Wrap-Up of the 2023 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

There were no set number of books required to be read for the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. I managed to read 7 books but they all were just OK. Reading more nonfiction books is a goal that I have but I need to be more intentional about selecting what I read. As I have been drafting my end of year challenge posts, I see that in several challenges I did not like half of the books I read. This is unusual. In prior years I liked so many books that it was hard to rate them. Regardless, here is what I read in 2023:

The White Ship by Charles Spencer

The Bright Ages by Seb Falk

The Middle Ages by Eleanor Janega

The Rebel King by Tom Bower

Camilla by Angela Levin

Traitor King by Andrew Loundes

Chicago The Great Retirement Resource by Russ Fahrner and Bruce Bohrer

Favorite Book:  The Middle Ages

Second Favorite Book:  Traitor King

Least Favorite Book:  The White Ship

Chicago The Great Retirement Resource

I met the authors of this book at Chicago's Printer's Row Lit Fest earlier this year.  They were fantastic salesmen and I purchased the book from them there.  The two of them also co-authored another retirement book that they said covers everything imaginable about retirement. I was told that the Chicago version of their first book would contain the same information, including financial information.  

This Chicago retirement resource does not have financial information.  That did not bother me because I do not need that type of information.  At the time of the Lit Fest I had not decided on retiring but ended up doing so earlier this month.  This book has some great information on things to do and see in Chicago.  However, since I have a mobility impairment most of these activities are not within the realm of possibility for me.  I was disappointed.  There is tons of information on a wide variety of activities for healthy folks and the TABs (temporarily able bodied as we call them in the disability community), but leaves out accessibility information entirely.

While I am  disappointed with the book, I realize that only someone with a disability would be able to write such a guidebook for people with disabilities.  I wonder whether I should fill in this gap and write my own retirement resource book for my community.  After all, I already know what is possible and would not have to do much research. However, I am not feeling the oomph right now for writing a book.  Perhaps later.

Since this book has a lot of good ideas for things to become involved with I will rate the book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Camilla From Outcast to Queen Consort

Camilla From Outcast to Queen Consort was written by one of my favorite UK news reporters, Angela Levin. It paints a much different portrait of Camilla than that in Tom Bower’s recently updated book Rebel King. Let's see what Levin tells us about her.

The publisher's summary:

For many years, Camilla was portrayed in a poor light, blamed by the public for the break-up of the marriage between Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Initially, Queen Elizabeth refused to see or speak to her, but, since the death of Prince Philip, Camilla had become one of the Queen's closest companions. Her confidence in Camilla and the transformation she had seen in Prince Charles since their wedding resulted in her choosing the first day of her Platinum Jubilee year to tell the world that she wanted Camilla to be Queen Consort, not the demeaning Princess Consort suggested in 2005.

Angela Levin uncovers Camilla’s rocky journey to be accepted by the royal family and how she coped with her brutal portrayal in Netflix's The Crown. The public have witnessed her tremendous contribution to help those in need, especially during COVID. Levin has talked to many of Camilla’s long-term friends, her staff and executives from the numerous charities of which Camilla is patron. She reveals why Camilla concentrates on previously taboo subjects, such as domestic violence and rape. Most of all, Levin tells the story of how Camilla has changed from a fun-loving young woman to one of the senior royals’ hardest workers. She has retained her mischievous sense of humor, becoming a role model for older women and an inspiration for younger ones.

Camilla is both an extraordinary love story and a fascinating portrait of an increasingly confident Queen Consort in waiting. It is an essential read for anyone wanting a greater insight into the royal family.

Tom Bower gave us a picture of Camilla as lazy. Angela Levin tells us she is hard working and nice to everyone she meets. However, Levin admits that Camilla did not begin to work hard until she married Charles. Both of them had a big lifestyle adjustment to make after the marriage. As I approached the halfway point in the book I wondered whether it was just a puff piece. Camilla can do no wrong in the author's eyes. Yet Levin has a reputation in the UK as a fabulous journalist. It doesn't really matter much to me because I began to get bored while reading. Levin accounted for every outing her subject had, the clothes and jewels she wore and that people were surprised that Camilla was nice. It was too much repetition. Factor in that I only read the book as a compliment to the one I recently read on the life of Charles and that I don't like Camilla much. 

