NONFICTION NOVEMBER–WEEK 4: Reflections On My Exploding TBR List!

Welcome to the 4th and final week of NONFICTION NOVEMBER—the second annual celebration of all things nonfiction! I participated last year and had so much fun meeting new bloggers and adding great nonfiction titles to my TBR list–and I had even more fun participating this year! If you’re into reading nonfiction and want to join in the fun, just click on the graphic to visit this week’s  linkup.  Be prepared, though—your TBR list will explode with great NF books!

I can’t believe that this is the last week of the month—and that also means that it’s the last week of Nonfiction November. I had such a great time participating again this year (although craziness in my non-blogging life caused me to skip posting altogether during Week #3) and I loved getting to know some great new-to-me bloggers.

This week’s Nonfiction November prompt is about reflecting on the month and all of the additions to our TBR lists. I added so many great titles to my list this month, but I limited myself to selecting the ten that I’m most eager to get my hands on for this post. I have to admit that I lost track of where I heard about each title, so unfortunately I can’t link up to where I originally discovered each book—but I’m grateful to all of the Nonfiction November bloggers who helped my TBR list to EXPLODE with great books!

Here’s my list (in no particular order) of the top ten nonfiction titles I’ve added to my TBR list this month:

                   

GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed The Atlantic For Love by Duncan Barrett         This book focuses on four women who married American soldiers during or right after WWII and then came to the US to begin their new lives. I’ve always been fascinated by wartime marriages between two people who are basically strangers to one another and I’m hoping this book will shed some light on this issue.

When Books Went To War: The Stories That Helped Us Win WWII by Molly Guptill Manning       This book is being released on December 2 and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. It’s about the initiative to send books overseas to the troops during WWII, and the rise of paperback publishing that resulted from this movement. I read an excerpt of this book in a magazine recently and was absolutely riveted.

By The Book: Writers On Literature And The Literary Life From The New York Times Book Review by Pamela Paul        I ask you–what’s not to like about this book made up of interviews with 65 contemporary authors? This book is at the top of my Christmas list this year!

The Residence: Inside The Private World Of The White House by Kate Andersen Brower        I love reading American history, especially about the presidency, and I love behind-the-scenes nonfiction—so I was  excited to find out about this upcoming book written from interviews with White House staff serving Presidents Kennedy up through President Obama.

Serving Victoria: Life In The Royal Household by Kate Hubbard        As I said above, I love behind-the-scenes history, but I’ve read very little British history, so I’m looking forward to this book that’s based on letters and diaries written by Queen Victoria’s staff.

                   

Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea by Barbara Demick        Since I read Without You There Is No Us earlier this month I’ve been curious about North Korea, and I hope this book will provide some answers.

Lives In Ruins: Archeologists And The Seductive Lure Of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson        I know next to nothing about archeology, but I love reading fly-on-the-wall accounts of unfamiliar jobs. THis books sounds like it’s got my name written all over it!

Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside The World Of ESPN by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales        I just finished this 700+ page book this weekend and really liked it—it matched my love of oral histories with my love of sports. I’ll be honest—if you’re not into sports there’s really nothing that’s going to appeal to you about this book, but if you’re a sports fan and also enjoy behind-the-scenes nonfiction, you’ll love it.

Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover In The Civil War by Karen Abbott        EVERYONE is reading this book! I just borrowed the eBook version from the library and am hoping to get to it soon.

Dr. Mutter’s Marvels: A True Tale Of Intrigue And Innovation At The Dawn Of Modern Medicine by Christin O’Keefe Aptowicz        This is the story of the Philadelphia physician in the mid 1800s who, among other innovations, pioneered the use of ether as anesthesia, the sterilization of surgical tools, and techniques for helping the severely deformed. I actually started reading this last night and so far I’m hooked!

How about you? Have you read any of these? Did any nonfiction titles make it onto your TBR list this week? Please share! And please click on the November Nonfiction graphic above to find this week’s  linkup to more great nonfiction finds!

NONFICTION NOVEMBER–WEEK 2: Oral Histories

Welcome to week #2 of NONFICTION NOVEMBER—the second annual celebration of all things nonfiction! I participated last year and had so much fun meeting new bloggers and adding great nonfiction titles to my TBR list! If you’re into reading nonfiction and want to join in the fun, just click on the graphic to visit this week’s  linkup. A new prompt and linkup will be posted every Monday throughout November. Be prepared, though—your TBR list will explode with great NF books!

This week, participants are invited to create  a nonfiction reading list covering any topic. It’s a chance to be an expert on the nonfiction topic of your own choosing! Or, you can put out an inquiry to the  bloggers who are participating and ask for suggestions for books on any nonfiction subject. This was by far my favorite week of last year’s Nonfiction November!

 

One of my favorite nonfiction genres is the ORAL HISTORY. The simplest definition of oral history is “the collection and study of historical information using sound recordings of interviews with people having personal knowledge of past events”. I find it incredibly fascinating to read about the same event, place, or time period from the points of view and transcriptions of the actual voices of many different people—and that’s what a good oral history does for the reader.

Studs Terkel is widely believed to be the father of the modern oral history genre. A New Yorker by birth, he came to Chicago as a young man and made the city his home. He authored over a dozen oral histories over the years that covered diverse topics such as race, the Great Depression, spirituality, war, and many others. He had the incredible gift of being able to ask the right questions at the right time and to create a safe environment for his subjects to open up and share their deepest thoughts. I was lucky enough to hear him speak at an author event held when he was in his nineties—and although his body and his hearing were failing him, his mind was as nimble as a man at a quarter of his age. Terkel was truly a Chicago icon, and when he died a few years ago it was the end of the era of a certain type of writer. I have an entire shelf on one of my bookcases that’s devoted to his books.

