What Nonfictions Are You Reading Now or Have Completed in 2025? > Likes and Comments
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Woman Reading
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Jan 02, 2025 11:26PM
It's 2025, a quarter into the 21st century! What nonfiction have you picked up or have just completed? How was it? Would you recommend it?
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I managed a few! Finished both of Steve Brusatte’s paleo books, Slime by Susanne Wedlich, re-read Riley Black’s ‘Last Days Of The Dinosaurs’ and finished with Cosmos by Ann Druyan, collaborator and wife to the late Carl Sagan. Hoping to get through a few Dame Sue Black books in 2025!
It’s day 3, Teddy! Save some books for the rest of us! 🤣I’ve only read one thus far: Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. Very interesting and highly recommended.
I completed Black Swan, which I want to complete from long. Now I am reading Nexus.
I've come into 2025 with two nonfictions in progress: King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa and The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017, both of which I hope to finish within the next few days.
Omg I may have misread the question, I’m so sorry. THIS year I have just started Sue Black’s ‘All That Remains’.
Teddy wrote: "Omg I may have misread the question, I’m so sorry. THIS year I have just started Sue Black’s ‘All That Remains’."Sorry Teddy! I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad! I was just joking. If you had read that much already, it would be VERY impressive. 😁
I wish I could read that fast!!! Don’t worry, I didn’t feel bad, just cracked up at how badly I’d misread the question!
The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness
Susannah Cahalan
4/5 stars
This is an older book but it still holds up. It is the true-life story of a doctor that convinces 8 healthy people in the 1970's to enter into a mental hospital and eventually had to prove their sanity to get out of the hospital. Was the study legitimate or did it really happen? Very interesting! Non-Fiction
Completed Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire by Ashley Spencer | 336 pgs. | ReviewThe first third of the book was the most interesting as Corporate Disney tries to understand the new tv landscape known as cable television and how to make the brand fit in. The rest…meh.
Completed Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the World's Most Mysterious Continent by Gabrielle Walker | 391 pgs | BOTM selection captures the vast beauty, starkness, quietness, and dangers inherent across its landscapes. Author Walker playfully describes the research involved with the “annoyingly cute” Adélie and Emperor penguins, visits the various Nation sponsored stations, and life of the small group of researchers and the occasional tourists who find themselves on this meteorite riddled continent.
Bottoms Up In Belgium by Alec Le Sueur Irene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Bottoms Up in Belgium: Seeking the High Points of the Low Land | Goodreads
The author is a Brit who married a woman from Belgium. This is a lighthearted look at different cultural elements of Belgium, from auto racing to comic strips to atrocities perpetrated in the Congo.
Revolutions, regime changes, and risqué paramours, oh my! Nancy Goldstone is the queen of bringing to life the stoic, regal, static paintings of reines, showing just how dynamic, vibrant, curious, intelligent and strong women of history were, who have for too long been described as just wives to a crowned head.
It was smart for Goldstone to double bill this book, as Eugenie and Elisabeth had more in common than just being alive at the same time. I learned that they both...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Depressing and frustrating subject, but told with care and compassion. Small comfort that in a way, justice was carried out, in that the publication of this book and renewed interest in this tragedy to the new generation helps at least, as an acknowledgement of what happened and the negligence of the U.S. justice system, if not by the actual perpetrators (Hale to his dying day never apologized or admitted to any wrongdoing), then by the public, and keeping the victims in remembrance.
I dock a star because....
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV
by Emily NussbaumA comprehensive look at the history of reality TV, from Candid Camera to The Apprentice.....with everything in between.
Well-researched and well written. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lovely One by Ketanji Brown JacksonIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Lovely One: A Memoir | Goodreads
This autobiography of the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court focuses on moments of success and blessings. But the questions of race and class are regularly brought to the forefront of the narrative.
Just finished 
by Ali Velshi.Much better than I expected. A memoir of Indian diaspora, he captured a lot of relevant world history in his book. It gave me appreciation for the style and substance of his memoir. Definitely recommended!
Extra, extra, read all about it! From the frigid Arctic tundra to the fiery hot papers fresh off the printing press, Hartman's book chronicles the fascinating rise of modern newspapers through the Herald and the Times rivalry. More than that, it's a snapshot of this dynamic time, of changing attitudes and habits, technological advances, and burgeoning political and social ideas, of the symbiotic relationship between a writer and its reader; they both influence each other, and need each other to exist.
