JENN McKINLAY: Every January without fail I find myself buying more non-fiction books than I do throughout the rest of the year (excluding research books, of course). What were my picks this January?
ATOMIC HABITS
INNER EXCELLENCE
RUNNING UNTIL YOU'RE 100
MEDITERRANEAN DIET
Pretty easy to see what I’ve got going on, eh?
How about you Reds, what non-fiction books are you reading/have you read recently? Do you tend to buy more in January or no?
LUCY BURDETTE: I don’t buy more nonfiction, but I acquire it through the birthday (and Christmas) season LOL. Here’s my list:
BAKING WITH JULIA by Dorie Greenspan
BAREFOOT IN PARIS by Ina Garten
THE NEW PARISIENNE by Lindsay Tramuta
Food in Paris, anyone?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Buying more in January because of various resolutions, right? Like resolving to read more nonfiction. At which I have already failed.
Oh, I am always so tempted by non-fiction, and I just got the Ina Garten book, too. But I have so many fiction-reading assignments for interviews that it’s difficult to read for fun. (Isn’t that ridiculous?) Thank goodness for the New Yorker.
But oh, yes, I just got HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE by Richard Schoch which I am in love with. Fun fact: Did you know that all of the songs in A Little Night Music are waltzes? ALL of them? I cannot get that geniusness out of my head. Anyway. This is the joy of non-fiction: facts.
HALLIE EPHRON: My challenge right now is finishing the books I’ve started – I’ve got 3 under way and one of them is a memoir that I love but it strikes too close to home so I’ve had to take it in laps. The rest of my “nonfiction” reading is the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and a newsfeed from AXIOS. All of which I like to think of as “nonfiction.” (And I’m not giving them up.)
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m currently rereading OUR OWN WORST ENEMY: THE ASSAULT FROM WITHN ON MODERN DEMOCRACY by Tom Nichols. It came out in 2021and I’ve also ordered the second edition of his THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE. He’s a smart and entertaining writer, and I can also highly recommend following him on Bluesky.
I also bought Becca Symes “Quit Books for Writers” 4, 5, and 6: ARE YOU IN WRITERS BLOCK, YOU’RE DOING IT RIGHT, and ARE YOU INTUITIVE. She’s an author’s coach with a podcast/video series I follow. I’ve listened to her previous books and gotten a lot out of them, so I’m hoping for more of the same.
Jenn, if you’re interested in habit formation, you should take a look at Katy Milkman’s HOW TO CHANGE. I have the audio book and I loved it!
JENN: Thank you, Julia! I"ll check it out. I also have several of Becca's books and love them.
RHYS BOWEN: Over the holidays I read (devoured) THE SALT PATH about a couple who lose everything–home, health etc–and choose to walk the 630 miles of the Southwest Coastal Trail in England. The prose is exquisite and I would often linger over a description. I gather it’s about to be made into a motion picture but that won’t do justice to the writing. The amazing thing is that the writer only kept a journal for herself, never imagining it would be published. Having lost their farm etc, she is now a bestseller.
I’m also wading through a thick biography of Edward VIII. Most of it I already knew but shows what a weak character he was.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, I want to read THE SALT PATH! Unfortunately, I’m afraid if I buy it I may be consigning it to the fate of most of the non-fiction I buy, which is to sit neglected and dust-covered in one of my many to-read piles… I asked for Nic Kristof’s memoir, CHASING HOPE, for my birthday in June. Alas, even though Kristof is one of my favorite journalists and I will read any column he writes, I haven’t cracked the book. Hmm. Maybe I should try the audio version…
How about you, Readers, what's on your non-fiction TBR?
Non-Fiction I'm currently reading: "The Sky Above" by John H. Casper . . . "The Planets" by David McNab and James Younger . . . The Art of NASA by Piers Bizony . . . .
ReplyDeleteOh, I bet I'd love the NASA book!
DeleteThe art is amazing!
DeleteIt's funny that I follow this blog, because 90+% of what I read is non-fiction, history and memoirs. My upcoming choice for our book group is SOLITO. Mostly these days, however, my reading has been newspapers and magazines for political news. Yes, I've turned to reading horror.
