Sponsored by National Geographic Books
With more than three decades spent combating some of the most dangerous diseases to strike humanity, Dr. Anthony Fauci has worked in daunting professional conditions and shouldered great responsibilities. Compiled from hours of interviews and speeches, find Dr. Fauci’s 10 powerful lessons in this inspiring collection that reveals the principles that have shaped his life philosophy, offering a concrete path to a bright and hopeful future.
Hello nonfiction friends! The weekend is almost here, but before we go riding off into the sunset (aka stumble home and into sweatpants) I have some nonfiction news to share. This week includes a trailer for a great con story, a cold case with significant historical implications, thoughts on a new nonfiction genre, and more. Let’s dive in!
There’s a new trailer for a limited series about the “Soho Grifter.” Inventing Anna is coming to Netflix February 11, and tells a fictionalized story about Anna Delvey, a woman “convicted of scamming hotels, restaurants, banks, and friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The show was created and co-written by Shonda Rhimes (amazing) and is based on a 2018 article from The Cut by Jessica Pressler. Delvey is also the subject of a great nonfiction book, My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams. I love a good con story, real or fictionalized.
A new book claims to reveal who betrayed Anne Frank and her family. A cold case team led by a former FBI agent has been investigating the incident for six years. Their search is the subject of a new book, The Betrayal of Anne Frank by Rosemary Sullivan. They contend Frank and her family were revealed to the Nazis by a Jewish notary, Arnold van den Bergh, as a form of life insurance for his family.
Have you ever heard of a “messay”? I recommend this recent Book Riot post about this awesome (and unofficial) genre, the memoir-essay hybrid that embraces mess in theme, structure, or emotion. It’s fun to think of potential examples!
And finally, I missed sharing a few upcoming titles and book announcements from late last year:
- Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, is writing a memoir critical of Facebook for Little, Brown. This one should be fascinating.
- Minnie Driver is releasing an essay collection called Managing Expectations which will come out in May. I have to believe this one will be a treat on audio.
- Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III sold a memoir, Surviving Washington, to Atria Books. In the book Griffin will write about his time with the Washington Football Team and the toxic culture behind the scenes. I’m very curious about this one.
- And finally, National Book Award Winner Tiya Miles has sold another book! Harriet’s Mirror will deal the dual stories of Harriet Jacobs and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and how their tensions “foreshadowed contemporary conflicts between white and Black feminists.” So good!
One Thing I Like
One of my favorite books of 2021 was 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. The book is about time management, but not in the way you might think. Instead of suggesting ways to fit more tasks into the absurdly short time we have on Earth, Burkeman instead writes about learning the best ways to use the 4,000 weeks we actually have. It’s a lovely mix of science, philosophy, literature, and spirituality that absolutely made me think about my life and my work in a different way than I did before.
Burkman was recently interviewed on the On Being podcast where he talks about plans, resolutions, and how to embrace “a new relationship with time, our technologies, and the power of limits.” I haven’t quite finished the whole interview, but it’s just so, so great, I have to recommend it.
For more nonfiction reads, head over to the podcast service of your choice and download For Real, which I co-host with my dear friend Alice. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @kimthedork. Happy weekend!