What I appreciated most about Hartman's narration is that he focused on not only how reporting changed the way it did throughout the 19th century, but why. Hartman laid out the different philosophies of the various news barons of their day and how it shaped their papers, and how shifting cultural values and tastes guided the transition from no holds barred, yellow journalism to the academic and rigorous writing that made journalism a new, respected profession. A free society and free press go hand in hand, and you can see clearly the...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Did not expect to cry reading this. Grimacing, sympathizing, gasping in horror, maybe. But crying while standing in my kitchen, finishing up the audiobook? This was a tragic but also hopeful and life affirming account of the Donner Party, and of the human propensity for surviving, against all odds, for their loved ones.
Surrounded by the comfort of modern trappings and so removed from having to interact and live amongst nature, reading about their 2000 mile journey was as if I were reading about a different species other than homo sapiens. Can the human body really do all that?! Our ancestors have survived such hardship, and passed down their strongest genes, to continue their bloodline (and now we're all doughy creatures sitting on couches LOL). Far from being long suffering and having long faces, Brown paints a vivid picture of an energetic and young at heart crowd; one that laughed loudly and cried unabashedly, banded together to succeed, and welcomed the unknown with open arms.
Brown does a great job of....
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Competed The Rifle 2: Back to the Battlefield and working on Populus: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome.The Rife 2 was a much different book than the first one. This is a veteran of Iraq and got an old M1 Gerand from WWII and got veterans to sign it and got their stories. Still worth reading.
Populus is about living and dying in ancient Rome . I am part way through it and am liking it a lot.
Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother
by B. MorrisonBarbara Morrison grew up in an upper class home and was a college graduate, but at age 24 Barbara had to go on welfare. She tells her story in this memoir/autobiography.
Very eye-opening. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Since Demi Moore has been nominated for an Academy Award, interest in her has increased. I read her memoir quite a while back, which is quite revealing.If anyone's interested, the link to my review is below:
Inside Out by Demi Moorehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, The Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American ContinentJust started last week.
The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 2: c.700 - c.900Aiming at a couple of chapters per week...
Woman Reading wrote: "It's 2025, a quarter into the 21st century! "Indeed... You make me think a lot of things
My recent non-fiction read:150 Glimpses of the Beatles a mash of stories about the famous band and people around them. Each chapter is short. Quite entertaining. My review
The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose
Keith Scott
3/5 stars
This was quite a detailed summary about the cartoon series of Bullwinkle Moose, Rocky the flying squirrel and the other animated series that came from Jay Ward and Bill Scott and there were many more that were involved in the history of those cartoons and more. Very interesting! Books On Film and Entertainment
Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo Irene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom | Goodreads
This is the story of a young couple who escaped enslavement in Georgia in 1848 by disguising themselves as a young white gentleman who was an invallid accompanied by his slave. They joined the abolitionist lecture circuit, challenging the notion of race since Ellen had the physical features of a white woman. Information about the background of minor characters, about the various communities they spent time in, the brutality endured by the enslaved, etc filled out this book. It served to give the reader a better sense of the historical context, but it felt like padding to me.
Irene I so want to read this book this year, the sooner the better. Maybe in March. I am glad to hear of the story and the context provided.
Currently I am reading John Cheever: A Biography by Scott Donaldson as a secondary read for my classics group study of The Stories of John Cheever.
Love as Always, Kurt: Vonnegut as I Knew Him by Loree Rackstraw as a secondary read for my personal micro study of Vonnegut 's novels--6 this year plus the 2 last year.
I have readX Marks the Spot: The Story of Archaeology in Eight Extraordinary Discoveries by Michael Scott
Read it as a kindle book.
1491 by Charles MannIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus | Goodreads
The author argues that pre-Columbian America rivaled Europe for population density, technical advancement, cultural sophistication, social complexity and more. He focuses on those who would have lived from Mexico to the Andes to the Amazon. From the invention of the number zero to the genetic modification of maze to sanitation, he makes it clear that the explorers did not find a pristine wilderness inhabited by people who lived lightly on the environment, but powerful advanced societies. When small groups of subsistence farmers or hunter-gatherers were encountered, it was because the introduction of European diseases decimated nations, killing up to 90% of the people, causing a cultural crisis. He believes that the scope of pre-Columbian culture is deliberately suppressed by those who want to justify European land grabs and by environmentalists who want to prevent further land development. 3.5 stars
Currently reading
Current Reads:Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens - More than halfway done. After 140 pages it finally got a little bit better, but not by much. Less than halfway to go and so far it's remaining a solid 3 star. I should finish this one by this weekend.