ReplyDeleteEvery day I tell myself I must pull away from it but I've been utterly transfixed, frozen like a small bird before a python. (Selden)
P.S. Thank you, Julia, for recommending Katy Milkman's book. I listened to the opening chapters doing barn chores this morning! There are a lot of other good titles here, too, which I'm adding to my list, but changing habits is high in my priorities. (Selden)
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it, Selden! I love the way all her conclusions are backed up with actual studies. Plus, they make a lot of common sense.
DeleteLOL!!! Horror - very accurate!
DeleteJenn, if you haven't already, you MUST read Atomic Habits. I'm about 2/3 through it. I could be done with it, because it's an easy read, but I'm taking it slow and letting the immense wisdom sink in. Love it.
ReplyDeleteNext up on my nonfiction TBR stack is Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. It comes highly recommended by a trusted source and sounds exactly like what I need right now.
Atomic Habits is so fascinating--I read a synopsis, and kinda interestingly, I already do almost all of what he suggests. I was so suprised by that!
DeleteI've heard so much about this book, Annette, and IIRC, it was the only piece of nonfiction to be in the top ten bestsellers list of 2024. I'm going to have to get the audio version!
DeleteIt's next up in the TBR!
DeleteI admire all of you non-fiction readers. I read the New Yorker and Heather Cox Richardson, but I almost never pick up a non-fiction book. Unless it's for research for a book I am writing. (Edith)
ReplyDeleteLove HCR!
DeleteInteresting choices, Reds. Why January, Jenn?
ReplyDeleteThe first book I listened to this year was Whoopi Goldberg's autobiographical memoir about growing up in the NY projects with her mother and brother. It is terrific. I am a fan of her films and the story of how she arrived in Hollywood is fascinating.
I read very little non-fiction. Like Debs, I have several staring at me from the shelf. Maybe I should resolve to tackle one in February.
I didn't realize Whoopi Goldberg had a book out. Love her! Will have to get a copy.
DeleteI think it's always January because I am determined to get it together. LOL.
DeleteThe Wintering non fiction book is on my TBR.
ReplyDeleteOh, I've heard of that one!
DeleteThanks for this topic and these recommendations. I am reading Both/And, the memoir by Huma Abedin -- fascinating to read about the behind-the-scenes work involved in HRC's various roles and campaigns, and, of course, the (insert adjective, not sure which one to use) disintegration of Abedin's marriage to Anthony Weiner.
ReplyDeleteThey were an odd couple, to be sure. Sounds like an absorbing read, Amanda.
DeleteOh, I remember that was wild.
DeleteFrom Celia: Rhys wrote praising The Salt Path back in December I think. I miss Cornwall and I do wonder if I will get to visit there again so I bought and read the book. Couldn't put it down. What a trip of endurance and grit. I think it helped me with my feelings of loss.
ReplyDeleteFor Christmas I received A Voyage Around The Queen because I had been a royalist all my life though it's fading a little now. Still reading it, it's huge and gossipy but seems to be more fact based than other 'royal tell all's'. Apparently the Netflix version has quite a lot of fiction in it. I also got Stanley Tucci's Taste which I haven't cracked yet and Yotam Ottolenghi's Comfort: A Cookbook, another I've done no more than glance through. But I must admit I really don't think of cookbooks as non fiction. They have their own special world in my head.
I have plenty of 'build the new you', books lying around so there's lots of opportunity awaiting the new me if I ever find time to work on her. Daily non fiction is NYT, Wash Post, PPH which is the Maine local, HC Richardson for some truth. I also have the New Yorker though I pick at it. All this is digital which is my small contribution to climate though I realize that they are huge Server farms somewhere spewing into the atmosphere so now I don't know what to do.
Celia, if you like fictional dealings of the monarchy try Alan Bennett. I am currently reading The Uncommon Reader, where Her Majesty is visiting a mobile library that visits her property. Good do far…
DeleteNot non-fiction, but I loved The Uncommon Reader, too, Celia. And it's a nice short read.
