A selection of books that I either won't review at all or won't be able to give a solo review to because there just isn't enough to talk about.

GREENLIGHTS

by Matthew McConaughey

I am endlessly curious as to why certain books are rapidly and always available at my library while I wait and wait and wait for others. This "hot new book" by McConaughey was easy to pick up via Overdrive on my Kindle. It was a fast read and McConaughey's voice is loud and clear throughout the book. Do you love Texas and a good 'ol boy drawl? Are you interested in reading a book about a white able-bodied straight man who has done whatever he wants his whole life and everything has worked out perfectly? Well then, this book is for you.

This book includes some of McConaughey's journal entries which demonstrate that he has always been the person he portrays himself to be right now. If you are a massive fan, the tips and tricks to living like Matthew might be fascinating. My big take away is that his "alright, alright, alright," is his first line in his first movie.

VIGIL

by Jeffrey Wasserstrom

My knowledge about Hong Kong is so small that, when I hear Hong Kong I inexplicably think "banking" and mentally run through movies and martial artists from Hong Kong. But, after the tumultuous few years of protests here in America and a few news stories about famous people accidentally referring to Hong Kong as its own country, I was curious to learn more. This short audiobook helped me begin to grasp the long history of Hong Kong as a British colony and its new status as an administrative region of China in 1997. Since then, struggling for identity separate from mainland, Hong Kong has experienced tumultuous political and civil unrest that is largely unseen by the rest of the world. This was just an introduction into the problems Hong Kong is facing as it attempts to hold onto and define its identity.

HOW TO BE LOVELY: THE AUDREY HEPBURN WAY OF LIFE

by Melissa Hellstern

I'm not sure what I expected from this book but, while entertaining, there was very little content. I was surprised to learn that Audrey Hepburn did not consider herself beautiful. She credits her "attractiveness" to a reflection of the people around her - basically she is shining back their loveliness. She was brutally specific in what she didn't like about her body too. And, I did not know that she took such a long break from movies to be home with her children. This book may not have had bulk but it made an impact on me.

NO SMALL PLANS

by Gabrielle Lyon, Devin Mawdley, Kayce Bayer, Chris Lin, and Deon Reed

I picked up this graphic novel when I visited the Chicago Architecture Center and I was really excited to read about the plans made for Chicago after the Great Fire 150 years ago. Unfortunately, the book flips around between the past, the present, and the future too much. I love the segments about the past, the present was so relevant and spot-on, and the future part was not for me. I closed the book with the knowledge that Charles C. Wacker championed a plan that became required reading for all 8th grades graduates of Chicago Public Schools for years. I wish they hadn't stopped requiring it - foundations were laid that are being erased by greed here in Chicago.

Tell me, please! What are you reading for NonFiction November?

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