For Real

This week Alice and Kim take a trip down memory lane to talk about books that appeared on best of the decade lists.  This episode is sponsored by Book Riot's Read Harder Journal, Book Riot's Read Harder 2020 Challenge, and Book Riot's Tailored Book Recommendations. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado New Books A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution by David Head America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Erika Lee Best Books of the Decade Paste Magazine: The 25 Best Memoirs of the 2010s LitHub: The 20 Best Works of Nonfiction of the Decade Time: The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the 2010s Entertainment Weekly: Here are EW's top 10 nonfiction books of the decade The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot When Breath Becomes Air

This week Alice and Kim talk holiday gifts for the nonfiction book lover in your life. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s Read Harder Journal, and Book Riot Insiders. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. NONFICTION IN THE NEWS National Book Award goes to Sarah Broom’s The Yellow House! HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Q: I am looking for a book for my grandpa for the holidays on Sociology or Ethics. He is a former Criminology Professor and so hard to buy for. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg Q: My partner is a triathlete and loves to read books about or from cyclists and triathletes. There is not that many of them so he is running out of reading material, and I’m running out of ideas for gifts. Could you recommend good nonfiction on sport or by sportspeople? I thi

This week Alice and Kim chat about new November releases! Alice makes the Crusades sound interesting, Kim ponders likability and leadership, and both struggle with what to call nonfiction graphic novels. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations (aka TBR), Book Riot Insiders, and Run Like a Mother (the audiobook!). Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up Send holiday gift guide questions to forreal@bookriot.com by November 20! Nonfiction in the News Slate: “The Library Popularity Index” American Library Association: #eBooksForAll New Books Bonanza! Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by M

This week Alice and Kim talk plagues, Disney, and what Harry Houdini really thought about spiritualism. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s Blind Date with a Book, and Dad’s Maybe Book by Tim O’Brien, published by HMH. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. NONFICTION IN THE NEWS Kirkus Prize winner: How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones “A memoir of coming to terms that’s written with masterful control of both style and material.” Washington Post: “Anonymous author of Trump ‘resistance’ op-ed to publish a tell-all book” NEW BOOKS Ordinary Girls: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini by Joe Posnanski Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong MEDICAL MYST

This week Alice and Kim talk about some excellent new memoirs and dive deep into books about monsters. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s Blind Date with a Book, Playlist: The Rebels and Revolutionaries of Sound by James Rhodes and illustrated by Martin O’Neill, and Change is the Only Constant by Ben Orlin, in hardcover from Black Dog and Leventhal. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up NPR: "Here Are The Finalists For The 2019 National Book Awards" Fifty Works of English Literature We Could Do Without by Brigid Brophy, Michael Levey, Charles Osborne (1967) Nonfiction in the News Sports Illustrated: "She Won Athletes' Hearts. And Robbed Them Blind" Andrew Carnegie Medals Longlist Forbes: “Decluttering Expert Marie Kondo On Her Forthcoming Workplace and Career Advice Book ‘Joy At Work’” New Books How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones Unashamed: Musin

This week Alice and Kim talk about the National Book Award longlist, cozy books, and the best pig there ever was. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s Blind Date, These Boys and Their Fathers by Don Waters, and Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. FOLLOW UP BOOKS She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey NONFICTION IN THE NEWS National Book Award Longlist New York Times: “It’s a Fact: Mistakes Are Embarrassing the Publishing Industry” Impeachment: An American History NEW BOOKS Make it Scream, Make it Burn by Leslie Jamison On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry and Minyon Moore Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day C

This week Alice and Kim take a deep dive into eight great new books coming out in early September! This episode is sponsored by our giveaway of the best mysteries and thrillers of the year so far, Born to Fly by Steve Sheinkin, and Yale Needs Women from Sourcebooks. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up The trailer for Just Mercy was released! Nonfiction in the News NBC News: Ex-aide to James Mattis claims Pentagon is holding up his memoir VOX: It’s time to talk about James Mattis’s involvement with the Theranos scandal New Book Bonanza Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant by Anne Gardiner Perkins She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty Crossfire Hurricane: Insid

