Non-fiction November is one of my favorite reading times of the year. I was going to do a whole wrap up but honestly I’m just doing the top 5- including one I read in October (oops!)
I didn’t get to everything on my TBR like Bad Blood, The Righteous Mind, and The Witch amongst others. But I’m telling myself I’m going to keep up more.
By: Patricia Miller
A married and famous politician starts a years long affair with a much younger woman promising that he’ll marry her when he can. But when his wife dies he strings her along until marrying another woman in a much better position.
Madeline Pollard however doesn’t slink away. She takes him to court and the case challenges the deep hypocrisy and double-standards of the time that patted the men on the back and shamed the women. This was interesting not just because of the legal case or how the women began to amass and fight for better but also sadly because of how very little things have changed.
Perhaps not the double-standard so much as the way but the way rich and powerful men take advantage of women. Totally worth a read.
I talked about Paperback Crush already. A nostalgic and surprisingly informative look at YA Fiction in the 80s and 90s. So if you’ve read Sweet Valley High- Jessica Wakefield sociopath or not?
I picked up The Library Book by Susan Orlean in October (thank you Netgalley.) It’s about the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library and the investigation surrounding it.
But it’s also so much more- a history of the library. The history of Los Angeles through the library. City planning. Social welfare issues. Gender politics. Hell even fire investigation. I honestly think even being set in Los Angeles the library stuff is applicable to every place really.
Speaking of places I want to go and be bookie…
The Diary of a Bookseller is about a Scottish book town. A sarcastic guy who can be rude to his customers cause he owns the store. All in fast (if somewhat repetitive) journal entries form.
Feminists Don’t Wear Pink
This ones an anthology of essays, some stories, lists and just other writing put together by Scarlett Curtis- about a myriad of feminist issues and life things. Like most anthologies I liked some of the stuff better than others-
Keira Knightley’s writing about giving after giving birth was good- and quiet descriptive. As was her talking about how the men she works with need, need her to like them in some way. Kat Dennings also had a very fun bit, an A-Z of all the ways she could be kidnapped according to her mother. Which made me laugh but I’d be the one telling my mother that.
PS This is also a podcast. I’ve listened to a few episodes and found it enjoyable. Some good ideas in here and organizations to look into as well.
So those are my top Non-Fiction picks and recommendations from November and the last couple of weeks! Happy Reading 🙂