Nonfiction November discussion

Olive, I hope it's okay if I start this. I know that it's still a month away, but since you announced the prompts I figured this could be a place where we discuss our potential NFN TBRs.

So thoughts, anyone?

Are you all planning early, going to play it by ear, wing it, or just wait until November to get started?

This year I decided to plan early. And now given the prompts I really want to plan ahead. My idea is to have 3 books for each of the prompts since I'm a mood reader.

I am struggling with the prompt for 'Fraud'. I came up with one book, but am looking for more so any suggestions or ideas would be grateful.

Look forward to seeing what you all have planned.

Ron wrote: "Olive, I hope it's okay if I start this. I know that it's still a month away, but since you announced the prompts I figured this could be a place where we discuss our potential NFN TBRs.

So though..."

May I recommend The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery for "fraud"? Really well written and researched, casts light on one of the favourite "mysteries" of the 20th century. it is also very sad, but at the same time finally gives true historical identity to two different women who many had presented as one.

I read ‘The Resurrection of the Romanovs’ a while back. Excellent book.

I'm a mood reader too yet every time I commit to a reading challenge, I plan everything out with awesome ideas about books and then just read whatever. I found fraud to be a difficult one too, here's some thoughts to help you generate ideas. Think of fraud in terms of deceit or trickery and you could add a book about acting, makeup, costumes, movies, theatre (the booktube prize long-list had one on method acting this year), magic, poker, card games, paranormal hoaxes/psychics or fortune tellers (victorian era spiritualism), cults, or mental manipulation even when it's for a positive intent like self help, you're trying to trick your brain into feeling better or truck others into thinking you're more confident etc. (NLP, speed reading). Or you could go very broad and consider criminals or crime as fraud (breaks trust, confidence in the social contract).

Dustyloup, thanks for those ideas. I've been really into Hollywood and pop culture lately so I could totally find stuff about what you said when it comes to acting, makeup, costumes, movies, theatre

I think I'll go that route then. Thank you.

Yes, I was also thinking about a person lying about who they were. Hiding there true self to family or friends.

Dustyloup,

Thanks for your actor suggestion. I was able to add one for 'Fraud' then which I think will be perfect:

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

I plan to read Rogues:True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels & Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe for Fraud. For Web I want to read Entangled Life:How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake.

Sherri wrote: "I plan to read Rogues:True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels & Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe for Fraud. For Web I want to read Entangled Life:How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape..."

That's an excellent idea for web, Sherri. Hope you don't mind if I copy you.

I’ve got three complete TBRs with a book for each prompt in each. I’d originally planned an A- and a B-list, in case I could read more than the first four books, but now I’ve got 12 books and don’t want to give up any. This November may begin early and go on into the new year! Anyway, for FRAUD, I’ve got Rachel Maddow’s Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth. I think the reasons there should be obvious. Next is They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by Milton Mayer about the denial through government propaganda and the citizens’ willing belief regarding the loss of democracy during that time. And The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from my Life by John Le Carre, a memoir about his years in British Intelligence. That last would also qualify as a Dr.No-vember Cold War period book, if you’re participating in that reading challenge.

I'm still figuring out what I'm going to read for Fraud and Web.

For Capital I'm planning on reading The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt because it seemingly takes place in Washington D.C.

For Display it may be a bit of a stretch but I'm planning on reading Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad

both have been on my TBR for awhile and I'm looking forward to reading them.

Found another way to interpret DISPLAY.

I’m going to read Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain as this books offers his commentary and investigations into the food industry. Thereby putting secrets on full “display”.

I think this prompt will definitely work for any investigative journalism/writing.

Yae, my TBR is all set. I'm a mood reader so I placed 3 books in each prompt this way I can have a variety to choose from. While I may not get to all of them, I do want to at least get through 4 so I can have one done for each prompt.

It's also Native American Heritage Month in November, so I wanted to incorporate some Indigenous-themed books within my TBR. Thankfully I was able to make some work.

I'm placing these in order from my most anticipated to least within each category and my reasoning behind it.

*****

Fraud:

- Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears (went with the concept of acting because acting can be seen as a form of deception/fraud and with this book and in the blurb it says, "don't be fooled".)

- Fads, Fakes, and Frauds: Exploding Myths in Culture, Science and Psychology (this one seems obvious because it has the word 'fraud' in the title.)

