or have ulterior motives. That’s quite a disappointment for somebody that feels like they have suddenly found their biological family.

This book also addresses the genetic testing with markers for health reasons, 23andMe may lead to discoveries you'd wish you’d never uncovered. If you find out you have a genetic marker for Alzheimers do you tell your children so they know something to look for? It would hang like a guillotine over my neck the rest of my life so I don't want to know.

Another book I found very interesting on the same subject is Dani Shapiro's nonfiction Inheritance.  Check out the review HERE on my previous book blog. I immediately thought about this book when I was reading The Lost Family.

And with that I will segue to Dani Shapiro's latest book, a work of fiction titled Signal Fires.  This kept me reading constantly. I finished this in two days. 

You know how some authors can describe characters so will you have a very vivid mental image of what they look like? Well not only does the author describe them so you can picture them, she builds the flesh and emotion around them.  You can visualize the mannerisms, witness their anxiety and know when they were uncomfortable or when they’re getting ready to explode and anger. She brings them to life.

There is a young boy who is a genius level with an interest in the the stars.  He can't seem to connect with his classmates or his father. He will become an astrophysicist but he experiences loneliness growing up. The connections of all the characters -signal fires -link the young boy, the doctor and his family who live across the street, a car accident which takes a life, everything is connected. As I said, couldn't put this down and would recommend to a fan of Dani Shapiro.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this advanced reader copy.  The publication date is October 18, 2022 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing. Genre: General Fiction, Literary Fiction.

Sharing The Lost family with Shellyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge (Category: Popular Science). Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Aesop's Animals: The Science behind the Fables by Jo Wimpenny

This is not a book about Aesop’s fables but rather examining animal behavior.  As the author states in the preface, if you are reading for the fables this may not be the book for you.  If you are interested in the science and animal behavior this will be enlightening. 

Dr. Wimpenny starts with the story about a crow who drops pebbles into a container in order to raise the water level, thus allowing it to drink. Doing an experiment with crows and ravens provided different results.  The crow did indeed grab the provided pebbles to change the water level.  With another group of corvids, using larva as a treat, there were different outcomes.  Initially the bird figured out the problem then enjoyed the treat. It declined to particpate the second time. 

Are foxes as clever as the fable suggests?  The tortoise and the hare is included and many other stories.  The research is done in a lab as well as in the field.

The author is a British zoologist and writer with a background in animal behavior. She studied zoology at the University of Bristol and had her PhD at Oxford university. She writes for BBC wildlife and has previously presented at science festivals in Oxford and Glasgow.

Sharing with:

Shellyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Challenge - Category Wild Animals

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

 As soon as I started reading this book I was hooked.  Tucci had a way of describing his childhood which evoked so many memories of my own.  The benefits of growing up in an Italian neighborhood were immense and I loved every bit of it.

This book is humorous, engaging and sad in parts. Some of my book friends listened to this on audiobook and I can imagine it was very good hearing some of his stories in his own voice.

There are recipes included in this book and i can say you will be hungry as you read about his foodie experiences as well the recipes.

I have enjoyed movies where Tucci had a starring role, particularly Big Night.  I just bought a copy of Big Night after reading this memoir because I wanted to see to again. 5 stars for this book.

Sharing with Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Reading Challenge. (Category: Celebrity)

Paul McCartney - The Lyrics

If you are a Beatles and Paul McCartney fan and want to know some background on their songs and history THIS is the book.  When I picked this up from the library I couldn't believe the size of these two volumes.  I am reading it much faster than I had thought I might.

The volumes cover 1956 to the present and organized alphabetically by song. Each song title has the lyrics and a story written by McCartney explaining the inspiration or an antedote from his life growing up.

There are also many photos of the Beatles, individual ones of John, Ringo and George and so many of Paul's family with Linda.

This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it for fans.  The Rocky Raccoon story is especially amusing explaining how Paul had a cut lip from  a motorbike accident.  The doctor who arrived at his cousin's home was drunk and you could smell the gin. He did such messed up job of stitching the lip that Paul grew a mustache to cover the bump.

Sharing with:

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday

ShelleyRae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge (category: reference)

Trauma: My Life as an Emergency Surgeon by Dr. James Cole

 

This medical memoir by Dr. James Cole drops you into the hectic and unpredictable life of a trauma surgeon.  What the interns and first year residents endure to get through training takes dedication and stamina.  Honestly, I don't know how anyone endures the long hours and work conditions but, thank goodness people like Dr. Cole persevere.

This is a fast paced and realistic accounting.  While I can't abide looking at graphic images of surgery or trauma when watching medical dramas, I could read this - with the exception of cardic section.  That was my real squeamish point in the book, even though other injuries such as a stabbing with a screwdriver, a severe burn patient and gunshots wounds were written in great detail.

Each chapter takes on a different medical emergency.  The crossbow incident was both interesting and sad.  His time spent with Navy SEALS and his deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan were also interesting to me.  

Sharing with

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

Category: Medical Memoir

Stonehenge: The Story of a Sacred Landscape by Francis Pryor

This book about Stonehenge caught my attention at the library and it's been an interesting narrative overall. I won't lie, there are some dry parts to this book but the stories I found interesting are the discoveries of grave sites, historical excavations and carbon dating.