DeleteCookbooks are different. I particularly love arty ones with glossy pics.
DeleteLately I find that I am reading, and thoroughly enjoying memoirs. My latest ones are Cher, the Memoir part 1. Since she and I are almost exactly the same age I have always been interested in her, but she includes every little thing, interesting or not - it really needed a good editing job. Another recent one was that of Senator Tammy Duckworth, awe inspiring to be sure.
ReplyDeletePaula here, I’m reading Ina Garten as well. Awesome woman. Like to meet her. And I’m reading Trust Your Vibes. When I had kids at home my Vibes were on super load, then when empty nester showed up at my door, the vibes mostly moved on. Tho I’m learning they are still there, just dormant. Hope so They surely come in handy. Why, just the other day …
ReplyDeleteAs an avid Star Trek fan, I am still slowly reading STAR TREK OPEN A CHANNEL: A WOMAN'S TREK by Nana Visitor. I bought the book just before Christmas.
ReplyDeleteNana played Major Kira on ST: Deep Space Nine. She interviewed fellow cast members, writers, producers and celebrity fans to explore how Star Trek has portrayed & influenced women over the past 55 years.
Grace, That sounds interesting. My husband and I have just started rewatching/watching all of the Star Trek series in order so would be a goo supplement. Marjorie
DeleteOoh that sounds up my alley - love Star Trek - Hallie
DeleteGrace, that sounds great. Whoopee Goldberg has a whole chapter about her pursuit of a role in Star Trek Next Gen. I'm very interested in Kira's book.
DeleteOh, that sounds amazing!
DeleteOn my TBR list: The Longest Con : How grifters, swindlers, and frauds hijacked American conservatism by Joe Conason; Autocracy, Inc.: The dictators who want to run the world by Anne Applebaum; and On Tyranny: Twenty lessons from the 20th Century by Timothy Snyder. Non-fiction is really difficult for me to dive into, so it has to be a compelling force to get me there. I suspect the titles speak for themselves. -- Victoria
ReplyDelete
DeleteThanks for these suggestion Victoria. We all should be more aware of what is happening to our democracy and how tyrants operate.
Oy Victoria… that’s a list that would keep me from sleeping - Hallie
DeleteVictoria, thanks for those titles. I have written them down and I'm sure I'll listen to them next summer when I am spending hours mucking the barn, painting the barn, or mowing. (Selden)
DeleteYou're a brave woman. I know knowledge is power but...ugh.
DeleteThanks for the great suggestions! The Salt Path sounds very intriguing and I too want to read Nick Kristof's memoir (his dad and my dad were both on the faculty at Portland State for many years) I'm also a big fan of Tom Nichols, as I read his stuff regularly in the Atlantic. So many books, so little time. Since we are talking non-fiction, I will just mention again Everyone who is Gone is Here by Jonathan Blitzer. It's a history of our broken immigration system that reads like a novel, because it includes some individual stories that bring the prose to life. I read it in April last year and then again in December.
ReplyDeleteSince Victoria mentioned Timothy Snyder--his new book On Freedom is definitely on my TBR list.
DeleteGillian, I'll have to add that one to my list as well. Thanks! - Victoria
DeleteHi Gillian, my son-in-law is currently a professor at Portland State. Great school. Great city.
DeleteGreat coffee, Great food!! Can you tell I love Portland? haha
let's have coffee when you are in Portland, anonymous!
DeleteThat would be nice to meet. I will probably be up the first week of July. But I'd like to come up sooner. Will keep you posted. My daughter and her family live in SE.
DeleteAdding the Blitzer title to my list!
DeleteReading Why Translation Matters by Grossman, Short Stories by Jesus by Levine (a bk about parables for Sunday School), The Great River (about the Mississippi), A Brief History of the World in 47 borders by Elledge, among others. Have a huge stack TBR nf about history of horses, various eras of history, anthropology, memoirs, essays, climate, geography, and other topics of interest. Usual reading at least one, but often several nonfiction books year round. Even reading a Cosy mystery can sometimes suggest a topic of interest to pursue further. (Marjorie)
ReplyDeleteVery true! Fiction has led me down some nf paths!
