Nonfiction November 2023 Week 3 Book Pairings #NonficNov

Week 3 (November 13-17) Book Pairings
with Liz @ Adventures in reading, running and working from home

It's Non-Fiction November again (see here). For the third week, our topic is "Book Pairings".

Week 3 (November 13-17) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. You can be as creative as you like! (Liz @ Adventures in reading, running and working from home)

📚📚📚

This is a great topic that repeats every year. As it should because there are so many topics you can talk about. The last couple of years, the subjects I chose were Tulip Fever, Afghanistan and Slavery.

This year, I've decided it should be Feminism. Almost any book about women can relate to that subject. The one that led me to the subject here, that I read in 2023 is:
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi "We Should All Be Feminists" - 2014
But there are some other books that I read last year that go with this topic:
Clinton, Hillary Rodham & Clinton, Chelsea "The Book of Gutsy Women: Favourite Stories of Courage and Resilience" - 2019
Ernaux, Annie "The Years" (FR: Les années) - 2008
Obama, Michelle "The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" - 2022

I have tried to find some books about women in certain situations, in certain times where it is shown how unfair life could be for the female part of the population - and still is in many, many cases. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written some good fiction, as well.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi "Americanah" - 2013
- "Half of a Yellow Sun" - 2006
Alsanea, Rajaa "Girls of Riyadh" (arab: بنات الرياض‎ Banāt al-Riyāḍ) - 2005
Brontë, Charlotte"Jane Eyre" - 1847 
- "Shirley" - 1849
Dangarembga, Tsitisi "Nervous Conditions" - 1988
Fredriksson, Marianne "Hanna's Daughters" (S: Anna, Hanna og Johanna) - 1994
See, Lisa "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" - 2005
Singer, Isaac Bashevis "Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy" (Yidd: נטל בחור ישיבה/Yenṭl der Yeshive-boḥer) - 1983
Undset, Sigrid "Kristin Lavransdatter" (NO: Kristin Lavransdatter) - 1920-22

So you see, there are women from many differnt areas of the world, contemporary and historical women. Unsurprisingly, most of those books are written by women. They are all worth reading. Start with the topic or area that interests you most.

📚📚📚

For my lists on Nonfiction November check here.

#ThrowbackThursday. Nathaniel's Nutmeg

 

Milton, Giles "Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History" - 1999

It's #ThrowbackThursday and it's #Non-fiction November. So, I think it's great that this book came up.

This is a historical non-fiction book that's written like a crime novel. We learned a lot about the history in the Pacific, colonialism, the history of the 17th century, how the British East Indian Company and the Dutch East Indian Company fought over parts on the other side of the world and how that affected even today's world, and how one guy and a small island can change the whole world forever.

Read my original review here. 

Brooks, Geraldine "Caleb's Crossing" - 2011

Brooks, Geraldine "Caleb's Crossing" - 2011

In our local book club, we always bring a book we just read and loved and then decide which one the group will read. This time, I had brought "People of the Book" because it is my favourite book of the year. But someone else had brought this one and we thought it funny that we both had chosen the same author.

So, we decided to read "Caleb's Crossing". The story takes place at Martha's Vinyard and Harvard College. It tells about the life of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk was born around 1646 and he learned English and Latin and all the other subject he needed to graduate.

The author explains that her book is based on the life of Caleb and that the stories about the Wampanoag and the island are true but that the rest is fiction. Still, we can very well believe how life must have been for a young English girl at the time. And there is also a lot of documentation about the life of the Native Americans to make the story plausible.

I love historical fiction and this is a wonderful example of how you can describe life in a past century through both real and fictional characters. This was only my fourth book by Geraldine Brooks, I need to read more.

The other readers also really liked the book and the author. We would like to read "Year of Wonders", her first book.

From the back cover:

"Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha's vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. At age twelve, she meets Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret bond that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's father is a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag, and Caleb becomes a prize in the contest between old ways and new, eventually becoming the first Native American graduate of Harvard College. Inspired by a true story and narrated by the irresistible Bethia, Caleb’s Crossing brilliantly captures the triumphs and turmoil of two brave, openhearted spirits who risk everything in a search for knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance."

Nonfiction November 2023 Week 2 Choosing Nonfiction #NonficNov

 Week 2 (Nov 6 - 1): Choosing Nonfiction
with Frances @ Volatile Rune

It's Non-Fiction November again (see here). For the second week, our topic is "Choosing Nonfiction".

Week 2 (November 6 - 10) Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking. (Frances @ Volatile Rune)

What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book?
I think I mainly want a topic that interests me. History, politics, things going on around us that influence our lives

Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to?
Usually something about what's going on at the moment. Right now the Ukraine war, the refugee situation everywhere. But also the politics in Europe, my country and other countries that might have an influence on our lives.

Do you have a particular writing style that works best?
For non-fiction, I think I prefer a chronological order.

When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you?
I prefer pictures that show me something about the content. A picture of the place that is the main topic, in a biography the picture of the protagonist, or even a nice painting of the subject.

