MonthlyNonFiction

The Witchcraft of Salem Village | Shirley Jackson

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#Read2025 #MonthlyNonFiction

Finished for #ChildrensClassicRead2025 I‘m sure I read this back in middle school but revisiting it in October was perfect for the season. I meant to reread The Crucible as a companion, but ran out of time. Amazing what havoc a group of young girls started, perpetuated by the patriarchy & resulting in the unnecessary imprisonment, ruin & death of so many. Jackson breaks in down in a way that is accessible to all.

TheBookHippie, DieAReader, julieclair

TheBookHippie I feel it‘s so well done. It‘d be wonderful in a classroom. 1w

julieclair I was planning to read this, too, but finished reading The Manningtree Witches (similar story, but in England) and decided I needed a break from witch trials for awhile. Too sad. @TheBookHippie 1w

DieAReader 💖💖💖 6d

43 likes3 comments

DebinHawaii

Hags | Victoria Smith

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#Read2025 #MonthlyNonFiction

Finished last weekend for #SheSaid & my third #Roll100 October pick #38 Any nonfiction. A sobering (because I‘m well into the hag camp age-wise) read about the demonization of 40+ aged women. The author hits some points well but lost me in others especially when her points were more chaotic. It was interesting & provocative which is why it gets a pick, but I‘m not sure I learned that much new from reading it.🤷🏻‍♀️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa, DieAReader, julieclair

julieclair Great, helpful review. Makes me feel I‘d like to read a summary or outline of this book, or hear a lecture on it, but not read the whole book. 1w

DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 1w

43 likes1 stack add2 comments

julieclair

Nonfiction Matters: Reading, Writing, and Research in Grades 3-8 | Stephanie Harvey

Hello Nonfiction fans! What will everyone be reading for November?

For those who like to plan ahead, I will be continuing #MonthlyNonfiction2025 next year, but dropping the year from the name, so the new hashtag will be simply #MonthlyNonfiction. Same rules: read at least one nonfiction book each month. I‘ll do a StoryGraph challenge as well, for those who like to track that way.

Sarahreadstoomuch, rockpools, kspenmoll, mhillis, Gissy, Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick, ferskner, Lauredhel, TEArificbooks, MonicaLoves2Read, Rissreadswithcats, TheBookgeekFrau, TheAromaofBooks, peanutnine, willaful

julieclair I‘ll be reading

Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation

mcctrish I always forget this 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2w

TheBookgeekFrau I finished the challenge this month with

The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up

See All 14 Comments

rockpools Thanks for the tag 😊. Tracking things is completely beyond me at the moment, but my November NF read will either be this one about the importance of racial diversity in children‘s books (and classic literature etc):

BEYOND THE SECRET GARDEN.

rockpools Or, if I actually get that read in October, Novembers might be about swifts, and the campaign to make swift bricks compulsory in uk new-builds. Although having just opened it, the font size is horrible, so I may not get through it…

Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts

ferskner I failed miserably this year (due to other reading projects) but I'm eager to try again next year! 2w

Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I wanted to read 1 NF book per month this year, and that didn't happen. Fingers crossed that I do better next year. 🤦🏼‍♀️ 2w

Rissreadswithcats It has been a very busy year this year for me so I haven‘t reached my goal but I‘m keen to try again next year! 🩷 2w

TheAromaofBooks While I have done a terrible job posting about it, I've actually been keeping up on this challenge!! I haven't picked out my November book yet, but I seem to have two shelves of biographies, so it shouldn't be a problem 😂 2w

julieclair @mcctrish I find that challenges like this one, where everyone reads a different book and there‘s no discussion, are easier to forget about. But I also love challenges like this because there‘s no pressure to keep up. I‘m definitely into no-stress low-key these days! 😘 2w

julieclair @TheBookgeekFrau I have been wanting to read that! 2w

julieclair @rockpools Both of these sound like important books. I had no idea swifts were endangered in Britain. 😢 2w

julieclair @ferskner @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @Rissreadswithcats I hear you! I missed some months, too, but overall I read more nonfiction than I would have without the challenge. Glad you‘re all continuing for 2026! 😀 2w

julieclair @TheAromaofBooks Woo hoo! And… the reading is more important than the posting. 😉 Two shelves of biographies…. obviously all shelved together…. you‘ve come a long way from earlier this year when you had moved to a new house and were randomly pulling books out of boxes, lol. Good work!👍 2w

38 likes14 comments

DebinHawaii

September, September | Shelby Foote

Catching up with my September recap. I read less than August due to a really busy work month with less captured reading time on flights but still managed to complete 11 books + 2 Vonnegut stories & 2.5 chapters of Women Who Run With the Wolves.

