Nonfiction November: My Year in Nonfiction

Nonfiction November is hosted by several different bloggers and has specific categories for each week. Week 1, Your Year in Nonfiction is probably all I can handle (although it is past Week 1), and I was surprised to find I had read seven nonfiction books, all basically biography/memoir or history and all of which I enjoyed. This is about 3% of my total for the year, which seems typical for me. I do have a few more in mind for November but we shall see.

Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust

Title: Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

Author: Drew Gilpin Faust

Publication: Farrar Straus & Giroux, hardcover, 2023
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Her official name was Catharine, but she never used it. Her father, though from a wealthy Ivy League background, wanted only to breed horses, so that was what he did. The girl grew up in rural, segregated Virginia in the fifties, reading Nancy Drew and pony books, riding horses, raising steers with the 4H Club, attending a small country school.

Would you be surprised to learn that she would become the president of Harvard?

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain

Title: The Perfect Lie
Author: Jo Spain
Publication: Quercus, paperback, 2021
Genre: Suspense
Setting: Long Island, NY and Cambridge, MA

Description: Erin Kennedy left Ireland for New York after her sister was murdered, and obtained a job in publishing which she enjoys. After she meets and marries Danny Ryan, a local policeman, she moves to Long Island, hoping for a happy ever after with him.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Title: The Personal Librarian
Author: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Publication: Berkley, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Early 20th Century NYC and Europe

Description: In this historical novel based on a real person, Belle da Costa Greene, a young librarian at Princeton, is offered a job working for financier J.P. Morgan to curate the collection of the Pierpont Morgan Library.  She knows it is a dream come true, yet it is also a nightmare – because to get and keep the job, Belle must continue the pretense that she is a white woman, to protect not only herself but also her mother and siblings, all “passing” in Manhattan.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf - sitting quietly and smelling the flowers with the 1936 Club

Title: The Story of Ferdinand
Author: Munro Leaf (1905-1976)
Illustrator: Robert Lawson (1892-1957)
Publication: Viking Press, hardcover, 1936
Genre: Picture Book
Setting: Spain

This week Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting the 1936 Club, where bloggers read and write about books published in a chosen year.

Description: Everyone knows the story of a bull who would rather smell flowers than engage in bullfights.

Would Homer Get Into Harvard?

Harvard professor Helen Vendler, known for making poetry come alive to generations of undergraduates, wrote an article for Harvard Magazine last year on how to nurture the poets and painters of the future, pointing out that great artists are not always great students.  This inspired Mona Molarsky, parent of a current student, to consider "what might appear in his application folder should Homer actually apply to Harvard."  She wrote a letter supporting his application from the perspective of his guidance counselor:

"Dear Admissions Office:
It is with pleasure that we write to recommend a student we think would be perfect for Harvard.  He is one of the most gifted writers to ever attend our high school and his musical abilities are also considerable.  Although Homer has not clocked as many hours in the classroom as some of our students, he nevertheless produced two impressive independent projects that described the Trojan War and its aftermath in dactylic hexameters.  In addition, he has demonstrated a strong sense of adventure and community spirit, wandering from town to town to perform these pieces for local residents.  We can say with confidence that his extracurriculars are very strong.

One point about his national rankings: although he sings his work, accompanies by a small harp, Homer should not be measured against musicians or performance artists.  He's actually a "bard: and ranks in the 99th percentile when compared with others in this category.

Because of the unusual circumstances surrounding Homer's performance schedule, his grades and SAT scores do not reflect his true abilities.  It was not easy for him to cram for pop quizzes or do test prer on the road.  And unfortunately, he had no time for physics, calculus, or any AP classes.  We realize this runs counter to your normal admissions policies; nevertheless, we hope you will recognize the special abilities of this student and see your way to admitting him to the freshman class of 2017."

(from the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Harvard Magazine - I am a little behind in my reading)

Harvard in DC

Big test for Harvard at Georgetown today. . .

Libraries of the Future

As Kindles and Nooks and electronic books grow in popularity, I remain convinced I would rather have a physical book to cherish and return to for rereads. I hate reading about institutions such as Cushing Academy, which recently got rid of all its books (I wonder whether the alumni really knew what was going on and how they reacted to all the publicity). Am I the only one who rereads her favorites on a regular basis?

