Those who know me, or who have looked at my archive here, will not be terribly surprised that the Non-Fiction Challenge square is the first prompt I finished for the Hardest Reading Challenge You’ll Ever Do. In fact, I joined the challenge in Sept but (as is allowed) retroactively counted some books I read after the official July 7 start date. If I had wanted to, I could have easily filled this square just with books I’d read in that two month window. I really like non-fiction!
This is a pretty straight-forward challenge: read five non-fiction books, each from a different sub-category of non-fiction. Here’s what I chose.
Biography: Positive Obsession by Susana M. Morris
This is an excellent biography of Octavia E. Butler. A cool thing about Butler is that she understood how important her writing was, so she made arrangements for her decades of journals to be donated to an archive after she passed away. That allows Morris to craft a thoughtful and thorough biography without relying on a lot of conjecture and hearsay. Highly recommended!
History: Between Two Rivers by Moudhy al-Rashid
This is a history of Mesopotamia told through a collection of artifacts found in what may or may not have been an ancient museum. The author, an Assyriologist, weaves together history, speculation, and her own personal experiences to create a rich picture of what life was like in Mesopotamia. Also highly recommended!
Memoir: The Last Cold Place by Naira de Gracia
Please see my full review of The Last Cold Place.
Women’s Studies: The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women by Rosalie Gilbert
Ok, maybe it’s a small stretch to call this Women’s Studies, but that’s how it’s categorized in Libby! This is one of those entertaining non-fiction books that presents a lot of “did you know?” style fun facts about medieval life with a cheeky sense of humor. It is not the most academically rigorous book but it’s an enjoyable read for sure.
Medical Science: Replaceable You by Mary Roach
Please see my full review of Replaceable You.
This was a fun square to fill, and now I’m going to enjoy spending the rest of the challenge fitting non-fiction books into other prompts. I’m not sure how soon I’ll complete another square — I’m as always, somewhat at the whims of Libby hold times, and I’m currently prioritizing wrapping up the rest of my 2025 reading challenges before the end of the year.
Have you read any of these non-fiction books? Is there a non-fiction book you think I should add to my TBR? Bonus points if it has a great audio edition!