Nonfiction November: Book Pairings

Last week Leanne at Shelf Aware kicked off Nonfiction November and this week one of my favorite book bloggers Julie of Julz Reads has agreed to host.  To get things rolling she’s served up the following prompt:

This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. 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.

Just like last year, I’d like to feature two outstanding books, one fiction and one nonfiction I feel not only compliment each other but are dear favorites of mine. 

When a presidential election pitting a loquacious East Coast senator against an incumbent president goes unexpectedly wrong resulting in a constitutional crises needing to be settled by the Supreme Court, which now includes a young up and coming female justice recently appointed by the sitting president sounds like a scenario ripped from today’s headlines. But Christopher Buckley, with the gift of prescience featured this predicament 12 years ago in his 2008 humorous political novel Supreme Courtship. As America painfully emerges from one of the closest and most contested president elections in decades (made worse by its narcissistic despotic and chief’s refusal to abide by the rules of American democracy) some good laughs are much needed. For these trying times Supreme Courtship is the perfect remedy. 

Published the preceding year, Jeffrey Toobin’s The Nine: Inside The Secret World of the Supreme Court is a fascinating, insightful and expertly written look at the mysterious world of America’s highest court. (If the author’s name sounds familiar it’s because he was recently in the news for committing a lewd act during a work-related Zoom chat.) Even though a number of justices have left the court since it was published in 2007 The Nine is still considered one of the best out there when it comes to books about the Supreme Court. Therefore it’s perfect to read alongside Supreme Courtship. 

So there you go. Even if America’s increasingly fragile democracy degenerates into authoritarianism you’ll still have a pair of book recommendations.