For several years now I’ve been devoting November to reading nonfiction. In 2024 I discovered that Nonfiction November is an Actual Thing. I participated in organized Nonfiction November that year, but last year I chose to go back on my own.
However, when I ran across the announcement and discussion topics for this year’s Nonfiction November, I discovered that the weekly topics correspond to the way I’ve been thinking about my reading for this year, so I’ve decided to go ahead and formally participate again.
Week 1 (November 2-8) – My Year in Nonfiction
Hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story.
What nonfiction books did you read this year? What were your favorites? Did you find yourself reading a particular category of nonfiction most often?
I read WAY more fiction than nonfiction, which is why I designate November for reading nonfiction. In fact, I usually read almost no nonfiction earlier in any given year, knowing that I’ll catch up in November. So I must admit that I haven’t yet read any nonfiction in 2026.
However, I have drawn up a list of books to read this month—a list that’s probably much longer than the number of books I’ll be able to read this month. Most of these books concern the general topics of stories and storytelling, and of how reading has been an important part of individuals’ lives.
Here are some of the books on that list:
- The Agatha Christie Cure: What Reading the Queen of Crime Taught Me About Life by Cathy Rentzenbrink
- Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life by Yiyun Li
- Reading the Waves by Lidia Yuknavitch
- Unsayable: A Life in Writing by Michael Cunningham
- Plot Twist: A Memoir on Writing by Harlan Coben
- We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine by Alissa Wilkinson
- Notes to John by Joan Didion
I’m looking forward to learning about what nonfiction everyone else is reading, and I expect I’ll end up adding lots of titles to my TBR list for future Nonfiction Novembers.
© 2026 by Mary Daniels Brown
