2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #4

 

Welcome to the Monthly Spotlight for the

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge!

Each month I’m highlighting some of the reviews shared for the challenge in the linky

Don’t forget to link each book you read as you read during the year!

I encourage you to support all participants who have shared what they are reading for the challenge. Give them a like, leave them a comment, share their posts on Facebook, twitter, or instagram #ReadNonFicChal

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IN APRIL…

Carols Notebook says, “I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan which is why On the Trail of Sherlock Holmes [by Stephen Browning] caught my eye. The author sets out a series of walks around London, incorporating locations that feature in stories from the canon and incidents in Conan Doyle’s life. It made me want to go to London and follow the walks and suggested side excursions.”

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Of All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell, Tracey at Carpe Librum writes, “I admire Hayley Campbell’s courage to shine a light on the often unknown world of death workers and the death industry.” However she also warns, “Just as Campbell felt weighed down by what she learned and experienced, I too began to feel heavy and had to set this book down for a few weeks before returning to it.”

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“This is not a book about Aesop’s fables but rather examining animal behavior….If you are interested in the science and animal behavior this will be enlightening.” writes Tina at Turn the Page about Aesop’s Animals: The Science behind the Fables by Jo Wimpenny

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Will at Coots Reviews offers a thoughtful review of The Lonely Stories edited by Natalie Eve Garrett “Bottom line is that, while the title of this book may suggest it could be a downer, The Lonely Storiesis anything but. It not only connects on an emotional level, but offers a wide range of insight into the human condition. You will laugh and cry, and maybe feel prompted to consider loneliness, or lonely times in your own experience. One thing is for certain. However you react to this book, you will not be alone in that reaction.’

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Fascinated by the recent discovery of the Endurance—which sunk 107 years ago, Susan at Bloggin’ About Books chose to read Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, she says, “It’s narrative non-fiction at its best, bringing history to life in a way that is not just fascinating, but also engrossing and impactful. I couldn’t stop reading this iconic book.”

 

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What will you be reading in April?

Need some inspiration? Check out these posts

SOCIAL HISTORY and POPULAR SCIENCE

LANGUAGE and MEDICAL MEMOIR

CLIMATE/WEATHER and CELEBRITY

REFERENCE and GEOGRAPHY

LINKED TO A PODCAST and WILD ANIMALS

ECONOMICS and PUBLISHED IN 2022

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #1

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #2

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #3

Bookshelf Bounty

 

Every third Sunday of the month I share my Bookshelf Bounty – what’s been added to my TBR tile recently for review from publishers, purchases or gifts.

This month I’m linking up with Mailbox Monday

Click on the cover images to view at Goodreads

For Review 

(My thanks to the respective publishers)

 

 

 

 

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #3

 

Welcome to the Monthly Spotlight for the

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge!

Each month I’m highlighting some of the reviews shared for the challenge in the linky

Don’t forget to link each book you read as you read during the year!

I encourage you to support all participants who have shared what they are reading for the challenge. Give them a like, leave them a comment, share their posts on Facebook, twitter, or instagram #ReadNonFicChal

—————

IN MARCH…

[REFERENCE]

At the Book Stop, Curly Girl has this to say about Laundry Love by Patric Richardson and Karin Miller, “Richardson’s goal is to help us care for our clothing better, but in the process to also help the environment, save time and money, and love our clothes more. That’s a pretty tall order! I’ve already tried a few of his suggestions and the upshot is I’m doing laundry less often and using products with less chemicals, so both of those things make me really happy.”

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[GEOGRAPHY]

Janette of the Wicked Witch’s Blog writes enthusiastically about Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flynn, “I was engrossed by this book and fascinated by the author’s findings. It was quite an easy read, there is some Scientific background but this is perfectly understandable by a non-scientist such as myself. The text is enhanced by photographs of most of the sites but in actual fact, her descriptions are so vivid that you could easily manage without them. The writing is often almost poetic as she wanders around those derelict and abandoned sites.”

