Category: True Story

There’s a New David Sedaris Book Coming!

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date January 27, 2022

One Thing I Like

I’ve gotten VERY into this season of The Amazing Race. I don’t watch a ton of reality TV (aside from Dancing with the Stars #sorrynotsorry), but I recognized one of the competing pairs from the internet and so decided to watch. I’m not sure if it’s wanderlust, January blues, or late-pandemic brain, but I’m definitely in it for this season.

I was hoping there would be some books by former participants or something to recommend, but the best I’ve been able to find so far is this oral history of the first season by Andy Dehnart. If anyone has other materials to recommend, I’d love to hear!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

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!

True Story

New Releases: Octavia Butler, The Bachelorette, and American Utopias

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date January 25, 2022

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi

National Book Award-finalist Zoboi offers a middle grade biography of Octavia Butler! Something I love about the looser forms of middle grade and YA nonfiction is they can do something like this combination of prose and poetry to describe the life of this amazing sci-fi writer. Also “A Biographical Constellation” sounds so cool.

Heaven Is a Place on Earth: Searching for an American Utopia by Adrian Shirk

Shirk pairs her quest to create a more communal way of living with a history of American utopian experiments, which as a premise, I LOVE. American utopias were so weird! As are basically all utopias! Does the description mention “the radical faerie communes of Short Mountain”? It does! And it is a “a two hundred-acre faerie sanctuary/safe queer space in central Tennessee.” Amazing.

Miss Me with That: Hot Takes, Helpful Tidbits, and a Few Hard Truths by Rachel Lindsay

The first Black lead on Bachelorette has a book and it looks excellent. Lindsay has taken a step back from the show recently, especially in light of things like former host Chris Harrison defending a contestant attending a plantation-themed fraternity party. She talks about growing up the daughter of a judge in Texas, why she chose to go on the show, and “the lack of diversity in reality television and the importance of political engagement, protest, and the Black Lives Matter movement.”

Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali

I am 100% including this because the title made me laugh. Ali writes about the transition of America’s bogeyman from communism to Muslims, post-9/11, and how that impacted him, someone who grew up in Fremont, California with Pakistani parents. He also talks about “the dangers of Islamophobia, white supremacy, and chocolate hummus.” I am INTERESTED.

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perri

This has been on All the Lists for anticipated 2022 books, so I probably don’t even need to cite it, but some people don’t read those lists! So this is for you. Perry shares stories from “immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences.” Perry is a Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and generally awesome. Her biography of Lorraine Hansberry won the PEN award for biography and was generally critically lauded.

Make sure to get your own Read Harder Book Journal from Book Riot to track your reading for the year!

For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

True Story

A New Nonfiction genre, New Books, A Con Story, Who Betrayed Anne Frank, and More

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date January 20, 2022

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.

True Story

New Releases: Albania, Jazz, and South Carolina

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date January 18, 2022

The Urge: Our History of Addiction by Carl Erik Fisher

Columbia University professor Fisher writes a history of addiction, not only from a medical perspective, but incorporating literature, religion, philosophy and sociology. This was one of my 2022 picks on For Real because I’m real psyched about it. Addiction has been with us for practically our entire history as humans, so why not learn more about why it happens and how we talk about it. Just a heads up, Fisher started the book because of his experience as an alcoholic, so he also covers some of his story there.

Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History by Lea Ypi

Ypi grew up in Albania in the early ’90s (a country with a very dramatic flag) and writes about her living through the collapse of the Soviet state in the 1991 revolution and how the emergence of the “free market” led to chaos. Now a voice for the left in the United Kingdom, here she “offers a fresh and invigorating perspective on the relation between the personal and the political, between values and identity, posing urgent questions about the cost of freedom.”

Struggling to Learn: An Intimate History of School Desegregation in South Carolina by June Manning Thomas

Thomas was part of the first integrated class in her school in 1964 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and it was a traumatic experience. In her book, she looks at how desegregation happened in South Carolina from the 1950s to the ’60s. Despite rulings from the Supreme Court (including Brown v. Board of Education), all schools in South Carolina were not desegregated until the shockingly late year of 1970.

Antagonistic Cooperation: Jazz, Collage, Fiction, and the Shaping of African American Culture by Robert G. O’Meally

Ok you jazz nerds, I have a book for you. The title comes from Ralph Ellison’s description of ensemble jazz improvisation. Columbia University professor (another one!) O’Meally demonstrates how this concept “runs throughout twentieth-century African American culture to provide a new history of Black creativity and aesthetics.” O’Meally teaches Comparative Literature and has written about jazz for over three decades. Here he talks about Louis Armstrong, Toni Morrison, Duke Ellington, Basquiat, and more.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

True Story

Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date January 13, 2022

Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs

Many, many books have been written about the three men mentioned in the subtitle of this book, but very few have dug into the women who helped share them. In this book, Tubbs traces the parallel lives of Alberta King, Louise Little, and Berdis Baldwin – women who lived through some of the greatest changes in our nation’s history. It’s also a celebration of Black motherhood, and all of the anxiety that comes with sending Black men into the world. I liked this one a lot!

Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election by Stephen Kendrick and Paul Kendrick

Just weeks before the 1960 presidential election, King was arrested at a sit-in at a department store in Atlanta, leading to the first night King ever spent in jail. It was a harrowing moment, as the 31-year-old was transferred, at night, to a notorious state prison overseen by violent white guards. Over the next nine days, King’s imprisonment had an intense impact on the election… as well as galvanized three members of the Kennedy campaign to act, both to free King and help bring electoral victory.

The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. by Peniel E. Joseph

This dual biography explores the ways the philosophies of Malcolm X and King have been pitted against each other as opposites – self-defense vs. nonviolence or Black power vs. civil rights – and why that framing is wrong. Instead, he argues that although the two men had some differences, they spent much of their lives inspiring and pushing each other in the movement for civil rights. I love books that come at familiar topics in new ways, so this one sounds great.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

One Thing I Like

I am newly-obsessed with crossword puzzles. I’m trying to spend less time on social media, but having a hard time staying off my phone in those little moments of waiting throughout the day. I signed up for the New York Times Crossword app and have been gleefully working through the puzzle archive. I am, admittedly, still doing them with autocheck on… but I’m getting better!

My new fascination reminded me of a book from several years ago, Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can’t Live Without Them by Adrienne Raphel. In the book, Raphel documents the history of the crossword puzzle, from the invention “practically by accident” in 1913 to contemporary puzzlers like those who compete in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. There’s some real nerdy stuff happening around here!

True Story

New Releases: a persecuted schoolgirl, a disappearance in the Himalayas, and Asian pop culture

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date January 11, 2022

Courage: My Story of Persecution by Freshta Tori Jan

Part of the middle grade “I, Witness” series, this entry covers Freshta Tori Jan, who was persecuted by the Taliban as a schoolgirl in Afghanistan, as her friends were murdered and her school was shut down. She immigrated to the United States where she now mentors youth and shares her story. This young woman is TWENTY years old. Goodness.

Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas by Harley Rustad

This is about the disappearance of an American backpacker in the Himalayas — more specifically, the Parvati Valley in northern India, which the Wiki entry describes in part as “the thick, coniferous forest gradually [that] makes way for patches of meadowland scattered with boulders.” Thank you, descriptive writer, I appreciate this. The backpacker was a man who worked at a tech startup and quit his job to go on a spiritual quest, I guess. It’s like Eat, Pray, Love, only he seems to not have found temporary romance with a man in Italy (is that what happens? I have not read that book), because this is about his disappearance.

Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, Philip Wang

It is a graphic history of Asian Americans from the last three decades, i.e. the ’90s to the 2020s! BTS! The popularity of sushi! Crazy Rich Asians! It’s a “guided tour through the pop-cultural touchstones and sociopolitical shifts” of this specific timespan, and I think this looks like a total delight. It’s got graphics, charts, essays, what else do you NEED in a book? Probably nothing. Maybe a woman writer, but I’ll just wait for that in volume 2.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

True Story

Remembering Joan Didion and E.O. Wilson

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date January 6, 2022

One Thing I Like

Since the new year, I’ve rediscovered my love for classical music. In particular, I’ve really enjoyed listening to Yo-Yo Ma cello music, including his latest release, Notes for the Future, and some of the brief pieces he shares on Instagram.

I found two nonfiction connections for this pick – a children’s book, Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma by Joanna Ho and Teresa Martinez, and an Audible original, Beginner’s Mind, written and narrated by Yo-Yo Ma. I’m on the lookout for both.

True Story

2022 Nonfiction to Look Forward To

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date January 3, 2022

Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James

JAN 18. I love boarding school books, and this is nonfiction! Even better. James was the first African American legacy student to graduate from The Taft School (I looked it up! it is in Connecticut and looks like where a British country house murder would take place). She became an admissions officer specializing in diversity recruitment. This position “forced her to reflect on her own elite education experience, and to realize how disillusioned she had become with America’s inequitable system.” She covers her own time at Taft as well as the experience of working there. LOOKS GREAT.

Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History by Vidya Krishnan

FEB 1. Maybe this is because I love opera AND Victorian lit, but I feel like I’ve heard just so much about tuberculosis and how much it has ravaged the world. So this looks v interesting. The publisher is calling it the “definitive social history of tuberculosis.” Krishnan looks at the slums of nineteenth century New York to current-day Mumbai and how, while tuberculosis has been seen as a disease of the past, “the cure was never available to black and brown nations.” Also, now there is an antibiotic-resistant version of TB, so there is that. This also looks really good!

Woodsqueer: Crafting a Sustainable Rural Life by Gretchen Legler

FEB 15. Hahahaha sometimes I pick a book just for me. Legler left her busy life to live on a farm in rural Maine with her partner Ruth. That sentence is a delight. They befriend wildlife just like Snow White and barter with neighbors, which I would just love to do, because it sounds extremely fun (“really, Steve? I offer you a chicken and you give me this watering can? This chicken is worth at least three watering cans and you are very aware of that”). Also I love this cover. And it’s a university press book! What! So fun.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

True Story

2021 Nonfiction Highlights: Part II

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date December 21, 2021

Sponsored by Book Riot's Christmas romance prize pack giveaway!

