Sponsored by The Impossible Mile by Johnny Agar and Becki Agar.
“Johnny Agar is a true inspiration as a person and an athlete.”
—MICHAEL PHELPS, most decorated Olympian
The incredible story of Johnny Agar, born with cerebral palsy and whom doctors thought would never walk, overcoming the odds to compete in Ironman triathlons. Featured on ESPN, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and other media outlets, Johnny delivers a moving memoir that is a testament to the power of family, faith, and extraordinary courage. He now serves as an inspiration for not only other professional athletes, but for anyone facing their own impossible mile.
I hope you do yourself the solid of buying yourself at least one book this month. THERE ARE JUST SO MANY. Also next month, but we’re not gonna talk about that right now. Just focusing on these September reads. I’ve pre-ordered two books and I never pre-order books! But that’s extra fun because then you forget you ordered them and then you get Surprise Books.
Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas by Omar Mouallem
Journalist Mouallem “travels to thirteen remarkable mosques and discovers the surprising history of their communities” across the Americas, from Canada to Brazil. He learns how Islam shaped the Americas, and, in the recent tradition of road trip nonfiction, learns a little something about himself.
Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II by Adrian Tinniswood
Paletó and Me: Memories of My Indigenous Father by Aparecida Vilaça
Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson
This is one of the books I pre-ordered! Ok, I cannot explain why I love Elvira so much, except that her attitude is such a complete delight. Her combination of sex positivity and corny jokes just make for this enduring icon who has been around for literal decades and I love her extremely silly ’80s movie and I’m so glad she wrote a book.
The Forgotten First: Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, and the Breaking of the NFL Color Barrier by Keyshawn Johnson, Bob Glauber
Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend by Jackie Kay
True Raiders: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant by Brad Ricca
A Man Called Horse: John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad by Glennette Tilley Turner
Black Seminoles were “descendants of Seminole Indians, free Blacks, and escaped slaves who formed an alliance in Spanish Florida.” John Horse, whose life squarely occupied the nineteenth century, “defended his people from the US government, other tribes, and slave hunters.” This is a YA biography, which usually equates to just enough information for your daily life as opposed to the deep dive of adult nonfiction! Very exciting.
To Drink from the Well: The Struggle for Racial Equality at the Nation’s Oldest Public University by Geeta N. Kapur
In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters by Nancy Goldstone
For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.