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I love this topic and nonfiction in general.
No matter which corners of this genre you might like, there are books waiting there to be discovered.
My nonfiction preferences usually gravitate towards biographies or autobiographies, zoology, medical topics, food, history, and prehistory, but I will jump around to many other subjects, too, if the blurb sounds interesting.
Here are some nonfiction books I’ve recently finished and enjoyed:
Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid
What I Thought of It: Ms. Durrani is a good storyteller. I appreciated how detailed her descriptions were of life in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the many ways she has worked to make it better for the women and girls living there. Some of the most interesting scenes to me were the ones that described the tension between her and her parents. They love her and completely support the education of girls and women, but they also had some legitimate reasons to be very concerned about how vocal she was about the oppression in her country given how violent the Taliban is. She could have so easily ended up being murdered like Medgar Evers was.
What I Thought of It: I wish it were longer and included more details about why we have the dreams that we do. It was thought-provoking, though.
Now onto some nonfiction books I’m either currently reading or plan to start reading soon. If any of you have read any of these, I’d sure like to hear what you thought of them:
Mean Little Deaf Queer: A Memoir by Terry Galloway
What It’s About: The author’s life growing up as a deaf member of the LGBTQ+ community. The first chapter has been wonderfully funny so far, so I’m hoping the rest will be just as memorable.
You’ll Do: A History of Marrying for Reasons Other Than Love by Marcia A. Zug
What It’s About: Like the title said, this is about the history of people getting married for reasons other than them falling in love with each other. I believe it will cover arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, and similar topics, but I have not yet had the chance to crack it open.
The Secret History of Bigfoot by John O’Connor
What It’s About: While Bigfoot is mentioned in this book, of course, I believe it’s mostly meant to be a study of the different sorts of people who are so interested in this topic they will do things like attend cryptozoology conferences or go out into the woods and try to find evidence that Bigfoot is real.
That’s quite an eclectic array of non-fic subjects! They all sound really interesting. Particularly Dreams: Brief Books about Big Ideas. I’ve always been fascinated by why we dream what we dream.
Thank you. I love bouncing around between topics.
And, yeah, dreams are a fascinating subject.
Considering that ‘marrying for love’ is a new phenomenon, that book should be interesting. (Also, considering how many ‘marrying for love’ marriages dissolve because feelings are fickle, I have my doubts that it’s a superior approach..) I saw that book about women’s education yesterday and am debating picking it up for the library: the Malala book had a lot of readers, but it helped that she was a teenager. My response is here.
That’s a good point!
Did you read Malala’s book? I liked it.
Almost ten years ago now, back in 2015!
Cool.
Lots of interesting ones on your list today! Love The Secret History of Bigfoot though.
My post
Thanks. 🙂
One writer I follow does conceptual fiction that includes sasquatch as characters. She often links to David Paulides and other “unsolved mystery” sites, some of which discuss Bigfoot stories. So I’ve heard enough about Bigfoot watchers to be interested in the O’Connor book.
Oh, interesting! I’d like to look her up if you don’t mind sharing her name.
I had only heard of Mean Little Deaf Queer (which I had forgotten, so thanks for the reminder!) but this is a great selection of varied non-fiction! I hope you enjoy the ones you haven’t read yet!
Thank you. I hope you like Mean Little Deaf Queer. It’s pretty good so far.
As others note, a great lineup of books. I’m especially interested in the Medgar and Myrlie book. I’ve known his story from living in Jackson Mississippi at one point in my life, and will be interested to learn more.
Thank you, Greta. I hope you like it!