DeleteTruth is stranger than fiction. I have a whole list of news sources--Axios, Propublica, Contrarian, Atlantic, New Yorker--I skim in addition to the Post and NYT.
ReplyDeleteSo very true.
DeleteWhether it is happy or sad news for those reading my response, I am not much of a non-fiction reader. Particularly in any given month. I get enough "non-fiction" in real life that I don't feel compelled to add to it in my reading time. Give me a murder where the killer is caught and justice is done or an adventure in a far-flung time with spaceships and aliens. Or take me back to the Hyborian age for swords-and-sorcery tales of derring-do. I get enough reality from the damn news...
ReplyDeleteJay, even though it's not fiction, you might like FRAMED by J.Grishom & J. McClosky.
DeleteIt's the true stories of murders where justice wasn't done because the accused were framed, intentionally in most cases. But in the end the real killer is caught and real justice is done.
I enjoyed it because it mentions a group called the Innocence Project which was started here in San Diego by a tenacious lawyer who has gotten hundreds of people exonerated.
With the advent of DNA it is a "slam dunk" (as lawyers say) freeing wrongly accused who sat in prison for far too long.
DeleteYup.
DeleteThere was a time when I read almost as much nonfiction as fiction. Now, especially since Covid, it seems I'm happier making my escape into a different world.
ReplyDeleteMy most recent nonfiction read was fascinating: From the Corner of the Oval, by Beck Dorey-Stein, who was a stenographer in the Obama White House's last five years. It was really eye-opening about what actually happens in the daily life of a President (at least a traditionally normal one), and how their every interaction is documented. It has a tad too much Millennial relationship drama for my taste, but still fascinating.
I've also been dipping in and out of Miriam Margolyes' memoir, This Much is True. She pulls no punches about her life as an older lesbian actress in England.
Karen - a White House stenographer?!?!? I had no idea. But am thoroughly intrigued. Also, re. your reply to me on the JRW post the other day about massage therapists -- thank you very much for the encouragement and for the story you shared.
DeleteThe White House book sounds like fun, Karen. My daughter, who is a political activist, would kill for a job like that (not, unfortunately, at the moment). I imagine she's read it but I've put it on my own list. Thank you! (Selden)
DeleteSelden, Dorey-Stein had been a high school English teacher at Sidwell Friends, filling in for maternity leaves. It was such an interesting look behind the scenes.
DeleteAmanda, you're very welcome. I hope you find the perfect fit for your particular needs.
DeleteOh, that sounds fsascinating.
DeleteI also got 'turned on' to Heather Cox Richardson from this blog and have gone back to buy 2 of her books. Also follow several newsletters from folks on substack for a more detailed look at the current events. also subscribe to the Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteLove HCR!
DeleteI read very little non-fiction, and even less when the world feels like it is falling apart. I am currently reading CREATING MOMENTS OF JOY by Jolene Brackeyn a book for caregivers of someone with dementia. My non-fiction reads are often faith related, and the only other one currently on my TBR list is SLOWING DOWN TO THE SPEED OF JOY by Matthew Kelley. He is a well known Catholic faith writer and the book is about simplifying one's life.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of Matthew Kelley books on my TBR list that I hope to get to soon.
DeleteDebRo
We read Matthew Kelly's Holy Moments/Momentos Sagrados in our bi-lingual Lenten book group last year.
DeleteThose sound excellent. I am all about minimalism.
DeleteDebs, The Salt Path is available from many libraries. I am now on hold.
ReplyDeleteLike Seldon, I am reading horror or maybe it should be called fantasy, or maybe comedy or maybe just stupidity and greed. I just finished ‘Lucky Loser’, which should be required reading for all politicians and I mean that universally. I read a lot of cookbooks because I can open them and read in the browser, and then save the recipes that I think I want to try. For something that may be considered fiction or non-fiction, I read ‘A Dog’s Purpose’, where a dog is reincarnated 4 times. It clears the mind.