- Playing Indian (this one talks about people dressing up as Native Americans even when they're not and for their own agendas)

*****

Web:

- Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception (social media is a network/web of all sorts of situations)

- #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice (hashtags are used on the web via social media sites and there are webs of organizations ranging from race and other social issues)

- The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos (the 'web' of life)

*****

Capital:

- Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World (the word 'capitalism' has the word 'capital' within it)

-Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor (Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii)

-Terror on the Santa Fe Trail: Kit Carson and the Jicarilla Apache (Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico)

*****

Display:

- Hollywood's Native Americans: Stories of Identity and Resistance (Indigenous people are often seen as being put on 'display'/Indigenous actors who rightfully 'display' their work)

- Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show (shows where Indigenous people were put on 'display')

- Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941–1960 (the portrayal/'display' of Indigenous people from the 1940s)

I have found one for display, streching a bit, but still ...

The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris-putting the fashion industry on full display. I am only into chapter 2, so I will hold off until November.

Suggestion: The World Beneath Their Feet: Mountaineering, Madness, and the Deadly Race to Summit the Himalayas for Web-I think it fits for the "web" of countries and people involved. A five star read for me, and if you are here, you love non-fiction and this one is well worth the read.

For Fraud, my immediate thoughts were Flash Crash (Liam Vaughan) and Silk Road (Eileen Ormsby) which were both great reads!

I've tried to build my TBR completely from what's already in my shelves and gathering them all together to choose has sparked a renewed interest in books I've had for couple of years but not yet got to - so already a win!

I'm sure hearing other people's plans and reviews may add to this mix but for now:

Fraud

Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons Revealing the hidden human rights violations suffered by inmates in women's prisons in the US

(M)otherhood: On the choices of being a woman Examining the 'fraud' of the societal expectation that every woman should be a mother

Web

New Yorkers: A City and Its People in Our Time
"New Yorkers weaves the voices of some of the city's best talkers into an indelible portrait of New York in our time" - a 'web' of voices if you will

Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey I'm taking the network of islands in the Hebrides to be a web

Capital

I'm already partway through both of my choices for this prompt

Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa I'm looking at this as both the Truth & Reconciliation Commission being based in Cape Town, the legislative capital, and also the testimony given as the 'capital' gathered by the commission

The Pillow Book Written by Sei Shonagon, a Court gentlewoman in what is now Kyoto, capital of Japan from 794 to 1868 (Kyoto translates literally as 'capital city')

Display

The Curse of Nemur: In Search of the Art, Myth and Ritual of the Ishir Insight into the narrative myths of the Paraguayan Ishir, reexamining Western perspectives on the interpretation of art (including body painting and feather decoration), belief (including dream songs, shamanism and ritual) and Native American culture.

Anatomy of Comics. Famous Originals of Narrative Art International history of the art of comics - an alternative way to 'display' story

Misc.

If I have time I'd also love to get to:

From The Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey

In Cold Blood

Gillian, you have some interesting choices there. I especially love that (M)otherhood book you mentioned. As someone who doesn't have kids, let alone someone who doesn't want them I liked your explanation.

I'm always looking for books on this particular subject which makes me want to add some of my own books like that for that prompt.

Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother

Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood

The books I am thinking of reading aren't really fitting into the prompts. They are: Forty Days by Bob Simon, The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance by Dan Egan, Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak, Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter
Back up options: Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land

I might be able to get Girl Sleuth under Fraud?

Theresa, why not do "threads of life" under web, because a web is made of threads. or even travels with Charley if you think of the national roads as an interconnected network/web. for capital, I'd use 'Maid" because of Capital.ism.

other thoughts... Did you spot any of these in a bookstore display? and yeah girl sleuth makes sense under fraud (fiction as a kind of deceit or the aspect of uncovering crimes)

Dustyloup wrote: "Theresa, why not do "threads of life" under web, because a web is made of threads. or even travels with Charley if you think of the national roads as an interconnected network/web. for capital, I'd..."

Thank you for the idea's. No, I did not see any on display. Most are one's I own that were sent to me. I guess I could of seen them on display on the giveaway page. 😁 Girl Sleuth and Threads are from the library.

Theresa wrote: Thank you for the idea's. No, I did not see any on display. Most are one's I own that were sent to me. I guess I could of seen them on display on the giveaway page. 😁 Girl Sleuth and Threads are from the library.

You could go an easy route as well. Since you own them you could say that you have your books "on display" wherever it is you have your books placed.

*****

I found a couple of other books that I'll be adding to my list.

Capital:


You Are What You Watch

- This book isn't released until October 24th. Can't remember how I discovered it, but that's not the matter. It fits under 'Capital' because the main title is written in capital letters.

Web:


A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South

- I think this would work under web because it's the 'web' of a power struggle and the 'web' of war, because as we all know war has many facets to it, factions/sides weaving in and out as battles rage on.

I am a total mood reader. I've tried tbr's before and I never stick with them. That being said, I do not have any plans for a Nonfiction November tbr, we'll just see what I get to and if they fit any of the prompts for this year.

