Bringing it to the Table by Wendell Berry

My first new book of the year! At the end of the year, I decided to read the top book on my TBR. It was a Wendell Berry book recommended from The Constant Farmer. My library didn’t have that book, but this one looked perfect, especially since I’m teaching a People, Plants, and Places class next semester.

Published: 2009

Genre: nonfiction farming

Length: 234 pages

Summary: Short version: Essays about farming, farmers and food

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Miss Adventure is reading this for her first Great Book of the modern era. As per usual, I read it as well so we could discuss it together.

Published: 1854 (so it’s available for free at Project Gutenberg)

Genre: nonfiction memoir

Length: 216 pages

Setting: Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts, 1845-1947

Summary: Short version: A collection of essays that describe a year of Thoreau’s life on Walden Pond

Pantone by Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker

I saw this book mentioned in a book wrap-up by Gretchen Rubin. It sounded like such an interesting concept, and I really enjoyed The Secret Lives of Color. Luckily, I found a copy in my library.

Subtitle:The Twentieth Century in Color

Published: 2011

Genre: nonfiction history

Length: 191 pages of text, 207 pages total

Summary: Short version: Read the subtitle

Conversations with US – Great Lakes States by Chris Register

We hosted the author while he was on his bike tour. I was curious to see how his trip and book all turned out.

Published: 2019

Genre: nonfiction travel memoir

Length: 257 pages

Setting: July-September, 2015, in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York

Summary: Short version: A bike trip through the Great Lakes states interviewing people

Storm in a Teacup by Helen Czerski

I found this book as I was poring through the library’s catalog for physics books. I decided it would be a good pop science book for Miss Adventure to start the year with.

Subtitle: The Physics of Everyday Life

Published: 2016

Genre: nonfiction physics

Length: 250 pages of text, 275 pages total

Summary: Short version: See the subtitle

Explorers’ Sketchbooks by Huw Lewis-Jones and Kari Herbert

I watched an interview with Deanna Raybourne where she said Margaret Fountaine was her inspiration for her character Veronica Speedwell. She also mentioned how delightful Fountaine’s sketchbooks were. When I looked in my library system for anything by Fountaine, this book was the only hit. I thought it sounded interesting, and might help to scratch my travel itch.

Subtitle: The Art of Discovery & Adventure

Published: 2016 in the UK, 2017 in the US

Genre: nonfiction biography

Length: 313 pages of text, 320 pages with indices

Summary: Short version: A description of 70 explorers and reproductions from their sketchbooks

Tetris by Box Brown

I was looking for a graphic novel at the library and finally figured out how to search by publisher. This is useful, because I love the First Second line of graphic novels and now I can just get a list of the ones my library owns. This was the first one on the list that I wanted to read.

Subtitle: The Games People Play

Published: 2016

Genre: nonfiction graphic novel

Length: 253 pages

Setting: mostly Russia, 1984 to today

Summary: Short version: The history behind the hit video game, Tetris

Spinning by Tillie Walden

I went through a list of First Second graphic novels and found one we hadn’t read that our library had. And yes, this actually came from the library. They’ve opened up for curbside delivery at least. As long as we know what we want, we can get books.

Published: 2017

Genre: graphic novel YA memoir

Length: 392 pages

Setting: Mostly Austin, TX, 2000s

Summary: Short version: Tillie’s life growing up gay and a competitive figure skater

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

My mother-in-law gave me this book after she read it. I read it now because it’s in my house and I haven’t read it before. Those books are few and far between at this point. The good news is the libraries are opening up next week, at least for curbside service. I just have to place holds instead of wandering the stacks.

Subtitle: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Published: 2011

Genre: nonfiction biography

Length: 308 pages of story, 398 pages total

Setting: Washington, D. C. (mostly), 1876-1885

Summary: Short version: Garfield, a reluctant President, is shot in office and dies of infection

Vaccinated by Paul A. Offit

The Last Word on Nothing did a recent post about Maurice Hilleman. I was so fascinated by the writeup that I put the book they mentioned on my TBR. I thought it was timely reading about the creation of vaccines while in a pandemic, waiting for a vaccine. Bonus, the library had the ebook.

Subtitle: One Man’s Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest Diseases

Published: 2007

Genre: nonfiction historical science

Length: 205 pages of text, 254 pages total

Setting: 1919-2005, various locations in the U.S.

Summary: Short version: The history of vaccines, focusing on the work on Maurice Hilleman