*****
Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me - Halfway done with this one and I love it! This just may be my favorite book of the month. While I can't relate to the Black ethnicity, I can relate to a lot of this book both in terms of being a reader and as person of color.
*****
Joan of Arc: A History - Got this book as a gift.
Have about 80% to go no this one. It's very detailed, but I am enjoying it. So much history and a lot of words I don't know. This is one book I've been excited for and I'm grateful for it. Definitely living up to my expectations.
*****
The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America - Roughly 70% left on this one. The author flat out states that he doesn't believe that the Hill's were abducted by aliens. I can respect that. While I have a belief in aliens & uap's (ufo's), I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to actual alien abductions. I'm liking this book because of the times. The author takes a look of their "abduction" through the lens of the time period it happened. Betty and Barney were a biracial couple in the 1960s so there was a lot of politics that people were either engaged in or wanted to avoid. Overall this book has been a really good one.
*****
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred - I still have roughly 75% to read on this one. It's a bit difficult for me. I'm an English/History nerd. Math and science were my weakest subjects from elementary through college. I was the type of student who would read under her desk because I did not understand what my teachers were talking about, even tutoring didn't help.
Still, I told myself this year I would try something new. So, I wanted to try to read at least one physics book. It's my goal to finish this one all the way through to the end. I may not understand it that well, but that's also why I am having such a fun time. I'm learning stuff that goes beyond me. Annotating and taking notes like crazy so I can learn the material better. The author does an excellent job in explaining. Some of it may be hard to understand, but there are certain instances where she kind of dumbs things down a bit so that helps.
Partly for my general women's history study this year (the really) and partly as secondary work to the historical fiction Augustus by John Williams, I am reading Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. This book uses whatever records there are--some having been recorded on papyrus and histories written by lesser historians than the Greek and Roman. We must use what records and documents we have. Being a woman ruler of Egypt, we know that some of the records will be altered to coverup how strong her power was. We saw that strategy to keep male power historically strong in When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt by Kara Cooney when we read that book as group read in 2023. It included a discussion about erasure of Cleopatra from the historical record.
I ended up finishing this one yesterday:
Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me
Rating: 4 star
Review: I am not a big fan of memoirs, however when I stumbled across this title it caught my attention and I'm glad I gave it a chance. It turned out to be my favorite read of the month. While I cannot relate to Edim's ethnicity, I can relate as a person of color (half Indigenous/half Mexican) so a lot of what Edim talked about really resonated with me. There's a section where she talks about the lack of diverse reading in school and I can relate whole-heartedly. I never read any Latino or Indigenous authors in school and that bugged the heck out of me, it was as if my schools were telling me my cultures did not matter. Not only was this an excellent read as a person of color, but simply being able to relate as a reader said a lot. I've been a reader for over 30 years so as Edim was telling her story, I was captivated with my own and started to think of all the books that have shaped my life over time. It's an excellent read no matter who is reading it. Certainly worthy of a 4-star rating, if not higher.
Ron wrote: "I ended up finishing this one yesterday:Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me
Rat..."
Excellent review. Adding it to my TBR
Finished Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties, and the Making of Wallis Simpson, a thoroughly researched book but sadly not for me. My review
It Was All A Lie by Stuart StevensIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump | Goodreads
The author has worked for 4 decades creating highly successful campaign ads for Republican races from the local to the national level. Committed to its ideals of patriotism, family values, personal responsibility, respect for the law, he was horrified to see his party embrace Trump, a candidate who blatantly violated every one of these. Trying to figure out how the Republican party became Donald Trump, he realized that Trump was not an aberration, nor did he have some great power over Republicans. Instead, Trump is the natural outgrowth of the past 6 decades of Republican politics: cultivating white grievance, tolerating the hypocrisy of candidates who flaunted family values, demanding litmus tests on no tax pledges and on expanding gun ownership, etc. A white supremacist who brags of assaulting women and of wanting to have sex with his daughter, who flatters the leaders of our nation’s enemies and encourages citizens to attack the capitol and law enforcement officers is the product of decades of intentional political decisions that put winning over every other goal. 4.5 stars
Finished Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism, a combination of art history, military history and biographies. I enjoyed it. Here is my review
I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy
4/5 stars
Jeanette McCurdy was a child/teen actor in iCarly and other series. She talks about her career and life with her overbearing mother. Interesting read but sad because of her life with her mom. Biographies/Memoirs
I've read Caring for Your Aging Cat by Janice Borzendowski, Educated by Tara Westover, Read This If You Want To Be Great At Drawing by Selwyn Leamy, House of My Mother by Shari Franke, and now I'm reading The Arts of Japan: Ancient to Medieval by Seiroku Noma.I would recommend all of these. But The Arts of Japan is a bit of a heavier read.