Ron wrote: "Theresa wrote: Thank you for the idea's. No, I did not see any on display. Most are one's I own that were sent to me. I guess I could of seen them on display on the giveaway page. 😁 Girl Sleuth and..."

Thank you Ron, I will take that route because I really want to read from the books I listed above. I will enjoy them even if I can't fill the prompts, but it is also fun to try.😊

That's cool, Theresa. Good luck and just have fun with it.

*****

Since I don't own a lot of books that will fit the prompts, I love doing them so I ended up buying quite a bit.

3 of them came right now and I should be getting 3 more arrivals later today.

These are the 6 that came:

#HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception

Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show

Fads, Fakes, and Frauds: Exploding Myths in Culture, Science and Psychology

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World

Gillian wrote: "I've tried to build my TBR completely from what's already in my shelves and gathering them all together to choose has sparked a renewed interest in books I've had for couple of years but not yet go..."

I read The Pillow Book years ago and loved it. Perhaps it is time for me to pick it up again.

I planned one book for each prompt, plus three bonus books just because; one is a library book and I am first in line when it is available.

Fraud - Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks
Web - Overliked: Finding Direction, Courage, and Meaningful Relationships in a Society Crippled by Social Media
City - Kosovo: War and Peace by Tim Judah
Display - Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow

My three bonus books are Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided Wars, Archie and Amelie: Love and Madness in the Gilded Age, and Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.

There's some new releases I'm super exited about, but fitting some of them into prompts might be a challenge.

Making it So - Patrick Stewart (Display makes sense as he's an actor)

Great Uncle Harry - Michael Palin - also works for display, as Michael Palin was an actor, but also he's putting his great uncle's life on display?

Dominion: The railway and the Rise of Canada by Stephen Bown - will probably use this for Capital as it was business men in Ottawa who played a big part in the project)

Eve: How the Female Body drove 200 million years of Human Evolution - Cat Bohannon - not sure for this one

Where the Falcon Flies - Adam Shoalts - I'm assuming he uses the web of portage trails and such on this epic journey

And some older ones I've been wanting to get to lately:
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the search for the Source of the Nile - Candice Millard (Would probably work for fraud as it seems like there was a lot of lies involved)
Gold Digger's - Charlotte Grey (Maybe for Fraud as well as people were led to believe they would get rich and few did)

I've added two more books to my list that I'll have to add to my log:

Capital:

You Are What You Watch - This one because the main part of the title is in big 'capital' letters.

Display:

The Woman in Me- Because Britney Spears' life has been on public 'display' since she was a little girl, especially because of the conservatorship that her father had over her and all of the #freebritney or #istandwithBritney stuff that went down.

So because I'm a mood reader I added several books to each of the prompts (14 total). I have now narrowed it down to the top 4 I want to read, one book for each prompt so here is my official list.

Fraud:

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

Web:

Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception

Capital:

You Are What You Watch

Display:

Hollywood's Native Americans: Stories of Identity and Resistance

Usually to plan what I want to read, I'll look up the definitions of each word in the dictionary. I find that it helps me think of different ways to interpret the prompts and find books that I may not have thought fitted in the first place.

Then I'll go through my Goodreads lists and make lists of books that I want to read and have read that fit the prompts. I find having a list of ones I've read helps with any recommendations and may get me thinking of other similar books on my TBR that might fit.

For Fraud, I'm thinking Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee—The Dark History of the Food Cheats, I think that sounds fun!

For Web I'm thinking Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

For Capital, I'm thinking No Free Parking: The Curious History of London's Monopoly Streets, though I will also be reading Went to London, Took the Dog: A Diary next month which will also suit.

For Display, I'm thinking Shop Girl by Mary Portas, as she started her retail career as a window display dresser.

That said, I'm a bit of a mood reader, hence why I make the lists of books that fit the prompts, I may chop and change depending on how I'm feeling! And also if I see other people's recommendations for books I haven't heard of before.

I've added another to my list. This will either be for the Capital prompt or just for Native American Heritage Month in general.

A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South

The 'Capital' prompt is turning out to be easy. While I want to do it based on other forms, the easiest and the books I somehow end up coming across are ones with 'capital' letters.

Someone told me about this book. The entire title is in capital letters on the cover:

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

Ron wrote: "The 'Capital' prompt is turning out to be easy. While I want to do it based on other forms, the easiest and the books I somehow end up coming across are ones with 'capital' letters.

Someone told m..."

I have that book but haven't read it yet.

My current list:

Fraud: Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

Web: Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet

Capital (a bit of a stretch): The World: A Brief Introduction

Design: Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park
no better design than THE design!

With NFN just one week and a few days left to go, my TBR is now officially set. I won't be adding any to my list. I'm a mood reader so I chose a lot for the themes. I'm hoping to at least read 5 or 6 for the month.

