June AuthorCAT: Nonfiction Authors

June AuthorCAT: Nonfiction Authors



June’s theme is nonfiction authors. This is pretty broad, but I’ll make some suggestions of authors I like and mention topics they commonly write about.

I’m trying to pick out authors who have written multiple books to mention here, but of course, feel free to choose a nonfiction book written by someone who has only written the one book.

Some Suggestions:
Malcolm Gladwell – essays, psychology, sociology
Mary Roach – science, humour
Alison Weir – history, Tudors
Bill Bryson – travel, humour
Erik Larson – history, true crime
Lawrence Anthony – animals
Ann Rule – true crime
Jon Krakauer – adventure
Jared Diamond – history, science, anthropology
Farley Mowat – nature, animals
Oliver Sacks – psychology, essays
Hampton Sides – history, war, adventure
Michael Pollan – environment, food
Peter Matthiessen – environment, animals
Temple Grandin – animals, autism
Jeff Guinn – true crime, history

Don’t forget to post to the wiki:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2022_AuthorCAT#June:_Non-Fiction_Authors...

For my bookclub I will be reading Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I'm also planning to read The Barbizon by Barbara Bren, a hotel for women in New York City, which I will be reading for CATWoman (for which I will be setting up the thread soon).

I haven't got a book lined up for this yet, but as I mostly read non-fiction I'll definitely be participating! I'll have to see what I pull out of the Jar of Fate.

My reading group's book for June is Marcus Agrippa: Right-Hand Man of Caesar Augustus by Lindsay Powell. I may read other non-fiction as well, depending on how other challenges work out.

I leaning towards Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva by Rosemary Sullivan, which has been on my shelf since 2015.

My book club is reading The Yellow House in June. I'll also be reading Bomb Shelter. These are both memoir. I always feel like that doesn't fully count for NF. I may add to this list as June draws closer.

I'm thinking of one of the following:
Southern Exposure: A Solo Sea Kayaking Journey around New Zealand's South Island
Keeping House: Women's Lives in Western Pennsylvania, 1790-1850
Glut: Mastering Information through the Ages
Virginians at Home: Family Life in the Eighteenth Century

I'm considering Last Witnesses by Svetlana Alexievich.

>9 pamelad: I've read a couple from this author, one I liked (Chernobyl) and one that was very repetitive and slow moving (The Last Soviets?). I'm interested to see what your take on this one is.

>3 Jackie_K: Yeah - that's why I haven't posted what I plan to read yet. I read a lot (though not "mostly") of nonfiction, so once I get planning for the other June challenges, I'll likely have stuff that will fit, anyway.

I have Imagined London lined up for June.

>12 cbl_tn: I really liked that one . . . hope you enjoy it.

I'm hoping to get to Agent Zigzagby Ben Macintyre.

>14 dudes22: I really like Macintyre's books!

>15 Tess_W: - I bought it for my husband as a gift a few years ago (I think after rabittprincess reviewed it) and then it moved to my pile where it has been since.

It's too early to commit, but I'm leaning toward Alison Weir. She's been on my radar for a long time.

I have a bunch of unread non-fiction on my shelves, but I'll likely end up counting whatever I get from the library for this challenge. That will depend on whatever holds come in first!

I already had The Light of Days on my June to read list, so that is my pick.

I might read Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff.

I bought another daily deal, despite planning to give them up: Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling.

I am planning on Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui.

>22 DeltaQueen50: Oh, I liked that one! Hope you do, too!

>23 LibraryCin: Thanks, Cindy.

I've decided to read So Many Miles to Paradise: From Clare to There by Christine Breen. This is a travel memoir about the 11-month trip Breen and her husband author Niall Williams, and their two children made around the world.

Ok, I have a few picked out for both RandomKIT and Reading Through Time that are nonfiction authors, so whatever I read for those will count here, too:
- Twinkie Deconstructed / Steve Ettlinger
- The Dorito Effect / Mark Schatzker
- They Called Us Enemy / George Takei
- The Wild Trees / Richard Preston

I will more than likely be finishing off The 1619 Project.