I finished books for #SundayBuddyRead #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #SheSaid #MonthlyNonFiction #ThematicCozies #FictionalTraveler #Roll100 (3) & AuthorAMonth & ongoing read #WildWomenReading

⬇️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa, Soubhiville, TheBookHippie, Librarybelle, Ruthiella, TheAromaofBooks, PuddleJumper, julieclair

DebinHawaii … Favorites were: Detective Aunty, Eve, Your Shadow Half Remains & The Husbands. 1mo

Ruthiella Not bad for a busy month! 👏👏👏 1mo

Librarybelle Yay!! 1mo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Great month!!! 1mo

julieclair Looks like a great month, despite your busy work schedule. 👍 2w

45 likes5 comments

Cuilin

October | Gregory Bastianelli

#OctoberReads

Some books I will continue and some I will attempt in October. No promises. 😏

#BookedInTime #NaturalLitsy #ChildrenClassicReads2025 #ChristieCapers #WhatTheDickens #ReadLesMis #MonthlyNonfiction #WomenWhoRunWithTheWolves

Why do I feel I‘ve forgotten something?

kspenmoll I like your “Hope Core”! 1mo

Cuilin @kspenmoll thanks 😊 1mo

Gissy Great!📚👏👏👏 1mo

julieclair I think #HopeCore is going to be my new reading philosophy! 👍 2w

Cuilin @julieclair seriously right? Tag me we‘ll support each other. 🩷 2w

50 likes5 comments

DebinHawaii

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution | Cat Bohannon

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#Read2025 #MonthlyNonFiction

Finished yesterday for #SheSaid & my third #Roll100 puck for September #23 Any Audiobook, this book was long but fascinating. Evolutionary biology centered around the female body over the past 200 million years. I learned so much listening to the audiobook, read by the author. It took me most of the month (it‘s 16 hours), listening to it mostly in my car but the blend of science & history kept me interested. There ⬇️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa, DieAReader, PuddleJumper, julieclair

DebinHawaii … is a PDF of drawings from the book included in the audiobook & while sometimes science books can be tough for me to fully absorb while driving or just listening, I had no issue with this one. It answered questions I had & some I never thought of so I recommend it if you are interested in science, evolution & the mind & body. #MonthlyNonFiction2025 (edited) 1mo

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 1mo

DieAReader 💖💖💖 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m so glad you liked it! 1mo

53 likes4 comments

julieclair

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life | Anne Bogel

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Written by a reader, for readers, these lovely essays on the fun and foibles of a reading life are totally relatable for book nerds. I recognized myself in these pages! This was my #MonthlyNonfiction2025 pick for August.
#MonthlyNonfiction

AnnCrystal 🆒🤩💝💝💝. 2mo

41 likes2 stack adds1 comment

DebinHawaii

July | Julie Murray

I remain so behind on reviews for both June & July but I thought I‘d get my July recap up finally. I finished 15 books (including 3 I had in progress from June) which I think given work lately is good. I did read & love both #CampLitsy2025 selections but was not good about the discussions which has continued this month. I also finished books for #AuthorAMonth #SheSaid #SundayBuddyRead #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #ThematicCozies ⬇️

Megabooks, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, Soubhiville, TheBookHippie, Librarybelle, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, TheAromaofBooks, PuddleJumper, julieclair

DebinHawaii … #FictionalTraveler #Roll100 &#MonthlyNonFiction
Favorites were Woodworking, Death of an Author, Under A Painted Sky & I Who Have Never Known Men (carryover from #SheSaid June). (edited) 3mo