Here are a few of my favorite oral histories–by Terkel and by other authors:

 

Working by Studs Terkel

I first read parts of Working when I was in junior high and picked up my dad’s copy. The subtitle of the book tells it all—“People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About Doing It”. Terkel interviewed over 100 people about their jobs—farmers, teachers, factory workers, athletes, salesmen, and many more. The result is a portrait of the people who make up everyday America, and who make America work. It also brings home the theme that self worth is so often tied to how we feel about how we earn our living. Written in 1972, the book is obviously a bit dated—many of the jobs discussed have changed drastically or no longer exist. But the spirit of the people who share their stories still rings true. If you’ve never read any oral histories by Terkel, start with this one–it’s still in print and readily available!

Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter

The authors of this oral history openly admit their admiration of Studs Terkel and their hopes that this book is the modern day imitation of Working. Written about 30 years after Terkel’s book, Gig includes people sharing their experiences in more modern professions, including video game designer, corporate headhunter, and crime scene cleaner. I think this would be a great pick for reluctant readers in high school—the sections are brief yet very engaging–as well as for anyone who enjoys the oral history format.

 

“The Good War:” An Oral History Of World War II by Studs Terkel

Another favorite by Studs Terkel, this Pulitzer Prize winning book captures the voices of everyday people whose lives were affected the “the war to end all wars”—both on the front lines and at home. Most of the people interviewed for this book were Americans, but there are Japanese, German, and Russian voices represented as well. If you enjoy reading historical fiction set during this time period, this would be a great contrast!

 

 

Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now—As Told By Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long For It by Craig Taylor

The author of this fascinating book spent five years talking with an incredible diverse cross-section of Londoners and paints a vivid picture of modern London. I’ve never been to London, but this book made me feel as if I were there–experiencing both the negatives and the positives of this historic city.

 

Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

I started watching Saturday Night Live back in the Jim Belushi/Dan Ackroyd/Bill Murray days. This is a truly riveting oral history of that groundbreaking show as told by the cast members, writers, producers, hosts, musical guests, and more. I’ve heard that this book has been recently re=released with updated interviews, but I haven’t read that version yet. If you’re a SNL fan, or if you enjoy reading about TV and the entertainment industry, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book!

 

I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum

I’m also old enough to remember when MTV actually played music videos 24 hours a day. I can still recall gathering in the TV lounge of my college dorm to watch the premier of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video—we’d never seen anything like it before! This oral history traces the first decade of MTV and features transcripts of interviews with nearly 400 musical artists, directors, TV and music executives, and MTV VJs. Reading this book completely took me back to the 80s!

 

How about you? Have you read any oral histories? Do you enjoy this format? Please share–and please visit the current November Nonfiction linkup (just click on the graphic at the top of this post) for more great nonfiction suggestions!

NONFICTION NOVEMBER: WEEK 2–Become The Expert / Books About The Kennedys

Welcome to week #2 of NONFICTION NOVEMBER—the second annual celebration of all things nonfiction! I participated last year and had so much fun meeting new bloggers and adding great nonfiction titles to my TBR list! If you’re into reading nonfiction and want to join in the fun, just click on the graphic to visit this week’s  linkup. A new prompt and linkup will be posted every Monday throughout November. Be prepared, though—your TBR list will explode with great NF books!

This week, participants are invited to create  a nonfiction reading list covering any subject. It’s a chance to be an expert on the nonfiction topic of your own choosing! Or, you can put out an inquiry to the  bloggers who are participating and ask for suggestions for books on any nonfiction subject. This was by far my favorite week of last year’s Nonfiction November!

I’ve been intrigued by the Kennedy family for as long as I can remember. Although I certainly don’t admire everything about them, I find the Kennedys endlessly fascinating, and I’ve read and collected many books about the members of this huge American family over the years. In fact, I have a whole section of one of my bookcases devoted to books on this subject. Here are some of my favorites. I’ve read all of these more than once, and these are the ones that I tend to recommend the most:

Patriarch: The Remarkable Life And Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw       No matter what your opinion is about Joseph P Kennedy, you have to admit that the man lived an incredibly fascinating (and ultimately tragic) life. This is a wonderfully thorough biography of the man who created the foundation–and the finances!– for the Kennedy dynasty.

 

The Day Kennedy Was Shot by Jim Bishop    This was the first Kennedy book that I ever read, and it’s an almost minute-by-minute account of the events of November 22, 1963.  I read this book for the first time when I was in high school, and I’ve re-read it many times since then. There was quite a bit of controversy when this book was originally published—it was definitely NOT endorsed by the Kennedy family—but I think it’s a must-read for anyone who wants an intimate accounting of the Kennedy assassination. Everyone knows how this story ends, but the book reads like a novel of the very best kind.

The Death Of A President by William Manchester     This is a true classic in the Kennedy genre. Published in 1967 and written at the request of the Kennedy family, the author was personally selected to write the definitive account of the assassination. Of course, hundreds of books have been written about the topic since then—and Manchester was obviously working under the Kennedy family’s agenda—but this is still a must-read for anyone interested in the life and death of JFK.

America’s Queen: The Life Of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Sarah Bradford    This is the most informative, non-tabloid-ish biography of Jacqueline Kennedy that I’ve read. And the title is inspired!