Book Riot is teaming up with Harlequin.com to give away the ultimate Christmas romance prize pack that includes the following titles: Holiday Playbook by Yahrah St. John, Christmas at the Chateau by Rochelle Alers, The Christmas She Married the Playboy by Louise Fuller, A Merry Christmas Date by Syndi Powell, Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak, The Viscount’s Christmas Proposal by Carol Arens.

Here we are! More subjective highlights from the nonfiction world for this closing year. I hope you’ve had the chance to read at least some of the excellent nonfiction that managed to get published during this Time we’re all living through.

I’m delighted to be able to put a spotlight on some of these titles again, because they deserve it. Here we go:

Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome

It’s so good! Broome tells the story of his growing up in less than ideal circumstances, including when he burned down his house, and what it has been like being a queer Black man who feels tremendous isolation. The book is centered around the Gwendolyn Brooks poem “We Real Cool” and is excellent and everyone should read it.

Horse Girls: Recovering, Aspiring, and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond ed. by Halimah Marcus

This book just makes me want to pull out my Breyer horses and start drawing them like I did in fifth grade. It’s a collection of essays written by self-professed horse girls, including Carmen Maria Machado, Jane Smiley, and Sarah Enelow-Snyder— who writes about growing up as a Black barrel racer in central Texas. So many horse-related career and hobby options!

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall, Illustrated by Hugo Martínez

This graphic memoir and history of women-led slave revolts rejects the popularly-held idea that slave revolts were solely led by men. Hall, the granddaughter of enslaved people, combs through “old court records, slave ship captain’s logs, crumbling correspondence, and even the forensic evidence from the bones of enslaved women from the ‘negro burying ground’ uncovered in Manhattan.” Deeply researched AND illustrated AND about a little-known women-centered topic.

The Arbornaut: A Life Discovering the Eighth Continent in the Trees Above Us by Meg Lowman

You know how sometimes, someone is such a nerd about something that it just grabs you? Ok yes, this might be connected to the horse girls book in terms of passionate nerdery, but THIS time, it is about life in the treetops, or “the eighth continent” as Lowman will have. She’s a “tree-top scientist” and goes from Australian rainforests to the Scottish highlands, and shares what life is like up in the trees. So cool.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

For more nonfiction new releases, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

True Story

Some of Book Riot’s Best Nonfiction Coverage

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date December 16, 2021

Sponsored by Book Riot's Christmas romance prize pack giveaway!

Hello hello hello, nonfiction friends! Due to the timing of the holidays, this is actually the last Friday send of True Story you’ll be getting in 2021. This year has truly just flown by for me, although many days, weeks, and months felt incredibly long.

To round out the year, I’d like to use this edition of the newsletter to highlight some of my favorite nonfiction-related posts on Book Riot from the last six-ish months. There’s been some incredible writing there that I haven’t shared enough. In no particular order:

If you need a pep talk, Dee suggests some of the most empowering nonfiction.

If the brain fascinates you, Summer recommends books about the mind.

If you’re thinking about money, Neha rounds up some investment books for beginners.

If you’re a winter sports lover, Liberty collected great books about skiing and snowboarding.

If you love true crime but hate violence, Ashley has a great round up of true crime comics that aren’t about killers.

If you want to expand your nonfiction horizons, Rebecca suggests great nonfiction in translation and the best genre-bending nonfiction of 2021. She also wrote a great post on the book-length essay.

If you want to learn more about the death positive movement, Caitlin explains what that is and suggests some books for newbies.

If you’re interested in climate change or capitalism, Sarah rounds up some books at the intersection of both.

If you’re a sucker for an oral history (like I am), Aisling has eight awesome ones to suggest.

If the last two years have you thinking about public health, Jamie has gathered some impactful books talking about how important it is.

If you love a good nonfiction debate, check out Yashvi’s suggestions for the best nonfiction books of the decade.

If things are feeling a bit dark lately, Kelly wrote about books on wonder and sparking joy.

If you love to read about reading, Senjuti rounds up excellent bibliomemoirs (such a good word).

If you need to brush up on critical race theory, Mikkaka suggests some books to help you make sense of the hubbub.

There’s so much more great stuff on the site, so definitely head over there to explore the nonfiction tag!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

One Thing I Like

I’ve been an avid bullet journal devotee for the last five or so years, so one ritual I always appreciate is wrapping up one journal and starting the next. My journals usually last about a year, so this is the time where I start to think about what new notebook I’m going to use, what changes I want to make, and what goals I want to think about in the next year.

One book I like to revisit is The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll, the “inventor” of bullet journaling. Caroll’s explanation of the system avoids all of the bells and whistles and fancy spreads you’ll see on Instagram to talk about how bullet journaling is really more about mindfulness than productivity. I also appreciate that the system is flexible, and allows you to plan based on what you need at a given moment. It’s been effective for me, and I can’t wait to use the new year as an opportunity to recenter.