Sharing them in the order I want to read them in.

*****

Most Anticipated:

1.) Hollywood's Native Americans: Stories of Identity and Resistance (Display)

2.) You Are What You Watch (Capital)

3.) Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception (Web)

4.) The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (Capital)

5.) The Snyderverse Saga: The Culture-Shattering Phenomena Behind Zack Snyder’s DC Film Universe (Capital)

6.) #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice (Web)

******

Here are the rest that are randomly on my tbr for the prompt:

7.) Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears (Fraud)

8.) The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos (Web)

9.)Fads, Fakes, and Frauds: Exploding Myths in Culture, Science and Psychology (Fraud)

10.) Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World (Capital)

11.) Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941–1960 (Display)

12.) Playing Indian (Fraud)

13.) Terror on the Santa Fe Trail: Kit Carson and the Jicarilla Apache (Capital)

14.) Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show (Display)

I am looking at my physical bookshelf. This book might work for Fraud.

Corrections in Ink: A Memoir

Quite a few mood readers here, so I will have great company. So here are potential options, cause who really needs to stick to a good plan:

Fraud:
: plan was to be Steve Jobs, unfortunately medical technology did not co-operate

: supposed to be mix of non-fiction and fiction I have heard



: who needs to know the truth about an Ivy League school, let's keep this tight to our chest


Web







Capital









Display
: figured a celebrity and their life is always on display

: women are often on display in society but often lose their identity, so this is a way at how we look at victims of crime

Tawallah wrote: "Quite a few mood readers here, so I will have great company. So here are potential options, cause who really needs to stick to a good plan:

Fraud:
[bookcover:Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Sili..."

I just read The Five this year and really enjoyed it.

Tawallah wrote: "Quite a few mood readers here, so I will have great company. So here are potential options, cause who really needs to stick to a good plan

I can recommend Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty 5 stars and a top ten read for me the year I read it.

I I have finally set a tentative TBR for NFN. This is my fifth year participating and I am always interested to read nonfiction.

(works for all four prompts)

(fraud and web)

(capital and display)

(display)

(display)

(display)

(fraud, web)

Tawallah wrote: "Quite a few mood readers here, so I will have great company. So here are potential options, cause who really needs to stick to a good plan:

Fraud:
[bookcover:Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Sili..."

I have also read The Five. Excellent book! You could use this for fraud as well, because history have always depicted these women as prostitutes, and only only of them made their living this way.

Would "Going Infinite" by Michael Lewis count on the Fraud prompt?

Ron wrote: "Olive, I hope it's okay if I start this. I know that it's still a month away, but since you announced the prompts I figured this could be a place where we discuss our potential NFN TBRs.

So though..."

I thought I would mention Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI would work for fraud & capital. It's a hot book right now but it's good.
For capital I'm using Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive.

Display:
Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Web:
Angel Maker
Capital:
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Fraud:
Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money

Display
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

Or
The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies

Web of Lies
Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir

Or
Web - Medical Mystery

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

Capital
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America

Fraud
The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust

I really enjoyed: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
And: A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them

I have four books on my non-fiction November wish list. Wish me luck on following it!

Web: The tangled web of language.



Display: It is a beautiful cover. Display your feelings towards a loved one.



Capital (Records) This title has been on my radar for years. It is about time to read it,

I've narrowed down my choices. I won't get to all of these, but they're what I'll be choosing from.

Fraud
Table Rappers: The Victorians and the Occult
Fraudulent mediums

Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger
Art forgery

Web
Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World
Fabric is a web of threads

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

Capital
Necropolis: London and Its Dead

Romaine Wasn't Built in a Day: The Delightful History of Food Language
This one is sort of a stretch. The title is a pun on Rome, which was once the capital of the Roman Empire.

Display
The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes
She made a scrapbook to display scraps of fabric from the clothing of herself, family, and friends.

This Party's Dead: Grief, Joy and Spilled Rum at the World’s Death Festivals
Festivals are a sort of display.

The only one I know for sure that I am reading is

The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific - I need to read it to know which way I can stretch it-Fraud or Capital

Other Possibilities:

Web
Deadly Triangle: The Famous Architect, His Wife, Their Chauffeur, and Murder Most Foul

Capital ($)
When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm

Fraud: (being dishonest?)
The Death of Truth by Michiko Kakutani
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

Web: ("Oh, what a wicked web we weave...")
Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Capital: cities of Toronto and Puducherry (previously known as Pondicherry)
The Elephants in My Backyard by Rajiv Surendra

Display: display of wealth and business acumen. Also, the Eaton and Simpson stores in downtown Toronto had beautiful Christmas displays.
The Eatons by Rod McQueen