#NonfictionNovember Wrapup Post

Although this readathon doesn't officially end until the 30th, I know that I will not be reading any nonfiction before then so I am completing my wrap up now.

I was pretty satisfied reading 3 nonfiction books this month.

The Secret by Rhonda Bryne. There is nothing new in this book but I still enjoyed refreshing myself on the concepts behind the law of attraction. Probably would have packed more of a punch if it was not quite as repetitive. A solid 3 out of 5. I liked it.

Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, One Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. This was the History Book Club selection for November. I liked the way she blended her thoughts into what Ona could have been thinking or feeling etc but since it was nonfiction, I wish there was just a bit more to the story. It is really hard to write a book such as this one since there is so very little written documentation. It just wasn't enough to write an entire book around we thought. I gave this one a solid 3 out 5. I liked it.

 Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. I am a big fan of several of her shows so I was excited to read this one this month. I thought that it was interesting. I enjoyed her stories but didn't quite buy that she was so uncomfortable with all the attention she gained since she appeared to be such a diva. I thought that she had some really good takeaways...nothing new but a good reminder of things we should already know and practice. 3 out of 5. I liked it.

Right now...

Right now I am reading In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis.

Right now I am watching Blacklist on Netflix.

Right now I am packing to move back to my BFFs house for a couple of weeks.

Right now I am hoping that the tree will be removed from our house within a couple of weeks. Yay!

Right now I am amazed that I have read so much this month so far.

Right now I am sad that Dancing with the Stars is over.

Nonfiction November Week 4: Nonfiction that Reads Like Fiction

Nonfiction November theme for this week is nonfiction that reads like fiction. You can see what others chose over at What's Nonfiction?

Week 4: (Nov. 19 to 23) – Reads Like Fiction (Rennie @ What’s Nonfiction): Nonfiction books often get praised for how they stack up to fiction. Does it matter to you whether nonfiction reads like a novel? If it does, what gives it that fiction-like feeling? Does it depend on the topic, the writing, the use of certain literary elements and techniques? What are your favorite nonfiction recommendations that read like fiction? And if your nonfiction picks could never be mistaken for novels, what do you love about the differences?

This was an interesting prompt. I love a well written nonfiction book that feels like fiction. This can be a tricky thing for authors to pull off though. I want it to be very fact based without a lot of assumptions from the author. A book that fits this prompt is one that I read just this month.

Our history book club pick, Never Caught: The Washington's Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, read very much like fiction. The author did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. This was a difficult thing to do as so little was recorded about Ona.

Drawing from newspaper ads, interviews and customs of the time, Dunbar did a really good job of fleshing out Ona's world. This isn't a story that I had ever heard before. After reading this, my thoughts on the Washington's have definitely changed.

Tome Topple Round 7 Announcement

Tome Topple's rules are simple. Read books with more than 500 pages. There are challenges but they are optional. I have several books on my TBR that I have been wanting to get to that are over 500 pages so this is the perfect time to read them. 

I hope that I can find a nonfiction book to read as well so that I can double up and have it count towards #nonfictionNovember. Posted to my Twitter asking for ideas and received such good suggestions.

Optional Challenges to Help You Pick Your Tomes:

1. Read more than one tome.
2. Read a graphic novel (still over 500 pages!)
3. Read a tome that is part of a series.
4. Buddy read a tome (check the Goodreads group to find a buddy).
5. Read an adult tome (not YA or middle grade).

My current list of possibilities:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Monsters of Men (Walking Chaos Book #3) by Patrick Ness
The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty by G.J. Meyer
The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk novel by Dean Koontz
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

My Goals:

I would like to finish 3 tomes.
I would like to do 3 challenges.
I would like to read one nonfiction.

Hosts:

Sam: Twitter and Youtube
Caz: Twitter and Youtube
Sarah-Jane: Twitter and Youtube
Adriana: Twitter and Youtube 
Siân: Twitter and Youtube
Sam: Will Read for Booze and Twitter

Let me know. Are you participating? Leave me your link so that I can see your TBR and cheer you on!

When Love is Enough...for Now

I posted this to my Facebook page last night. I feel like someone that reads my blog needs to hear this too. Perhaps you are going through something terrible and this will give you hope...even if it's just a glimmer of hope, it will be worth it for me to post and share. 

Love fiercely. And let people love you.

........

I reached out to my prayer warriors today for prayer because I just flat out need a miracle or three or ten. I won't call her out by name in case she doesn't want me to but one of my warriors said that of course she would pray extra for us and then a few minutes later she sent me this. I needed to hear from God and today He spoke through her...

Hebrews 11:8 NIV
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

I responded with tears in my eyes because I said I needed to hear from Jesus and I did. I know that He has us. I see a light at the end of the tunnel but am unsure if it's the sun or the lights of a freight train. But seeing that verse, I know that we are going to be fine. Actually, I always knew that we were going to be fine but now I FEEL like we are. I don't know how that is going to happen...hence the needed miracle...but I know it.

To every single person who has showed us the slightest bit of kindness, you have NO IDEA what it means to me. Checking in on us, asking if we are ok, trying to make me laugh, bringing meals, offering a place to stay, taking us in (Jennifer, Cathy, Nikki and Chris!), helping me run errands (Amanda!), sending cards and cash, setting up a gofundme page (Amber!) sharing the gofundme page, or giving to the gofundme page, every single thing means the absolute world. Life as gotten back to normal for most of you but for us, we are still without a house, separated from our dog, bouncing to different places, living out of Walmart bags.

