Throughout the month of November, bloggers Liz, Frances, Heather,  Rebekah and Deb invite you to celebrate Nonfiction November with us.

Week 5 (11/25-11/29) 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! (Deb)

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking part in Nonfiction November and there are so many fascinating books I could easily add to my TBR list. But I know my limitations, so these are my choices. I’ve listed them in A – Z title order:

Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History by Moudhy Al-Rashid from Stephanie @ Bookfever. Thousands of years ago, in a part of the world we now call ancient Mesopotamia, people began writing things down for the very first time. Historian Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid brings us closer to this ancient past and the lives of the people who lived in this extraordinary society.

Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive’s Tour of the Bookshops of Britain by Robin Ince – from Liz @ Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home. In Autumn 2021, Robin Ince’s stadium tour with Professor Brian Cox was postponed due to the pandemic. Rather than do nothing, he decided he would instead go on a tour of over a hundred bookshops, from Wigtown to Penzance; from Swansea to Margate. Packed with witty anecdotes and tall tales, Bibliomaniac takes the reader on a journey across Britain as Robin explores his lifelong love of bookshops and books – and also tries to find out just why he can never have enough of them.

The Diet Myth by Tim Spector – from Annabel @ Annabookbel. Professor Tim Spector demystifies the common misconceptions about fat, calories, vitamins and nutrients. Only by understanding what makes our own personal microbes tick can we overcome the confusion of modern nutrition, and achieve a healthy gut and a healthy body.

Endurance: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Legendary Ship by John Shears & Nico Vincent – from Stephanie @ Bookfever. In March 2022, an international polar expedition team made an astonishing find: the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s legendary Endurance, lost in 1915 after being crushed by ice and then swallowed by the Weddell Sea. The harrowing story of Shackleton’s survival and rescue of all 27 men aboard is well known, but the ship has lain unseen for a century, 10,000 feet underwater—until now. The vessel remains incredibly intact, as crystal-clear photography and digital scans from the expedition reveal.

The Fat of the Land by John Seymour – from Liz @ Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home. I have The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour, a pioneer of self-sufficiency, first published in 1976, a handbook to living off the land. Years earlier, Seymour had written and published The Fat of the Land, telling of how he and his family settled in Suffolk and began a life entirely separate from the modern world. This new edition comes complete with Sally Seymour’s original illustrations, a foreword by Anne Seymour and a new introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Gut by Gloria Enders – from Annabel @Annabookbel. For too long, the gut has been the body’s most ignored and least appreciated organ, but it turns out that it’s responsible for more than just dirty work: our gut is at the core of who we are. Gut, an international bestseller, gives the alimentary canal its long-overdue moment in the spotlight. Giulia Enders explains the gut’s magic, answering questions like: Why does acid reflux happen? What’s really up with gluten and lactose intolerance? How does the gut affect obesity and mood? Communication between the gut and the brain is one of the fastest-growing areas of medical research—on par with stem-cell research. Our gut reactions, we learn, are intimately connected with our physical and mental well-being.

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by Fiona Sampson. From Frances @ Volatine Rune. Fiona Sampson sifts through letters, diaries and records to find the real Mary Shelley. She uncovers a complex, generous character – friend, intellectual, lover and mother – trying to fulfil her own passionate commitment to writing at a time when to be a woman writer was an extraordinary and costly anomaly. Published for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, this is a major new work of biography by a prize-winning writer and poet.

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, and Mike Merryman-Lotze – From Rebekah @ She Seeks Nonfiction. This is a moving and wide-ranging anthology of Palestinian writers and artists. It constitutes a collective effort to organize and center Palestinian voices in the ongoing struggle and imagines what the future of Gaza could be, while reaffirming the critical role of Gaza in Palestinian identity, history, and struggle for liberation.

Two Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning by Fiona Sampson. From Frances @ Volatine Rune. This vividly written biography, incorporates recent archival discoveries to reveal the woman herself: a literary giant and a high-profile activist for the abolition of slavery who believed herself to be of mixed heritage; and a writer who defied chronic illness and long-term disability to change the course of cultural history. It holds up a mirror to the woman, her art – and the art of biography itself.