2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge: I'm Gonna Do It!

 

 Shellyrae at Book'd Out is hosting  the 2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.  Since I so enjoyed Nonfiction November, I'm signing up for this one, in the form of a Nonfiction Grazer, the description of which is: "Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal, or none at all, just share the nonfiction you read through the year."  The other forms of participation require choice each month of a book from 12 different specific categories, something I find too restrictive.  I'd rather be at liberty to read whatever attracts my attention.  I'm a maverick, an opinionated old lady, and a nonconformist.  The Nonfiction Grazer describes me well.  I'll read darn near anything!  Just let me be the one to choose what I'll read.

I prefer reading nonfiction, though I will also read fiction.  In fact, I'd be happy to also sign up for a fiction reading challenge.  As long as I can pick what I will be reading.  In the fiction category, please don't ask me to read romance!  Definitely not my cup of tea.

Onward!

Three Book Journals for Recording Your Reading

 As I grow older, and as I have ADHD, my memory is not so good these days.  For that reason, I look for ways to record my reading, so I can see what I've read in the last couple decades, and some from before that.  I like to go back and look at what I've already read.  I also use these book journals to be sure I don't buy a book I've already read years before!

I have, since the late 1990s, found three book journals for recording my reading.  Here are my reviews of them.

The first one I found is Bookography: The Journal and Journey of my Well-Read Life, from Levenger, a website for readers and writers, with all sorts of gadgets, paper, pens, and other items related to reading and writing (www.levenger.com).  This record is letter-sized (8.5 x 11).  It is bound with Levenger's clever disk binding, with a special hole-punch and disk arrangement, making the record ultimately flexible in the way you can arrange the pages.  That is a key to the use of this particular format.

There is an introduction, instructing the user on how to use this journal.  This format is divided into several sections: List of Candidates (books you want to read), Library of Candidates (your TBR or TRQ), Now Reading (what you're reading at the moment), Apres Reading (first reactions to having read the book), Living Library (those you've read, and liked, and wish to keep, perhaps to re-read), and Castaways (the ones you simply could not finish).  Each page, which is the record of the individual book, reflects these divisions.  As the user progresses through these stages with each book, he or she fills in the page, section by section.

 As the user fills in the page, he or she migrates the page through the divisions of the journal, which are marked by dividers.  Each page will find its final place in either the Living Library section, or among the Castaways.  Information recorded includes title, author, date acquired/read, why you want to read the book, how it fits into each of the divisions of the record, and any other aspect the user cares to mention.

For the way I operate, this format is confusing and cumbersome.  It is not easy to use, and therefore, I did not use it effectively.  It just doesn't fit my personal style.  One thing offputting to me is that, while the back of each page has ample note space for recording my reactions to a book, the format requires flipping back and forth from the front of the page, the starting place for notes on specific aspects of the book, to the back of the page for more space in which to continue to record these reactions.  It's a great idea, and may work for some people.  It just doesn't work for me.

The second format I encountered is one I picked up at a local independent bookseller.  It is Book Lover's Journal, produced by Cachet Products, Inc., of Fairfield, New Jersey.  They may not be in business any more.  This record is small, 5 inches by 8 inches.  There is little room to record a reaction to a book, and the front of the page is one individual record, and the back of the page is another record.  This forces each review to be too brief for my taste.

Information asked for on each record page is title, author, publisher, date, where bought or borrowed from, recommended by, date read, recommended to, subject, and comments.  My chief complaint, again, is the lack of enough space to write what I consider to be a good, informative, full review.

The third and last journal format is one more suited to my style.  It is the Premium Reading Journal, by Clever Fox.  I found this one on Amazon.com.  It is also smaller than the Levenger journal, this one being 5x8.  The accompanying material says this journal is of European manufacture.  The whole package is elegance itself: the journal is in book form, with a traditional binding.  It comes in a lovely little box that closes magnetically.  There is a brochure which describes in detail how to use this journal.  In the box is a ribbon, to be placed under the journal, for ease in lifting the journal out of the box!  That is elegance.  

For all that elegance, I found the price quite reasonable, and I'm a direct descendant of Massachusetts Puritans, with a strong streak of that penny-pinching New England thrift in my bones.  

