I have tried to read through a few nonfiction books, but I always find myself not enjoying reading as much because I feel like I should be taking notes and I’m a very casual reader. There are a few nonfiction books that I liked but didn’t finish even if the content is great, these books include
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk
Notes on a nervous planet by Matt Haig
There is one nonfiction out of a few I’ve tried that I gave 5 stars, was Lighter than my shadow by Katie Green, a graphic autobiography that I thought kept my attention and made me emotional but so far that’s the only nonfiction that I’ve tried and was able to get through and enjoy very well.
I don’t mind any topic, serious topics, history, self help, true crime etc. all welcome. Thank you.
by Trick-Maintenance749
8 Comments
The Anthropocene Reviewed (John Green). This essay collection consists of short reviews of various aspects of modern life (Dr Pepper, Kentucky bluegrass, The Penguins of Madagascar, the Indianapolis 500). Green has mostly published novels, so he’s a good storyteller, but I love the way he provides research and thinks on the page in this book.
Sounds like you may enjoy narrative non-fiction?
You might check out:
Tinderbox by Robert W Fieseler
From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
The Body Keeps The Score is a bit too dry compared to When The Body Says No by Gabor Mate, they cover similar topics.
I have a bunch of lists of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books that I can post (General Nonfiction, (Auto)biographies, History, and Narrative Nonfiction (“Reads Like a Novel”) come to mind), but unfortunately, r/booklists, the sub that hosts them, has gone private in the last few days (on or before Sunday 29 October), so all of my lists are blocked. I have another home for them—I just haven’t posted them there yet. Thus I have to post the lists entire, instead of just a link. However, they are generally each multiple posts in length. How many suggestions do you want?
All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks and Kevin Carr O’Leary
Ruth Coker Burks is the woman in Arkansas who took care of, and subsequently buried in her family plot, hundreds of young gay men dying of AIDS at the height of the crisis.
**Story of a Secret State, by Jan Karski.**
Jan Karski was a courier for the Armia Krajowa – the Polish “home army”, as opposed to exiles fighting abroad, in WW2. As part of his Resistance work, Jan was given a unique role to fill…
Witness. He would have to be the witness.
His job would be to travel all over Poland, and be witness to everything he could about what they were doing and how they were trying to fight. He observes the Resistance press, secret schools for Polish children (Poles were kicked out of education under the occupation), weapons smuggling and explosives training, the Warsaw ghetto (he’s smuggled in, and then back out again with information from the Jews inside), at one point he smuggles himself into a death camp to see where the ghetto inhabitants go, etc etc etc.
He was supposed to witness everything he could possibly arrange to see, and then he was supposed to leave. The information he’d gathered was supposed to go with him to the Allies – to Britain, to America, to literally anyone, anywhere, who might help Poland fight.
Anyway he gets out, and then he sits down and starts writing everything down. This book was his report, and if it were not all corroborated and proven to be true you’d assume he made it up because it reads like the ultimate spy thriller.
Bear in mind this was published in 1944. For him in text it’s all still happening, he’s **screaming** for help for his people…and the war is not over yet.
Anything by Jon Ronson or David Sedaris.