We’re in Week 5 of Nonfiction November: New to My TBR. (If you need an introduction to Nonfiction November, please visit the original post on Julie Merilatt’s blog JulzReads. This week is being hosted by Rennie from What’s Nonfiction.
 

It’s been a great month of reading fabulous posts about supercali nonfiction books. I had to rein myself in to keep my additions to my TBR to a (baker’s) half-dozen.
 

I’m beginning to realize that essays are what thrill me in a nonfiction read. Three collections that I added this month:

How Life Imitates the World Series by Thomas Boswell.

Jane at Hotchpot Café tipped me to this one. I’ll be reading it and thinking of my late dad.

So You’re a Little Sad, So What? by Alicia Tobin.

Brandon at Every Read Thing says “I would put Alicia Tobin’s first book up against the best of David Sedaris – it’s that good. I had a great time reading this one and I hope you do too.”

And Tobin is Canadian!

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman.

RaiderGirl at An Adventure in Reading says: Feynman (winner of the Nobel Prize in physics) is “well known for popularizing physics, and his ability to tell a great story”. Science isn’t usually my thing, so I’m looking forward to stretching a little to take this one in.

Non-essay nonfiction that I added:

Shelleyrae at Book’d Out listed several books about true crimes by women. True-crime is another area I’m not usually much interested in reading but Cargo of Women by Babette Smith caught my eye.

Shellyrae said that it “focuses on the experiences of one hundred women who were sentenced to transportation to Australia, often for petty crimes, in 1829. It’s a fascinating exploration of their experiences as convicts.”

Sue at Whispering Gums reminded me that I must be the last person in the world to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skoot. But since there are new readers being born every minute, if I tackle it this year, I won’t be last anymore (right?)

Deb at ReaderBuzz also prompted my memory- this time about H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.

I’ve been meaning to put this memoir on my TBR pile for a while now.

And last but not least, as they say, Annabel at Annabookbel let me know that Julie Andrews has a sequel to her memoir Home, which has been sitting unread on my shelves for years.

Now I must get to it and read the follow-up that Annabel recommended: Homework: a Memoir of my Hollywood Years

That wraps up Nonfiction November for me. I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone else added to their TBR lists.

Have you read any of my additions? Which would you recommend that I read first?

P.P.S. The links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.

We’re into week 3 of Nonfiction November: Be/Ask/Become an Expert (if you need an introduction to Nonfiction November, please visit the original post on Julie Merilatt’s blog JulzReads. This week, I hope to be early enough to get my name in on the link-up, hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey

This past summer I had the pleasure of reading Celtic Knot, a fictionalized account of the assassination of Thomas Darcy McGee.

In school, we learned about McGee’s death, significant because his was the first political assassination in the new country of Canada, taking place just eight months after Confederation. Beyond that and the fact Fenians were allegedly somehow involved, I knew nothing. Although I realize that Ann Shortell, the author of Celtic Knot, took certain liberties with the facts as in any historical fiction, I am certain that I understand a lot more about the political situation in Canada at that time now that I’ve read this than I ever learned in school!

But, I’ve decided, not enough. Over the past 50 years, I’ve owned several cats, all of whom have been named after Canadian historical figures: (Sir Charles) Tupper, (Allen Napier) MacNab, Ikie (Isaac Brock), Laura (Secord), Nelly (McClung), (Pierre) Elliott (Trudeau), Fenian, and not least (Thomas D’Arcy) McGee. I think I have an unfed hunger for Canadian history!

My interest piqued, I found this two-volume biography of McGee by David Wilson: Passion, Reason, & Politics 1825-1857 and Volume 2 The Extreme Moderate 1858-1868. There are also free ecopies of McGee’s own writings: his poetry and Popular History of Ireland.

So – time and cost permitting – I’m going to become somewhat of an expert on Thomas D’Arcy McGee. Thanks to author Ann Shortell for rekindling that flame.

P.S. The protagonist in the novel Celtic Knot is McGee’s (fictional) Irish Catholic maid Clara Swift who was the closest to a witness to the murder that there was. Fifteen-year-old Clara is intelligent and observant and it is through her eyes that we see the tangled mess that is motivation for the alleged killer, the investigation, arrest and then trial of Jimmy Whelan. If you have any interest at all in Canadian history, political or not, I highly recommend that you read Celtic Knot.

Thanks to James who blogs at The Mirimichi Reader who brought this book to my attention, and to the author who kindly sent me a beautiful hardcover copy to read in exchange for my unbiased (except for my love of Canadian history!) review.

P.P.S. The links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.

We’re into week 2 of Nonfiction November: Book Pairings (if you need an introduction to Nonfiction November, please visit the original post on Julie Merilatt’s blog JulzReads. This week, I hope to be early enough to get my name in on the link-up, hosted by Sarah at Sarah’s Bookshelves
 

 
Since I didn’t read a great deal of NF this past year, I have only one real pairing – and not an original one at that. Way back in the spring when I was eagerly waiting for my turn to borrow Jennifer Robson’s The Gown from the library, one of the bloggers I read recommended the nonfiction book My Wedding Dress: True-Life Tales of Lace, Laughter, Tears and Tulle edited by Susan Whelan and Anne Laurel Carter. Unfortunately, I didn’t record who it was who mentioned this book; if it was you, please let me know so that I can give you credit, because it was delightful.

The editors, Canadian writers themselves, issued an invitation to a number of women writers, all with links to the Canadian writing scene, to submit an essay about their wedding dress. Amazon describes the book thusly:
“These are intimate stories about relationships; not just those between men and women, but between women and their mothers, friends and children. And, of course, with their wedding attire – a relationship that is sometimes simple, sometimes complex, but always fascinating in what it tells us about individual lives and aspirations.”

But don’t be put off by the lace and tulle: this book contains a wide variety of wedding dresses, some not dresses at all, and covers a lot of different types of weddings ranging from very traditional to not-even-close. Each essay is accompanied by one or more photos submitted by the author.

I loved every story – every one, I say.

I did read The Gown later in the year, but I was disappointed by it.

Would you have a story to tell about your wedding dress?

P.S. The links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.