Ruthiella Looking good! 👍 3mo

kspenmoll Given your work life, this is an amazing accomplishment!!!! 3mo

See All 13 Comments

TheBookHippie Wow!!!! 3mo

Librarybelle Yay!! 3mo

AmyG That‘s a great number of books! 3mo

Cuilin I honestly don‘t know how you do it!!! That‘s amazing. 3mo

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fantastic month!! 3mo

squirrelbrain ❤️🩷💜 3mo

BarbaraBB 🧡 3mo

julieclair What a wonderfully varied reading month! 3mo

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 3mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa You are doing better than me with reading and reviewing. So good job! 3mo

59 likes13 comments

TheAromaofBooks

MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko | John Barron

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Published in 1980, only four years after Belenko's escape from Russia (and well before the fall of the Berlin Wall), this book was quite fascinating. Belenko actually had more or less the ideal situation in Russia as the MiG-25 pilots were highly valued and treated well (by Soviet standards). Reading about his slow recognition of the cognitive dissonance between what he was being taught about his country vs the west and what he could actually ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) observe with his own eyes was intriguing. Thoroughly enjoyable and a reminder of what life in the Soviet was actually like.

#MonthlyNonfiction - April (358) @julieclair
#GottaCatchEmAll - Recommended by a friend @PuddleJumper
#Read2025 - 28/100 TBR books @DieAReader
#ISpyBingo - Airplane
#BookSpinBingo 6mo

DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 6mo

TieDyeDude I used to read a lot about the Cold War, though admittedly most of my reading had a Western bias. This sounds like it would be a really interesting book! 6mo

TheAromaofBooks @TieDyeDude - It's a really quick read (under 300pgs), which is nice but also means that sometimes I wished I could get more details. When I was checking to see what happened to Belenko after 1980, I was surprised to find that he just passed away two years ago! 6mo

58 likes1 stack add4 comments

TheAromaofBooks

Rich Mullins | James Bryan Smith

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Rich Mullins was a Christian musician in the 80s/90s, who died in a car accident in 1997. This book, written by a good friend of his a few years later, is an odd sort of biography. It doesn't really outline his life or career, but rather looks at key aspects of Rich's faith and beliefs through his lyrics and writing. I grew up on Rich's music and it definitely has shaped the way I view God and His love; Rich's lyrics still can hit me sideways ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) sometimes. I've read this book before, but it had been several years. Taking time to read it during an especially busy and stressful time in my life was so beneficial. Smith does a great job of not portraying Rich as some kind of hero or saint. This book encourages readers not to follow Rich and his teachings, but rather Jesus and His, with Rich's lyrics as a tool that sometimes illuminate some aspect of them.

This is a niche kind of ⬇ 6mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) book that won't appeal to everyone, but for me it's an incredibly grounding and encouraging read.

#MonthlyNonfiction (March) @julieclair
#GottaCatchEmAll - Band/Musical Group @PuddleJumper
#Read2025 - 24/100 Books off my TBR @DieAReader
#BookSpinBingo 6mo

Desha I have always loved Rich Mullins…he‘s one of my favorite Christian artists! 6mo

See All 9 Comments

BarbaraJean I had never heard of this book and now I want to track it down! An approach to Rich‘s life through his faith and his writing—pointing to Jesus above all—sounds like such a Rich Mullins approach. Rich Mullins‘ music was so meaningful for me in high school and college (still is) and I was devastated when he died. That year I had a campus radio show with a friend and the week Rich Mullins died, we just played his music for the full hour. 💔 6mo

DieAReader 💖💖💖 6mo

TheAromaofBooks @Desha - His music has always meant so much to me!! 6mo

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I definitely recommend picking this one up if you enjoy Rich's music. I was a teen when he passed, and it devastated our whole family. My parents and I got to see him in concert shortly before that, when he was traveling with Mitch McVicker. 6mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I just found the audiobook on Hoopla! 6mo

julieclair Great review. I‘m not familiar with Rich Mullins‘ music, but will definitely listen now! 6mo

62 likes2 stack adds9 comments

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