I absolutely loved How to Say Babylon. It is difficult to read about service childhood experiences but when I do, I almost feel as if I'm bearing witness. Lovely wrap up!
It was fun to see how you connected Olive’s prompts to your choices. I’m sure that Olive’s Nonfiction November legacy will live on because the idea is used beyond booktube, out into the larger world of books and reading. In November I saw it everywhere, from publishers catalogues, to library displays, and in industry journals. I’m currently reading Medicine Wheel for the Planet, which is by an Indigenous Canadian ecologist. It’s interesting to learn about her understanding of rewilding, and how the Christian concept of Eden has shaped Western ideas about the natural world and humanity’s place within it.
I’ve heard great things about How to Say Babylon - Salman Rushdie even mentioned it in his book Knife- but I do struggle with memoirs. That’s why I loved Wilding when I read it a few years ago, it was more about the work than the author. So well written and inspiring, I’d love to go and see Knepp some day!
@@josmith5992 she writes so well. But I got a bit bogged down in all the detail of exactly how she was feeling. The detail about Jamaica and Rastsfari was great though. Wilding had a lovely balance. If you visit this part of the UK we can go together!
Thank you so much for the reminder of "Code" I hadn't even heard of that way of life until the past couple years when I've been honing in on the Caribbean. Still don't know a lot of it so absolutely will look into that. I find this Pioneers book fascinating and actually sounds like a perfect holiday gift for someone I know! Thank you! i admit i had forgotten about the prompts, I think I started and then just started going for any nonfic... Titles I made it through Soil by camille dungy - a black woman's journey into gardening and exploring the history /connection of black and native people Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill about her experience being stuck in Scientology and niece of leader. Spirals in Time by Helen Scales- looking at all the sea shells, history, science of the critters in them, culture etc....was more interesting than I anticipated as it was a 'push out of comfort zone' pick An Indigenous People's History of the US by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Twenty Years by Sune Engel Rasmussen - a look at the history of modern Afghanistan and the war the US waged on it through the perspective of five or so people and many supporting based on the journalist-author's experience living there and interacting with these people. Fascinating, well rounded look that held absolutely everyone accountable for their input and was generous in not making the 'bad actors' sympathetic but providing perspective Indigenous Continent by Pekka Hämäläinen - similar to history but views the land now called the United States of America as well as Mexico, parts of Canada and central +South America when relevant from the perspective and achievements of the indigenous peoples that shows just how resilient they really are and how history is very different when not viewed through the slow colonization. Quackery: a brief history of the worst ways to cure everything but Lydia Kang The LIfe and TImes of Hannah Crafts by Gregg Hecimovich - investigating the identity of the author of the first novel written by a black woman but also influences on the book, the history of the time, and the lives of all the potential authors. worthy topic but all over the place. really should have been two if not three different publications in my humble opinion Though it was fiction I also read "Front Desk" which is a middle grade novel but more leaning towards autofiction as it draws from many experiences the author had as a chinese immigrant running a hotel with her parents when she was young.
@@reflectiverambling1148 wow that was an amazing month of nonfiction. I don't know how you packed so much in. I often find I read nonfiction more slowly than fiction. I haven't read any of them either.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebooks A lot of my job is very routine/doesn't take brain power. So four days a week there are at least 6 to 9 hours I can listen and I never listen at regular speed. I dedicated work hours to non-fic and nighttime/ cooking time for fiction or advanced copies (like 20 years) Non fiction I do usually have to listen to a lot slower unless it's a memoir or I have familiarity with the subject.
You’ve had a great month of non-fiction, Ros! Wilding is a book that I want to read. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts about Brian’s book. I, too, was drawn to it for very personal reasons, beyond the fact that our friend Brian wrote it. I, too, grew up hearing the stories of my uncle, my dad’s older brother and hero, who was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force. Although my uncle was killed in the aftermath of the invasion of Normandy, he remained a powerful presence in our family even though no one in my generation knew him. Brian’s book is the only book I read for non-fiction November, but I’m very glad I read it. I’m afraid much of my planned reading for November was quite derailed by the events in the political arena. I’m just getting back on my feet now.
@@BookChatWithPat8668 good to hear you are finding your equilibrium again gradually. When I feel fragile it has to be fiction. World War 2 threw a strong shadow over the lives of our generation I think. My father would never speak about it but my mother said he came back much changed.
I loved How to Say Babylon, especially on audiobook, but it was brutal! I’ve seen Prisoners of Geography while browsing in Waterstone’s and it sounds fascinating, as does Wilding. Though recently been reading Sarum by Edward Rutherford which is fiction about Salisbury over time and he implies that most of the English landscape has been so heavily shaped by agriculture that the last time most of it was truly wild was when we were hunter-gatherers! Interesting to contemplate!