 

 

Jackie As Editor: The Literary Life Of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Gregory Lawrence    I knew that JBKO had worked as an editor in New York for several years, but didn’t know how much she truly loved books, or any of the specifics about how or why she got that job, what her day to day life as a working woman was like, or why she left the publishing business. This book answered all of these questions and more, and provides information that gives the reader a more well-rounded view of her life after she left Washington. Bonus–it’s also a really interesting view of the publishing world in the 1970s!

Kennedy Weddings: A Family Album by Jay Mulvaney     This is a great coffee-table-style book filled with wonderful photos and details about nearly every Kennedy wedding—and with such a large family, there have been dozens! Beginning with the wedding of Rose and Joe Kennedy and moving along through the weddings of their children and grandchildren, this book is a great treat for readers (like me!) who just can’t get enough of this famous family.

 

The Kennedy Women: The Sage Of An American Family by Lawrence Leamer     This book provides intimate details about the lives of the daughters and daughters-in-law of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. I was especially interested in the details about Patricia and Jean, the lesser-known sisters.

 

The Last Lion: The Fall And Rise Of Ted Kennedy by Peter Canellos     Published shortly after Ted Kennedy’s death in 2009, this biography provides a well-balanced portrait of the successes and failings of the youngest Kennedy brother.

 

 

Sons Of Camelot: The Fate Of An American Dynasty by Lawrence Leamer    Another meticulously researched book, this book focuses on the third generation of Kennedys and how they’ve chosen to carry on the family name and mission.

 

 

How about you? Have you read any of these? Is there a particular historical family that intrigues you? Please share–and please visit the current November Nonfiction linkup (just click on the graphic at the top of this post) for more great nonfiction recommendations!

NONFICTION NOVEMBER–WEEK 1: Favorite Nonfiction of 2014

Today marks the beginning of NONFICTION NOVEMBER—the second annual celebration of all things nonfiction! I participated last year and had so much fun meeting new bloggers and adding great nonfiction titles to my TBR list! If you’re into reading nonfiction and want to join in the fun, just click on the graphic to visit the first linkup. A new prompt and linkup will be posted every Monday throughout November. Be prepared, though—your TBR list will explode with great NF books!

This week the following prompts are presented:

 

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

I’ve always loved nonfiction and I read a lot of it. So far this year I’ve read a total of 92 books, and 47 of them have been nonfiction. I never really have a plan for what I’m going to read during any given time, so it’s just by chance that half of my books so far this year have been nonfiction. For Nonfiction November, I’m not planning on exclusively reading nonfiction—but I’m hoping to find many more nonfiction titles to add to my TBR list. I’m also hoping to find new-to-me bloggers who share my love for books in general and nonfiction in particular!

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?

I have to be honest—this question is so unfair! There is no way that I can select just one favorite nonfiction title of the year! So–I’m combining these questions to describe the four NF books that I enjoyed the most this year and that I find myself recommending the most often. Ready? Here we go!

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.

If you love to escape by reading about the lives of the impossibly rich, or if you like a good modern day mystery, give this book a try! Huguette Clark was a reclusive New York heiress. Born in 1906, she grew up in incredible wealth, and after an extremely brief marriage (she returned home alone just days into her honeymoon) she eventually owned enormously expensive homes in California, New York, and Connecticut–yet they stood vacant as she lived her last twenty years in a simple New York City hospital room, despite being in excellent health. She gave away millions of dollars in money and gifts to charities, foundations promoting the arts, and to her employees–some of whom never saw her or spoke to her except via phone or through closed doors.

At her death in 2011, her estate was valued in excess of $300 million. However, she’d left TWO signed wills—one favoring her remaining family members (distant relatives from her father’s first marriage, most of whom hadn’t spoken to her in decades–she had no children of her own), and a second will leaving everything to her lawyers, long-time private nurse, and other employees. The question was, had she been in control of her decisions, or was she being controlled by the people she hired to care for her and manage her money? And why did she spend the last 20 years of her life living in a hospital, when even her doctors agreed that there was no medical reason for doing so?

When I finished this book, I immediately went online to do some research about what has happened with Huguette’s estate since the book was published—but I won’t share what I found, as I don’t want to create any spoilers for those of you who may choose to read it. This book was not only one of my favorite nonfiction reads of 2014, but it’s one of my favorite books of any genre.

The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Brown

I don’t “do sports” but I love reading about them. I’ve read lots of books about baseball and basketball, but I knew virtually nothing about the sport of rowing (or “crew”) before I started this book. It’s the story of the 1936 US rowing team that won the Gold medal at that year’s Summer Olympic Games in Hitler’s Berlin. The author paints such a vivid picture of the young men on the team as well as the skill required to excel at this sport–I had absolutely no idea! There’s a lot of anecdotal information about the Depression era that’s very interesting, and it also created a great interest for me about the 1936 Olympic Games.

Reading In The Wild by Donalyn Miller

I work in educational publishing and I’m always on the lookout for ideas on how to help kids learn to love to read. This book discusses in plain language how teachers (and parents) can help children become lifelong readers. Miller offers the opinion that many practices commonly used in classrooms—such as reading journals and contests—can actually work against helping children understand that reading should be a part of our everyday lives and not simply something to be done in school. She also provides practical suggestions on how educators can create an authentic book-loving culture in their schools. Many of the ideas presented apply to parents as well. I completely loved the message of this book!