Did yousee the movie A Dog's Purpose? I saw it with my son and his two children. Later I asked my granddaughter, who was fourteen at the time, if she was the one who was sobbing so loudly and she told me no, she was sobbing silently. It was her soft-hearted father. I remember reading and enjoying the book but I probably liked the movie better, maybe because I had seen the movie first.
DeleteUsually, I can't do dog stories that make me cry. Marley and Me about killed me but maybe it will cleanse all of the turmoil inside. I'll think on it!
DeleteThe Salt Path has been on my reading radar--I think I'll move it into my sights and snag a copy. My nonfiction reading is largely limited to Heather Cox Richardson's daily essay, the Status Kuo, and the Contrarian. Today's HCR edition had me thinking about my parents and grandparents and the Greatest Generation. At 71, I never thought I'd see the day when I would find out if I'll measure up to their grit, resilience, and bravery. Reading helps--fiction and nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteFlora, as a retired U.S. history teacher I never thought I'd see this day either. I also hope I have my parents' bravery -- my father enlisted before Pearl Harbor. I read the same Substacks though haven't seen the Status Kuo -- I'm going to search for it. Have you seen The Crucial Years column by Bill McKibben? It's on global warming news. (Selden)
DeleteFlora, I too was thinking of my parents when I read HCR today. I know they would be deeply unhappy at the rise of authoritarianism here.
DeleteSelden, thanks for the recommendation for Bill McKibben--I'll look for his column.
DeleteLove HCR!
Deletethank you for all of the wonderful recommendations! I have too many non fiction books on my TBR.Just finished a memoir by Ina Garten.
ReplyDeleteNext on my TBR:
THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS by Michael Pollan
Oh, I love it!
DeleteI read very little non-fiction. So far this year even my fiction reading game is a bit off. I am just so busy or fall asleep! 😴
ReplyDeleteI do recommend this one.
Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals
Laurie Zaleski
And Pickleball for Dummies by Mo Nard even if you have no intention of ever playing the game and just want to know more about it.
DeleteFunny Farm sounds like my memoir - lol! I'll look for it!
DeleteI love biographies and try to read at least one each month. My favorites are:
ReplyDeleteLIVE WIRE by Kelly Ripa (an easy, delightful read that will make you smile - it's a happy read but has some deeper thoughts as their children leave and she and hubby become empty nesters. It's heartwarming which we need more of.
WHY WE SHOULD NOT BE FRIENDS, by Wm Schwalbe (about two guys who meet at Yale as frosh. One is a brash, wild, funny, party-harty , straight guy and one (the author) is a quiet, gay guy interested in the arts. They meet through a "forced" social group and strangely become life long friends each learning new ways of seeing life by their friendship. Well written.
Oh, that sounds wonderful (both, actually).
DeleteSO many good ideas here! I rarely listen to audio books--long story--but I wonder if non-fiction would be especially good on audio. Anyone have that experience?
ReplyDeleteI think so. One of the first audiobooks I ever read was Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. I've listened to Michelle Obama reading her memoir Becoming; Matthew McConnaughey reading his wacky memoir Greenlights (weird); A Woman of No Importance, about the WWII spy Virginia Hall; Michael Pollan's Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World; and others. The Mueller Report, though, kept putting me to sleep.
DeleteHA! ZZZZZZ. But that is so fascinating..and they sound like great choices!
DeleteI don't usually do audio books, but on a road trip a friend and I listened to The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It was a total treat.
DeleteOh, that's terrific..it would be as if they were really talking to you!
DeleteKaren I read A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE (about the life of Virginia Hall, a spy in WWII).
DeleteIt is without doubt one of the most engaging, page turning, informative book on the French Resistance and spying in the war I've ever read. She was truly an amazing woman. She has been honored by the British, French and the CIA named a building in her honor.
AC, my daughter recommended it, and I agree, a truly inspirational story. She was remarkably courageous and brilliant.
DeleteHank, biographies with the audio done by the person are about the only audio books I have enjoyed. Ron Howard’s with his brother, Henry Winkler’s, Leanne Morgan’s, and Kelly Ripa’s. I want to do Dick Van Dyke and Betty White biographies.