The map book sounds really good. I have been interested in this idea of borders in specific parts of the world. I read Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova and thought it was good, maybe not a deep dive into history but a good read. One I have not read yet, but plan to in 2025 is The Border (with a long subtitle) by Erika Fatland.
@@ariannefowler455 I really enjoyed that Kassabova book. She brought something personal to it that appealed to me. Marshall is drier but borders are always fascinating.
I read Min Kym's memoir. It was an interesting look at being a child prodigy, the culture clash being South Korean in Britain and of course losing a Stradivarius. I have a few reservations about memoirs. Her upbringing seems to have made her a target for domineering people but I wonder about the right of reply when three figures are not coming out of it well in this book, I wonder if the truth of one relationship might have been worse. It's saddening to think that more and more instruments like Stradivarius violins are being kept in vaults because of their value rather than being played by virtuosi.
@@clarepotter7584 I haven't read Gone but yes one always wonders about the other people who come out badly in memoirs. Sinclair does appear to try to be fair and recognise what shaped her father. Art works and unique instruments locked away as investments make me sad and frustrated.
Hey Roz, I didn't get to do nonfiction November as I had hoped to, but was thinking while you were talking about the book "Wilding", have you read "We Bought A Zoo" by Benjamin Mee? I'm sure I reviewed it earlier in the year on my reading channel. I remember seeing the film with the same title umpteen times before ever realizing it is a book.
I absolutely loved How to Say Babylon. It is difficult to read about service childhood experiences but when I do, I almost feel as if I'm bearing witness. Lovely wrap up!
@@FullyBookedMelissa that's a good way to feel about it. I worry that the repetition almost inures me to what I am reading though.
Thank you Ros.
The map book is one I have been meaning to read.
@@BookishTexan you'd enjoy Marshall I think. It is very much an overview but interesting.
It was fun to see how you connected Olive’s prompts to your choices. I’m sure that Olive’s Nonfiction November legacy will live on because the idea is used beyond booktube, out into the larger world of books and reading. In November I saw it everywhere, from publishers catalogues, to library displays, and in industry journals.
I’m currently reading Medicine Wheel for the Planet, which is by an Indigenous Canadian ecologist. It’s interesting to learn about her understanding of rewilding, and how the Christian concept of Eden has shaped Western ideas about the natural world and humanity’s place within it.
@@lindysmagpiereads ah yes both the biblical creation story and Eden influenced western attitudes to nature didn't they?
@ indeed. For example, the idea that there is a state of natural perfection and humans are separate from that
How to Say Babylon really piqued my interest. Great video, Ros.
@@Shellyish it is very well written and the context is fascinating.
I’ve heard great things about How to Say Babylon - Salman Rushdie even mentioned it in his book Knife- but I do struggle with memoirs. That’s why I loved Wilding when I read it a few years ago, it was more about the work than the author. So well written and inspiring, I’d love to go and see Knepp some day!
@@josmith5992 she writes so well. But I got a bit bogged down in all the detail of exactly how she was feeling. The detail about Jamaica and Rastsfari was great though. Wilding had a lovely balance. If you visit this part of the UK we can go together!
Great idea Ros!
How to Say Babylon was a harrowing but fascinating read. I like the sound of Prisoners of Geography, will keep my eye out for that.
@@Ali-AvidReader it was fascinating wasn't it? So much I didn't know and she takes care to be even-handed about Rastafari.
Thank you so much for the reminder of "Code" I hadn't even heard of that way of life until the past couple years when I've been honing in on the Caribbean. Still don't know a lot of it so absolutely will look into that. I find this Pioneers book fascinating and actually sounds like a perfect holiday gift for someone I know! Thank you!
i admit i had forgotten about the prompts, I think I started and then just started going for any nonfic... Titles I made it through
Soil by camille dungy - a black woman's journey into gardening and exploring the history /connection of black and native people
Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill about her experience being stuck in Scientology and niece of leader.
Spirals in Time by Helen Scales- looking at all the sea shells, history, science of the critters in them, culture etc....was more interesting than I anticipated as it was a 'push out of comfort zone' pick
An Indigenous People's History of the US by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz,
Twenty Years by Sune Engel Rasmussen - a look at the history of modern Afghanistan and the war the US waged on it through the perspective of five or so people and many supporting based on the journalist-author's experience living there and interacting with these people. Fascinating, well rounded look that held absolutely everyone accountable for their input and was generous in not making the 'bad actors' sympathetic but providing perspective
Indigenous Continent by Pekka Hämäläinen - similar to history but views the land now called the United States of America as well as Mexico, parts of Canada and central +South America when relevant from the perspective and achievements of the indigenous peoples that shows just how resilient they really are and how history is very different when not viewed through the slow colonization.
