The Best Nonfiction of 2017

Great nonfiction embeds us in worlds we might not otherwise realize exist. It educates us, entertains us, and if it’s truly outstanding, it rearranges the thoughts in our brains and changes us. The difference between a physical and a chemical change intrigues me especially when I’m cooking. A physical change doesn’t change what the substance is. In a chemical change, a new substance forms and energy is either absorbed or given off. I’m no scientist, but I love to read and I believe that reading creates change. Some of the books I’ve read this year gave off so much energy that I could barely breathe. Others I slowly absorbed into my system.
 

I’m certain that great books stimulate changes in us that can compel us to change our behavior. I’ve also read phenomenal books that changed my thinking so extensively that I felt as if I were a new creature.

Since it's the holiday season, I'd like to share an easy recipe that I've used on many holiday occasions. My friend Fran, who died a few years ago, was an exceptional cook and most of her recipes were two or three pages long. When I admired her cinnamon ice cream, I feared that there would be many steps in making it. There aren't which proves that one can transform humble vanilla ice cream into a decadently delicious dish that is a delectable accompaniment to a plate of Christmas cookies.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Stir together. Freeze for at least 1 hour.

The Best Nonfiction Book of 2017:

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui (Read the full review here.)

The Best We Could Do is a graphic memoir that illustrates in words and pictures what it’s like to be an immigrant in the U.S. It also illuminates and educates the reader about Viet Nam’s twentieth-century history and about the legacy of the Viet Nam War. It spectacularly shows how love and parenthood change our view of our parents and ourselves. It’s a simple, yet not simplistic explication of parenthood. I adore that this memoir offers hope over fear. GPR/SN, BC

The Shortlist for Best Nonfiction of 2017:

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay is a searing remembrance of a horrific assault and how it influenced Gay’s life. When she was 12, Gay was gang-raped by boys her age. She hid the attack and buried her guilt feelings toward herself which led to her hunger and then to her weight gain. Gay offers a mesmerizing, yet frightening tale. I read it straight through and almost forgot to breathe. It’s both sad and riveting. Gay’s magnificent writing and the fact that she doesn’t offer saccharine quick fixes make this a unique memoir by a writer who has both a fiction and a nonfiction book on the majority of the top “best of 2017” lists. She’s an author everyone should read. G/SN, BC

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann was a finalist for the National Book Award and most other awards.It tells the “truth is stranger than fiction” tale of the murders of wealthy Osage Indians in the 1920s when they were among the wealthiest people in the U.S. due to oil on their land. As their death toll rose, the newly formed FBI took over the corrupt investigation. Couldn’t put it down! G/SN, BC

Three great nonfiction books I read in 2017 that were published previously:

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt (Read the full review here.) chronicles an American family’s life as one of their identical twin toddler boys begins insisting that he’s a girl. Their stories of love and acceptance are exquisitely told. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author transforms their tale into a page-turner that educates as it captures the reader. When an endocrinologist asks his transgender patient to teach him, the patient says, “Sexual orientation is who you go to bed with . . . Gender identity is who you go to bed as.” Combining biology, research, and compelling stories, this soars. We had thirty people at a recent discussion of this at my church and all felt it to be excellent. G/GPR/SN, BC (2015)

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race

by Jesmyn Ward is a mesmerizing anthology of essays and poems inspired by James Baldwin’s The Fire This Time that speaks to the power of words to address the horrors of living in a country where the killings in Charleston and the brutality suffered by African-Americans for simply walking down the street aren’t recognized. Listen to this! G/SN/RT (2016)

Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving (Read the full review here.) is a book every American must read. Learning about race and privilege through Irving’s story will inform your own view. My church spent four weeks discussing it and over sixty participants found it exceptional. I also was part of a discussion of it in northern Michigan where fifty women found it informative and important. SN, BC (2014)

The Best Cookbook of 2017:

The Harvest Baker: 150 Sweet & Savory Recipes Celebrating the Fresh-Picked Flavors of Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables by Ken Haedrich is a gorgeous book filled with tempting and useful recipes for everyday and special events. Haedrich, the “Dean of the Pie Academy” is the king of crusts. A delectable winner! Make his Food Processor Tomato Jam then use it on the Savory Rosemary Thumbprint Shortbread for a wonderful make-ahead appetizer then use the rest for a delightful pizza. SN

FYI: I didn’t read Sherman Alexie’s incredible memoir, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me in time for this list, but it would be on any "best of list" in any year. Read the full review here.