Nonfiction November- Week 1

Fine, fine, it's not November quite yet, but this week kicks off the festivities hosted by lots of awesome bloggers, the first being my friend Julie! There are prompts for the week, so instead of getting too creative I'm just going to use them to get started. 

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?

I just checked my Goodreads account and I've read 22 so far this year, of 61 (I've listened to a few, too, but I have this thing about counting audiobooks as books read... I just don't. But that's me). This is pretty high, compared to most years, where it's probably more of a once-a month sort of thing. It's so hard to choose a favorite, since the topics are pretty diverse. Some ones that stood out were Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey, Can We All Be Feminists edited by June Eric-Udorie, I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell, and Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat (yes, a cookbook, but I read it cover-to-cover). 

Do you have a particulate topic you've been attracted to more this year? 

I liked parenting books that promote challenging your kids (useful for my five-year-old and my high-school students), progressive causes (race, gender, etc...), and running (I am the slowest runner on ever, but I love stories about athletes. I'm also a huge sucker for anything food or restaurant-related. 

What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? 

I have recommended Born to Run by Christopher McDougall a million times, as well as Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor. I love David Sedaris, too. 

What is one type/topic you haven't read enough of yet? 

I don't think I could ever get enough or running or food/restaurant books, but I'd like to read more science-driven texts, too. I started off at UCLA as a premed student and worked for four years for a vascular surgeon, so biology and health are of huge interest to me. 

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? 

First and foremost I hope it helps motivate me to blog a little more than I have been. I have so many ideas for posts, but not enough time. I'm such a completionist, though, that if I say I'm going to stick to this I will. And I'm hoping just getting back into the habit of posting more will catalyze even more writing. I'm also really excited to read posts from others and discover new authors.