Nonfiction November 2021: My Year in Nonfiction
It’s Non Fiction November time again. To kick off this month long celebration, Rennie at What’s Nonfiction suggests we take a look back at the last twelve months and talk about our favourite non fiction reads of the year and the books we’ve recommended most often.
This year has seen my non fiction reading plummet to its lowest ever level. I started but failed to finish several but somehow I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for the medical memoirs I’ve enjoyed in past years. Fortunately the two books I did manage to finish were well worth the time and effort.
The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn
This is a follow up to The Salt Path, in which Raynor Winn reflects on the 630 mile walk she did with her husband Moth, sleeping in a flimsy tent and existing on rehydrated noodles. They began the walk as homeless, their farm having been seized by bailiffs, and distraught by a diagnosis that Moth was suffering an untreatable and incurable brain disease.
The Wild Silence sees them in a slightly more secure space. Through the kindness of strangers they are living in a small apartment in Cornwall but they still don’t feel settled. Another stranger comes calling, asking them to take on a project of re-wilding his ancient cider farm. It’s physically demanding because the farmhouse accommodation is in a dreadful condition. But ultimately the peace and solitude of the farm and the physical effort involved in clearing decades of neglect prove restorative, both physically and emotionally.
I’ve bought copies of this book for several friends and recommended it to scores of people. It’s not only a memoir about two people who learn to live again, it’s only a testament to the ability of nature to bring an inner quietude and to heal.
Fall And Rise, The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff
I started reading this in the week when the world marked the 20th anniversary of the tragedy. Zuckoff, a reporter for the Boston Globe, spent years researching the stories of people who lost their lives on that day in September and those who survived. The result is an extraordinary book about kindness and determination, of overwhelmed emergency services and systems that failed under duress.
It’s a very human book in the sense Zuckoff doesn’t spend much time analysing the motivation of the hijackers but concentrates instead on how their actions affected ordinary people.
Even though millions have words have been written about 9/11 this book provided a lot of detail I wasn’t aware of, especially regarding the effect of design decisions made by the architects of the Twin Towers, and the lack of cohesive lines of communication between various response agencies.
It’s not a book you can say you enjoy reading but it was certainly insightful.
What am I hoping to get out of Nonfiction November? The answer is quite simple — ideas for titles that will get me out of my current non fiction reading slump. I’m in no doubt, based on previous years’ experience that’s going to happen.
I finally got around to reading The Only Plane in the Sky and was so impressed and humbled and a million other emotions…I think I need to try Fall and Rise as well for a more informational perspective, maybe?
Sorry that your nonfiction reading has dipped lately but glad you could find a few that worked so well for you!
The Wild Silence sounds fascinating! Definitely think I’ll be checking that one out.
It’s a good blend of nature writing and memoir
Nice! Thanks to your recommendation, I added The Salt Path to my TBR some time ago, but haven’t had the time to read it yet. I’m sure I’ll want to read this 2nd book afterwards.
I’m sure you have plenty of other books to keep you busy
I’m just about to start The Salt Path, which you originally recommended to me 🙂
How is it going?
NonFiction November is the absolute best place to find great nonfiction reads isn’t it? I also find a number of new blogs every year.
I know people love the Salt Path but the brain tumor is a no-go for me. I just….can’t.
I read a lot of NonFiction this year that seemed prime to be read in small manageable chunks since I struggled with back to back reading slumps. 50 Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy was excellent and the Power of Ritual really helped me see my reading as an integral part of my weekly calendar.
Enjoy NFN!
I won’t pretend that there are no references to his condition but on the whole the book is very positive and doesn’t go into any details
The Wild Silence sounds excellent, but I think I’ll try and find The Salt Path first. Thanks for the recommendation!
yes I think that you’ll get more out of Wild Silence if you read Salt Path first to understand how they ended up homeless
I really wanted to read the Winn, since I loved The Salt Path, but unfortunately I didn’t get on with her narration (and I only “read” via audiobooks). So it will have to wait for now.
I imagine Wild Silence would be difficult to follow on audio because the time frame jumps about a lot
My favorite nonfiction books from last year are Greenlights, by Mathew McConaughy and The Bomber Mafia, by Malcolm Gladwell. The latter was designed as an audio book before it was published in print. I recommend that version because it contains old audio of speeches given and newsreels from the past.
