Nonfiction November ~ Week 1: Your Year in Nonfiction ~ A Look Back

The kickoff of Nonfiction November (Nov. 1 through Dec. 3) is hosted by Rennie at What's Nonfiction?  This week, we take a look back at the nonfiction we have read this year and reflect on four questions:

1.  What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?

Inside Animal Hearts and Minds: Bears That Count, Goats That Surf, and Other True Stories of Animal Intelligence and Emotion by Belinda Recio. a 2017 book about the psychology of animals that I rated 10/10.  Here's a quote from the book:  "If a cat and an iguana can nuzzle each other and nap together, and a dog and fish can 'kiss' upon meeting at the boundary between their terrestrial and aquatic worlds, then it's time for humans to take a lesson from other animals in how to get along" (loc. 632).  Click here to read about this book.

2.  Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?

As I read down my list, I was surprised to see lots of children's books this year.  The best was Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane by Kirsten Larson, a 2020 children's picture book illustrated by Tracy Subisak.  It's only 48 pages long, but I rated it 10/10.  I had never heard of Emma Lilian Todd, who really DID invent an airplane.  Click here to read about this little known engineer, who tackled one of the greatest challenges of the early 1900s:  designing an airplane.

3.  What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?

I haven't been out a lot in over a year, so I haven't recommended many books to anyone.  I know I have told several people about the two above, though, so I'll just say those are my most recommended nonfiction.

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

I hope it inspires me to finish the nonfiction I'm currently reading before the end of November.  One is John Pavlovitz's 2021 book on social issues If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans.  I checked it out of the library, but it's so good that I've already downloaded in onto my Kindle.  The other is a book I'm re-reading with my Sunday school class (by Zoom):  John Shelby Spong's 2018 book of theology Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today.  I rated it 10/10 when I first read it, and it is still very much worth perusing.  Click here to read about both of these books.