Stonehenge has been a fascination of mine since I was a teen.  My husband, son and I were fortunate enough to take a vacation over a decade ago and visited Stonehenge twice. Highlight of the trip!

The fact that the stones come from Wales and other areas in England show that the stone was not constructed for practical purposes with straightforward business motives. If that were the case, stones would have been sourced as locally as possible. It was far more complex and a place of gatherings for many "tribes" and communities from all over England.

Near Stonehenge at Amesbury Archer a discovery of  three males, apparently related, were buried in nearby graves. Human teeth do most of the growing during childhood,  therefore the composition of the enamel will reflect the water a child drinks. Experts were able to find where they came from through their teeth.  The oldest male came from Germany but a younger male's teeth revealed he grew up in Southern England - his teeth showed he drank water from the chalklands.

In 1978 during an excavation they came upon burial mounds. They found the body of a man with his legs bent and one arm across the chest. The time period could be estimated because of the distinctively shaped arrowheads found. These arrows entered his chest from three different sides of his body. This would seem to imply someone protecting Stonehenge and shooting at the intruder.  I think it’s also amazing they can do radiocarbon dates and therefore knew this body was buried somewhere between 2400 and 2140 BC.

These are just a few interesting facts I read in this book by Francis Pryor. If Mike Biles,  who writes at A Bit About Britain, wrote a book about Stonehenge I would be very interested to read that book.  Historical narratives can be very engaging depending on the author and style.

Sharing with

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

Category: Geography

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

 I am going to shamelessly copy and paste what Shelleyrae posted on her blog about the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.  This is a challenge I enjoyed last year and learned new things as well.  I was going to sign up for the Nonfiction Nibbler category but I see a new category called Grazer. Personally I know I won't read economics and not sure about social history so....Grazer it is.

Want to join in?  Check out the information below and see signup details at the end of my post.

Nonfiction Nipper: Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories

Nonfiction Nibbler: Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories

Nonfiction Nosher: Read & review 12 books, one for each category

OR

Nonfiction Grazer: Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal

Categories:

1. Social History

2. Popular Science

3. Language

4. Medical Memoir

5. Climate/Weather

6. Celebrity

7. Reference

8. Geography

9. Linked to a podcast

10. Wild Animals

11. Economics

12. Published in 2022

* You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish. Use your best good faith judgement as to whether a book fits the category or not.

The 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Info and signup link is HERE. Check it out!

2021 nonfiction Challenge Roundup

It's still early in the year to complete this reading challenge but I probably won't get to the other categories.  Not this year :-) 

I had signed up for the book challenge at Shelleyrae's site Book'd Out and went for the Nibbler category of six books. While I did read more than six books I didn't use all the categories.

Here's my round up.

1. Biography
2. Travel The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater and Clanlands
3. Self-help
4. Essay Collection Wine Reads - Wine Reads: A Literary Anthology of Wine Writing
5. Disease Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, M.D.
6. Oceanography
7. Hobbies Practical Houseplant Book
8. Indigenous Cultures
9. Food The Search for God and Guinness
10. Wartime Experiences Dispatches
11. Inventions
12. Published in 2021

Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  Check out the sign up post and info HERE.

The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2021. 

Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Dr. Eric Manheimer

 

Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Dr Eric Manheimer was a very interesting book and I'm glad I checked it out of the library. We had started watching a series called New Amsterdam which I picked up at the library.  Every epsiode I would see it was based on this book so - I asked for the book after we'd watched two seasons.

In the beginning our author states that Bellevue is the oldest hospital in the country, 275 years old. It's probably the most famous public hospital in United States with many firsts.  It has the distinction of having the first maternity ward, the first pediatric ward, the first C-section - Bellevue's public sanitation program state back to the Civil War.

There are twelve stories about patients and some of them are real heartbreakers, in particular Four Generations and Trauma Detroit. Some of the chapters do go on a bit too long, in my opinion, and many of the stories focus on central American patients and their countries. The disparity of their treatment verses those who are well insured is brought to our attention.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book and loved reading about the dedication of the professionals and their various cases.

Sharing with Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.

Category: Disease/ Medicine

The Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  Check out the sign up post and info HERE. The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2021. You can join in anytime!

Practical Houseplant Book

I will be the first to admit I'm not very good with houseplants.  I love books which feature characters who are experts at gardening or those with botanical gardens featured as a main setting. It would be lovely to have my mother's green thumb but it must have skipped my generation, however, I am determined to keep our gifted peace lily alive!

This book seemed to have some answers as it explains how to care for houseplants, over 200 profiles and project tips as well.  You find your plant profile and there is an explanation for care, how much light it needs to receive, the potting soil needed for transplant and more. 

The chapters feature succulents, ferns, carnivorous plants, bulbs, trailing plants and explain which ones can be caustic to handle and how much humidity each needs.  It's a well of info and perfect for those trying to learn about plants as well as a guide for those who are knowledgeable. 

Sharing with Shellyrae at Book'd Out for her Nonfiction  Challenge.

Genre/category: Hobbies

 

The Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  Check out the sign up post and info HERE. The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2021. You can join in anytime!