Man my favorites are House of my Mother and Educated, but I really love memoirs anyway so that's no surprise.
The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator by Timothy C. Winegard Tiny mosquitoes have had an ENORMOUS effect on human history. I thought the book would focus more on biology, and this book focuses more on history, so it wasn't 100% for me. But I'm sure lots of people would love it.
I gave the book 3.5 stars.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Red-Handed by Peter SchweizerIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win | Goodreads
From Hunter Biden to Madeline Albright, from Yale to Microsoft, the author says that leading figures in politics, technology, finance and higher education have sacrificed the United States to the interests of China for personal gain. Pro-China legislation has been sponsored, sensitive technology has been sold, financial markets have been open and pro-China propaganda has been promoted in exchange for money or power. Trump is one of the few leaders who the author names as innocent of this. In light of Biden’s ban on TikTok and Trump’s reversal of that, I wonder if his opinion has changed. This book is filled with accusations based on suppositions. There is no section of footnotes to allow the reader to verify what is stated. None of the condemned individuals are interviewed or offered a chance to respond. When the words of a person is used to condemn them, the reader does not see that statement in its original context. Throughout history, those with access to political or financial power have often cozied up to dictators and those with poor human rights records. Maybe because China is emerging as a global superpower this behavior is particularly alarming. This book left me feeling skeptical.
Messalina by Honor Cargill-MartinIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Messalina: Empress, Adulteress, Libertine: The Story of the Most Notorious Woman of the Roman World | Goodreads
Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Claudius, was sentenced to death, accused of entering into a bigamist marriage with a potential rival to Claudius. No more than 31 years old at the time of her death, it is remarkable how much political power and popular admiration she consolidated in her short life. Roman historians quickly crafted an image of a sex crazed woman of no moral standing. Western culture continued to paint this picture of her into the 20th century. The author examines what is known of Messalina from both cultural implication and documents from her time and comes up with a different image, a politically savvy woman who was trapped by those who felt threatened by her growing influence over Claudius. I enjoyed learning more about this time in history.
Ugh stuck on my current read. I'm reading Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military BaseThe author mentions the Roswell Incident of 1947 but I'm having a hard time believing this author. I've read a lot of books on the subject and read a lot of reports since I was 8 years old and I have never come across the idea that what allegedly crashed was Russian. This is probably going to pull the pin that makes me rate this book a 3 star.
This book is sort of half fiction, half non-fiction.We Do Not Part
by Han KangThis novel by Nobel Prize winner Han Kang focuses on the massacres perpetrated by the South Korean government (in collaboration with the U.S. occupying forces) after WWII....to quell 'communist uprisings.'
Highly recommended. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Universal Monk by John Michael TalbotIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Universal Monk: The Way of the New Monastics | Goodreads
The author may be better known as a composer and performer of Christian music. He also founded an intentional Christian community made up of families and single adults. This book describes the monastic principles that guide their communal life, spiritual principles that he believes could benefit all who desire a deeper walk with Christ.
Right now I am reading about textile art.For several years I have wanted to read How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century by Lydia Edwards. So I brought it home from the library today (ILL).
On the day I requested How to Read a Dress, I saw and bought a Withdrawn Copy of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Costume And Fashion: From 1066 to the Present by Jack Cassin-Scott.
Expect Great Things!: How the Katharine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women by Vanda KrefftKatherine Gibbs was a 'housewife' left destitute by her husband's death. So she opened the Gibb's 'secretarial schools' and boosted women right up professional ladders.
Excellent book. 4.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