Maeve’s Times: In Her Own Words by Maeve Binchy

I was sad to hear of Maeve Binchy’s death a few years ago–so imagine my delight when I learned that a new Binchy book was to be published this year! I was even more excited when I found out that it was to be a collection of nearly 100 of her columns that were originally published in The Irish Times, starting in the 1960s and continuing through 2011. Presented in chronological order, these pieces offer a whole new glimpse into Binchy’s writing style. I had no idea that she had been a columnist, and I devoured this book over a couple of marathon reading sessions in a single weekend. The topics range from humorous slices of life, to character sketches, to news reporting, to controversial opinion pieces. The only thing that tripped me up a bit was the very frequent use of Irish slang and terminology, which I don’t recall encountering too much in her novels. However, this makes total sense in that her columns were most likely intended exclusively for local Irish readers, while she must have known that her novels would find an international audience. I loved this book, and was so grateful to see an entirely new side to one of my favorite novelists.

Honorable Mentions/Just Missed The List:

Relish: My Life In The Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff

Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbe

Sous Chef by Michael Gibney

How about you? Have you read any of these? What types of nonfiction books do you enjoy? Please share—and please visit the first November Nonfiction linkup (just click on the graphic at the top of this post) for more great nonfiction titles!

Musing Mondays–All Nonfiction, All The Time (at least for now!)

Click here to play along!

 

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB that asks you to muse about one of several “bookish” questions… or, you can just ramble on about anything you like that pertains to books! You can join in by clicking the graphic above. Go ahead–it’s fun!

Here’s my musing for this week–

I’ve always been a big nonfiction fan, and I’m in a serious nonfiction reading phase right now. I’m coming off of a very relaxed, lazy, long holiday weekend where just about the most strenuous thing I did was bring a stack of library books in the house, and I did a ton of reading over the last few days. Every book I’ve picked up this weekend has been nonfiction. In fact, five out of the last six books I’ve read are nonfiction and both of the books I’m currently reading are nonfiction.

These  books span a big range of topics, but I don’t think that any of them are your typical “beach bag” reads:

           

• a restaurant/food/cooking memoir
• a humorous book about things experienced by librarians
• a publishing/bookish memoir
• a narrative about inner-city high school students getting into/getting through college
• a collection of sports columns
• an account of a little-known event in American history
• a biography of three renowned female newscasters

I’ve got several novels sitting here in my TBR pile, but right now I just can’t get enough of nonfiction!

How about you? Does your reading go in phases? Are you a fellow nonfiction fan? Please share!

O is for ORAL HISTORY–The A-Z Challenge/Day 15

Welcome to Day #15 of the April A to Z Challenge, where participants are challenged to create a post every day (except Sundays) corresponding to the appropriate letter of the alphabet. If you’d like to learn more, hit the badge on my sidebar.

I’ll be posting about bookish topics each day of the challenge. Here’s today’s post about my thoughts about the oral history genre:

 

I really enjoy reading many types of nonfiction (see yesterday’s post!), and one of my favorite nonfiction genres is the oral history. The simplest definition of oral history is “the collection and study of historical information using sound recordings of interviews with people having personal knowledge of past events”. I find it incredibly fascinating to read about the same event, place, or time period from the points of view and through the transcriptions of the actual voices of many different people—and that’s what a good oral history does for the reader.

Studs Terkel is widely believed to be the father of the modern oral history genre. A New Yorker by birth, he came to Chicago as a young man and made the city his home. He authored over a dozen oral histories over the years that covered diverse topics such as race, the Great Depression, spirituality, war, and many others. He had the incredible gift of being able to ask the right questions at the right time and to create a safe environment for his subjects to open up and share their deepest thoughts. I was lucky enough to hear him speak at an author event held when he was in his nineties—and although his body and his hearing were failing him, his mind was as nimble as a man at a quarter of his age. Terkel was truly a Chicago icon, and when he died a few years ago it was the end of the era of a certain type of writer. I have an entire shelf on one of my bookcases that’s devoted to his books.

Here are a few of my favorite oral histories:

 

Working by Studs Terkel

I first read parts of Working when I was in junior high and picked up my dad’s copy. The subtitle of the book tells it all—“People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About Doing It”. Terkel interviewed over 100 people about their jobs—farmers, teachers, factory workers, athletes, salesmen, and many more. The result is a portrait of the people who make up everyday America, and who make America work. It also brings home the theme that self worth is so often tied to how we feel about how we earn our living. Written in 1972, the book is obviously a bit dated—many of the jobs discussed have changed drastically or no longer exist. But the spirit of the people who share their stories still rings true. If you’ve never read any oral histories by Terkel, start with this one–it’s still in print and readily available!

Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter

The authors of this oral history openly admit their admiration of Studs Terkel and their hopes that this book is the modern day imitation of Working. Written about 30 years after Terkel’s book, Gig includes people sharing their experiences in more modern professions, including video game designer, corporate headhunter, and crime scene cleaner. I think this would be a great pick for reluctant readers in high school—the sections are brief yet very engaging–as well as for anyone who enjoys the oral history format.

 

Hospital: The Hidden Lives of a Medical Center Staff by Michael Medved

This book is out of print, but if you’re at all interested in the inner workings of the medical profession it’s definitely worth looking for. Medved interviewed dozens of employees at one unnamed medical center—from the top surgeons to the cleaning staff—and the result is an intriguing look at the day-to-day life inside a busy hospital. One of the things I loved about this book was reading the impressions and opinions of different staff members about each other. This is a great “fly on the wall” read!

Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

I started watching Saturday Night Live back in the Jim Belushi/Dan Ackroyd/Bill Murray days. This is a truly riveting oral history of that groundbreaking show as told by the cast members, writers, producers, hosts, musical guests, and more. If you’re a SNL fan, or if you enjoy reading about TV and the entertainment industry, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book!

 

 

I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum

I’m also old enough to remember when MTV actually played music videos 24 hours a day. I can still recall gathering in the TV lounge of my college dorm to watch the premier of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video—we’d never seen anything like it before! This oral history traces the first decade of MTV and features transcripts of interviews with nearly 400 musical artists, directors, TV and music executives, and MTV VJs. Reading this book completely took me back to the 80s!

 

How about you? Have you read any oral histories? Do you enjoy this format? Please share!

N is for NONFICTION–The April A-Z Challenge/Day 14

Welcome to Day #14 of the April A to Z Challenge, where participants are challenged to create a post every day (except Sundays) corresponding to the appropriate letter of the alphabet. If you’d like to learn more, hit the badge on my sidebar.

I’ll be posting about bookish topics each day of the challenge. Here’s today’s post about my favorite categories of nonfiction:

 

I love reading nonfiction! According to my Goodreads account, 18 of the 32 books I’ve read so far this year have been nonfiction titles. I’m a curious person by nature, and when I want to learn more about something or someone, my first instinct is to read about it.

Here are the top ten categories of nonfiction titles that are represented the most on the many bookshelves in my home. There’s some overlap here, and  there’s a common theme of enjoying nonfiction books that go “behind-the-scenes” to dig deep into the story of a particular person, profession, or historical event. Ready? Let’s go!

1. BOOKS AND WRITING: I love reading books about books—books about collecting them, writing them, selling them, publishing them! My favorites in this category include essays about what and why people read, memoirs by people who have worked in the publishing industry, books written about people who have owned their own bookstores or who have worked in one, and books by writers about HOW they write. (For a list of my favorites in this area, check this post.)

2. FOOD AND COOKING: I love to read and I love to cook—so what could be better than reading about food? I’m not including cookbooks in this category, although I have a lot of those, too. Instead, these books include essays about food and cooking, books by and about chefs and other restaurant employees, and books about how the act of preparing and sharing food influences family and culture. Many of these books include recipes throughout the text, but they wouldn’t be considered straight cookbooks. (You can read about my Top 10 books in this category here!)

3. SPORTS: I do not “do sports.” I am possibly the most un-athletic person you would ever meet.  But—I absolutely LOVE reading about sports! Not biographies so much, but “behind the scenes” books about a particular team or sport.

4. AMERICAN PRESIDENTS/FIRST LADIES: I enjoy history, especially historical biography, and I really like reading biographies and autobiographies of U.S. Presidents and their families. I’m most interested in their day-to-day lives, and their lives before and after living in the White House.

5. THE KENNEDYS: I guess this is a subset of the above genre, but I have a whole shelf of biographies and other books devoted to this enormous American political family. I find the Kennedys fascinating. I certainly don’t admire everything about all of them, but I find them endlessly interesting.

6. EDUCATION: As a former teacher, I love reading books written about “a year in the life of a teacher”, as well as topics such as the pros and cons of single sex education, homeschooling, and what schools are like in other countries. (You can find my previous post about favorites in this area here.)

7. AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY: I’ve always been interested in the civil rights movement, and I also enjoy reading biographies of key African American leaders and about African American culture.

8. TRUE CRIME: The only thing I love more than a good fictional mystery is a good TRUE mystery! I read some current true crime, but I really enjoy historical accounts. The downside to reading these books is that some of them are so well written that they keep me up at night!

9. JOURNALISM: I like reading books made up of collections of newspaper columns or magazine articles by journalists I admire. I love seeing how their work changes over time, and how they tackle current events.

10. ORAL HISTORIES: I love books that are a collection of first-person accounts from a variety of people about a common topic or event. I think it’s so interesting to compare the remembrances and language choices of different individuals. (Guess what my “O” post will be about tomorrow?)

How about you? Are you a nonfiction fan?  What types of nonfiction do you enjoy? Please share!

Musing Mondays–What I’ve Been Reading . . .

Click here to play along!

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB that asks you to muse about one of several “bookish” questions… or, you can just ramble on about anything you like that pertains to books! You can join in by clicking the graphic above. Go ahead–it’s fun!

This week I’m musing about a nonfiction book I recently finished–and can’t stop thinking about!

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.

WOW—this was a fascinating read!

Huguette Clark was a New York heiress who was so reclusive and secretive that, at the time of her death just a few years ago at age 104, no new photographs of her had been seen in decades.  Born in 1906, she was the daughter of self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, who was nearly as rich as Rockefeller and Carnegie, and who was also a controversial senator, railroad builder, and one of the founders of the city of Las Vegas. She grew up in the largest house in New York City–121 rooms for a family of four–and she owned paintings by Degas and Renoir, a Stradivarius violin, and a vast collection of antique dolls and dollhouses. After an extremely brief marriage (she returned home alone just days into her honeymoon) she eventually owned enormously expensive homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, yet they stood vacant as she lived her last twenty years in a simple New York City hospital room, despite being in excellent health. She gave away millions of dollars in money and gifts to charities, foundations promoting the arts, and her employees–some of whom never saw her or spoke to her except via phone or through closed doors.