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[SOCIAL HISTORY]

I loved Sheilas: Bad Ass Women of Australian History by Eliza Reilly, describing it as, “…a fascinating, inspiring, irreverent celebration of some of Australia’s women who refused to accept the status quo throughout history.  Not content to simply regurgitate the dry facts and figures which are the hallmarks of many history books, Sheilas has a conversational tone, complete with expletives for emphasis. Reilly incorporates on point, funny and occasionally savage personal commentary, tweets and pieces of trivia.”. You can read my review in full here at Book’d Out

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[POPULAR SCIENCE]

“Forget Stephen King.”, writes Sue at Book by Book, “In Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom, author and investigative journalist Katherine Eban writes about real-life horror scarier than any of King’s novels! As sometimes happens, my book group chose this book that I wasn’t interested in reading, and as almost always happens, I ended up being glad I’d read it! This engrossing, terrifying nonfiction book opens the door to the generic drug industry’s dirty secrets.”

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[LINKED TO A PODCAST]

Though Carol of Carol’s Notebook first listened to Wine for Normal People: A Guide for Real People Who Like Wine, but Not the Snobbery That Goes with It by, from the creator and host of the popular podcast Wine for Normal People, Elizabeth Schneider on audio, she ended up buying a print copy too. She says, it’s one I can see myself referring back to.

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What will you be reading in April?

Looking for something to suit the Celebrity category?

Check out Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

*As an affiliate of Booktopia I may earn a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you.*

Need some inspiration? Check out these posts

SOCIAL HISTORY and POPULAR SCIENCE

LANGUAGE and MEDICAL MEMOIR

CLIMATE/WEATHER and CELEBRITY

REFERENCE and GEOGRAPHY

LINKED TO A PODCAST and WILD ANIMALS

ECONOMICS and PUBLISHED IN 2022

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #1

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #2

Bookshelf Bounty

 

Every third Sunday of the month I share my Bookshelf Bounty – what’s been added to my TBR tile recently for review from publishers, purchases or gifts.

This month I’m linking up with Mailbox Monday

Click on the cover images to view at Goodreads

For Review 

(My thanks to the respective publishers)

 

 

Review: Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History by Eliza Reilly

 

Title: Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History

Author: Eliza Reilly

Published: 22nd February 2022, Hachette

Status: Read February 2022, Hachette

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My Thoughts:

 

“The Sheilas in these pages are celebrated for the chaos and brilliance they bring, and they deserve to be spun into legend. They have helped me find out who I really am, and I think reading about them is going to give you some clues about who you really are, too.”

Sheilas: Bad Ass Women of Australian History is a fascinating, inspiring, irreverent celebration of some of Australia’s women who refused to accept the status quo throughout history, by writer, director and performer, Eliza Reilly.

Building on the (must watch) ‘Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History’ comedy webisode series Eliza created with her sister Hannah, developed as a part of Screen Australia‘s initiative called Gender Matters in 2018 (available on YouTube), the book ‘Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History’ introduces a bushranger and suffragettes, swimmers and pilots, a spy and an artist, among others. I was disappointed in myself to realise how few names I recognised.

Not content to simply regurgitate the dry facts and figures which are the hallmarks of many history books, Sheilas has a conversational tone, complete with expletives for emphasis. Reilly incorporates on point, funny and occasionally savage personal commentary, tweets and pieces of trivia. Her flippancy won’t appeal to everyone but I think it’s more likely to capture the attention of a wide audience than any history textbook. Photographs and ephemera support each story, while the illustrated titles for each woman, designed by Regine Abos, are whimsical and witty.

Here are a few notes on just three of the incredible Sheilas in the book…

Mary Ann Bugg

“There probably isn’t a better example of white Australia’s bad habit of holding up a grubby man as a hero and discarding a woman of colour who was literally doing the exact same shit but better than the story of the overlooked bushranger and her illiterate white boyfriend who was there too.”

