This week kicks off Nonfiction November 2017 and I’m excited to participate. Thank you to all the kind souls who have taken the time to coordinate and pull all the prompts and dates together.

This week is being hosted over at JulzRead, who is a new blogger to me, but after reading how she likes “books about books” and is working on a book spine staircase, I know we’d have tons of books to share and recommend. Anyway, here we go. . .

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?

This year I finally found a copy of Anatole Broyard’s Intoxicated By My Illness and was not disappointed. His writing, sense of self and the decision to tackle death head on with his eyes (and humor) wide open all tied together wonderfully for this book. Death is a tough topic but Broyard pulled no punches when remembering his life, those around him and his work as a literary critic.

What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?

I really have not recommended many books this year, but the nonfiction book I’ve talked about the most Robert Moor’s On Trails: An Exploration. Moor does a good job showing the impact of trails, maps and paths in our world. Everything from the historical (thinking about how today’s interstates follow ancient Native American paths) to the philosophical (the mindset that’s needed to walk a looooooooong way) to the future (big international groups still get together to debate the start/stop of the Appalachian Trail as it gains new land each year). It was a very specific and peculiar book. Fortunately, it was done very well.

What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet?

I can never, ever, get enough ‘books about books’. It’s a passion. It’s never ending and it’s always hard to find other people taking the deep dive into bibliophilia. One of my faves this year was the coffee table book The Library Book by Thomas Schiff. Schiff takes these amazing 360 degree photos of libraries from around the world to give the reader a new perspective on the places, shelves and books. It’s a slow book. One where you want to study pages where massive ceiling frescoes warp and bend down to touch the tops of floor to ceiling bookshelves. It was a lot of fun.

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

Hands down, I want to discover new great books to read. But getting to meet all of the other book loving folks participating is certainly the icing on the cake.

If you’re interested in participating this year’s Nonfiction November, just check out any of the hosts’ blogs or follow along on all the socials by checking out the hashtag #nonficnov