Many options
Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich
Alone: the classic Polar Adventure
The Rape of Nanking which would work for Women author about a city
Crescendo: The Story of a Musical Genius Who Forever Changed a Southern Town
Barrow's Boys
Stiff by Mary Roach
Cleopatra: a life
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

and many others. I am leaning toward The Rape of Nanking and/or Cleopatra.

>28 Kristelh: Kristel, you know I don't always like classics, but "Alone" was very good!

Of course, Mary Roach is always fun, too. :-)

If I can manage it, I'll be reading Radical Candor (by Kim Scott) - This is a business book about giving & receiving feedback. My job requires colleague feedback in yearly assessments and I'm hoping this will help me in providing constructive criticism as well as receiving it without being defensive.

I had a rummage in the Jar of Fate yesterday, and it has given me David Long's A History of London in 50 Lives for this challenge.

>30 Tanya-dogearedcopy: We have to go through Radical Candor training this year at work. I've already watched a 90 minute video and next we are doing an 8 hour virtual session. The first video was better than most workplace training because they used real actors like David Alan Grier.

Started in February, but just finished today, The 1619 Project. I know this is hailed as the "ultimate," "true" story of slavery and how U.S. society evolved from this concept. I'm not opposed to the general notion of the book at all, being a history professor. However, being a professor I challenge some of the information contained therein, especially by the principal editor and writer, Hannah Jones. Ms. Jones makes several inaccurate statements that she believes are facts--and they are not! The most egregious error is that she claims the first slaves were brought to America in 1619. That is just false. The Spanish brought slaves to the U.S. (Florida) as early as the 1520's. (True, probably not African slaves, but those enslaved from the West Indies.) This I already knew, but to play fair, I did a modicum of research and found that my recollections were true. Once finding an error such as this, it makes the remainder of her article and in fact, the remainder of the book suspect. I do not have the time nor the inclination to do any further research; a good editor should have caught this. I will admit that in 1619 the first slaves were brought to the English colonies, but they were not the first slaves! I also take issue with her idea that slavery was a THE impetus for the War for Independence.....an entirely different subject! Do I think that more African-American history should be taught in the US? Absolutely! Before I retired from teaching full-time I always taught history of POC meshed with my State's content standards. In fact, my weekly chapter summary activity for the students included a paragraph for writing about the status of POC and women during the time period we studied. Although not agreeing with several major points in this book, I did enjoy it and am glad I read it.

I have completed my read of Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui. I really enjoyed this look at both small-town Chinese restaurants and the Chinese emmigrant experience in Canada.

I'm not usually participating in this CAT but I'm reading two books that fit.
I hope to finish this month La maravillosa historia del español by Francisco Moreno Fernández which I have started month ago to help me in learning spanish. As the title say, it's a story of the Spanish language and it's rather easy to follow and quite interesting, though I was more interested in the earlier parts about the emergence from latin and the role of arab than about the later parts.

I'm also reading Numérique, compter avec les femmes by Anne-Marie Kermarrec which is a short essay about the small number in the computers field at large in France (and elsewhere), the causes and the possible solutions. I agree that there is an issue (though I'm not sure it's a good idea to separate computer-related fields from all the other fields in which the problem arises) but I'm not finding the book very engaging so far.

I've finished Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling and have started The Most Good You Can Do, a book about effective altruism by Peter Skinner

Big in China is by Alan Paul and the synopsis focuses on his music career, but the book is much more about family and friends.

I just finished a memoir, Born Both by Hida Viloria.

Mauve: how one man invented a colour that changed the world by Simon Garfield

This tremendously interesting book demonstrates Garfield's extensive research covering every aspect of William Perkin's scientific achievements. The colour introduction itself may not have changed the world, although it certainly made a big enough splash, but the procedure set in motion a world of change. Garfield's book is so well-written that it might well be called a page turner. Highly recommended.

My thanks to Helenliz and Jackie_K for the recommendation.