Author James Patterson, recently criticized Cushing Academy's decision to discard their books, and apparently he paid for his niece to attend the school (well, he can afford to - if I had his money, I would buy my nieces a school).


The magnificent Harvard University Library system (70 plus libraries, 16 million volumes) is struggling with budget constraints like everyone else, and the provost says that one of the university's "main goals . . . is to ensure that students and faculty have access to much of the world’s scholarly works “in perpetuity” by taking advantage of digital resources, but such access does not necessarily mean “ownership and preservation of everything.” This makes me sad because I thought Harvard was practically the Library of Congress in terms of acquisition. Where will scholars go if they cannot rely on Harvard to have the resources they need?

I don't want my libraries to change, although I will admit I love one new feature - being able to place reserve and purchase requests online, then pick up the books magically a few days or weeks later.

Roosevelts at Harvard

The weather forecast for Saturday is great, and I am looking forward to a walking tour in Cambridge:

Presidential Pathways: Tracing Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Harvard

Follow the student footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt on this walking tour with Michael Weishan, author, PBS host, and president of the FDR Suite Foundation. With architecture as a guide, visit buildings important to these two men, learn what Harvard and Cambridge were like between 1870 and 1904, and explore 19th-century student life on Harvard's "Gold Coast."

Having visited Theodore Roosevelt's Long Island home, Sagamore Hill, it will be interesting to see Harvard locations not officially connected to the Roosevelts.

Of course, all roads lead to Betsy-Tacy. I was always loyal to Teddy Roosevelt because I knew the Ray family were supporters. Mr. Ray's study "held a roll-top desk, a picture of the shoe store in Deep Valley and an even bigger picture of ex-President Theodore Roosevelt." Betsy's Wedding, page 48.

Joe and Mr. Ray are ensconced for some time (you know he is asking for Betsy's hand in marriage), then the family hears, "Leave it to Teddy!" coming from Mr. Ray. The group downstairs looked at each other in complete mystification. What, their raised eyebrows seemed to ask, did Theodore Roosevelt have to do with Betsy's Wedding?

"Politics!" Mrs. Ray said scornfully.

Anna brought Betsy a cup of coffee. She brought her a muffin. Mrs. Ray and Julia wanted coffee, too, and Paige started pacing the floor. At long last the door of the study opened.
"TR is as right as rain," Betsy heard her father declare as he and Joe came down the stairs.
Betsy's Wedding, page 49.

The Literature of Childhood

How fun - Harvard is offering its alumni the opportunity to take a course with a noted Folklore and Mythology Professor, something I haven't done since the days of Hugh Flick* and Albert Lord!

Through the Looking Glass: The History, Philosophy and Literature of Childhood

“Childhood is unknown to us,” yet there are many different routes we can take to understand its deep complexities and compelling appeal. Join Professor Maria Tatar and alumni worldwide online as you look at the wonders and curiosities of childhood reading and study the revelatory power of classic tales. Register to take part in this exclusive program that will take you down the rabbit hole, into the wardrobe, and through the looking glass."

It consists of twelve online lectures, available through a special website or through podcasts, plus additional commentary from the professor, student discussions sessions and bonus guest lectures with authors Lois Lowry, Michael Buckley, and Gregory Maguire.

Sounds like more fun than my last two degrees, don't you think?!

* Since I last saw Hugh Flick (which I guess was at my sister's Yale graduation), he has been busy, having acquired a JD and MBA. I suppose he could say the same about me but he also has a PhD in Sanskrit and two Master's Degrees and his undergraduate Harvard degree! He was my roommate's thesis advisor; her topic was Sea Serpents.

Ice Cream at Harvard

Drew Gilpin Faust, the president of Harvard, has more of a sense of humor than I had realized - at an ice cream bash in the Yard earlier this month, she served ice cream flavors called Lamont Lemon, Cookie Endoughment, and Berry-tas.

Quote of the Day

(from Bill's last day on the job)

"The most poignant moments came when Gates dropped out of technology prognostication mode — the coming switch to using ink, voice and gesture to interact with computers, for example — and shared candid and sometimes self-effacing banter about his early days with buddy Ballmer.

Freshman year at Harvard, Gates said, 'I was in this dorm up at Radcliffe, where the anti-social math types hung out. I belonged there.'"

We won't tell my mother he said that . . .