Non-Fiction Reading List | Spring & Summer 2021

Hello again, dear readers. This first week of (partial) summer vacation has been rather strange so far: although we have had some sunshine, it feels quite chilly when the wind blows and the wind has been blowing a great deal. I have been having a bit of trouble focusing on getting my paper done when my siblings are no longer doing school (the large pile of new library books I just received also does not help), but hopefully I will be able to get some more work done over the next couple of days.

Anyway, one of my goals for the summer is to finally read some of the non-fiction books that have been on my tbr for months (or years) and after putting together a list for myself, I thought I would share it with all of you. 🙂

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Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight – Julia Sweig | I have mentioned this book several times, but still have not read it. I think this may be the book that I am most looking forward to on this list.

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Grace & Steel – J. Randy Taraborrelli | In all my reading about First Ladies etc. I have read very little about Barbara and Laura Bush. This new book sounded really interesting so I thought it might be a good place to start.

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Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill – Sonia Purnell | To be honest, I know nothing about Clementine Churchill and I most likely would not have been interested in reading a biography about her if this book wasn’t by Purnell. I truly enjoyed Purnell’s biography about Virginia Hall – A Woman of No Importance – though, so I thought I would read this one.

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Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power – Susan Page | Pelosi is an interesting woman and certainly controversial. I had wanted to read another biography about her that came out last year but never got to it. When I saw this biography, I decided that I would read it instead.

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Persist – Elizabeth Warren | Elizabeth Warren is someone who I find interesting and admire. Her latest book, Persist, caught my eye and I immediately decided that it would be on this list.

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Hard Choices – Hillary Rodham Clinton | Hillary Clinton is another First Lady who I have read very few little (in book form) about. I have been wanting to spend some time studying her (and have been debating whether or not to have her be the focus of my next research paper) so this seems a somewhat natural place to start.

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The Truths We Hold – Kamala Harris | In the fall my mom bought a copy of this book, and it has been sitting on my bookshelf since. I am really looking forward to reading about Harris’s life story in her own words.

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Honorable Mentions (Books that I may read if I have Time): Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep– Michael Schulman (Something different about someone I find interesting.) | The Women With Silver Wings – Katherine Sharp Landdeck (This book sounds fascinating!) | Personal History – Katharine Graham (Really this should be part of the above list, but I forgot, so here it is.)

Are you planning to read any non-fiction books this summer? Do you have a summer tbr? Has spring fully arrived where you are?