>39 VivienneR: - I read this a couple of years ago and found it very interesting too.

>40 dudes22: & >14 dudes22: Mauve was even better than I expected. Your plan to read Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre is a great choice. Macintyre's books are fantastic.

>41 VivienneR: - I gave it to my husband a few years ago after taking a BB from rabbitprincess and it's been on my TBR pile since then.

I've finished Fannie's Last Supper by Christopher Kimball which wasn't as good as I had hoped considering how long it's been on my TBR pile.

I just finished The Book of Ganesha by Royina Grewal for this challenge. It has been sitting on my bedside TBR since January.

The July thread is up! Asian Authors: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342339#n7861602

ETA Apologies, but the post header reads "2022 Category Challenge: June AuthorCAT: Asian Authors" and LT will not let me edit the title at this point :-/

>45 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I can edit it! Done :)

>46 rabbitprincess: Thank you, Rabbitprincess! :-)

Starting Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

COMPLETED Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

My review:

How Internet searches show what people are really thinking and what combinations of massive amounts of data can reveal.

Fascinating. Some of the results are counter-intuitive: violent crimes go down when violent films are being shown at cinemas at least in the short term (because those most likely to commit the crimes are in the cinema watching the films rather than out drinking?). Some are all too predictable. The number of women looking for information on self-induced abortions goes up as access to abortion is restricted.

I hope somebody is doing similar work in other countries, not just America.

I just finished reading The Barbizon: The Hotel that Set Women Free by Paulina Bren. It's a history of a 20th century hotel for women in New York City which catered to young single women. Many young women, particularly from the midwest who were not used to cities, came there to find jobs (and husbands). However, the focus of the book is on several programs such as the Katharine Gibbs secretarial school which housed its students there, young women who came hoping to be models or actresses, and particularly on the Mademoiselle guest editors (GE) program in which chosen young college women spent a month working as a guest editor under the supervision of a department head. Many names of famous women were mentioned in the book. However, the most attention is focused on some writers such as Joan Didion, Gael Greene, and particularly Sylvia Plath whose The Bell Jar is based on her experiences at the hotel. There is much repetition in the book, and no index.

I have finished Dark Rome. The author is a historian who has written quite a number of books about ancient Rome.

Alone Together: A Pandemic Photo Essay / Leah Hennel
5 stars

Leah Hennel is a Calgary photographer who was working for Alberta Health Services before the COVID-19 pandemic began. During the pandemic, she was there to take photos in the hospitals, at COVID testing sites, at vaccine clinics, and more. The photos in the book start with testing, progress through various groups and celebrations and how they handled distancing and lockdowns, continue in the ICUs and hospitals, and on to vaccine clinics.

Some of these photos are very powerful. There was a photo that made the rounds early in the pandemic here in the Calgary media and on social media, so it extended to Canada and likely beyond: a doctor is on his knees on the phone with his forehead in his hand as he tells a family their loved one has died. This book has many more photos and stories to go with them. Not all sad, though. There is a photo of a 90-something year old man with a party hat as he gets his first vaccine. There are photos of the therapy dogs coming to “visit” with hospital staff to try to relieve some of the stress. A powerful look at the pandemic. (I almost said “back” at the pandemic, but it is still happening.)

Finished Stiff by Mary Roach. I found this to be maybe a subject hard to read about but also this was pretty informative. I believe I learned quite a bit. It was a good book to read after reading The Art of Dying by Rob Moll.

They Called Us Enemy / George Takei
4 stars

“Star Trek” actor George Takei was only a little boy when Pearl Harbour was bombed. His family, living in Los Angeles, was soon rounded up to taken to a camp for Japanese “enemy aliens”, even if they were born in the U.S. (as his mother was). This graphic novel looks back at his time in the camps, and leads up to current day, with a primary focus on how the Japanese were treated at this time.

This was really good. The illustrations were simple, but I thought done very nicely. As such a young boy, along with his parents doing their best to protect him and his younger siblings, he often thought they were on an adventure. Sad how things start to repeat themselves; people just don’t learn.

