I’m a tad late this year, but the first week is hosted by Heather over at Based on a True Story, and the week’s Nonfiction November prompt:
“Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorites? Have you had a favorite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?”
I had a really great year of nonfiction reading. Looking back over what I read, I see that most of the books I read were either recommended to me by people I know/blogs I follow, or I stumbled upon them as they were mentioned in other books I was reading. That was something new for me this year.
Usually, my nonfiction reading is spread out over lots of categories, and while I did read books about technology, music, politics, and philosophy, this year, I seem to have read deeper into a couple of specific topics, which was really fun.
One of the biggest categories of books I read is one I am labeling “books as resistance”.
With the popularity of books like Books Can Save Democracy and On Book Banning, in 2025, I can tell that I’m not alone in finding ways to let books help me surf through the world we’re living in right now. There’s something fortifying, motivating, and comforting (all at the same time) when you’re holding up a physical copy of a book, pen in hand. That analog time away from screens feels nourishing for some reason. And I really enjoy thinking about how much the tech platforms hate it because they can’t track what I’m doing. They can monetize my attention. While my impact of 1 zillionth of a penny on their profits isn’t much, it still feels pretty good.
Earlier this year, I happened upon a feature by The Pentagram Partners about Les Editions de Minuit, which was the very real secret underground book publishing operation in Nazi-occupied France. It was amazing. Jewelers turned typographers. Writers turning in coded manuscripts. Secret deadrops to get books distributed. All books that were banned by the Nazi government. It was amazing to think about.
That same month, I happened across the chapter “Clendestine Presses 1: Moral” in Roderick Cave’s amazing The Private Press book. And sure enough, on page 97:
“Many of the editors and printers of the first resistance presses and newspapers-of Pantagruel, of La pensée libre—were caught and shot. But out of the failure of La pensée libre came a development which was to lead to the establishment of the most successful of all presses of the resistance: Les Editions de Minuit.”
And it took off from there, talking about all the folks involved, including engraver/illustrator/journalist Jean Bruller. Bruller escaped Nazi Germany and came to the United States, where in 1968 the English translation of The Battle of Silence came out, with the author name of Vercors, which was his pen name during the war. It was fascinating. To think of folks valuing fiction and literature (like Faulkner, etc.) enough that they were willing to be hanged for publishing them.
Les Editions de Minuit published 25 books during the war, and more than a dozen staffers lost their lives for their efforts. After the war, Bruller and crew divided what little money was left in their publishing operation among the surviving families of the folks who died. I loved this deep dive into books, resistance, and publishing.
So there’s a recap of some of the nonfiction books I read this year. I hope you’re keeping up with Nonfiction November this year. If not, head on over to Heather’s site post and see what else is out there. And please find a place to share what you are reading, even if it’s in the comments of any of the blogs participating this month.