This week Alice and Kim talk underdog robots, a school with no tests, and monsters of the Midwest. This is For Real. This episode is sponsored by the Book Riot Mystery Giveaway, What They Meant for Evil by Rebecca Deng, published by FaithWords and Book Riot’s Recommended. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. NONFICTION IN THE NEWS Ann Shen’s Bad Girls Throughout History is being made into a series. The film version of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy will hit theaters in January 2020! NEW BOOKS Midwestern Strange: Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country by B.J. Hollars The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age by Bina Venkataraman Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession by Rachel Monroe Scan Artist : How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed-Reading Worked by Marcia Biederman SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK The Class: A Life-Chang

This week Alice and Kim talk about Barack Obama’s summer nonfiction picks, the world’s deadliest predator, and true stories inside cults and places with cult-like thinking. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders, Skin Deep by Gavin Evans, published by Oneworld Publications and Chase Darkness with Meby Billy Jensen. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. FOLLOW UP Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness and Liberation by Eli Clare NONFICTION IN THE NEWS Barack Obama’s summer reading list Publisher’s Weekly: Workman to Publish AOC Bio NEW BOOKS Breaking the Ocean: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Reconciliation by Annahid Dashtgard The Yellow House: A Memoir by Sarah M. Broom Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator by Timothy C. Winegard CULTS! Under the Banner of

This week Alice and Kim talk books for book lovers, Anna the fake heiress, and one of the most astounding women in the Roman world. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders. Check it out and sign up for your 14-day free trial at insiders.bookriot.com. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up -Moon podcast Moonrise NEW BOOKS My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World by Zahra Hankir Girl on the Block: A True Story of Coming of Age Behind the Counter by Jessica Wragg God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America by Lyz Lenz Agrippina: The Most Extraordinary Woman of the Roman World by Emma Southon Gross Anatomy: A Field Guide to Loving Your

This week Alice and Kim talk about the Space Race, recommend books to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, and laugh at moon conspiracy theories. This episode is sponsored by Pre Loved Podcast, Becoming Superman by J. Michael Straczynski and Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. NEW BOOKS The Weil Conjectures by Karen Olsson They Called Us Enemy by George Takei Beneath the Tamarind Tree by Isha Sesay In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond by John Zada THE MOON Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly Moonbound by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm American Moonshot by Douglas Brinkley Galaxy Girls by Libby Jackson Apollo’s Legacy by Roger D. Launius Destination Moon by Richard Maurer READING NOW For the Love of Books by Graham Tarrant If All the Seas Were Ink by Ilana Kurshan The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean See omny

This week Alice and Kim talk assassins, night witches, and the serial killer who was almost impossible to catch. This episode is sponsored by the Pre-Loved Podcast. Check it out on the podcatcher of your choice! And don’t forget to share For Real with nonfiction-loving friends/family/long-forged acquaintances on social media, tagging @bookriot. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up John Oliver did a segment on climbing Mount Everest and how the “expedition industry has devalued a once-historic achievement” and also made it a lot more dangerous.   New Books Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected by Nnedi Okorafor  Reading Behind Bars: A Memoir of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald  The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India’s Quest for Independence by Anita Anand  American Predator: The Hun

This week Alice and Kim talk ridiculously long subtitles and books about the ocean, from the science of jellyfish to the true story of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty.  This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm audiobooks, Amazon Publishing, and Book Riot Insiders. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. FOLLOW UP Washington Post: “Book subtitles are getting ridiculously long. What is going on?” NEW BOOKS For the Love of Books by Graham Tarrant The Weather Machine by Andrew Blum A Death in the Rainforest by Don Kulick More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth I Like to Watch by Emily Nussbaum NATIONAL OCEANS MONTH Spineless by Juli Berwald The Bounty by Caroline Alexander Fisherman’s Blues by Anna Badkhen Poseidon’s Steed by Helen Scales Hawaiki Rising by Dr. Sam Low READING NOW Exit West by Mohsin Hamid A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Alice and Kim talk about witches, Jehovah’s Witnesses, fungus-inspired crime, and what nonfiction to read for Pride Month. This episode is sponsored by All the Books, The Collected Schizophreniasby Esmé Weijun Wang, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publishers of Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment by Linda Hirshman. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up KIM: Slow Burn podcast is doing a series on The Queen by Josh Levin (one of the editor’s behind Slow Burn) New Books Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life by Amber Scorah Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power by Pam Grossman This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto by Suketu Mehta The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World’s Most Expensive Fungus by Ryan Jacobs Naturally Tan: A Memoir by Ta