I was surprised that Camilla has a huge fear of being jeered in public. It shouldn't have been that surprising given the public abuse she endured for many years from Diana fans. She is still on edge when she is out in public. While I watched the coronation I thought to myself that she looked afraid when she was crowned and wondered if she thought about usurping the throne from Diana. We all know karma is the baddest bitch we know. With the information we get from the book it is likely that Camilla actually had those thoughts.

While I love seeing the author on UK news stations, her book was not very enlightening. I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.

Rebel King

Rebel King: The Making of a Monarch was originally published under the title Rebel Prince in 2018. Tom Bower updated his biography of King Charles III and I found it to be quite revealing about why his son Harry behaves the way he does. It's a matter of like father like son. Please note that my review contains spoilers. 

The publisher's summary: 

King Charles III faces many challenges as he succeeds his mother to the throne. Despite his hard work and genuine concern for the disadvantaged, King Charles III has struggled in the past to overcome his unpopularity. After Diana’s death, his approval rating crashed to four per cent and has been only rescued by his marriage to Camilla.

In unearthing many secrets and dramas surrounding King Charles, Bower’s book, relies on the testimony from over 120 people employed or welcomed into the inner sanctum. The result is a book which uniquely probes the character and court of Charles that no one, until now, has seen. It offers an unrivalled and intimate look at King Charles, his many years as heir and how a monarch was made.

What struck me the most was how similar Prince Harry's behavior is to Charles' behavior. The public seems to believe that Harry is an aberration in the royal family. He's not. Charles has behaved the same way his entire life. Charles has never had to pay for his mistakes whether they be personal or professional. Charles has also had his fair share of sex scandals although they have been mostly covered up. Charles is no different than his brother Andrew in that he associated with a pedophile and met women through that association. However, Charles knew to keep his mouth shut and let the coutiers handle it. Andrew didn't. 

Tom Bower wrote that Charles suffers from depression and that his grandmother, the Queen Mother, helped him deal with it. The depression began in early childhood when his parents were away on royal tours. I presume there is an abandonment issue here. How could there not be? I was also surprised to learn that Charles had a plan to make Camilla his wife from the day of his divorce from Princess Diana. Many of his coutiers actions in this vain were nullified by continual newspaper accounts of Charles' misbehavior. 

This book is an eye opening account of Charles' life with names, dates and details of every significant event in his life. My expectations for the book were low but I found it to be enlightening. 4 out of 5 stars.

2023 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

 

I don't read alot of nonfiction but have enjoyed the 7 books I read for the challenge this year. Thus, I am signing up to participate in the challenge in 2023.  The aim of the Nonfiction Reader Challenge is to encourage readers to make nonfiction a part of their reading experience during the year.  You can select, read and review a book from the categories listed below for a total of 12 books; OR select, read and review any nonfiction book. Books can be in any format such as print, electronic or audio. To participate you need to select one of the goals shown below:

Nonfiction Nipper:  read and review 3 books from any 3 listed categories

Nonfiction Nibbler:  read and review 6 books from any 6 listed categories

Nonfiction Nosher:  read and review 12 books, one for each category

Nonfiction Grazer:  read and review any nonfiction book.  Set our own goal.

Categories:

history

memoir/biography

crime and punishment

science

health

travel

food

social media

sport

relationships

the arts

published in 2023

Additional Rules:

1)    Readers can choose books as they go or create a list in advance. 

2)    You can combine this challenge with others

3)    When a book qualifies for more than one category, it can only count for one category.

4)    Books can be read in any order, at any pace.

5)    To join the challenge, create a blog post concerning your participation in the challenge. Non-bloggers are welcome to join however. 

6)    You can create a shelf for the challenge at Goodreads or Librarything and post via Instagram or Twitter. Just add your name and a link to your shelf/account in the signup.

7)    The challenge runs from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023.  Participants can can at any time before December 1, 2023.

8)    Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, please identify the post by adding either a direct statement and/or the challenge image badge to the post. It’s also helpful if you indicate the category the book fulfills.

9)    Use the hashtag #ReadNonFicChal on social media. You can tag the challenge host on Twitter:  @bookdout or Instagram: @shelleyrae _bookdout to share or Mastodon @shelleyrae@aus.social.

My Challenge:

I am signing up for the Nonfiction Grazer level. It would be hard for me to find books that I want to read in categories other than history and memoir/biography. I did read a science book this year but that was a rare read. Most likely all of the books I end up reading for the challenge will be published in 2023.