Captain Thunderbolt (aka Frederick Ward) may be remembered for having the longest bushranging career in New South Wales, but it wouldn’t have been possible without Mary Ann Bugg, a Worimi woman who swam the shark-infested Sydney harbour with a metal file between her teeth to liberate her boyfriend from his prison cell on Cockatoo Island. When she finally tired of Fred’s company, she remarried and became a nurse.

Catherine Hay Thomson

“…very real and very scary grounds for being locked up included: ‘Laziness’,‘Masturbation, ‘Medicine to prevent conception’, ‘Mental excitement’, ‘Novel reading’ and practising ‘Egotism’. Which sounds more like my daily to-do list than a justification for insanity.”

Like her well known American counterpart Nellie Bly, Australian journalist, Catherine Hay Thomson, admitted herself to Kew Asylum in Melbourne to expose the abuse and corruption rife within the institution. In 1886 alone, Catherine published five stories on the Melbourne hospital. Her articles resulted in formal nursing training being introduced in Victoria and a ‘Ladies’ committee’ being imposed to help patients.

Deborah Lawrie

“Ansett went on to name The Period as enemy number one, pleading that people with periods should legally be banned from flying because they would ‘act strangely every month, simply were medically unfit once a month, “out of action”’.

Deborah Lawrie refused to take no for an answer when Ansett Airlines repeatedly rejected her application to become an airline pilot. In what was the first case ever held before the Equal Opportunity Board, Deborah won, At the direction of Ansett Airlines owner, Sir Reginald Ansett, the result was appealed to first the Supreme Court, and when they upheld the ruling of the EOB, to the High Court of Australia, where the court directed Ansett Airlines to hire Deborah after a two year legal battle. Sir Reg was so affronted he stood down as CEO and unlike the now defunct airline, Deborah is still flying today, a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a master air pilot.

Read Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History to learn about sheroes including Faith Bandler, Nancy Wake, Fanny Durack. This is informative, hilarious, and badass.

 

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Available to purchase from PanMacmillan Australia

Or your preferred retailer

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #2

 

Welcome to the Monthly Spotlight for the

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge!

Each month I’m highlighting some of the reviews shared for the challenge in the linky

Don’t forget to link each book you read as you read during the year!

I encourage you to support all participants who have shared what they are reading for the challenge. Give them a like, leave them a comment, share their posts on Facebook, twitter, or instagram #ReadNonFicChal

Need some inspiration? Check out these posts

SOCIAL HISTORY and POPULAR SCIENCE

LANGUAGE and MEDICAL MEMOIR

CLIMATE/WEATHER and CELEBRITY

REFERENCE and GEOGRAPHY

LINKED TO A PODCAST and WILD ANIMALS

ECONOMICS and PUBLISHED IN 2022

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #1

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IN FEBRUARY…

[ECONOMICS]

 

On The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That’s Pulling Apart by Noreen Hertz, Bookshelf Discoveries writes, “I found this a fascinating book,  incredibly well researched and full of interesting anecdotes, interviews and statistics.”

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[RELATED TO A PODCAST]

 

Barbara of Stray Thoughts enjoyed  The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You by Lisa Jo Baker which, “discusses the impact of our middle years in eight areas: our bodies, marriage, parenting (which gets two chapters), our homes, failures, friendship, and faith.” Lisa Jo Baker cohosts a podcast Christie Purifoy called Out of the Ordinary.

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[GEOGRAPHY]

 

“There are just so many interesting facts here. I loved poring over these pages.“ Jen at the Introverted Reader writes of North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan & Victor Cizek Illustrated by: Jack Dunnington

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[SOCIAL HISTORY]

 

Carla of Carla Loves to Read shares her thoughts about four ‘animated readings’ related to Black History aimed at children,  Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson Illustrate by Frank Morrison, Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper, Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by Eric Velasquez, and William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate

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[PUBLISHED IN 2022]

 

From The Bashful Bookworm comes a review for Drop Acid by David Perlmutter, she writes, “I found this book gives the reader a good scientific background of the role of uric acid, told in a way that most readers can understand.  And the book gives a good solid way for readers to lower uric acid levels using diet and supplements.”.

