The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge discussion

WEEKLY CHECK-IN
August 20, 2023 -- Week 34

How often do you read non-fiction?
What was the last one you read?

I don't read non-fiction very often, usually only for a prompt. I did recently read Dissecting Death: Secrets of a Medical Examiner by Frederick T. Zugibe because it's been on my shelf for a while and I was trying to make space. I was worried it would be slow or dry and it was actually really good.

I read non-fiction regularly. Perhaps 40%... Last one was Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Hillenbrand.
Among my current in progress are Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story by Caren Stelson and The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People with Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Nancy L. Mace.

I don't read a whole lot of non-fiction; maybe 10% of my TBR list. It's usually history, true crime, or other topics with an actual story, not self-help or how-to. I just finished The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson last week. It was really good, and I highly recommend it.

I read nonfiction fairly regularly. The last book I read was Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson.

I read non-fiction a lot! My favorite format is as an audiobook. I find fiction hard to keep track of with multiple POV and timelines. This usually doesn’t happen with non-fiction so I find it easier to follow. I am always on the lookout for great nonfiction audiobooks. Some of my favorite this year were Zero Fail, Grant, G-Man and How The Word Is Passed. Would love to see some recommendations.

I rarely read non-fiction; the occasional biography/memoir would be most likely. But I did read a book about the Arctic earlier this year: The Arctic: Reflecting the Landscape, Wildlife, and People of the Far North.

I love history but I'm not really a nonfiction reader. Weird, I know. The last one I finished was about two weeks ago. I listened to If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating by Alan Alda on my way to and from work. I am reading 100 Disasters That Shaped World History: True Stories of the Biggest Catastrophes Ever for Kids 9-12 now, and it's pretty interesting at least. I also started As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes this morning in my car. Pretty good so far.

I usually read history and memoir books. However, I prefer reading fantastic or SF books.

I try to keep my non-fiction to 40%, I usually don't meet that but it is a goal. This year so far I have 31% so I need to get some more non-fiction in.
The last non-fiction I read was The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

I like to incorporate non-fiction in my reading from time-to-time. It's mostly esoteric or spiritual, since I'm really interseted in tarot. But I have a thirst for knowledge, so if it's not too dry, I'm okay with any theme.

I'm currently reading Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, but Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures and Pageboy are also on my want-to-read list.

I read about 40% non-fiction, usually history, geography, psychology, essays, or books about books. Currently reading Killers of the Flower Moon which is excellent, and Thinking Fast or Slow which I like but is probably not for everyone. Last one I finished was Slouching Towards Los Angeles: Living and Writing by Joan Didion's Light, a collection of essays by LA writers explaining the influence Joan Didion had on their writing.

I read 5-10% fiction, in spurts. It takes me longer on average to read nonfiction which is part of the reason. Just finished The Wright Brothers and currently reading The Wager.

I would say that I read 70% non-fiction to 30% fiction, with most of my non-fiction being biography/memoirs, and most of those are audiobooks read by the authors. I am currently listening to Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century. I just finished Chinaberry Sidewalks by Rodney Crowell and before that Composed by Rosanne Cash and The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion for a few of the prompts in the summer reading challenge. Other non-fiction that I've recently read that weren't memoirs were Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown and Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi. But easily one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read/listened to was The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda French Gates.

Very rarely. When I do, I mostly read autobiographies.

I try to read one non-fiction every month.

Very rarely, and only for prompts. My last read was "Idiot" by Laura Clery for the prompt Written by a comedian

I have always enjoyed non-fiction, but as I get "older" (38) I find myself picking up more and more. I really enjoy learning new things and getting to understand someone's life experience that I will never get the opportunity to have or experience.
I just finished Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly and really enjoyed it.

I really do enjoy a good non-fiction...these are some of the non-fiction I have read:
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Educated by Tara Westover
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip
Spare by Prince Harry

Nonfiction can be very hit and miss with me. If its highly recommended I will grab it almost immediately however my main tbr list is always too full..... with that said I have read 2 fairly recently (this year) The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson and also Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals. Two totally different nonfiction... and I have to say the The Devil in the White City was so out there I had to verify more than once it wasn't fiction. Wow!

I like to mix it up with some non-fiction after a few fiction reads. Sometimes I pause on the non-fiction book to get a fiction fix in the middle :) Educated by Tara Westover was a recent non-fiction read for me, and I'm really looking forward to reading I'll Be Gone in the Dark (about the Golden State Killer).

I try to read at least one non-fiction book every month, although sometimes that is work-related, sometimes it is a book of poetry. I finished the 1,600-page collected Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Library of America) in August and have started Heather Cox Richardson's How the South Won the Civil War.

I try to mix it up and read interesting non-fiction. Having finished the 2023 Challenge I am trying to do as many of the prompts with non-fiction book interspersed with other books. I have read about 22 since June.

I read 20-25% non-fiction. Recently I really enjoyed The Sewing Girl's Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America and Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons.

I try to read at least one nonfiction book per month--I read a wide variety of books. The last one I read isn't my normal fare, but after watching a mini series length show about the Bill Gothard cult with interviews of at least one Duggar, I read Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear and gave it 3 stars (my most common rating.)

My intention is to read one non-fiction book a month but I have never even come close to that. I usually read three to four a year and most of those are related to the work I do. My most recent reading has been The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. Seeing many interesting titles in this post which are inspiring and may motivate me to get closer to my goal.

I didn't really used to, but recently I have found myself often reading it. I've really found it depends on the topic. I am currently reading Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation & I recently read The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History.

I like to use nonfiction to break up fiction reads. I’m all over the map when it comes to nonfiction reads. From autobiographies/biographies to microhistories I’m fascinated to learn about various topics.
The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson was one of my favorite nonfictions and I love all I’ve read by Daniel James Brown.
I also really like to listen to nonfiction as audiobooks because it is almost like a podcast.
Currently reading Lands of Lost Borders: a journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris that I’m enjoying. Going to use it for prompt 26: book with epilogue

I have read Kampen om rymden by Björn Lundberg for the prompt #52 Published in 2023. I also read it for a summer library challenge for the same prompt.