If so, share a title or cover which you find striking:
Some examples from this year:

Bythell, Shaun "Seven Kinds of People you Find in Bookshops" - 2020
Illies, Florian "1913: The Year before the Storm" (GE: 1913: Der Sommer des Jahrhunderts) - 2012
Perry, Matthew "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing" - 2022

📚📚📚

For my lists on Nonfiction November check here.

Spell the Month in Books ~ November

          
Reviews from the Stacks

I found this on one of the blogs I follow, Books are the New Black who found it at One Book More. It was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks, and the idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles.

November: Books about music/musicians
I love music and I love to read about it. So, this was a very nice challenge. Enjoy!

NOVEMBER

N
Simmonds, Jeremy "Number One in Heaven – The Heroes Who Died For Rock 'n' Roll" - 2006
Facts on all those Rock & Pop icons that have left us far too early due to an untimely death.

O
Dinesen, Isak/Blixen, Karen "Out of Africa" - 1937
Who doesn't remember the gramophone Karen Blixen brings to her plantation in Africa?

V
Bjørnstad, Ketil "Villa Europa" (NO: Villa Europa) - 1992
An epic saga about a Norwegian family throughout the 20th century. The author was a musician himself.

E
Austen, Jane "Emma" - 1816
There are always musicians in Jane Austen's novels. In this one, Emma herself plays the piano, and also another girl important to the story, Jane Fairfax

M

Tremain, Rose "Music & Silence" - 1999 
The title already says it all. Music. A story of  the Danish court in the 17th century.

B
Falcones, Ildefonso "The Barefoot Queen" (E: La Reina Descalza) - 2013
Caridad is the Barefoot Queen, a gypsy who makes a living with her dancing.

E
Seth, Vikram "An Equal Music" - 1999
The story of a violonist and his problems with love, his job, his parents, but mainly love.

R
Hislop, Victoria "The Return" - 2008
A young woman comes to Granada to dance and discovers not only the terrible history of the Spanish Civil War but also her own.

Happy Reading!

📚 📚 📚

Six Degrees of Separation ~ Western Lane

Western Lane
Maroo, Chetna "Western Lane" - 2024

#6Degrees of Separation:
from Western Lane to Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

#6Degrees is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. I love the idea. Thank you, Kate. See more about this challenge, its history, further books and how I found this here.

This month's prompt starts with Western Lane (Goodreads). That's the same this month. So, I looked at the description of the book:

"A taut, enthralling first novel about grief, sisterhood, and a young athlete’s struggle to transcend herself.

Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash since she was old enough to hold a racket. When her mother dies, her father enlists her in a quietly brutal training regimen, and the game becomes her world. Slowly, she grows apart from her sisters. Her life is reduced to the sport, guided by its the serve, the volley, the drive, the shot and its echo.

But on the court, she is not alone. She is with her pa. She is with Ged, a thirteen-year-old boy with his own formidable talent. She is with the players who have come before her. She is in awe.

An indelible coming-of-age story, Chetna Maroo’s first novel captures the ordinary and annihilates it with beauty. Western Lane is a valentine to innocence, to the closeness of sisterhood, to the strange ways we come to know ourselves and each other."

I have read some similar books with stories that talk about children in difficult families. They are all about the same kind of topic, so I have listed them in alphabetical order.

Ashworth, Andrea "Once in a House on Fire" - 1999
Coory, Kasey "Pious Evil. Condemn Not My Children. A Mother's Journey to Insanity" - 2014
Frandi-Coory, Anne "Whatever Happened to Ishtar?: A Passionate Quest To Find Answers For Generations Of Defeated Mothers" - 2010
Lamb, Wally "We are Water" - 2013
Walls, Jeannette "The Glass Castle" - 2005
Wells, Rebecca "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" - 1996

📚📚📚

Obviously, all the books lead back to the first one, so there is a link between the last and the first.  Some of the books are memoirs, the last one is not,  just as the starter story.

Nonfiction November 2023 Week 1 My Year in Nonfiction #NonficNov

  Week 1 (Oct 30-Nov 3): Your Year in Nonfiction
with Heather @ Based on a True Story

It's Non-Fiction November again (see here). For the first week, our topic is "Your Year in Nonfiction".

📚📚📚

Week 1 (Oct 30-Nov 3) - Your Year in Nonfiction: Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favourites? Have you had a favourite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? (Heather @ Based on a True Story)

What books have you read?
The first part is easy. Since last November, I have read the following non-fiction books:

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi "We Should All Be Feminists" - 2014
Akyün, Hatice "Once Hans with Hot Sauce. Living in Two Worlds" (GE: Einmal Hans mit scharfer Soße. Leben in zwei Welten) - 2005
Bánk, Zsuzsa "Dying in Summer" (GE: Sterben im Sommer) - 2020
Bythell, Shaun "Seven Kinds of People you Find in Bookshops" - 2020
Clinton, Hillary Rodham & Clinton, Chelsea "The Book of Gutsy Women: Favourite Stories of Courage and Resilience" - 2019
Dobbert, Steffen "Understanding Ukraine: History, Politics and Struggle for Freedom" - (GE: Ukraine verstehen: Geschichte, Politik und Freiheitskampf) - 2022
Engberding, Hans; Thöns, Bodo (Hrsg./Ed.) "Transsib Reader: Travel Experiences On The Longest Railway Line In The World" (GE: Transsib-Lesebuch: Reiseerlebnisse auf der längsten Bahnstrecke der Welt) - 2002
Ernaux, Annie "The Years" (FR: Les années) - 2008
Fermor, Patrick Leigh "Between the Woods and the Water: On Foot to Constantinople from the Hook of Holland" - 1986
Gillard, Joe "The Little Book of Lost Words. Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and 86 Other Surprisingly Useful Terms Worth Resurrecting" - 2019
Greiner, Lena; Padberg, Carola "Our math teacher teaches from outside - so he can smoke!: The funniest stories about teachers" (GE: Unser Mathelehrer unterrichtet von draußen - damit er dabei rauchen kann!: Die lustigsten Storys über Lehrer) - 2020
Greywoode, Josephine (ed.) "Why We Read. 70 Writers on Non-Fiction" - 2022
Guiliano, Mireille "French Women Don’t Get Fat" - 2004
Illies, Florian "1913: The Year before the Storm" (GE: 1913: Der Sommer des Jahrhunderts) - 2012
Janson, Stefan (Hrsg./Ed.) "Greece. Travel Reader" (GE: Griechenland. Reise-Lesebuch) - 2002
Kaminer, Wladimir "The Wave Riders. Stories from the new German" (GE: Die Wellenreiter. Geschichten aus dem neuen Deutschland) - 2021
Kampfner, John "Why the Germans Do it Better. Notes from a Grown-Up Country" - 2020
Keefe, Patrick Radden "Say Nothing. A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland" - 2018
Le Faye, Deirdre "Jane Austen, The World of Her Novels" - 2002
Obama, Michelle "The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" - 2022
Orwell, George "Down and Out in Paris and London" - 1933
Perry, Matthew "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing" - 2022
Rowlinson, Derek "What's the best you can do?: First-hand Recollections of a Second-hand Bookseller" - 2009
Sankovitch, Nina "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading" - 2010
Schmitz, Ralf "Schmitz' cat. Dogs have masters, cats have employees" (GE: Schmitz' Katze. Hunde haben Herrchen, Katzen haben Personal) - 2008
- "Schmitz' little house: If you have craftsmen, you no longer need enemies" (GE: Schmitz' Häuschen: Wer Handwerker hat, braucht keine Feinde mehr) - 2014
Sieg, Sören "Have a nice Sunday 2: The latest from Leo, Lina and Lukas" (GE: Schönen Sonntag 2. Das Neueste von Leo, Lina und Lukas) - 2012
Specht, Heike "The first of their kind, Women are changing the world" (GE: Die ersten ihrer Art. Frauen verändern die Welt) - 2022
Stein, Gertrude "Paris France" - 1940
Suttner, Bertha von "Lay Down Your Arms!" or "Down with Weapons!" (GE: Die Waffen nieder!) - 1889
Tannous, Samer; Hachmöller, Gerd "When a Syrian comes to Rotenburg (Wümme): Trying to understand my new German homeland" (GE: Kommt ein Syrer nach Rotenburg (Wümme): Versuche, meine neue deutsche Heimat zu verstehen) - 2020
Theroux, Paul "Riding the Iron Rooster" - 1988
Weidemann, Siggi "User's Guide for Brussels and Flanders" (GE: Gebrauchsanweisung für Brüssel und Flandern) - 2007
Weiler, Jan "In My Little Country" (GE: In meinem kleinen Land) - 2006
Westover, Tara "Educated" - 2018
Wickert, Ulrich "You have to love France to understand it" (GE: Frankreich muss man lieben, um es zu verstehen) - 2017
Wood, Levison "Eastern Horizons. Hitchhiking the Silk Road" - 2017

A lot of them are not written in English and have also not been translated into English. I therefore have written the ones in bold that are available in English.

What were your favourites?
My favourites from them are:

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi "We Should All Be Feminists" - 2014
Bythell, Shaun "Seven Kinds of People you Find in Bookshops" - 2020
Clinton, Hillary Rodham & Clinton, Chelsea "The Book of Gutsy Women: Favourite Stories of Courage and Resilience" - 2019
Ernaux, Annie "The Years" (FR: Les années) - 2008
Keefe, Patrick Radden "Say Nothing. A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland" - 2018
Le Faye, Deirdre "Jane Austen, The World of Her Novels" - 2002
Obama, Michelle "The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" - 2022
Orwell, George "Down and Out in Paris and London" - 1933
Perry, Matthew "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing" - 2022

Have you had a favourite topic?
I think this shows that I mainly like biographies.

Is there a topic you want to read about more?
I like history and, as I just noticed, I like biographies, so I will probably read more about that.

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
It is always a great way of getting to know other books, blogs and bloggers.

📚📚📚

For my lists on Nonfiction November check here.