This week Kim and guest host Liberty Hardy talk new books and their favorite nonfiction of the year so far. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot and Audible. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. NEW BOOKS Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth by Josh Levin From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the Soul of America by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall FAVORITE NONFICTION OF THE YEAR SO FAR Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi, Joshua David Stein Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep Parkland: Birth of a Movement by Dave Cullen Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Loneliest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob The Sakura Obsession: The Incredibl

This week Alice and Kim talk about Soviet spy cats, French history, and Harper Lee and a murder trial. This episode is sponsored by Kawaii Craft Life by Sosae Caetano and Dennis Caetano and Book Riot’s TBR. Check out Book Riot Insiders for the inside scoop! Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. New Books Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Loneliest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer  Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science by Shaili Jain Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board by Vince Houghton Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep The Theft of a Decade: How the Baby Boomers Stole the Millennials’ Economic Future by Joseph C. Sternberg The Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World by

This week Alice and Kim talk about spelling bee horror stories, why you should read about ancient scrolls, and nonfiction to read if you love (or even just sort of like) Star Wars. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and TBR, Book Riot’s new subscription service offering tailored book recommendations for readers of all stripes. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. FOLLOW UP Independent Bookstore Day Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi New York Times: “A Young Chef, and a Stunning Comeback” Good Talk by Mira Jacob My Favorite Murder podcast NEW BOOKS The Regency Years by Robert Morrison Beeline by Shalini Shankar Breaking the Bee documentary The Da Vinci Legacy by Jean Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Brown Magical Realism for Nonbelievers by Anika Fajardo The Role of the Scroll by Thomas Forrest Kelly Fall and Rise by Mitchell Zuckoff MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU How Star Wars Co

This week Alice and Kim talk about the guy who got Capone, a chef who got his start selling candy on the subway, and the first people to stand up to the KKK. This episode is sponsored by libro.fm, First Degree from Nimbus Publishing, and The Five from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up My Own Devices by Dessa Tell Me How it Ends by Valeria Luiselli Kate McKinnon is also going to play Elizabeth Holmes for a Hulu adaptation Kidlit These Days New Books Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb Lotharingia: A Personal History of Europe’s Lost Country by Simon Winder The Beneficiary: Fortune, Misfortune, and the Story of My Father by Janny Scott Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi Fifty Things That Aren’t

This week Alice and Kim talk about bookish murders, confidence tricksters, Craigslist cons and more new nonfiction. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. FOLLOW UP Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman Kitlit These Days, a new podcast from Book Riot NEW BOOKS Murder by the Book by Claire Harman No Happy Endings by Nora McInerny Death in Ten Minutes by Fern Riddell Good Talk by Mira Jacob The Life and Legend of Bras-Coupé by Bryan Wagner Native Country of the Heart by Cherríe Moraga The Five by Hallie Rubenhold CONFIDENCE TRICKSTERS The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse by Piu Eatwell The Big Con by David Maurer Race Me In a Lobster Suit by Kelly Mahon Caraboo: The Servant Girl Princess by Jennifer Raison The Mark Inside by Amy Reading READING NOW Lead from the Outside by Stacey Abrams Alexander Hamilton by Jonathan Hennessey,

This week Alice and Kim talk about assassinations, small town murder, and why women’s bathroom lines are longer than men’s (spoiler: it’s the patriarchy!). This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019) (HBO documentary on Theranos)   New Books Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book’s Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey by Margaret Leslie Davis (People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks) Humanimal: How Homo sapiens Became Nature’s Most Paradoxical Creature―A New Evolutionary History by Adam Rutherford The Sakura Obsession: The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan’s Cherry Blossoms by Naoko Abe Pocahontas and the English Boys: Caught Between Cultures