Nonfiction November Week 1: My Year in Nonfiction

 

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?
Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year? 
What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?  

Having made a list of the nonfiction I’ve read over the last 12 months I realised I had actually managed to meet my goal of reading at least 2 nonfiction titles a month. Go me! It’s still a bit less than I’d like given my very long WTR list that grows exponentially (especially every November!), but it’s a small victory.

 

CLICK HERE TO BROWSE REVIEWS FOR THE TITLES BELOW

 

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There are a couple of contenders for a favourite nonfiction read this year, but I’m going to select

 The Whale in the Living Room by John Ruthven.

 

 

Not something I’d usually choose, I read it to fulfil the Oceanography category for the 2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge. It’s authored by television producer, John Ruthven, who is in part responsible for the extraordinary footage seen in almost fifty ocean life documentaries, including the groundbreaking series’, Blue Planet and Blue Planet II narrated by David Attenborough. I found Ruthven’s stories to be fascinating, related in a personable tone with flashes of humour. He provides insights not only into the complex logistics of filming, but also the subjects themselves, from cuttlefish to blue whales. Reading the book prompted me to binge on the Blue Planet series with a new appreciation for the superb imagery. A well-written, informative book, I’d recommend it to anyone interested in marine life and ecology, travel, environmental issues, ocean diving, wildlife photography/videography, or television production. The Whale in the Living Room is fascinating reading.

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The nonfiction title that I feel compelled to recommend is very different

Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All by Laura Bates.

It’s attracted its fair share of controversy, particularly from the #NotAllMen crowd, but I feel it is an important and informative expose of these types of online groups, how they recruit members, what they believe, and how their rhetoric spills into the real world, inspiring everything from wordless intimidation to mass murders, and even influencing politics. This is a book that will disturb, infuriate, and challenge you, but will hopefully inspire change for the better.

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As usual, true crime dominated my nonfiction reading, with Written in Bone by Sue Black, Autopsy by Ryan Blumenthal, and The Schoolgirl Strangler by Katherine Kovacic my favourites. I also read three books with quite unique subjects – two memoirs written by strippers, Sunshine by Samantha C Ross and One Last Dance by Emma Jane Holmes; and a biography of a child spy, With My Little Eye by Sandra Hogan.

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I had endeavoured to keep my fiction review schedule for November as clear as possible in anticipation of this event, but I was only semi-successful. I still plan to read as much nonfiction as I can though. I’m hoping to complete my goal for the 2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge, I have five books on that list:

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I also have a handful of nonfiction books I received for review during the past year that I need to cross off my schedule.

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I have no doubt I’ll be adding even more titles to my WTR list over the course of Nonfiction November, and I hope to squeeze a few of those in too.

I’m looking forward to visiting all the participants in Nonfiction November! Feel free to drop your links in the comments.