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I adore good narrative nonfiction, so picking only 3 is very difficult! So I‘m going to cheat. 😀

1. Tagged
2. “And the Band Played On”
3. “My Own Country: A Doctor‘s Story”
4. “The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl”
5. “Eleni”

@dabbe #ThreeListThursday

This was a re-read for me, prompted by its inclusion on the #AuldLangSpine list I got from @Amiable. I couldn‘t quite get it finished in January! When I read this the first time, even though I knew what would happen, I found myself hoping things would turn out differently on that Memphis balcony. I felt the same again. This is one of the best nonfiction books I‘ve ever read.⬇️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Background of James Earl Ray leading up to Martin Luther King‘s assassination and the hunt for him in the weeks after. I hadn‘t thought much about him one way or the other, but this was a really interesting read. I hadn‘t heard of this until seeing @Amiable post about it the other day.

This is a biography about Martin Luther and his I have a Dream speech. He was an African American public speaker who spoke about a better future for his people. He talked about how one day they would get treated as real people instead of overlooked. He lead many group riot walks through the streets to make his presence known and know that he was not going to stop until his people were heard. He knew everyone was different and that made us unique.

For my NONFICTION brackets: October‘s pick was a superstar. This was what narrative nonfiction should be —an engrossing, well-researched, well-written book that reads like a thriller. It‘s going to be very difficult to top this book as Best of 2024.

It seems that Martin
the sparkling-eyed child born
leader of his people
was put here to do
just that.

This would be a good book to read from during a unit on Martin Luther King Jr. and his impact on civil rights. The poems provide a road map for his life and career, but are more of a jumping off point then a lesson. Having this book available in your classroom library for students to read would be perfect.

This beautiful book is an anthology style poetry book containing poems for and about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the poems read at different paces, going from fast, quick sections to slower more dramatic ones by going from short rhymes to multi-syllabic, multiple word lines. The poems build on one another, but work just as well individually, making this a relaxing, but thought provoking and heart wrenching read.

Fantastic account of the manhunt for James Earl Ray after the assassination of MLK Jr. in 1968. I am very particular about awarding stars —this one gets all 5 of them. Sides creates a tension as Ray circles and stalks MLK, and then details the meticulous work done by the FBI to track him down. This is what narrative nonfiction should be. And it also completes my #Nonfiction2023 bingo card. Thanks for a great year, @Riveted_Reader_Melissa !

3 ⭐This book seems more like little vignettes to join 2 people together than it does a proper story. The information is interesting, but that is about it. This book could have been done better.