Nonfiction November 2023

One of my favourite challenges is coming up, Nonfiction November. Four of the five bloggers are new hosts for this year's event. Welcome and thank you for keeping the tradition going.

The Hosts

Liz, blogs at Adventures in reading, running and working from home, is an editor, transcriber, reader, reviewer, writer and runner. She likes reading literary fiction and nonfiction, travel and biography.

Frances blogs about the books she has read at Volatile Rune and is a published poet, reviewer, sometime storyteller and novelist.

Heather of Based on a True Story lives in Ohio with her husband, surrounded by lots and lots of critters!

Rebekah reads and writes about social justice, atheism, religion, science history, and more on She Seeks Nonfiction.

Lisa blogs about the books she’s read at Hopewell’s Public Library of Life.

How it works

Each Monday, the weekly host will post a topic prompt and include a linkup where you can link your posts, connect with other bloggers, and dive deeper by reading and sharing nonfiction book reviews.

Feel free to use our official Nonfiction November graphics, too!

Here are the topic prompts for each week:

Week 1 (10/30-11/3) Your Year in Nonfiction: Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorites? Have you had a favorite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? (Heather)

Week 2 (11/6-11/10) Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking. (Frances)

Week 3 (11/13-11/17) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. You can be as creative as you like! (Liz)

Week 4 (11/20-11/24) Worldview Shapers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is learning all kinds of things about our world which you never would have known without it. There’s the intriguing, the beautiful, the appalling, and the profound. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Do you think there is a book that should be required reading for everyone? (Rebekah)

Week 5 (11/27-12/1) New To My TBR: It’s been a month full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book! (Lisa)

What will I read?

I have just been on a two month vacation with our camper van, visiting Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece. Most of the time was spent in Greece, and I brought with me a few Greek fiction books to read. Greece has a varied history from Ancient times to Hellenism, Roman times, Byzantium and Ottoman times. A little bit of influence by the Venetians and the Franks as well. I have collected a few nonfiction books from my shelves which covers part of that history. I will not be able to read them all, but will see how far I can go. My main interest in nonfiction is history and biographies, but I am sure you will inspire me to read something in other areas.

• Homerisk hemkomst (Homerian homecoming my trans.) by Sven Delblanc

• 29 filosofer (29 philosophers) by Gunnar Fredriksson

• Byzantium by John Halton

• Byzantium - The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin

• Turkiets historia (The History of Turkey) by Ingmar Karlsson

• The Classic World - An Epic History of Greece and Rome by Robin Lane Fox

• Working IX to V, Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World (2020) by Vicki León

• Byzantium II: The Apogee John Julius Norwich

• Byzantium III: The Decline and Fall John Julius Norwich

Most of the books have been on my shelves for some time, so a good opportunity to tackle them. Looking forward to seeing what you will be reading.