Friday, January 26, 2024

Top 8 nonfiction books I read in 2023

I read and review a good amount of nonfiction here on the blog. From my 2023 reading list, these are the top eight, out of forty-seven, nonfiction books I read. This list includes books that I rated either a 4 or 5 out of 5 stars, and they are books I think more people should be consider reading. These are not books necessarily published in 2023; they are books I read in 2023. The list is in no particular order, and if I have posted the review, I will provide a link to the review. 

 

Hotel Scarface: Where Cocaine Cowboys Partied and Plotted to Control Miami

 

From my review: "The book is a pretty good read. It's interesting, and short chapters make for a faster pace. The narrative keeps our attention in part because we get one outrageous story after another."

 

 

The Book Lover's Guide to London

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From my review: "This is a great book for readers who enjoy literary trivia as well as for armchair travelers. It is also a good selection if you are traveling to London wanting to see the literary sites."

 

 

The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear


 

From my review: "Overall, this is a pretty solid book for fans of the film. If you are a reader who enjoys learning how films are made, this is a book for you. If you wonder why The Exorcist maintains its appeal as a classic, this is a book for you."

 

Narcas: the Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels


 

From my review: "Odds are good many people have heard of drug lords like Pablo Escobar and Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. Perhaps they have even heard of El Chapo's sons, known often as Los Chapitos. Yet not many have heard about the strong and powerful women of the drug trade, some just as fearsome as the men. Deborah Bonello does the research and brings us the stories of some of these women." I will add that before you watch the upcoming at this time Netflix series about Griselda Blanco, portrayed by Sofia Vergara, you may want to consider reading this book first. 

 

 The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine



From my review: The author works at Houston's Ben Taub Hospital. Ben Taub is not only the trauma hospital in Houston, the one that you want to be taken to if you get shot in Houston. It is also the city's indigent hospital. "Overall I found this powerful book hard to read. It invokes a lot of emotions, and if you have any sense of humanity it will move you. If may also, if you are healthy, make you pray you never need health care services in the United States." 


How to Write Erotica 



From my review: "I do recommend the book for any erotica writer at any level. I also recommend it for writers in other genres who may want to add a bit of erotica in their writing. In addition, I recommend it for writing book shelves in libraries. You can learn a lot about the writing craft from the book. I would definitely add it to my personal collection. " 


War Made Invisible

 

The review for this one is coming soon, but I will say now that if you wonder how come the United States can't have things like universal health care, better education funding, and decent human services, this book offers an answer.

 

Blood Money: The Story of Life, Death, and Profit Inside America's Blood Industry


 

From my review: "This book is a serious look at the blood trade industry in the United States, mainly focused on the blood plasma trade. The business is a juggernaut in the United States, one of the very few countries that allow payment for plasma donations, yet many Americans are blissfully unaware of its reach and range. That is unless you are one of the millions of Americans who donate plasma for a variety of economic reasons." 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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