Favorite non fiction

[lovinmyboys]

I’m making a list of non fiction to read this year and am stuck. What are your recent favorites or all time favorites? I’m interested in almost any topic, but not really self help (unless it is amazing). Some I have enjoyed over the last five years:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

When Breath Becomes Air

 

[Ali in OR]

Just finished Isabel Wilkerson's Caste and highly recommend it.

[Amethyst]

Kent State - James Michener

Midnight in Chernobyl- Higginbotham

Johnstown Flood - David McCullough

Into the Wild - Krakauer 

Edited February 21, 2021 by Amethyst

[Melissa Louise]

Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon was a stand-out for me. 

[Laura Corin]

If you are interested in real life spy stuff, Ben Macintyre is good.

Criado-Perez's book on a world physically designed to fit men is very excellent.

I enjoyed Factfulness, on the data about the world that you probably have wrong.

[gardenmom5]

Boys in the boat

the perfect horse

Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot

[lovinmyboys]

25 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon was a stand-out for me. 

I checked this out from the library once and I think the length intimidated me. I’ll have to try it again.

[happi duck]

My all-time favorite book is Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads With an Indian Elder by Kent Nerburn.  It can sometimes be listed as non-fiction or memoir.

[Melissa Louise]

10 minutes ago, lovinmyboys said:

I checked this out from the library once and I think the length intimidated me. I’ll have to try it again.

You can dip into it by chapter. That's how I read it - no need to read from beginning to end. I did read it all eventually, but I'd recommend starting with the chapter that interests you most. 

[Amethyst]

nvm

Edited February 21, 2021 by Amethyst

[katilac]

Radium Girls was amazing. 

[Kareni]

Non-fiction I've enjoyed:

Bill Bryson's  The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way 

Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character which is a compilation of two of Richard Feynman's earlier books -- "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" and "What Do You Care What Other People Think?".  The edition I've linked is wonderful because it includes a CD of Richard Feynman telling some great stories of his time at Los Alamos.

Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things by Richard Wiseman ~ this generated some interesting dinner table conversation.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard; this was a fascinating and gory story about a lesser known American president.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kassia]

Some of my favorites:

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives

Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Family and Friends

The Measure of Our Days: A Spiritual Exploration of Illness

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death

 

I also liked Far From the Tree and want to read Caste (mentioned above).

 

[Farrar]

Maybe not my favorite, but dh and I find that we reference But What If We're Wrong by Chuck Klosterman pretty often.

[Carol in Cal.]

Common Ground by Lukas is one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read.

The Puritan Dilemma is short but excellent.

Since you liked Evicted, you would probably like these two other that I love:

Hillbilly Elegy

Janesville

Legacy of Conquest is one I want to reread after many years.  

[PinkTulip]

I love everything by Sam Kean, but I think The Disappearing Spoon is my favorite. 

[JennyD]

Far From the Tree is spectacular.

Random Family, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, is one of the best books I have ever read.

Other favorites:

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker

My Misspent Youth, Meghan Daum

The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten

 

 

[Melissa Louise]

12 minutes ago, JennyD said:

Far From the Tree is spectacular.

Random Family, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, is one of the best books I have ever read.

Other favorites:

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker

My Misspent Youth, Meghan Daum

The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten

 

 

Oh,  I'm interested in the Meghan Daum book. Didn't know about it, but do know of her.

[JennyD]

4 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Oh,  I'm interested in the Meghan Daum book. Didn't know about it, but do know of her.

She is one of my favorite writers -- just absolutely fearless -- and i've read all of her books, but I think this first book of essays is still the one I love best.

[Melissa Louise]

9 minutes ago, JennyD said:

She is one of my favorite writers -- just absolutely fearless -- and i've read all of her books, but I think this first book of essays is still the one I love best.

I'm embarrassed to say I only know her from podcasts and Twitter. Time to remedy that!

[Alicia64]

I just finished a blog writing about my favorite non-fictions.

I loved these so much and included a fast description:

Bad Blood – Secrets and Lies Behind a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carryrou. Remember Elizabeth Holmes, the young woman who invented a device that could do a full health diagnostic on “one drop of blood?” Welp, spoiler: turns out the device was empty. John Carryrou was the reporter who broke the story and wrote one page-turner of a book. (I think I gulped this one in one afternoon.)

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins. Awesomeness thy name is David Goggins.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. Word to the wise: don’t screw over Tara Westover like her insane ding-dong parents did or she’ll write a phenomenal book about you that will stay on the New York Times bestseller list for years and be translated into 45 languages. Just sayin’.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. This book is awesome to listen to on audio. The writer took what could have been a dry topic – I mean, rockets and electric cars? — and made it super entertaining. As a husband, Elon needs to move on from the fourth grade, but as earth’s reigning deity? Not bad.

