And we’re off! The prompt this first week concentrates on our last year of nonfiction reading. In 2018 23% of the books I’ve finished are nonfiction. I have an unofficial goal of one third nonfiction so I’m a bit behind, but that’s what this readathon is for! Without any further ado let’s jump into the questions:
What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?
It’s a hard choice, but I’ll have to go with Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser. The history of nuclear weapons, already harrowing, is interleaved with a narrative retelling of a Titan II missile accident. The storytelling and pacing are right on and I was riveted throughout the 20 hour audiobook. With all the nuclear accidents and near misses the world should be blown up several times over by now!
Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?
I did a bit of a Serial Killer Summer™ so I read a bunch of nonfiction in that vein, including Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI by Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shachtman, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara, and Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin.
What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?
That has to be Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine by Michele Lent Hirsch. It’s intersectional as all get out and touches on many topical issues but boils down to navigating the world as a person of color, lgbtqia+ folx, someone with a chronic or invisible illness, and combinations thereof. The book is own voices for lgbtqia+ and chronic/invisible illness and all the more impactful for it.
What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
This is my second year so I know how much fun is waiting for me this time! I’m looking forward to talking and becoming friends with all sorts of people while reading all.the.nonfiction! I’m also thrilled to be participating via my channel on YouTube for the first time.
Here’s to an amazing November!
Always Doing 
Haha! I love the idea of Serial Killer Summer! True Crime is one of my favorite genres and I haven’t read Whoever Fights Monsters…adding that to the list.
Have you ever read The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule? Ted Bundy book…terrifying.
No, not yet – adding it to my list, thank you! 🙂
these are all hot topics! Here is my post: https://wordsandpeace.com/2018/10/29/nonfiction-november-my-year-2018-in-nonfiction/
It will be fun to participate with you again this year! 🙂
I’ve heard so many good words about I’ll Be Gone in the Dark – definitely need to check that book out; I do enjoy true crime. I’m also intrigued by FBI serial killer book, so going to look into that also. Thanks for the recs there! Also happy to have found your YouTube channel; I’ve subscribed!
I hope you enjoy all your nonfiction November reads, and good luck with your unofficial goal for the year.
Thank you so much! It’s weird, I don’t consider myself a huge true crime person but this summer I went on that bender, hehe. Best of luck to you as well, and I look forward to chatting about books with you both here and on Youtube! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your favorite nonfiction reads. I hope you enjoy it as much this year as last year.
Thank you so much – I hope you have a great November, too!
I have Command and Control on my TBR. My boyfriend listened to the audiobook so I have heard some of the stories from it already, it is eye-opening! You might be interested to know there is also a documentary on Netflix (with the same name) based on it. So I seem to know a bit too much about it all already but I still want to read it.
I think you’ll enjoy it even with the advance knowledge! Some of the suspense may be gone, especially if you know the basics of the Damascus accident, but it’s so chock-a-block with stories there’s bound to be some new stuff in there for you. Best of luck with your own Nonfiction November!
Wow, 20 hours on audio! I haven’t done one that long in awhile. Serial Killer Summer made me laugh — I feel like I’ve read a few serial killer books this year too. Invisible also sounds amazing. Thanks for joining us this year!
I have to admit I sped the audiobook up a bit but still, it felt shorter than it actually was. Thanks for your wonderful work hosting – I can’t wait to get started in earnest!
I think I’m the only person who hasn’t read I’ll Be Gone in the Dark!
It’s been so popular, especially since a suspect for the killings was arrested not long after it was published. Don’t feel pressured to read it, though – I think it’ll hold up over time, and I know some people have passed on it because it was a bit too creepy for them. I did shiver a bit while I read, I have to admit!
Whattttt I cannot believe I’ve never heard of Whoever Fights Monsters! This is so up my alley. I wonder how different it is now that we know about DNA.
He talks about the whole history from the early days on, and without DNA they concentrate on psychological profiles and patterns. So glad I could introduce a book to you – have a great Nonfiction November! 🙂
I loved your Serial Killer Summer idea! I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was such a great one. Invisible sounds really interesting and important too!
It’s been a great year for creepy killers and death, that’s for sure! 😉
Haha so true! 😂
Serial Killer Summer is the best thing I’ve ever heard. I grew up with a mom who was VERY into true crime about serial killers. I knew way more about Ted Bundy growing up than I probably should’ve. lol
It was an interesting summer of reading! I think if my mom were into true crime I’d run out of the room whenever she started talking about serial killers, hehe. You were probably a lot more street smart than I was at that age, though!
Serial Killer Summer! I love it. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was so haunting, especially knowing how consumed the author was when she was writing it (and then never got to finish).
And she missed a suspect being arrested, too! All the bittersweet.
I’m adding two of your serial killer books to me list. I loved I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and want to try some similar books. So, thanks for that. (And, I agree with Sarah…The Stranger Beside me is great.)
All right, that seals it – The Stranger Beside Me is on my TBR! 🙂 If you’re interested in fiction along the same themes I recommend Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter. He flips serial killer tropes on their head and along with being a good yarn it really made me think.
Invisible sounds really interesting. I know a few people with invisible illnesses and I often think about what a struggle it must be to navigate that life when I’m complaining about some small, temporary ailment.
It’s an eyeopening read! I was surprised by the number of people that would deny the author’s illness, even when visible.
“Excuse me, could I have this seat? I just had hip surgery.”
“That can’t be, you’re so young!”
~author waves her crutch~
I just started watching your BookTube channel and somehow missed your blog. It’s so good to see you here too!
I agree with the suggestions of The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule. That might be the first true crime book I ever read, and it really stuck with me.
Huzzah for another blogger! I’m looking at your twitter and you’re a fountain pen buff, too?! And we both have purple Lamy Al-Stars! Don’t mind me, I’m going to follow you everywhere now. 🙂
So many people have recommended The Stranger Beside Me I have no choice but to read it. 😉 Here’s to a great Nonfic November!
I’ve been considering the audio version of Command and Control for months… it might be a book my husband and I would both appreciate on our next road trip.
I think that would be perfect. The suspenseful telling of the Damascus accident keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the interspersed history is interesting, as well. It is long at 20-plus hours, but the reader is on the slower side so I was able to speed it up to 2x or so. That was me quietly sitting at home, though, not driving! 😉
Invisible sound very interesting.
I don’t read much true crime (although finally read the classic, In Cold Blood, this year!) but do seem to listen to a lot of true crime on podcast – it seems to have really found a new audience in that medium.
We’re near opposites – while I listen to podcasts I stay away from ones about true crime! Everyone keeps telling me of great ones I should listen to, though… the genre has indeed taken off!
Wow, I haven’t read any of those books! I’d say I reach about 50% nonfiction usually, (not counting graphic novels), so I’m a bit behind this year, too. But it’s been a slow reading year in general for me.
Happy reading!
Holy cow 50%, good for you! I think it’s been a slow reading year for a lot of people – real life has been taking up more of our brains than in the past, me thinks. Best of luck leaving any worries behind and enjoying all the nonfiction this month!
I’ve really enjoyed hearing about all these books as you’ve read them! Here’s to an equally enjoyable Nonfiction November 🙂
And likewise for yours! It’s going to be quite a month. And if you’re still interested we can do that romance buddy read next month to celebrate/recover! 😉
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