Can you believe it’s Nonfiction November Week 4 already? Thank you so much to all my co-hosts and to all the people who contributed to my week of Pairings last week!
Week 4 (11/20-11/24) Worldview Shapers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is learning all kinds of things about our world which you never would have known without it. There’s the intriguing, the beautiful, the appalling, and the profound. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Do you think there is a book that should be required reading for everyone? (Rebekah at She Seeks Nonfiction the post will go live at 1pm UK time so do pop back then; the linkz is already live here)
I’ve kept this to my books read since the beginning of last November.
Here are some books which have taught me something really new and I suggest people have a look at to do some serious learning and the theme would be social justice.
Chelsea Watego – “Another Day in the Colony“, Anita Heiss (ed.) – “Growing up Aboriginal in Australia“, Claire G. Coleman – “Lies, Damn Lies” These books all educated me on the current lives of people of Aboriginal and Pacific Islander heritage in Australia and their communities’ troubled histories once the colonialists invaded.
Alison Mariella Desir’s “Running While Black” and Gina Yashere’s “Cack-Handed” and Lenny Henry’s “Who Am I Again?” brought home the challenges of being a Black runner (the first one) and a Black person in the British entertainment industry respectively.
Riva Lehrer’s “Golem Girl” gave much-needed insight into lives lived with a disability, activism and attitudes, and Travis Alabanza’s “None of the Above” continued my education in transgender studies.
It’s interesting that all of these are effectively memoirs, however none of them are JUST memoirs, all of them drawing on other people’s experiences and sharing and highlighting histories that have been lost or suppressed over the years. If you want a course of reading in social justice and different kinds of people’s lives, these might be a good place to start (my social justice categories will give you more).
whisperinggums
Nov 20, 2023 @ 12:43:18
Love your Aussie selections of course Liz. So good seeing these books read off our shores.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 21, 2023 @ 09:15:12
Thank you! I do my best to share about these topics and it’s an important one where I think we’re at danger of forgetting the UK’s role.
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Stephanie @ Bookfever
Nov 20, 2023 @ 16:53:01
These all sound like fantastic books and I think I would really love to read Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia. Thanks for sharing these!
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Liz Dexter
Nov 21, 2023 @ 09:15:53
That was an excellent starter as it shared such a wide range of experiences (with their commonalities, of course). Thank you!
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whatmeread
Nov 20, 2023 @ 16:59:59
I think it would be interesting to read some of the books from the aboriginal point of view. Obviously, we have similar issues here in the U. S.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 21, 2023 @ 09:16:49
Yes, I need to dig into some reading there, as well. I’ve mainly concentrated on the UK and social justice but now broadening out into Indigenous reading, though so far I have more from Canada and Australia. Any top recommendations?
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whatmeread
Nov 21, 2023 @ 16:33:35
Not anything recent, although I’m sure there is a lot that’s good. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is practically a classic must-read now, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Must do more research. Oh, also a lot more recent is Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, which is out now as a movie but was a nonfiction book.
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whatmeread
Nov 21, 2023 @ 16:34:29
Those are about history, though, not about the current situation.
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hopewellslibraryoflife
Nov 20, 2023 @ 22:15:18
Excellent way to approach this topic. I’ll likely read at least one or two of these.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 21, 2023 @ 09:17:15
Thank you, I’m glad it’s given people a few ideas!
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Lisa notes...
Nov 22, 2023 @ 00:47:58
I appreciate books like these that are more than just memoirs. They sound like some great learning tools for all of us! Social justice books have been invaluable to me.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 22, 2023 @ 19:26:00
Thank you, hopefully they might send some people down some useful paths. And I have many more where those came from, ready to read and share about!
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shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
Nov 22, 2023 @ 11:58:42
Interesting recommendations, thanks for sharing.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 22, 2023 @ 19:26:16
Thank you!
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thecontentreader
Nov 22, 2023 @ 13:52:11
You really choose excellent and interesting books for this week’s Nonfiction. All so relevant.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 22, 2023 @ 19:26:35
Thank you – I’ve read some good ones this past year!
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heavenali
Nov 25, 2023 @ 17:03:18
I don’t think there’s anything I have recently that fit your theme but I remember The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane and A Light in a Dark by Horatio Clare were amazing.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 25, 2023 @ 21:01:07
I really do need to read A Light in the Dark!
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silverbuttonbooks
Nov 29, 2023 @ 00:56:32
I am sorry I am so behind! I LOVE the many different perspectives you have read from with these books.
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Liz Dexter
Nov 29, 2023 @ 11:11:02
Thank you! And I’m incredibly behind, I wouldn’t worry!!
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Nonfiction November: New to My TBR – Silver Button Books
Nov 29, 2023 @ 03:48:40
Nonfiction November: Books Added to my TBR – The Book Stop
Nov 29, 2023 @ 13:41:00