I don’t read a ton of nonfiction, but I have made an effort this year to read more of it than last year, which was none. Pretty much anything is an improvement on that, including the three nonfiction books I’ve read since January. Needless to say, I did not know this event was going on this month. I found out about it from viewing posts at A Literary Escape and My World of Books, and this week’s prompt looked like fun.

Nonfiction November is a month-long event highlighting nonfiction books with weekly blog post prompts and a daily Instagram challenge. It is hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey, Rennie at What’s Nonfiction, Jaymi at The OC Bookgirl, Christopher at Plucked from the Stacks, and Rebekah at She Seeks Nonfiction.

This week’s prompt is about book pairs!

Week 2: (November 7-11) – Book Pairing: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title (or another nonfiction!). It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story. Or pair a book with a podcast, film or documentary, TV show, etc. on the same topic or stories that pair together. (Rennie @ What’s Nonfiction)

Nonfiction Title

The nonfiction book I’ve chosen is BISEXUAL MEN EXIST: A HANDBOOK FOR BISEXUAL, PANSEXUAL AND M-SPEC MEN by Vaneet Mehta. I just got approved for this book on NetGalley day before yesterday. So, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I’m definitely looking forward to it. This book will be published on January 19, 2023 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Synopsis

You’re just being greedy.”
“Are you sure you’re not gay?”
“Pick a side.”

Being a bisexual man isn’t easy – something Vaneet Mehta knows all too well. After spending more than a decade figuring out his identity, Vaneet’s coming out was met with questioning, ridicule and erasure. This experience inspired Vaneet to create the viral #BisexualMenExist campaign, combatting the hate and scepticism m-spec (multi-gender attracted spectrum) men encounter, and helping others who felt similarly alone and trapped.

This powerful book is an extension of that fight. Navigating a range of topics, including coming out, dating, relationships and health, Vaneet shares his own lived experience as well as personal stories from others in the community to help validate and uplift other bisexual men. Discussing the treatment of m-spec men in LGBTQ+ places, breaking down stereotypes and highlighting the importance of representation and education, this empowering book is a rallying call for m-spec men everywhere.

Fiction Title

The fiction book that I’ve chosen to make my pair is THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US by Aaron H. Aceves, which follows a bi teen boy and his coming of age story. I loved this book so much. It had humor, excellent writing, and illustrated many of the issues faced by bi men/boys in an entertaining and approachable way. It was a 5 star read for me, and you can find my full review here.

Synopsis

This “hilariously chaotic and profound” (Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End) summer romp is Netflix’s Never Have I Ever meets What If It’s Us about a high school senior determined to get over his unrequited feelings for his best friend by getting under someone else.

Enrique “Quique” Luna has one goal this summer—get over his crush on Saleem Kanazi by pursuing his other romantic prospects. Never mind that he’s only out to his best friend, Fabiola. Never mind that he has absolutely zero game. And definitely forget the fact that good and kind and, not to mention, beautiful Saleem is leaving LA for the summer to reunite with a girl his parents are trying to set him up with.

Luckily, Quique’s prospects are each intriguing in their own ways. There’s stoner-jock Tyler Montana, who might be just as interested in Fabiola as he is in Quique; straitlaced senior class president, Ziggy Jackson; and Manny Zuniga, who keeps looking at Quique like he’s carne asada fresh off the grill. With all these choices, Quique is sure to forget about Saleem in no time.

But as the summer heats up and his deep-seated fears and anxieties boil over, Quique soon realizes that getting over one guy by getting under a bunch of others may not have been the best laid plan and living his truth can come at a high cost.