DeleteI love audio nf -especially if the author narrates. Highly recommend Trevor Noah's Born a Crime and Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential.
Deletethat's funny, because most of the audiobooks narrated by the author I don't like! I did listen to Phil Collins autobiography and was a little disappointed after-let down-by his lack of introspection. There are quite a few I have from audible, mostly singers
DeleteThere have been times when I read nothing but non fiction for months at a time. Sometimes it’s been autobiography or memoir, sometimes it’s been on specific topics. Right now most of my non fiction reading is essays on Substack, the online NewYork Times, and other essays that I pick up here and there. My current NYTimes reading is rarely the national news because it’s too depressing. I stopped watching/reading/listening to the national news about three days before the Inauguration. It was just not good for me. I don’t know when I’ll start again. People tell me things they think I need to know. Sometimes they’re right…
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I feel that. If it's important I'll hear about it.
DeleteI'm ashamed to say that I never read non-fiction, but you all are inspiring me. Although one that I did read years ago (so never say never) and LOVED was The Boys in the Boat, about the University of Washington rowing team in the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love crew, I bet I'd like that.
DeleteI am a fast reader and can read several books in a week, usually fiction. Non-fiction often takes more time because I am also trying t learn something.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not read them recently and they are not that new, there are several books that I have enjoyed and often recommend to others.
Jonathan Harr. The Lost Painting. It is the real story of a group of art scholars who go on a search for a Caravaggio painting which many people have read about but no one has ever seen. There is no assurance that it really existed but the search begins.
The hunt throughout Europe reads like a mystery novel and because the artist had a very checkered and colorful life it adds to the intrigue.
Alexandra Horowitz On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to Observation. You walk the same route every day, but do you really see what you pass by? The unusual script on the building on the corner, The hidden cul de sac? The viewpoint from the child who is with you?
The author writes about how she used to see without seeing everyday things. She starts looking at places through the eyes of others, from a child, an architect and others who each have different perspectives when they walk by the same places.
Jacqueline Winspear This Time next Year We’ll be Laughing. The author of the Maisie Dobbs series has written a memoir of her life growing up in postwar England. It’s a fascinating insight into how it affected her fictional writing.
Thaddeus Carhart The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. The American author moved to Paris with his family. Every day he takes his children to school along the same route. As a child he took piano lessons and he becomes intrigued by the small, nondescript piano shop they walk by and decides that he wants to know more about it.
Anything written by John McPhee, a prolific writer who has, over the years, written about many different things such as geology, tennis, small practice medicine, making of a bark canoe and other subjects. His use of the English language makes anything he writes interesting.
His work has often appeared in The New Yorker.
You are adding to my pile!!!
DeleteI want to give a big plug for nonfiction in audio, which is how I consume MOST of mine. I don't know why, but like Debs, I often fail to crack a physical book that I want to read, but will happily spend hours with the audio as I do chores, drive, cook, etc.
ReplyDeleteYES! Audio nf rocks!
DeleteI love non-fiction books that are autobiographies. I'm currently reading two non-fiction books right now ~ "Sonny Boy" by Al Pacino (his autobiography) and (re)reading "Becca's Feat on Feet" (my niece Becca's autobiography/children's book). The first being because Mr. Pacino's childhood is nothing as how I would have imagined it and he intrigues me and the second being for motivation to help me believe in my own dreams and accomplish some personal goals in my life. Becca's personal story as an ultra marathon runner and the first woman to represent the United States (and win twice) in the women's division in the World Marathon Challenge which is seven marathons run on seven continents in seven days as well as being the first female race director for any Polar Marathons...notably the Antarctic Ice Marathon is so inspiring. Sometimes inspiration is what gets the gears in motion...and lately my gears have been a bit rusty. :-) I love some of the books listed above; it's amazing how many people there are in this world achieving so much in their lives as well as helping others achieve their goals. Good still wins over evil and there are still plenty of remarkable people to make a huge difference in moving forward with the future of our world. Sometimes reading non-fiction books serves as a reminder of that.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just started running - I'm definitely looking for that one!