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry at his best, but you definitely want to listen to the audio version that Jerry voices. Fun. Nee. (Plus Jerry is the gold-standard in the dad and husband department.)

Living with a SEAL — 31 days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet by Jesse Itzler. This book was written by the guy who married Sara Blakely the Spanx founder. (He founded a bunch of companies too.) They’re both cajillion-aires, but are very salt-of-the-earth people whom you’d love to have as neighbors. The book is funny and smart.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. Such a funny, wonderful, and true (ish) story, but definitely listen to the audio version to hear the various southern voices.

Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt. I grew up with Linda Ronstadt’s music and never thought much about her, but after reading her memoir I now get it: Ronstadt was a powerhouse in the rock world.

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eger. I’ll admit that I never read stories about concentration camps (because too horrific), but this book is a five-star, don’t-miss wonder. The author — 94 as I write — shares stories about “boob” contests, her mother’s love of Gone with the Wind; and even an astounding escape from the communists in her country (a few years after WW II ended).

The Elephant in the Room — One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America by Tommy Tomlinson. What a better world we’d live in if this book were required reading in all schools. A generation of kids with a deeper understanding and compassion for those with weight issues? Not only is it time, but Tomlinson is illuminating the way.

The Color of Water by James McBride. OMG-audio-memoir alert! The story and the audio is phenomenal.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz by Erik Larson. Wow. That’s all: just wow. (One cool thing about this book: every problem in life seems teeny compared to Churchill’s challenge of ridding the earth of Hitler and his flying monkeys.)

Why My Third Husband will be a Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline. Lisa made her mark by writing mysteries which I’ve yet to read, but her memoir books are hysterically funny.

[math teacher]

All I have to say is "So many books, so little time."

[Ditto]

3 hours ago, math teacher said:

All I have to say is "So many books, so little time."

Truer words have never been spoken.

[Lady Florida.]

On 2/21/2021 at 4:44 PM, Ali in OR said:

Just finished Isabel Wilkerson's Caste and highly recommend it.

I'm about to start reading this for my book club and am looking forward to it. Waiting for the library hold to come in.

On 2/21/2021 at 4:45 PM, Amethyst said:

 

Midnight in Chernobyl- Higginbotham

Johnstown Flood - David McCullough

Into the Wild - Krakauer 

All of these. Yes.

On 2/21/2021 at 7:17 PM, Kassia said:

Some of my favorites:

 

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

 

 

I really loved this one. So many people recommend When Breath Becomes Air but I didn't care for it. I think for someone looking to read the topic, Being Mortal is a much better choice. YMMV of course. 🙂 

[Kassia]

9 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

I really loved this one. So many people recommend When Breath Becomes Air but I didn't care for it. I think for someone looking to read the topic, Being Mortal is a much better choice. YMMV of course. 🙂 

I read them both and feel the same way.  🙂  

[Lady Florida.]

I will add- 

Born a Crime, Trevor Noah. Even better if you can get the audio book and hear it in his own voice. You don't have to like his show to find growing up in post Apartheid South Africa interesting. He was 10 years old when it ended. The title comes from the fact that his existence was literally a crime in SA because interracial relations were illegal.
Becoming, Michelle Obama. There is very little that's political so that shouldn't be a concern if you don't like their politics. It's still interesting. Ditto what I said above about the audio book.
Love, Lucy, Lucille Ball. The only disappointment is this memoir? autobiography? (not sure where it falls) ends too early. It's been a while but I think it ends sometime in the 1960s.
Call the Midwife - Even if you've watched the show already the books (there are 3 or 4 I think) are still worth reading. And you'll get much more than the show offers.
Jane Austen at Home, Lucy Worsley - probably not that interesting if you aren't an Austen fan but great if you are.

If you like biographies any by either David McCullough or Ron Chernow (he can get wordy but they're still good bios) would be good choices. 

If you're interested in the Russian Czars any of Robert K. Massie's three biographies would be good choices. He wrote books on Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicholas and Alexandra. A giant tome on all of the Romanovs is called just that, The Romanovs, by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

For pure fun - 

If You Ask Me, Betty White because who doesn't like Betty White. ❤️ 
Keep Moving, Dick Van Dyke - sometimes this one sounds like an old guy reminiscing because that's what it is, but it's still quite a good memoir.

I didn't realize I listed mostly biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs until I looked over my post before submitting. I think many of my other nonfiction books I'd recommend are either history or true crime. Not sure if you're interested in those genres but if you are I can post some suggestions. 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Lady Florida.