The journal begins with an index.  The user writes the journal page number and the title of the book reviewed on that page.  The user can rate the book from one to five stars in the third column of the index.  Next is the To Be Read (TBR) list, where the user writes the title of the book in the first column, and, in the next three, records whether the book is a "want" or a "have," and whether the user finally got around to reading it.   Next is a section "to help you track your daily reading habit and ensure you regularly read all year long."  You get the sense that They're Watching You!  The user simply places a check mark in the box under each month and day.  

In the next section, the user records his or her favorite authors, with name, the user's favorite book or series by that author, other books in the series (if it is in a series), and what the user likes about the author's books.  The next two-page spread presents a reading challenge, where the user enters their selection under a variety of criteria, for example, a book by an author from a marginalized community, or a graphic novel.  Next, under Literary Highlights, the user can comment on such aspects of reading as the Most Unexpected Gem they found in their reading, or the Most Immersive Worldbuilding.  After that comes My Favorite Quotes, where the user can record bon mots from their reading, with the quotation, the book, the author, and the page number on which the quotation appears.

Then comes the list of books the user just could not force themselves to finish, giving the book, the author, the last page read, and the reason they stopped reading it.  Here's the place where the user can -- in a sentence or two -- let the author of dreck have it with both barrels.  One must have one's standards.

The comes the meat of the journal: the area where the user records each book they have read.  This section consists of two-page spreads for the user's reviews.  At the top of the left-hand page is a section for recording the basic information: author, title, genre, year published, number of pages, whether fiction or non-fiction, and format (book, audiobook, or e-book).  The user may also enter the date begun and the date finished, and may fill in a pie chart for rating the writing, characters, plot, readability, setting, and enjoyment, and can also indicate how many stars they give each book.  The pie chart is skewed toward fiction, but may also be used for non-fiction.  The segments of the pie chart are graduated, so the user can indicate how good or how bad each aspect on the pie chart seemed to them.  On the rest of the left-hand page, the user may record their first impressions of the book, how the book may have challenged their beliefs or ideas, and the key takeaway they'll remember about the book.  On the right-hand page is ample space for "Thoughts and Notes."  The layout of the two-page spread in this section means the user does not have to keep flipping the page back and forth to fill in everything.   This journal is definitely more suited to my style.

There certainly are other book journals out there, in a variety of formats.  I don't think I'll be looking anymore, unless it comes to pass that I can't get the Clever Fox journal anymore.  I'm probably going to have to buy one each year!

Happy reading!

 

Nonfiction November: Week 2. A genre in which I haven't read?

Here it is week 2 of the Nonfiction November Challenge!  I'm so glad to see so many people reading so many interesting books!  This week's blog posting is hosted by Frances at The Volatile Rune.

Week 2 Prompt:

"There are many topics to choose from when looking for a nonfiction book.  For example:  Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, Travel, Health, Politics, History, Religion and Spirituality, Science, Art, Medicine, Gardening, Food, Business, Education, Music to name but a few.  Maybe use this week to  challenge yourself to pick a genre you wouldn’t normally read?   Or stick to what you usually like is also fine.  If you are a nonfiction genre newbie, did your choice encourage you to read more?" 

Is there a genre in which I haven't read?  I've read at least one book in the categories listed in the prompt, and I have to add genealogy and language to the list.  So instead of wracking my brain to try to come up with a category of nonfiction I've never read, here is a list of books, one in each category heretofore mentioned, that I have read.

Biography:  Walkin' Lawton, by John Dos Passos Coggin.  Lawton Chiles, Governor of Florida 1991-1998, campaigned by walking practically the entire state as a way of meeting Floridians of all socio-economic levels.  He was an excellent governor, a progressive.  His main concern was always the welfare and betterment of the people of Florida.  He died suddenly during his second term, an event that shocked and saddened us all.  John Dos Passos Coggin is the grandson of the acclaimed novelist John Dos Passos, known mainly for his trilogy, U.S.A.

