Non-fiction November 2015 is drawing to a close, and I should finish my last audiobook during my Thanksgiving travels. These are the books that kept me busy during my work commute this month.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
(By Jenny Lawson, read by Jenny Lawson)
I read Lawson’s memoir in “dead tree” form when it came out a few years ago, but after hearing Lawson speak at several events I knew I needed to find the audiobook. Her stories about growing up rural Texas, her crazy-ass/awesome family, and her over-the-top “arguments” with husband Victor had me laughing all the way to and from work. I can’t wait to get my hands on her next book, Furiously Happy, which came out earlier this year. 5/5 stars
A Renegade History of the United States
(By Thaddeus Russell, read by Paul Boehmer)
In the 1960s and 1970s it became popular to tell American history “from the bottom up,” or from the perspectives of people who weren’t middle-aged white, aristocratic politicians. But even those at the “bottom” weren’t ordinary. Renegade History tells the story of America from what author Thaddeus Russell calls “the gutter up.” Prostitutes, alcoholics, and criminals influenced America just as much as those in the higher ranks — and may have done more than anyone else to sanctify what we now consider our most basic freedoms. Interesting premise, but fell flat. First DNF in quite some time. 1/5 stars
(I listened to these books as part of Non-fiction November. Click the link to see posts from this and previous years!)