At her death in 2011, her estate was valued in excess of $300 million dollars. However,  it was discovered that she’d left two signed wills—one leaving her wealth to her remaining family members (distant relatives from her father’s first marriage, most of whom hadn’t spoken to her in decades–she had no children of her own), the other leaving everything to her lawyers, long-time private nurse, and other employees. The question was, had she been in control of her fortune, or was she being controlled by the people she hired to care for her and manage her money? And why did she spend the last 20 years of her life living in a hospital, when even her doctors agreed that there was no medical reason for doing so?

If you love to escape by reading about the lives of the impossibly rich, or if you like a good investigative treatment of a modern day mystery, give this book a try. When I finished it, I immediately went online to do some research about what has happened with Huguette’s estate since the book was published—but I won’t share what I found, as I don’t want to create any spoilers for those of you who may choose to read it.

How about you? What are you reading these days? Please share!

Musing Mondays–What I’m Reading Today

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Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB that asks you to muse about one of several “bookish” questions… or, you can just ramble on about anything you like that pertains to books! You can join in by clicking the graphic above. Go ahead–it’s fun!

This week I’m musing about the nonfiction book I’m currently enjoying via audiobook—Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.

This book is about Huguette Clark, a reclusive heiress who was the daughter of W.A. Clark—a self-made man who made his fortune in copper, was one of the founders of Las Vegas, and was a US senator– and whose wealth was on par with Rockefeller and Carnegie. She was raised in the largest house in New York City—121 rooms for a family of four (One of the rooms was designed for the specific purpose of drying draperies! The home also included four separate art galleries).When her father built it, he would go so far as to actually buy various companies outright—such as the factories that manufactured the building supplies he wanted—to ensure that he was receiving bargain pricing during the building process.
As an adult, Huguette owned enormous homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, but she left them all vacant and lived her last twenty years in a hospital –even though she had no medical reason for doing so. Many of her employees, including her lawyer and the caretakers of her homes, never met her in person, despite being on her personal payroll for decades. When she died at the age of 104, it was discovered that she had signed two different wills—one favoring her family, and one leaving her fortune to various employees.
I’m only on Chapter 4 of this 400+ page book, but it is absolutely fascinating so far! I love reading books like this because it’s pure escapism for me. I’m intrigued to learn about the day to day lives of people who have such incredible wealth—and the whole mystery about the wills and the reasons for Huguette’s reclusive, eccentric behavior promises to be as riveting as any fictional thriller. If you enjoy nonfiction that reads like a novel, I’d suggest giving Empty Mansions a try!
How about you? Have you heard about this book or have you read it yourself? What are you reading this week? Please share!

Nonfiction November–Fiction and Nonfiction Partners!

Throughout the month of November, Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness and Leslie from Regular Rumination are hosting a series of excellent posts promoting all things nonfiction. The topic of this week’s post prompt is:

Come up with a nonfiction book to pair with a fiction book. So, if you like [FICTION BOOK], then you should absolutely read [NONFICTION BOOK]!

(Please click on the graphic to find all the great  posts by other bloggers who accepted this challenge–or to add your own!) 

I found this to be a very challenging exercise-but also a very fun one! I was able to come up with several pairings covering a variety of topics–and even one triple! Ready? Here are my Fiction/Nonfiction sets:

     

Henry and Clara: a Novel by Thomas Mallon

Booth: A Novel by David Robertson

The Day Lincoln Was Shot by Jim Bishop

We all know the basic story behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln—but the two novels I’m listing here provide a couple of different takes on the topic. The first one blends fact with fiction to recreate the truly heartbreaking story of the couple—who were also stepbrother and stepsister–who accompanied the Lincolns to Ford’s Theater that night. I think that this fictionalized account of the events of that evening and its aftermath rivals any tragic modern romance.

The second novel tells the story of the assassination from the point of view of John Surratt, who knew John Wilkes Booth and was involved to some degree—still a controversy today—with the plot to kill Lincoln.

There are any number of nonfiction books about Lincoln’s assassination, but I’ve chosen to pair these novels with the classic The Day Lincoln Was Shot because it was one of the first nonfiction books to use the hour-by-hour, nearly minute-by-minute method of describing historical events. It’s also one of the first adult nonfiction books I ever read, and it was one of the books that forever hooked me on reading nonfiction.

 

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Story of Charlotte’s Web: E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic by Michael Sims

I know I’m not alone in my love for Charlotte, Wilbur, Fern, and the rest of the wonderful characters from this classic children’s book—which, of course, isn’t just for children at all. The nonfiction book I’m pairing with it is so much more than a biography of the author—it  traces his fascinating research into the lives of spiders and the painstaking work he did to make sure that everything—and I mean EVERYTHING–included in Charlotte’s Web was exactly right. If you loved the world of this book as a child, you’ll definitely appreciate the background provided here on how that world was created.

 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

I can still remember reading The Grapes of Wrath for the first time. (If you’ve only seen the movie, you MUST read the book–there is absolutely no comparison!) I read this epic novel in the late spring during my first year of teaching, and I can vividly recall grading papers and completing lesson plans at night—and then staying up way too late making my way to California with the Joads. I was pretty obsessed with this novel for quite awhile. My nonfiction partner—a National Book Award winner—takes a different view of this period of American history. It tells the stories of the people who opted to remain in their homes during the Dust Bowl. I’ll admit that I haven’t read this book yet—it’s been sitting on my TBR pile for several months—but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and I’m hoping to dive into it soon.