DeleteHi Jenn ~ I hope you check back on this page. Becca's book "Becca's Feat on Feet" (her dad came up with the title :-) ) is available on Amazon as well as her website www.beccapizzi.com which will give you more insight into how Becca has carved out a career for herself as a marathon runner, coach and race director. Her book is definitely titled under children's books because she loves to encourage young ones to follow their dreams and gain confidence but adults have enjoyed it as well. It's a quick read but inspirational. Becs is on Wikipedia but her website is more updated. She's in Antarctica now as the Race Director for the World Marathon Challenge....a race she's done twice...7 Marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Days. She's a true Motivator...especially dynamic and passionate about the sport of running...and so I think you'll enjoy this sweet little book. If Becca was a postscript on this blog she would be telling you "Jenn...You Got This! And Have Fun!" She would be genuinely overjoyed that you were getting hooked on running! :-)
DeleteI forgot to mention that I'd read the Ina Garten, also Stanley Tucci's What I Ate in One Year, and (not sure if cookbooks count but I read it straight through like a book) The Tucci Table.
ReplyDeleteAND I bought THE SALT PATH, after all my protestations. And the May book on Wintering.
For anyone who doesn't routinely read non-fiction, my all-time fave is Jon Krakauer's INTO THIN AIR, his account of the 1996 disastrous expedition to Everest. This doesn't sound like a cheeful read but I guarantee you won't be able to put it down.
OH, so agree about Into Thin Air!
DeleteInto Thin Air is a brilliant classic. It's about the tragedy that happened in Mt. Everest and details what led up to it and how it could have been prevented. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest along with Krakauer. Except I was nice and warm with an oxygen mask!!
DeleteThey absolutely count!
DeleteInto Thin Air is a brilliant classic. It's about the tragedy that happened on Mt. Everest and details what led up to it and how it could have been prevented. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest along with Krakauer. Except I was nice and warm without an oxygen mask!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe i haven't read it.
DeleteI just read All The Beauty In The World. I am reading A Life In Parts, a memoir, and I am looking forward to Ina Garten's book. Thanks for recommending The Salt Path.
ReplyDeleteI added The Salt Path to my TBR, too.
DeleteWhile my husband only reads non-fiction, I do look on to see if it might interest me. So, I just bought tickets to meet Judge Frank Caprio and get a copy of his new book: Compassion in the Court. He is a retired RI Judge with over 40 years of experience including serving as the Chief Judge of the Municipal Court of Providence, RI. His highly rated TV show called Caught in Providence has 50 episodes. I am sure that some of those shows will be highlighted in the book.
ReplyDeleteThe non-fiction book that I recently purchased for myself was Lucy Burdette's Kitchen which arrived just before Christmas. I so love her books and will be able to read this one chapter-by-chapter!
For readers who just can't crack open that non-fiction, I'd like to recommend Mark Schatzker's The Dorito Effect as it is my all-time favorite. With the incoming head of the Department of Health & Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., it should be interesting to compare Mark's views to Secretary Kennedy's!
I ordered Lucy's book, too! She's truly gifted in the culinary and writing arts.
DeleteI always have a long list of non-fiction, most of which I will never get to. They are good intentions. And after reading this, I have more. So let me mention two I did read, while sick, which were wonderful diversions. Mel Brooks autobiography(don't need to say more!) and Mary Rodgers , titled Shy. Rodgers was Richard Rodgers daughter and a composer and author herself. She knew everyone; was very witty and also very honest about everything and everyone including herself. A great trip into a fascinating time and life.
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds wonderful.
DeleteSorry I'm late to the party, everyone. We were celebrating my in-laws 60th wedding anniversary today. Absolutely inspirational! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your in-laws! Wonderful (Heather S)
DeleteFrom Judy KB I saw a review of I Heard Her Call My Name a Memoir of Transition, by Lucy Sante, and now it's in my to-be-read pile. It sounded fascinating, and I may read it next. But, but, but, the pile is so high.
ReplyDeleteI feel that in my soul.
Delete