Nonfiction November Week 5: Discovered Bloggers!

Week 5: (Nov 28 – Dec 2) – (Lory) New to My TBR: It’s been a month full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book!

Yes, I've added lots of nonfiction books to my reading list, but more importantly, I've discovered lots of amazing bloggers this month! Here are a few of the new (to me) blogs I've added to my favorites and a nonfiction book I discovered through them this month:

Sarah's Book Shelves

• Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu

B.B. Toady

• God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers by James McIvor

Emerald City Book Review

• New England Bound by Wendy Warren

And last but not least, I can't forget Doing Dewey. Katie's blog isn't new to me, but she's the person that introduced me to Nonfiction November in the first place! This has been such a fun event that really reinvigorated my love of blogging and I can't wait to participate again next year. 

Nonfiction November Week 4: Become the Expert

Today’s Nonfiction November (hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey, Lory at Emerald City Book Review, Rachel at Hibernator’s Library, Julz at Julz Reads, and Sarah's Book Shelves) topic is book experts:

Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert: Three ways to join in this week! You can either share 3 or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert).

I'm choosing to become the expert on genetics since one of my nonfiction goals is to read more science nonfiction and these books have been on my to read list for awhile. 

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code
by Sam Kean

Kean explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future.

Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body
by Neil Shubin

Neil Shubin, a leading paleontologist and professor of anatomy who discovered Tiktaalik--the "missing link" that made headlines around the world in April 2006--tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years, long before the first creatures walked the earth. By examining fossils and DNA, Shubin shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our head is organized like that of a long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genome look and function like those of worms and bacteria.

The Gene: An Intimate History 
by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Weaving science, social history, and personal narrative to tell us the story of one of the most important conceptual breakthroughs of modern times, Mukherjee animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fates, and choices. Throughout the narrative, the story of Mukherjee's own family—with its tragic and bewildering history of mental illness—cuts like a bright, red line, reminding us of the many questions that hang over our ability to translate the science of genetics from the laboratory to the real world. 

Nonfiction November Week 2: Choosing Nonfiction

Welcome to Week 2 of Nonfiction November! This week's post is hosted by Rachel @ Hibernator's Library. On to today's topic:

Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? 

The number one factor I tend to look for in a great nonfiction book is the writing style. I love narrative nonfiction books that really capture the reader's attention and read like novels such as Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, In Cold Blood, and Unbroken. 

I'm not so much attracted to particular topics as much as I am writing styles or ways the author organizes his or her information. For instance, Mary Roach can make pretty much any subject interesting, be it swallowing, the military, or cadavers. Roach's style is irreverent, witty, and always full of interesting stories about the topic. 

Candice Millard is another example of picking writing style over subject. I recently read Destiny of the Republic about the assassination of President Garfield. I previously knew almost nothing about the subject - and frankly wasn't interested in learning about it - but had been hearing that I should read this book for years and finally gave in. I'm now a blind follower of ANYTHING Millard writes. She's that good, folks.


Witty titles and clean, bright covers tend to get my attention, but the number one factor that attracts me to books isn't looks but reviews. I always read the reviews from Library Journal, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist before I start a book. Life's too short to read bad books!

Nonfiction November!

I'm so looking forward to participating with Nonfiction November this year. This event is hosted by the 5 lovely bloggers listed above. I'll be posting every week in November about a different nonfiction topic. I can't wait to get lots of new reading ideas throughout the month. Here we go with week one, hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey.

Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions:

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? 

This is ridiculously hard to answer. If I have to say just one book, then it's A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back by Kevin Hazzard.

What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? 

I finally got around to reading Ruth Reichl this year! Her book Garlic and Sapphires is by far the nonfiction book I've most frequently recommended to anyone who will listen.

What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet? 

I'm wanting to read more science nonfiction this year, as well as more history. When it comes to nonfiction, I tend to read mostly memoirs, and I'd like to branch out.

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

I'm hoping to continue to foster my love of great nonfiction, discover some fellow nonfiction bloggers,  and get some ideas of what other folks like me are loving to read.