Nonfiction November 2024 Week 1

It’s officially Nonfiction November #nonficnov and one of my favorite times of the year. Basically, it’s a month of planned and shared posts between bloggers around the world sharing their favorite nonfiction reads of the year. Some years are bigger than others, but I am always glad that it happens (thank you to those who organize it!) as it’s a fun way to find some new reads and hopefully a new blog or two to follow.

Most of my reading has always been mostly nonfiction, and with 29 of the 33 books I’ve read this year, 2024 is no different. So let’s dive in with this introductory week’s prompt hosted over on Based on a True Story (where you can ‘link up’ your own post if you’d like to participate): 

“Let’s start out by celebrating your year in nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorite books or topics?”

I read a lot of ‘books about books’. I’ve also read more political books than usual, but they’re all misses. I just haven’t found one that’s been worth the time. I’m not sure why that is, but maybe it’s just burnout on my part. Anyway… I didhave a few favorite reads that I want to mention, and then I’ll list the rest.

‘The Literary Decade’ cover design by Janet Anderson; ‘The Book-Makers’ cover design Hachette Design Group; ‘This Is What It Sounds Like’ cover design by Sarah Bibel; ‘Any Person is the Only Self’ cover design by June Park

My favorite book I’ve read this year is Allen Churchill’s The Literary Decade (1971), which is about the Roaring Twenties and the literary scene. Lots of names you’ll know many stories I didn’t know and I certainly have never taken a look at them all (and their books) through a cultural history lens. Lots of names and viewpoints we know now are left out, but the writing is so well done that I went out and found a copy of Churchill’s The Improper Bohemians about Greenwich Village just to keep reading his writing. 

I also got a lot out of Adam Smyth’s The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives (2024). While not a new structure, Smyth does a great job of featuring many different folks who had a direct impact on the development of print culture. The book chapters each featuring one or two people. Sometimes they’re printers, or paper makers, or publishers, and even zine artists. It was fun.

And the winner of the pinkest cover I’ve ever bought and the book I’ve talked about most at get-togethers is This Is What It Sounds Like: A Legendary Producer Turned Neuroscientist on Finding Yourself Through Music (2022). This book by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas was amazing. It lays out all the biological reasons why music can affect our moods the way it does, and it also explains how (and when) we start to form our own individual musical tastes. Lots of fun stuff in here. Not to mention all of the playlists to help demonstrate the trends and concepts that the authors are talking about.

My fourth favorite book was all over the place for a month or two, so I won’t go on too much, but if you like books then Elisa Gabbert’s book of essays Any Person Is the Only Self is one you’ll probably like. She talks about books as well as authors she really admires and spins all this together to craft entries on art and ideas and a thinking life.

Anyway, below are the rest of the nonfiction I read this year. Please share in the comments if you’ve read something you think I would like. You can also click over and read this post if you’d like to participate in #nonficnov over the next few weeks.

  • Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
  • Son of Birmingham
  • Democracy or Else: How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps
  • The Libraries of Thought and Imagination: An Anthology of Bookshelves
  • The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper
  • The Art of the Literary Poster
  • The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
  • Parnassus Corner: A Life of James T. Fields, Publisher to the Victorians
  • In the Groove: The Vinyl Record and Turntable Revolution
  • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
  • Shopkeeping: Stories, Advice, and Observations from the Bookstore Floor
  • Novelist as a Vocation
  • Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning
  • Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life
  • Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale
  • Improbable Libraries: A Visual Journey to the World’s Most Unusual Libraries
  • Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer: Essays
  • The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading
  • How to Resist Amazon and Why: The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future!
  • The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: Their stories are better than the bestsellers
  • Shaking the Gates of Hell: A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revolution
  • MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios
  • Books Do Furnish a Painting
  • Librorum Ridiculorum: A compendium of bizarre books
  • Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism

Book Village of the Catskills

The small town of Hobart, NY, calls itself the Book Village of the Catskills, and CBS News recently did a short feature piece on it. Hobart boasts seven bookstores in just a single block. The townsfolk got the idea from the famed Hay on Wye in England. If you like small used bookstores, then click on the image below. I bet you’ll dig this quick news clip of one of New York’s own book villages. 

Bookmarks Magazine Adds Digital Issues

I have been a Bookmarks Magazine subscriber for many years. They have recently broken out of the print-only model and now offer a print + digital subscription as well as a digital-only subscription. While it’s been fun collecting all of the magazines and passing them around with friends, I’ve really appreciated the ability to cut/paste books to my TBR and ‘To Buy’ lists.

Since starting in 2002, each issue has included a few fun features like book clubs that write in as well as quirky categories that only super-passionate book folks could come up with (think something like Have You Read ’18th-century time travel novels that have cats’ kind of a thing). Like I said, lots of fun.

They also do some straight-up features on categories and authors, as well as a trend piece here or there. Nothing fancy or thought-provoking, but always enjoyable reads from fellow book lovers who often add books to your list.

But I always enjoy the New Books Guide in each issue. Basically, they tally reviews from dozens of sources and average out the rating on a five-point system. Then, they pepper in a handful of sentences from the most positive reviews as well as a handful of sentences from the most negative reviews.

It’s fun to see math play out by categories, authors, etc., and to see which outlets pop up here and there.

If you’re not interested in subscribing, you can pick up Bookmarks Magazine at most Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million stores. I am sure many indie stores carry issues, too. While those print copies are fun to flip through, the functionality of each digital issue is winning me over.

Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé

Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé is one of the coolest and quirkiest shops I’ve visited. I loved it! It is such an original space and felt instantly comfortable and browsable. As soon as you walk in you have a choice of walking ahead to the full bar spanning the back wall or turning right and face a living room sized area wonderfully filled with books! Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé sells new books only, but they are so smartly organized… by country… and all of the fiction and non-fiction are mixed together. Blasphemy you say! Wait it gets better…

So you there you are staring at a small sign declaring the shelf to be Argentina. Spine out you can see fiction about Argentina or non-fiction about Argentina or books authored by Argentinians. Then on the shelf next to it are bottles of wine and spirits from Argentina. It’s brilliant!

Look at Japan or Greece and you’ll find the same set up and pairings. The curation and title selection is so well done. It is fun to browse (you actually feel like you are exploring) and it attracts a fun crowd, being near a university. Anyway, here are a few photos from my visit. Parking can be tough, but it’s a fun spot to check out if you have a sliver of time to kill.

Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé
(608) 256-7709
1301 REGENT ST MADISON WI, 53715
Bookstore Hours are different from the bar hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 10AM-MIDNIGHT
Tuesday: 3PM-MIDNIGHT
Saturday, Sunday: 10AM-MIDNIGHT

Books, Publishing and Birmingham