Autobiography:  Straight Shooting, by Robert Stack, with Mark Evans.  Open this book and it is like walking into a Starbuck's and sitting down at a table with Robert Stack as he relates outrageously funny tales about his life.  He also was a library of inside information about Hollywood, as his mother knew a number of Hollywood notables and he grew up in the film capital's aura.  

Memoir:  The Honeycomb, by Adela Rogers St. Johns.  The author was a celebrated reporter, screenwriter, and novelist.  In this memoir, she recounts some of her journalistic and life adventures, including her encounter with the notorious publisher William Randolph Hearst.  I read this as a teenager, and it inspired me as a writer.

Travel:  Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain, by George Mahood.  Mahood and a friend began this unusual and madcap travelogue with nothing but their Union-jack patterned underpants.  They started walking in the south of England and accumulated what they needed along the way to the north of Scotland by the kindness of strangers -- clothing, shoes, food, transportation, lodging.  What they acquired and how makes for a fascinating and wonderful read!

Health:  The Art of Cooking for the Diabetic, by Mary Abbot Hess, LHD, MS, RD, FADA.  Type 2 Diabetes is our family curse: my mother and brother had it, my husband and I and our older daughter have it, my husband's sister and their father had it.  The 375 recipes in this book make an effort to be tasty, and include full nutrition information.  The last revision was in 1996, the one I bought when my mother's diabetes was diagnosed, so some of the information in the book may be out of date.   

Politics:  Jacksonville: The Consolidation Story from Civil Rights to the Jaguars, by James B. Crooks.  I grew up in Jacksonville and was a Government major at Florida State University when the vote on consolidating the city and county governments was taken.  Jacksonville's municipal problems had mushroomed, and Consolidation was offered as a remedy.  Here's one observer's take on how it came about and how it has fared since that 1968 vote.

History:   If it Takes All Summer: Martin Luther King, the KKK, and States' Rights in St. Augustine, 1964, by Dan R. Warren.  Warren was a Special Prosecutor appointed by Florida Governor Farris Bryant to investigate demonstrations and violence in St. Augustine.  1964 was the 400th Anniversary of the settlement of St. Augustine in 1564 by Pedro Menendez de Aviles.  The festivities were disrupted by violent reactions by white resistors to peaceful demonstrations by the once-again ignored black population of the city.  

 Religion: One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Religion, by Richard Abanes.  This often critical history is well documented, with over 100 pages of endnotes.  This faith, in which adherents do an incredible job of taking care of their own, has had its controversies and struggles.  Religion is at times a hot-button topic.  The reader must make up their own mind on this one, but it is an engrossing book.

Science: Geologic History of Florida: Major Events that Formed the Sunshine State, by Albert C. Hine.  I first read this book in pre-publication manuscript, as it was the textbook for the course I took in Florida geology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.  The well-illustrated finished text is an elegant story of the formation of Florida millions of years ago, and its current status and challenges. 

Art:  Florida's American Heritage River: Images from the St. Johns Region, by Mallory M. O'Connor and Gary Monroe.  Lavish illustrations trace a history of the St. Johns River, one of two navigable north-flowing rivers in the world (the other is the Nile) as portrayed by artists from a self-taught ex-employee with a grievance to such luminaries as Winslow Homer and Martin Johnson Heade.  Packed with intriguing facts you never knew, this is an elegant and engaging book that will have a permanent place on your shelves.

Medicine:  Quest for a Cure: the Public Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1773-1885, by Shomer S. Zwelling.  This slim volume published by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation makes me awfully glad I was born in the 20th Century!   Williamsburg's public hospital was a mental institution, and medicine in regard to mental health was in its infancy during the period covered in this book.  Treatment of mental illness and treatment of patients (in the sense of how they were perceived and dealt with) could be, to us, horrifying.

Gardening:  Florida Home Grown 2: the Edible Landscape, by Tom MacCubbin.  I used to have a garden, and MacCubbin's book was one of my go-to tomes for Florida gardening, which is vastly different from gardening in the north.  So many gardening books are slanted toward the states north of us.  Tom MacCubbin saw a niche that needed covering, and he covered it well.  The edible landscape discusses not only garden plots, but also using fruits and veggies in landscaping -- veggies as a border, fruit trees for the yard -- such a very Florida thing to do. 

