DonnaReads NF in '12

Oh hell heck, I'll make a thread here, too, that I probably won't be able to keep up with. I love the idea of narrative non-fiction but I read so few of these true books that I'll list all my NF books here. Plus, I'm not 100% positive that I'm clear on the difference. I'm just going to say that straight NF is something I won't be reading late at night because it will put me right to sleep and NNF makes me want to keep turning pages. Is that close enough?

So far I have The Children's Blizzard lined up to read this month. It looks cold. ;-)

Hey Donna! *waves* Welcome to the group! There are a bazillion of us 75ers here so you'll feel right at home :)

Nonfiction Books Read in 2012:

1. The Children's Blizzard - David Laskin 3.6*
2. Surprised by Joy - C. S. Lewis 4.1*
3. The Ghost in the Little House - William Holtz - 3.7*
4. The Narnia Code - Michael Ward - 3.8*

I'll go ahead and list my NF reads for 2011 and call it a goal to read one more than the number I come up with. These are listed in the order that I read them.

Unbroken 4.4 stars
Gweilo 3.1*
Nobody Said Not To Go 3.8*
Reading the OED 3.4*
Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure 3.8*
From Battlefields Rising 4.3*
How to Read Novels Like A Professor 3.7*
I Shall Not Hate 4.2*
An Unfinished Marriage 2.9*
A Walk on the Beach 3.4*
Wesley the Owl 4.2*
Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly 3.9*
Confederates in the Attic 4.3*
The Devil's Highway 3.6*
Hospital Sketches 4*
Waiting for Snow in Havana 4.3*
Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout4.1*
Howard's End is on the Landing 3.5*
Big Spring Autumn 3.7*
Edith Wharton: An Extraordinary Life 3.4*
A Backward Glance 4.2*
The Water is Wide 4.5*
The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation 4*
My Own Country 4.2*
Every Man in this Village is A Liar 4.6*
A Million Miles in A Thousand Years 3.5*
Let's Take the Long Way Home 4.2*
The Tender Land 4.8*

I counted 28 non-fiction reads for 2011. I am astounded. I thought perhaps I had read around a dozen. I guess I AM a non-fiction fan after all. ;-)

>2 lauralkeet:: Hi Laura, I know... I'm such a follower. At least I stay in good company that way. ;-)

Donna's here! Donna's here! Yah! I think we might end up making this another fun Challenge! That's an impressive list of NF reads and there is several on there, I would like to read...taking copious notes.
I might read along with you on The Children's Blizzard, if I can squeeze it in later in the month.

1: I'm not 100% positive that I'm clear on the difference.
I don't think anyone is, entirely. And it's something of a continuum.

Welcome!

I can add a few books which I think fit the narrative NF category. The Cruelest Miles, one of my favorite books this year. also Moonwalking with Einstein was a really good read. Also Isaac's Storm about the deadliest hurricane in history was another good one.

Hi Mark, it's too late to read along with me on The Children's Blizzard. I loved this book as much as one can love a book where so many children perish in a blizzard. I rated it 3.6 stars and relect about it on my 75-Book Challenge thread over here.

Thanks for the welcome, Kathleen.

Hi Donna! I'm fascinated by the title Moonwalking with Einstein. I plan to read the Isaacson Einstein bio this year and will look into this as a companion piece. Oh yeah, I have fond memories of Isaac's Storm. In fact, I've liked everything I've read by Erik Larson. Thanks for the recommendations.

Hi Donna, Sounds like you had a great trip to Denver. Maybe some time I can join you all.

Heads up on Moonwalking with Einstein. It is not really about Einstein at all, but is a book about memory. Even so it is a good read.

I am reading Born to Run right now and it is also a really fun non-fiction book. I participated in some of the ultramarathons he mentions so it has a lot of meaning for me, but I think most people would enjoy it as a good adventure story.

dallenbaugh- I'm glad you are enjoying born to Run. I loved that book. One of my top reads of last year.

I knew I would be terrible about keeping up this new thread. One thread is daunting enough!

>9 dallenbaugh:: Hi Donna, I'm not surprised that Moonwalking with Einstein is not about Einstein. I'm going to look for it anyway as I need a book about memory.

Born to Run is also on my radar. I remember how much you liked it last year, Mark. I'm not a runner (and my hat's off to the other Donna) but I enjoy books about perseverance.

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On looking over my short list of books for the year, I see I forgot to list Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis. It is not narrative nonfiction but it is an interesting memoir about Lewis's younger years leading up to his conversion to Christianity. Lots of stories about boarding schools and early life in Ireland and England. Not too heavy-handed on the religious experience, either, although that is a definite part of who he became.

Oh hello....how did I end up here? Here I am though and your list is impressive so far! Ive never heard of narrative non-fiction, but the name itself is pretty descriptive. I guess its people telling true events like a story. Sometimes you cant tell the difference if the actual story is compelling enough to start with.

>12 LovingLit:: Hi Megan, you've nailed what narrative nonfiction means to me. Unfortunately, I didn't read any nonfiction in February that quite fits the "narrative" description, but I did enjoy the two NF books I read.

The Ghost in the Little House, a biography of Rose Wilder Lane by William Holtz, and
The Narnia Code, a companion book to The Chronicles of Narnia that explained the author's theory of parallelism between the seven heavenly bodies of the Middle Ages "planets" and the seven books of the Narnia series.

12: I guess its people telling true events like a story.
This is the most succinct definition I've seen. :-)

No restrictions on non-fiction here, narrative or not.