Welcome to Litsy!

This is such an inspiring memoir! Yusef Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five, tells his story and how he endured and overcame horrible injustice by embracing a spiritual perspective and finding his purpose in life. During his years of incarceration he grew closer with his Muslim faith. And his community was a big support his whole life. He details the unfair systems that oppress people of color and inspires others to call for change.

Time for our last #MonthlyNonfiction2025 selection of the year! What will everyone be reading? My choice is Rick Steves‘ European Christmas.

We will be continuing for 2026. Please comment below if you‘d like to be added to, or removed from, the tag list.

Everyone is welcome! The challenge is simple: read one nonfiction book each month.

Tagging all who participated this year. It has been fun exploring nonfiction together!

Lovely thoughts on gratitude for the natural world and embracing reciprocity in our very competitive economy.
#RiseUpReads @Catsandbooks #MonthlyNonfiction2025 @julieclair

This was a lovely introspective memoir about living with depression & using nature as a balm for the soul. He opens up about his struggle with depression & how he found solace in taking nature walks (along with therapy & medication) to get on a healing journey. Each chapter focuses on an aspect in nature & relates to a life experience, while also giving solid facts about each animal or organism. His writing is very lyrical & poetic in the best way

So this is unexpected. I bought this a couple of years ago, and am only now getting to it, in a last-ditch attempt to read something for #nonfictionnovember.

I spent a delightful morning learning about sandhoppers. They groom themselves, to ensure their waxy exterior stays in good condition.

And this afternoon, I‘ve been treated to a discussion on whether prawns experience anxiety. Which, if I‘m honest, isn‘t something I expected to care about.

Getting a jump on my December #MonthlyNonfiction2025 @julieclair

Tried this in text earlier but I've switched to audio since Gadsby herself is narrating

#audiocrafting : picked up my Poppy blanket again #litsycrafters

Such an interesting subject to learn about! Hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts were tracked down from homes throughout Mali and restored & displayed in Timbuktu. But they had to be secretly smuggled out of the city when Al Qaeda's occupation threatens their safety. Haidara's story, the archivist tasked with their collection & preservation, was so inspiring. My only complaint: the detailed backstory of Al Qaeda's leaders was unnecessary

I've actually read a whole FOUR nonfiction books this month so far! Picking this Elon Musk critical graphic biography for the Nov square of #MonthlyNonfiction2025 because I think it's the best one I read.

@julieclair

#TodayILearned about the enormous progress made in antitrust regulation by the Biden administration, primarily because people were fighting hard for it. Going to try to hold onto that optimistic thought because I am, frankly, depressed AF by the actions of the Democrats.

Very readable and interesting book, though I'm not sure that helpful for the average non-techy person.

#NonFictionNovember @BookwormJillK
#MonthlyNonfiction2025 @julieclair

October #MonthlyNonfiction2025 reads @julieclair
Reviews to come, but I wanted to get my wrap-up posted before I forgot!