 Food:  Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach.  The story of our digestive tract is told with humor by science writer Roach, but you had better have a strong stomach to read it, as it gets into some of the grittiest of nitty-gritty details about digestion.  Don't eat before reading!

Business:  Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills.  In this book is all an individual needs to set up and run a business offering professional genealogy services, from structuring the business to contracts to fees and recordkeeping.  Chapters are written by the top-tier professional genealogists, most of whom carry professional certification credentials.

 Education:  Self-University, by Charles D. Hayes.  Education is where you find it, in a dedicated institution or by your own design as an auto-didact.  I've done both, and enjoyed it.  Hayes dissects institutional education, the media, and other outside influences.  Then he builds on how one can educate oneself through knowledge and experience.  The book is skewed toward the workplace, and in that, at a certain level.  But the idea of designing one's own learning program can fit anyone.

Music: The American Songbag, by Carl Sandburg.  Noted American poet Carl Sandburg gathered American music from folk songs to torch songs to ethnic songs, including all eight verses of "La Cucaracha."  I have the 1990 edition, which includes an introduction by Garrison Keillor, of The Prairie Home Companion fame.  The book is divided into sections by type of song.  Brief explanatory notes give some information about the song -- its meaning, its origin.   

Language:  A Pleasure in Words, by Eugene T. Maleska.  Crossword-puzzle editor for the New York Times when he wrote this book, Maleska looks at the etymology of words, noting contributions to English from the Greeks and Romans, the French, the Spanish and Italians, and other ethnicities.  Contributions?  As James D. Nicoll has it, "English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for vocabulary."

 Genealogy:  Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and its Aftermath, by John Philip Coletta.  Colleta had a bit of family lore about an ancestor's death at Rolling Fork Landing in Mississippi in 1873.  He embarked on years of painstaking research, meticulously documented in the book, to tell the story and propose possible solutions to the mystery.  This is a textbook of genealogical research.

There you have it.  If you can think of a category I haven't covered here, let me know.  I just might have a book on my shelves that fits it!

 

Reading on the Kindle

The Kindle I ordered arrived Wednesday.  I had already installed the Kindle for PC program on my desktop computer and had books waiting to put on the Kindle.  I was happy to learn that the Kindle will read PDF files, because I have journal articles, books from Google Books, and whole issues of the Florida Historical Quarterly in PDF form for my St. Augustine project (which I discuss on my genealogy blog; see at right for link).  So I have put those on the Kindle, too.  Now I can read and make notes for the project at various times.

Thursday I was on campus all day, and it was a gloppy, rainy, gloomy wet cold day.  Ugh.  But I was happy to sit in the History Commons or on a bench in the building where my Spanish class is, and after doing my required reading, I read on the Kindle.  Right now, I'm reading Mighty Fitz: the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Michael Schumacher.  It is interesting, and I like reading about maritime incidents, having been in the Coast Guard.  The author seems to do a good job of reporting the facts and not getting terribly judgemental.   That is not to say that he doesn't speculate, but then, in the case of this particular incident, much is speculation.  In all, it is a sobering and sometimes chilling story.

Another thing I can do with the Kindle is type up my class notes and put them on the device, so I can study and review at odd times.  The free program Calibre, an e-book management program, says that there is some difficulty in converting Microsoft Word docx files, but the solution to that is simple:  have Word export the file as a PDF, and load that right onto the Kindle.  Easy peasy.

In the History Commons, I talked with the Departmental office manager, who was eating her lunch.  I told her I had a new toy, and it turns out she did, too.  She had bought one of the first Sony e-readers years ago, and had read it to death.  It did not owe her anything when it gave up the ghost, and she promptly ordered another one.  We compared our machines, discussing our preferences and pros and cons.  We agreed that the "e-ink" technology being used by apparently all the major readers is eminently easy on the eyes, and produces a very sharp image.  Illustrations, especially photographs, come out looking great, with exacting detail.  They appear like greyscale newspaper photographs, only much sharper.

My younger daughter had the bon mot concerning the e-ink technology, however:  "It's a high-tech Etch-a-Sketch," she said.
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