I haven't been able to process what all Cole lost in his room. I have been trying to reconcile the facts that Christmas will be slim this year because there is a freaking tree in our house with Christmas will BE this year because we aren't underneath said tree. How amazing that the tree turned the other way. Why hit the house at all but it turned the other way! It didn't land in the very spot that all three of us were sitting.

I have said it so many times that in the midst of this mess, I have learned who my true friends are. I have learned just how much we are loved. And with tears in my eyes, I say the biggest thank you that I could possibly say. Friends have been posting a daily thank you for November. Well this one is mine for the entire month. If you have showed us the slightest, tiniest kindness THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.

And if you read this far, you are a super star and deserve a cookie. I didn't intend to write a War and Peace sized post but I certainly did.

Playing the Comparison Game

Recently I have been talking to friends in the book community about blogs. It seems on the one hand that they are all but dead. On the other hand, there are still ones that I follow that have a ton of interaction.

When I restarted my blog, I did so with no expectations. I post when I have something to say. I do not check stats. I do not notice my views. I am no longer upset when a post gets no interaction because I write and post for me. It's fun. And I will do it as long as it is fun. When it stops being fun, I will stop posting again.

Sometimes it doesn't matter if anyone else gets it...just that you do. I write and post because I want to. Not to impress anyone and get anything but just because I enjoy it.

Do I sometimes wish that I had a ton of followers who commented on my posts? Of course. But being in this bookish community is what it's all about. Just being a part of something bigger than me. Something that I enjoy so much. The bookish community is amazing and I am glad that I am a tiny part of it.

Top Ten Tuesday - Backlist Books I Want to Read

Today's theme for Top Ten Tuesday is backlist books I would like to read. It seems that ever since I started my blog, I have read more books from debut authors or books that are brand new. I have almost completely stopped reading older books. It used to be that I found an author I enjoyed and read everything they had out. 

I deleted almost all of my TBR list on Goodreads but there are some that I know I'd like to read.

This one has been on list for quite a while. I hear nothing but good things about it. Why have I not gotten to it yet?!

This one has been on the list for a while too but what makes this one even worse? I own a copy and still haven't read it.

I absolutely adore the magical realism in Addison Allen's books. I read several when I first found her but stopped when I started getting ARCs that needed my attention. She is high on my list of authors to get back to reading.

This one sounds good. I have picked it up a couple of times but never actually started reading it.

I need to find a copy of this because I really want to read it!

I broke a personal rule to never watch a tv show/movie without reading the book first. That's why this one hasn't been read. I already know the story. I think I will love the book even more than the show but some other shiny new book always pulls my attention away from this one.

I really enjoyed the first one in this duology. Sort of back on a dystopian kick so this one is being read soon...finally!

Jesse the Reader talks about this one so when I saw a copy on the library book sale shelf, I had to grab it. Owning it is another reason to read it soon!

Another one that Jesse mentioned. I never picked this one up because I loathe the cover but he made it sound so interesting. Want to get to this one soon.

A couple of my favorite booktubers have mentioned this one. Sounds like something I would definitely enjoy!

Nonfiction November Week 2: Pair Ups

Week 2 of Nonfiction November! This week's theme is pair ups. 

Week 2: (Nov. 5 to 9) – Fiction / Nonfiction Book Pairing (Sarah’s Book Shelves): This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story.

One of my favorite things to read about is World War II so I am going to suggest Sons and Soldiers again.  It would pair so well with one of my favorite books of all time - All the Light We Cannot See.  

Reading about this subject isn't always easy but I think that it is important to learn from the past. Both of these books are well written and engaging. 

If you're participating in Nonfiction November, share your link below. I would love to see what you are reading!

October Wrap Up

After the terrible hurricane ruined our house and our month, I was pleasantly surprised at how many books I completed. I am unable to focus on reading when I am stressed and overwhelmed so to read 9 seems really good!

 

 Was very excited to read this one and it didn't disappoint. Solid 4 out of 5.

I have read several by her now and they are all ok. This one was her first book (I think?) and it showed. Needs a good editor. A few nuggets of awesomeness in the midst of a lot of blah. Rounded to 3 out of 5 for Goodreads.

 This was for a buddy read with one of my favorite booktubers. Cute story and perfect for October! 4 out of 5.

 Reread this one with friends and knew that I was not going to like it as much this time around. 3 out of 5 because I still enjoyed the story even with all the problems I now have with it.

 Godsgrave was my most favorite read of the month. My pretend author boyfriend knocked another one out of the park. 5 out of 5.

 This was the Light Fiction Book Club pick of the month. I ended up rating it higher because the last paragraph is writing perfection. Cute story and I love his techy characters.

 Finally read this one after hearing about it everywhere. I have no idea what to think of this one because it's just strange and hard to describe. 3 out of 5.

The hurricane messed up our book club meeting for this one so we had a meeting last night. I wasn't wowed but I didn't hate it. The ending annoyed me though. 3 out of 5.

The third one in this series and I continue to enjoy them. 4 out of 5 and a great ending to my reading month.

What did you read this month?