Quackery: a brief history of the worst ways to cure everything but Lydia Kang
The LIfe and TImes of Hannah Crafts by Gregg Hecimovich - investigating the identity of the author of the first novel written by a black woman but also influences on the book, the history of the time, and the lives of all the potential authors. worthy topic but all over the place. really should have been two if not three different publications in my humble opinion
Though it was fiction I also read "Front Desk" which is a middle grade novel but more leaning towards autofiction as it draws from many experiences the author had as a chinese immigrant running a hotel with her parents when she was young.
@@reflectiverambling1148 wow that was an amazing month of nonfiction. I don't know how you packed so much in. I often find I read nonfiction more slowly than fiction. I haven't read any of them either.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebooks A lot of my job is very routine/doesn't take brain power. So four days a week there are at least 6 to 9 hours I can listen and I never listen at regular speed. I dedicated work hours to non-fic and nighttime/ cooking time for fiction or advanced copies (like 20 years) Non fiction I do usually have to listen to a lot slower unless it's a memoir or I have familiarity with the subject.
You’ve had a great month of non-fiction, Ros! Wilding is a book that I want to read. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts about Brian’s book. I, too, was drawn to it for very personal reasons, beyond the fact that our friend Brian wrote it. I, too, grew up hearing the stories of my uncle, my dad’s older brother and hero, who was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force. Although my uncle was killed in the aftermath of the invasion of Normandy, he remained a powerful presence in our family even though no one in my generation knew him. Brian’s book is the only book I read for non-fiction November, but I’m very glad I read it. I’m afraid much of my planned reading for November was quite derailed by the events in the political arena. I’m just getting back on my feet now.
@@BookChatWithPat8668 good to hear you are finding your equilibrium again gradually. When I feel fragile it has to be fiction. World War 2 threw a strong shadow over the lives of our generation I think. My father would never speak about it but my mother said he came back much changed.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebooks Oh I am sure your dad was profoundly affected.
I really enjoyed Prisoners of Geography when I read it back in 2018, such an interesting read. I really want to pick up How To Say Babylon
@@AbiofPellinor it's fascinating.
I loved How to Say Babylon, especially on audiobook, but it was brutal! I’ve seen Prisoners of Geography while browsing in Waterstone’s and it sounds fascinating, as does Wilding. Though recently been reading Sarum by Edward Rutherford which is fiction about Salisbury over time and he implies that most of the English landscape has been so heavily shaped by agriculture that the last time most of it was truly wild was when we were hunter-gatherers! Interesting to contemplate!
@@spreadbookjoy she does unpick that somewhat or more the assumption that everywhere was heavily wooded before we started farming.
@ I’ll definitely look into it some more - it’s an interesting topic!
The map book sounds really good. I have been interested in this idea of borders in specific parts of the world. I read Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova and thought it was good, maybe not a deep dive into history but a good read. One I have not read yet, but plan to in 2025 is The Border (with a long subtitle) by Erika Fatland.
@@ariannefowler455 I really enjoyed that Kassabova book. She brought something personal to it that appealed to me. Marshall is drier but borders are always fascinating.
I read Min Kym's memoir. It was an interesting look at being a child prodigy, the culture clash being South Korean in Britain and of course losing a Stradivarius. I have a few reservations about memoirs. Her upbringing seems to have made her a target for domineering people but I wonder about the right of reply when three figures are not coming out of it well in this book, I wonder if the truth of one relationship might have been worse. It's saddening to think that more and more instruments like Stradivarius violins are being kept in vaults because of their value rather than being played by virtuosi.
@@clarepotter7584 I haven't read Gone but yes one always wonders about the other people who come out badly in memoirs. Sinclair does appear to try to be fair and recognise what shaped her father. Art works and unique instruments locked away as investments make me sad and frustrated.
Hey Roz, I didn't get to do nonfiction November as I had hoped to, but was thinking while you were talking about the book "Wilding", have you read "We Bought A Zoo" by Benjamin Mee? I'm sure I reviewed it earlier in the year on my reading channel. I remember seeing the film with the same title umpteen times before ever realizing it is a book.
@@harmonyln7 no I haven't but I grew up reading Gerald Durrell's books about starting and running Jersey Zoo so I might enjoy it.