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

This novel takes place during one final shift at a restaurant that will be permanently closing its doors at the end of the night. Told from the point of view of the restaurant’s manager, it’s the ideal complement to Ehrenriech’s nonfiction book about minimum wage workers in America. I’m a big fan of Barbara Ehrenreich’s books, and I also think that Stewart O’Nan is one of today’s most underrated novelists—so these two books are a natural pair.

 

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure

I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve read the Little House series of books—but Wendy McClure takes her love of these beloved children’s novels to a whole new level. Her book traces her quest to visit all of the key places and landmarks mentioned in the series, as well as her attempts to immerse herself in all things “Little House”, such as learning to churn butter and twist hay sticks. I love this author’s writing voice—she writes humorously yet informatively about her journey to connect with Laura and the rest of the Ingalls family. It also includes a lot of interesting information about the “real” Laura that you won’t read in the Little House books. If you ever dreamed of having a best friend like Laura, you’ll love the chance to reconnect with those Little House days in The Wilder Life.

How about you? Have you read any of these books? Are there any fiction/nonfiction pairings that you’d like to share? I’d love to read your thoughts! And don’t forget to click on the graphic above to join in the Nonfiction November fun!

Nonfiction November–Get Schooled!

Throughout the month of November, Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness and Leslie from Regular Rumination are hosting a series of excellent posts promoting all things nonfiction. The topic of this week’s post prompt is:

Be the Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert: Share a list of nonfiction books on a topic you know a lot about. Or, ask for some advice for books on a particular topic. Or, put together a list of nonfiction books on a topic you’re curious about.

(Please click on the graphic to find all the great links to other blog posts covering a wide variety of nonfiction topics!)

I decided to share a list of books that deal with education, as it’s a topic that’s close to my heart. I grew up in a family of educators, and was a teacher myself for nine years. I’m back in the field now in a different capacity—I work in the marketing department of a large educational publishing company. The books I chose for this list aren’t educational theory books—they’re all behind-the-scenes accounts (one of my favorite genres!) of various types of schools or other educational venues. None of them are of the warm, fuzzy, everything is wonderful variety–I feel that they all tell it as it really is. I own copies of all of these books and have read each one multiple times. All of them have made me think. Ready? Here they are, in no particular order:

Among Schoolchildren by Tracy Kidder.

Published in 1989, this book has become a classic in the “inside the classroom” genre. The author spent a year sitting in a fifth grade classroom in Holyoke, Massachusetts—this is the story of what happened that year. What I love about this book is that it isn’t always warm and fuzzy—the teacher loses her temper at times, she sometimes second-guesses herself, and every kid doesn’t finish the year in a happy ending. But she cares about those kids and that comes through on every page.

Tested by Linda Perlstein

High-stakes testing is a reality in today’s American schools. Schools are expected to behave like businesses and are judged almost solely on the bottom line—test scores. This book reports—in sometimes heartbreaking detail—what the administration and teachers of one Maryland elementary school feel they must do to ensure continued high scores. The questions that are raised are truly thought-provoking: what are the rewards and costs of doing whatever it takes to hit those magic numbers—and what’s the ultimate effect on the students taking those tests?

Homeschooling: A Patchwork Of Days edited by Nancy Lande

This book did a lot to change my opinions about homeschooling and the families who participate in it. It consists of thirty essays written by thirty families. Each selection explains why that particular family chose to homeschool, their daily routines, their successes, and their challenges. The families come from all over the US and a few are from other parts of the world. Some families are homeschooling two children, there are some families with seven kids—and every combination in between. Some families knew they’d be homeschooling since their children were born—others tried traditional school and, for a variety of reasons, have transitioned to homeschooling. None of the essays try to paint a perfect picture of the homeschooling experience! This is my go-to suggestion when I’m talking with people who have questions about homeschooling or who are trying to decide whether or not to homeschool their children. It certainly opened my eyes to a lot of new views on the topic and, while I’m not sure that I would ever choose to homeschool, I think I have a more well-rounded opinion of those who do.

And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City Students by Miles Corwin

This book not only tracks the lives of a dozen high school students in an inner-city Los Angeles school, but also provides a fascinating account of two very different teachers. The accounts of the kids’ lives are riveting, but, to me, the main story was of the two English teachers—one a volatile rebel with some real demons in her past, the other a no-nonsense maternal figure. Both expect a great deal from their students, and both have students who are absolutely devoted to them. The reader is left to judge which of them is ultimately the more effective teacher.

All Girls: Single-Sex Education and Why It Matters by Karen Stabiner

I used to be very vocally against single-sex classes and schools. My argument was—the real world isn’t a single-sex world, so how can we fully prepare our students for the future in single-sex schools? This book made me a lot more open to the idea that single-sex education does have a place in today’s society. It tracks one year in two all-girls schools—an elite prep school in Los Angeles, and a charter school in New York City. It’s a compelling read and it made me really examine my beliefs in this area—and isn’t that what good nonfiction is supposed to do?

The Gate-Keepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College by Jacques Steinberg

This is a behind the scenes account of how colleges—in this case, Wesleyan University in Connecticut– make their admissions decisions. The author spent eight months as an observer in the admissions office at Wesleyan and followed one admissions officer in particular as he recruited, selected, and rejected students for the future graduating class of 2004. Several high school seniors who applied to Wesleyan that year are also followed. This isn’t a how-to book on how to get accepted to the college of your choice, but it does provide an inside look at how one elite university views its applicants and the difficult and sometimes heartbreaking decisions they need to make. I had no idea of what this type of job consisted of until I read this book.

