Now that I’ve finished Queen Victoria, I can move another challenge to the completed category. My friend Joy hosted the Non-Fiction Five challenge for 2008 and once again I had almost as much fun making the list as I did reading the books.
The rules were simple:
1. Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2008
2. Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)
I opted to ignore rule #2 because I hate self help books, and my initial list of 6 (one extra in case of a dud) was:
Then Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR’s Polio Haven by Susan Richards Shreve
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don Van Ryn
The list of books I actually ended up reading for this challenge was slightly different due to a couple of library holds that became available during the challenge time frame and a non-fiction book I decided to read for the Southern Reading Challenge. Here is the list of what I really did read – and yes I ended up reading 6 after all (links are to my blog posts).
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don and Susie Van Ryn, et al. – this one was a fascinating story and an interesting, but not great book.
Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein – this could have and should have been a fascinating story, but the book turned out to be a disappointment.
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania by Warren St. John – I needed a middle of the off-season football fix and this provided it. It was a fun look at college football fandom.
Then Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson – I laughed my way through this one and then passed it on to The Hubster, who did the exact same thing.
American Eve by Paula Uruburu – Celebrity obsession is not a new phenomenon. This story was fascinating and sad all at the same time.
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert – a very interesting book about a very interesting person.
I enjoyed the last four much more than the first two and liked the combination of humor and biography that I ended up with in those. As for the three that were on my initial list that I didn’t read, well, they’re still on my TBR list for someday.
Thanks Joy – once again I had fun with this challenge.
The rules were simple:
1. Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2008
2. Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)
I opted to ignore rule #2 because I hate self help books, and my initial list of 6 (one extra in case of a dud) was:
Then Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR’s Polio Haven by Susan Richards Shreve
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don Van Ryn
The list of books I actually ended up reading for this challenge was slightly different due to a couple of library holds that became available during the challenge time frame and a non-fiction book I decided to read for the Southern Reading Challenge. Here is the list of what I really did read – and yes I ended up reading 6 after all (links are to my blog posts).
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don and Susie Van Ryn, et al. – this one was a fascinating story and an interesting, but not great book.
Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein – this could have and should have been a fascinating story, but the book turned out to be a disappointment.
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania by Warren St. John – I needed a middle of the off-season football fix and this provided it. It was a fun look at college football fandom.
Then Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson – I laughed my way through this one and then passed it on to The Hubster, who did the exact same thing.
American Eve by Paula Uruburu – Celebrity obsession is not a new phenomenon. This story was fascinating and sad all at the same time.
Queen Victoria: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert – a very interesting book about a very interesting person.
I enjoyed the last four much more than the first two and liked the combination of humor and biography that I ended up with in those. As for the three that were on my initial list that I didn’t read, well, they’re still on my TBR list for someday.
Thanks Joy – once again I had fun with this challenge.