If you feel up to something disturbing but extraordinarily well-written and well-researched, I also recommend War by Sebastian Junger. I read this in the summer as American troops were pulling out of Afghanistan. Junger is an outstanding war correspondent who, on multiple occasions, embedded with marines in one of the most dangerous valleys of Afghanistan.
Greenlights is a great call! I was so glad I listened to the audiobook. It’s a long times since I laughed as much as I did when I listened to his story about his trip to Australia. This book left me a bit lighter.
Yes. That was an exchange student story to deter all future exchange students, but McConnaughy gave it his all. That story alone says a lot about his tenacity and commitment to turn lemons into lemonade.
Since you liked Greenlights, I also recommend Colin Jost’s A Very Punchable Face. Even lighter fare than Greenlights with many captivating and entertaining anecdotes from Jost’s life.
I shall put it on the list to investigate
I’d not heard of that one by Gladwell. I loved Tipping Point and enjoyed the one that came after that but my last effort which I think was called Strangers I couldn’t finish
The Bomber Mafia is not like Gladwell’s previous books in that it is not a collection of essays. Rather it’s more like a typical historical account with an ordered chronology of events. It’s very well done and fascinating. Woven throughout is the age-old philosophical question concerning whether the end justifies the means. Excellent food for thought.
Ok, I shall take a closer look
Few good non fiction reads this year ‘Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland’ by Patrick Radden Keefe is outstanding. Enough time has passed now for some sort of structure to be applied to ‘the troubles’ and this follows some of the main protagonists from Violence to peaceful times. Also worth a read is ‘Northern Protestants – on shifting ground’ by Susan McKay. Brexit has the potential to be seismic in terms of the future of Ireland. Also, ‘thirty two words for field’ by Manchan Mangan is a wonderful read, it’s about the etymology of Irish words and links them to culture, cosmology, nature, animals and mythology. Fascinating.
Just realised all those books are Irish. I read a lot more fiction than non fiction, but enjoy it when its something I’m interested in. I also find it easier to listen to non fiction via audiobooks, seems to be a different type of listening.
The book about the Troubles would be helpful in filling in the very large gaps in my knowledge here
I think many of us have found our reading has been affected by the pandemic. I hope #NonFicNov helps resolve your slump!
It will undoubtedly add to my TBR ..
I’ve got The Wild Silence TBR – it’s one I’ll be reading with my best friend as we did The Salt Path together, so it will be waiting a while. But glad to know it’s good. I’ve read more nonfic than ever this year (maybe I read your quota!) so I had to do a great list on my post today!
It’s a different kind of book from the first one. Partly I think because the structure is different. With the Salt Path you had a linear book with digressions. With this one, the time frame jumps about a lot
I’m doing Novellas in November instead. I can’t handle reality right now!
Good for you though sometimes I find novellas can be very dark. Hope you’ve chosen lighter fare
I watched a 4 part series about Sept 11 by one of ABC journalists called Beyond the Towers. That was as much as I could do, but the book does sound like an important edition to the oeuvre.
There is another book that I have on audio called (I think) The Last Plane in The Sky but I’m not sure I have the stamina for it now
I know what you mean.
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I need to look at my nonfiction reads of this year, but my sense is that I’ve read a few, and probably a similar number to those I’ve read before. And, my guess is, more diverse than some years where memoirs have abounded. I’ll try to do my post in a day or so!
Your two selections are really varied.
They were rather different for sure
I haven’t read too many 9/11 books – but I want to. Thanks for sharing!
I just bought The Wild Silence yesterday to read this month! I’m really looking forward to it.
I saw an author interview with Raynor Winn last year – she seems such a lovely person
Fantastic reading material here. I quite like alternating between fiction and non-fiction. Will check out some of these books. 🙂
My nonfiction reading has also been pretty low the last 18 months or so – I blame my mood reading on the pandemic!
It seems like a lot of us read less nonfiction last year. Is it more difficult to read nonfiction when we are stressed? I think it might be.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about Wild Silence. I loved Salt Path and I wondered what the sequel would be like.
I never read a lot of non-fiction, but I still like to take part in Nonfiction November every year in the hope that it will motivate me to read more of it! I’m glad you enjoyed the two books you’ve managed to read – I particularly like the sound of The Wild Silence.
I don’t do well with non fiction always, but The Salt Path and The Wild Silence are on my wishlist. I have heard such good things about them.
I’ve been wondering about Wild Silence…. Yours is one of the first reviews I’ve read.