I finished The Most Good You can Do: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically by Peter Singer.

I have finished So Many Miles to Paradise by Christine Breen. This is a memoir about the 9 month trip she and her husband, writer Niall Williams, and their two children made around the world in 2001-02.

COMPLETED Barthes: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan D. Culler

Starting The Great Quake by Henry Fountain

I finished another non-fiction book. Fearless Living by Rhonda Britten

Also reading Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache by Martin Aston

I read Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English by Christopher Davies, which could have been a lot more interesting than it was.

One more non-fiction read this month. Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt by Karen Scalf Linamen.

The Dorito Effect / Mark Schatzker
4 stars

This is a look at food and flavour. For decades now, food has become very bland – this includes meat, fruit, and vegetables. Because the companies and farmers want more and more yield for less and less money. This = no more flavour. So companies started creating flavours to make the food taste like what they should have already tasted like… and flavours to make foods taste like whatever they want them to taste like. But with the real flavour gone, so is much of the nutrition. And that is not getting put back into the foods, only fake chemical “flavours”.

This was so interesting. And so sad. It makes me want to go back in time to taste all the flavours that used to come (naturally) with food (without having to add fake flavours, sauces, spices, etc). A few people here and there are trying to bring back some of the original strains for some of the foods (chicken, tomatoes), but the industrial farmers and companies don’t want any part of it unless it can be done just as cheaply and create just as much yield. Sad sad sad. Would love to have some companies catch on to this (and yes, I realize it would be more pricey).

COMPLETED The Great Quake by Henry Fountain

My review:

The story of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake in Alaska, said to have been the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America, and the support it gave for the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics.

The scientific part of the book was well done, mainly focussed on George Plafker and his work in geology and, after the quake, seismology. The human interest part of the book suffered from being too comprehensive, trying to cover the stories of all of the dead and injured in several chapters before the quake occurred and then during and after the quake in later chapters with the result that they all blurred together.

Currently reading Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache by Martin Aston

I have finished Kulturgeschichte der österreichischen Küche, a history of Austrian cuisine, which was interesting as well as informative.

I finished Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End, the last book in Jennifer Worth's trilogy. This last book included sections on combating venereal disease, a family devastated by tuberculosis, illegal abortions, poverty in the East End and difficult birth situations. Worth shows much love and respect for all her fellow midwives, patients and families.

I just finished All Together Now: A Newfoundlander's Light Tales for Heavy Times by Alan Doyle

This was unbelievably entertaining, I laughed out loud many times. Doyle's intent was to brighten up the Covid lockdown for us and for him when he missed performing in the folk rock band Great Big Sea. He succeeded magnificently! Not only did he tell us funny and heartwarming stories about his life and profession but included a brief travelogue of Newfoundland. I listened to the audiobook read by Doyle and highly recommend it. Five stars!

Thanks for the BB from mathgirl40.

>67 VivienneR: Oh, I think this is his second book. I listened to his first one that he also narrated himself. Loved listening to him narrate, so I was hoping the library would have this on audio, as well, but no such luck. I'll get to it at some point, anyway!

>62 LibraryCin:. It is so sad isn't it. I am doing what I can to not eat foods that have been flavored artificially or by labs.

Read Cleopatra: a Life by Stacy Schiff. It was well done, the author points out how much we don't know and never will know about Cleopatra.

>62 LibraryCin: Added this one to my wishlist! :-)

>69 Kristelh: and it's hard to find foods like that.

>72 fuzzi:, it is, and I don't think you can trust labeling. Some damage is too far gone. Like tomatoes. Some try heirloom but I don't find them that much better.

>68 LibraryCin: Thank you for that information, I'll look out for the first one. He's an amazing narrator.

>74 VivienneR: Sorry I didn't mention the title. It's Where I Belong.

And oh - I lied! The book you read looks like his third one. I have both that one, and his second on my tbr. And I checked the library again, and see that both are now available on audio. Yay!