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What will you be reading in March?

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2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #1 #ReadNonFicChal #ReadingChallenge #Nonfiction #Economics #SocialHistory #Geography #RelatedtoaPodcast #Publishedin2022

Bookshelf Bounty

 

Every third Sunday of the month I share my Bookshelf Bounty – what’s been added to my TBR tile recently for review from publishers, purchases or gifts.

This month I’m linking up with Mailbox Monday

Click on the cover images to view at Goodreads

For Review 

(My thanks to the respective publishers)

 

 

When You Love Books…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

To learn more about all of these books

CLICK HERE to access the Goodreads shelf

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #1

 

Welcome to the Monthly Spotlight for the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge!

Each month I’m highlighting some of the reviews shared for the challenge in the linky, some participants are off to a flying start already! 

Don’t forget to link each book you read as you read during the year!

I encourage you to support all participants who have shared what they are reading for the challenge. Give them a like, leave them a comment, share their posts on Facebook, twitter, or instagram #ReadNonFicChal

Need some inspiration? Check out these posts

SOCIAL HISTORY and POPULAR SCIENCE

LANGUAGE and MEDICAL MEMOIR

CLIMATE/WEATHER and CELEBRITY

REFERENCE and GEOGRAPHY

LINKED TO A PODCAST and WILD ANIMALS

ECONOMICS and PUBLISHED IN 2022

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IN JANUARY

[GEOGRAPHY]

From Tracey at Carpe Librum ,“Adrift in Melbourne by Robyn Annear is highly recommended for history lovers, non fiction readers and those with even a passing interest in Australian history and the evolution of Melbourne, Victoria.”

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[WILD ANIMALS]

Of The Puma Years by Laura Coleman, Curly Geek at The Book Stop writes, “I loved this memoir about Coleman’s time working in a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia. It was completely different from anything I’ve read before, and I enjoy reading about people who do things that I’ll never have the courage to do.”

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[MEDICAL MEMOIR]

“This medical memoir by Dr. James Cole drops you into the hectic and unpredictable life of a trauma surgeon… is a fast paced and realistic accounting.” says Tina of Turn the Page about Trauma: My Life as an Emergency Surgeon by Dr. James Cole

 

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[CELEBRITY]

Mary of Bibliographic Manifestations says of Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Lessons in Life by Michael Caine, “I enjoyed the book; Caine’s writing style is very chatty and appealing.”

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[POPULAR SCIENCE]

In Praise of Walking by Shane O’Mara, “…was a bit harder work than I was expecting as there was a lot more Science detail than I had anticipated…. Mainly though I did enjoy it and found it an interesting and informative read.” writes Janette of Wicked Witch’s Blog.

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What will you be reading in February ?

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2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Inspiration #Economics #Publishedin2022

I’m delighted to welcome you to the

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

The challenge asks participants to read up to 12 books over the year, each from a different category.

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

Click here to learn more about the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge, sign up and join in the fun.

For the next three weeks I will post some titles for each category that might inspire your own selections. Use your best judgement as to whether a book fits a particular category or not, this is supposed to be a challenge, not a chore, and I’m all for a bit of flexibility.

Please feel free to comment with your own recommendations or suggestions . You can find more inspiration via other participating bloggers, and lists such as Goodreads Listopia, Library Booklists.

Click the covers to learn more at Goodreads

ECONOMICS

PUBLISHED IN 2022

Click here for inspiration for

SOCIAL HISTORY and POPULAR SCIENCE

LANGUAGE and MEDICAL MEMOIR

CLIMATE/WEATHER and CELEBRITY

REFERENCE and GEOGRAPHY

LINKED TO A PODCAST and WILD ANIMALS

Just a reminder, it is helpful when you post your review if you indicate which category it fulfils for when I put together the monthly Spotlight.

And don’t forget to share your review posts in the Linky