Birthday Book Haul Part 1 : Non-Fiction

So I’ve not been pulling in a lot of books lately, at least all at once or in large amounts that warrant an overall haul. However it was my birthday last weekend so all I asked for books! And boy did my family (mainly my husband) deliver! This is the first part, the non-fiction books. As usual a video will be up on Youtube if you want to listen as opposed to read. 

Most of these were obtained on BookOutlet, one was from the used bookstore and I think three of them were actually from the local bookstore. All but one were presents, onward!

• Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh by Joyce Tyldesley – I read, last year, another book on Hatchepsut and really enjoyed it. I found her super interesting and found this goodie at the used bookstore and bought it for myself! The only one in this section I did.
• It’s All Absolutely Fine, Life is Complicated So I’ve Drawn It Instead by Ruby Elliot – I’ve seen this floating around before and when my sister found it at the used bookstore and asked I said ‘Yes please!’. It’s a comedic look, I think in the vein of Hyperbole and a Half and I’m almost always on board for that.
• You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero – I’ve long had this on my list to try for what feels like ages. A friend from my IRL book club and recommended it. I’m willing to try another self help book since my last attempt was a win so here we are!
• Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card – So disclaimer first – I do not like OSC, he’s one of those people that opens his mouth and garbage spills forth. That having been said this is a highly recommended book for aspiring writers so when I saw it I picked it up. I do believe this is part of a series that several other writers took part in and if that’s the case I may keep picking these up.
• Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer – I believe I heard about this over on Youtube on the channel ABookOlive. This is following one journalist as he covers the USA Memory Championships and how he ends up engrossed in this people who memorize things competitively. Sounds fascinating to me!
• Raising Wild: Dispatches From a Home in the Wilderness by Michael P. Branch – I love me some nature biographies/memoirs and here is my newest. Michael Branch lives out in a remote area in the Great basin Desert of Nevada and this is about raising two daughters and their wildlife there.
• A Burglar’s Guide to the City by Geoff Manaugh – This I heard about on Book Riot. Supposedly either the author or the man he’s working with is an accomplished cat burglar and this looks at architecture and the layout of urban life the way a burglar might. I’m not saying I’d go about robbing houses, but I have played a rogue/thief in a few games!
• In Search of Buddha’s Daughters by Christine Toomey – When you think Buddhist you think the monks. I never even knew women could be Buddhist nuns, but evidently that’s a thing! This journalist goes on a long journey to find and talk to these women.
• The Geography of Madness : Penis Thieves, Voodoo Death and the Search for the Meaning of the World’s Strangest Syndromes by Frank Bures – That tile is enough to sell me. And these aren’t literal missing penises but men who think they’re gone when they’re still there! That’s the sort of thing Mr. Bures is looking at.
• Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks by Juliet Eilperin – I know nothing about this and honestly I’m hoping the title isn’t sensationalism but more a play on the perception of sharks because I love the big scary guys. I was really just wanting a shark book and this was something new.
• The Last Unicorn : A Search For One of Earth’s Rarest Creatures by William DeBuys – There is evidently a creature known as the Saola that’s one of the world’s rarest creatures. It’s evidently incredibly hard to find and this follows DeBuys as he tries to hunt one down and see it in person as opposed to a photo taken by a local. They’re adorable, I can’t really blame him.

That’s it for Part 1! If anyone has read any of these or wants to let me know! Thanks for reading guys and I’ll talk to you soon!