Relentless Pursuit: A Year In The Trenches With Teach For America by Donna Foote

This book follows four Teach For America recruits who are placed in the same inner city high school. With no teaching background other than an intensive summer “boot camp” training program, these recent college grads are put in charge of classrooms of struggling, disadvantaged students and are expected to deliver results. I knew very little about the Teach For America program before I read this book and, although it raised a lot of questions for me about the program, I admired the dedication of the teachers who were profiled. I’d like to know if they ended up remaining in education or if they moved on to other pursuits.

Small Victories by Samuel G. Freedman

This may be my favorite book on this list, possibly because I used to teach high school myself. It’s the story of a year in the life of a New York City Language Arts/Humanities high school teacher in the late 1980s and the students that pass through her classroom doors. The book provides personal stories of some of these students while also giving what I feel is a very accurate picture of the sacrifices, successes and disappointments that dedicated teachers face every day. Parts of this book were truly heartbreaking. I often wonder what the teacher who was the focus of this book is doing today.

Losing My Faculties by Brendan Halpin

I’m including this book not only because I love the author’s writing style, but because it provides a male voice in a typically female field. It’s the memoir of a teacher who moves through a variety of teaching positions in a variety of settings—an economically depressed city schol, a middle class suburban site, a last-chance truancy prevention program, and a college-prep charter school. The author provides a sometimes brutally honest account of his successes, frustrations, and challenges–but  he  never loses his sense of humor.

How about you? Have you read any of these? Are there other books on this topic that you’d like to recommend? Please share!

WWW Wednesday

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To join this weekly meme, just answer these three questions:

WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

I was literally counting down the days until “Double Down” by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann came out last week. I was raised in a family where politics was regularly discussed at the dinner table, so this book about the inside story of the 2012 presidential campaign season is right up my alley. I loved “Game Change”, which was their account of the 2008 campaign, and I enjoyed this book almost as much. I was surprised at how much I’d forgotten about the 2012 campaign, but this book brought it all back. Two things I found especially interesting—debate prep adventures with President Obama, and the inside story of how Clint Eastwood was basically given free reign to do whatever he wished on the key evening of the Republican convention. I also found the portions about New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie to be interesting, as I think he’s a pretty fascinating character. All in all—not quite as much drama as “Game Change”, but still an entertaining read if you’re a political junkie like I am.

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading “The Book Whisperer: Awakening The Inner Reader In Every Child” by Donalyn Miller for work—it’s the book chosen for our current professional book study. The author is a 6^th grade language arts teacher, and she writes about her journey to turn her classroom into an environment that encourages each of her students to discover the books that will hopefully turn them into lifelong readers. One thing I love about this book is that Miller doesn’t pretend to have all the answers—she readily shares the mistakes she’s made and the steps she’s taken to develop her philosophy and classroom routines. She also places a huge emphasis on student choice rather than strict required reading lists. We’re only read a few chapters, but so far I think it would be a great addition to any teacher’s reading list—as well as parents who want to encourage their kids to love books.

What do you think you’ll read next?

After “Double Down,” I need to read something light and fun! I think that book will be “The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap” by Wendy Welch. It’s the memoir of a couple who open a used bookstore in a small town in Appalachia. I love books about books, and this looks like a good one.

What about you? Have you read any of these books? What are you reading, or planning to read? Please share!

Friday Finds

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FRIDAY FINDS is a weekly meme to share the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list this week… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they don’t necessarily need to be books you purchased). Click the icon above to join in!

I’m limiting myself to the new books that have actually entered my home this week–-bought new, bought used, and/or borrowed from the library. This week it’s three books from the library and one used book purchase–all nonfiction. Here we go!

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

I’ve been looking forward to this book for a long time as I’ve really enjoyed all of Gladwell’s previous books. I like the way he combines psychology, science, history, and great storytelling skills to challenge the way we think about common beliefs and events in our lives, and I admire his ability to simplify his ideas into an easy to read writing style. From the front flap of this book: “…Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.”

High Rise Stories: Voices From Chicago Public Housing complied and edited by Audrey Petty

I love reading oral histories, and I have high hopes for this book. It’s made up of first-person accounts of people who’ve lived in Chicago’s public housing projects–most of which have been torn down within the past 10-20 years to make way for new residences and other construction. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and heard news stories about the crime and poverty in these inner city residences–and I often wondered about the lives of the people who lived there day after day, year after year. When these high rises started to be demolished several years ago, I found myself wondering where the people whose families had lived there for generations would go. I know that this will probably be a tough read, but I’m hoping it answers some of my questions.

On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King

I’m not a big fan of Stephen King’s novels–I just don’t favor that particular genre–but I LOVED his book on the art of writing when I read it about a year ago. Part autobiography and part writing manual, this book offers practical advice for writers at all levels as well as an account of his own development as a writer, and how writing helped him move towards recovery after a very serious accident in 1999. I found a used copy of this book and, even though I’ve already read it, I just had to buy it!

Drama High: The Incredible True Story Of A Brilliant Teacher, A Struggling Town, And The Magic Of Theater by Michael Sokolove

As a former teacher, I like reading both fiction and nonfiction dealing with all aspects of education. I also really enjoy “behind the scenes” books. This book covers both areas! It’s the true story of a drama teacher and his students in Levittown, Pennsylvania–and has been described as “Friday Night Lights meets Glee”. I can’t wait to start reading this one!

What about you? Have you read any of these? What new books have you added to your TBR pile this week? Please share!