TTT is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl . If you want to quadruple the size of your TBR AND find a bunch of great book blogs to follow head on over and check it out!
The topic this week is: Thankfulness Freebie.
But I'm going to be a curmudgeon and contrarian, and instead give you a list of ten wonderful nonfiction books. I wasn't focused enough on blogging to participate in Nonfiction November, but I've loved reading Deb's posts on ReaderBuzz, so here's a list of nonfiction books that have made me happy. (Truncated) summaries are from Goodreads.
1. Lab Girl Wonderfully weird and endlessly interesting.
Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more.
2. Born a Crime Well worth listening to the audiobook, narrated by Mr. Noah himself.
The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime New York Times bestseller about one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.
3. The 57 Bus: Respectful, surprising, and engaging.
One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.
4. The Year of Living Biblically Funny and irreverent without being judgmental.
From the bestselling author of "The Know-It-All" comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year
5. Traveling Mercies You don't have to be a believer to love "St. Anne's" storytelling and searching.
Despite--or because of--her irreverence, faith is a natural subject for Anne Lamott. The people in Anne Lamott's real life are like beloved characters in a favorite series for her readers: Her friend Pammy; her son, Sam; and the many funny and wise folks who attend her church are all familiar. And Traveling Mercies is a welcome return to those lives, as well as an introduction to new companions Lamott treats with the same candor, insight, and tenderness.
6. Dancing at the Edge of the World Ursula K. Le Guin is the best. That is all.
“I have decided that the trouble with print is, it never changes its mind,” writes Ursula Le Guin in her introduction to Dancing at the Edge of the World. But she has, and here is the record of that change in the decade since the publication of her last nonfiction collection, The Language of the Night. And what a mind — strong, supple, disciplined, playful, ranging over the whole field of its concerns, from modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos, with an eloquence, wit, and precision that makes for exhilarating reading.
7. Grand Theft Horse This true story graphic novel is unlike anything I've read before.
Gail Ruffu was a rookie trainer known for her unconventional methods and ability to handle dangerous horses. When she became part owner of an untamed thoroughbred named Urgent Envoy, everything changed. After Urgent Envoy showed real promise, her co-owners forced Gail to speed up training and race him too early, causing the horse to develop a hairline fracture. Refusing to drug the horse to keep it running, Gail lost Urgent Envoy to her partners, who pushed the horse even harder. One more race would kill him. When nobody heeded her warnings, Gail had to act.
8. Linguistics and Poetics of Latvian Folk-Songs A bit niche, I'll admit, but I found it surprisingly interesting. The author went on to become a much-loved president of Latvia too.
Created in honour of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Kristian Barons, the original compiler, classifier, and publisher of close to 182,000 Latvian folk song texts, Linguistics and Poetics of Latvian Folksongs provides an overview of recent research on the dainas and will be of interest to students of comparative literature and semioticians, as well as to specialists in oral literature.
9. King of the Mild Frontier Chris Crutcher is funny and blunt, and so is his memoir.
Do you know:
A good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives?
How shutting your mouth can help you avoid brain surgery?
How to survive in the winter wilderness with only a fishing pole and a sausage?
A good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives?
How shutting your mouth can help you avoid brain surgery?
How to survive in the winter wilderness with only a fishing pole and a sausage?
10. The Library Book Multi faceted book about a great American library
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?
