I love quirky science (like Mary Roach), memoirs, and history from different angles. By this, I mean we don't need another history book about how slavery worked, we need more like They Were Her Property, which takes the specific angle of white women and their relationship to slavery. It makes history far more interesting, in part because it really narrows the scope and gives us something to focus on
A few a year. I like quirky, fun. “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” is the account of a woman’s experiences working in a crematorium. It’s actually very funny and witty!!
I only read a couple non-fiction books a year, but a lot of them are about science (focused on topics like the lives of astronomers or the findings of paleontologists) or history (ancient civilizations like Assyria or colonized places like Puerto Rico).
My favorite non-fiction books to read are memoirs bc for most it’s like reading a novel but knowing that the events happened in REAL LIFE to someone is what makes it more intriguing!
I really appreciate how self-aware and aware you are in general. You’re one of the most understanding booktubers when it comes to not everyone having as much time to read. Makes those of us that compare ourselves to people who read 10+ books a month still feel valid, so thank you ❤️
I'm a huge nonfiction reader- usually half of what I end up reading in a year is nonfiction! Given some of your favorites I think you may like these books: Gory Details, Just Mercy, Empire of Pain, What My Bones Know, and Being Mortal. I recently read Ultra-Processed People which truly impacted the way I think about food and eating- it's food science, economics and culture all mixed into one book. I picked up Invisible Women and Men Who Hate Women because of your recommendation and LOVED (and hated) them.
My favourite book of the year so far is a nonfiction book: This American Ex-Wife by Lyz Lenz. It’s about heterosexual marriages, part memoir part social science, and she doesn’t pull any punches.
I read mostly historical fiction romances and that's where I find non-fiction subjects that sound interesting. For example, the Tulip craze was mentioned in a fiction book and I had wondered about it before so checked out Tulipmania by Anne Goldgar. Or sometime it's an artist or political figure of the time that catches my interest for some reason.
I like really niche/narrow topic ones instead of broad topics. My favorites are Mauve by Simon Garfield and the feather thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. I don’t really like true crime, but feather thief was incredible! I’ve been pretty into food ones and memoirs lately. I’m currently reading Paris by Paris Hilton and recently finished up Raw Dog (a food memoir travelogue type thing) my next one is going to be either Butts: a backstory or pockets
This year so far I have read 25 nonfiction books which is 21% of my reading I think a lot of people don't read the genre because they think it's too difficult. I always mention a book called All cats are introverts which is a poetry collection. That is also nonfiction and super easy. It doesn't have to be difficult. My favorite genres I think are memoir/autobiography, nature and psychology. Favorite autobiography is Me by Elton John, especially because of the audiobook narrated by the actor Taron Eggerton who plays Elton in Rocketman. For nature books I like to read humans being friends with animals. Read The penguin lessons recently for example. Really cute.
Idk if this is a non-fiction genre but I really enjoy “non-fiction audiobooks read by the author.” Three fabulous examples: 10 Steps to Nanette, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on America Lives, and The Wright Brothers. When the author is reading their own work sometimes it feels like they are in you living room having a conversation with you about their deepest passion project. Two theories I have as to why people hate no-fiction: 1-the title can be daunting, and it is easier to be ignorant (as in the world is soooo complicated).
Hey Emily, have you heard of the Oxford's Very Short Introductions series? Its very short books (about 150 p.) introducing different topics. You can figure out if you are interested in a new. topic without committing to a long book. They have hundreds of books covering different topics. From Addiction, Behavioural Economics, and Blood to Utopianism etc.
Non-fiction is one of the only things I read exclusively on audiobooks. My all time faves are: No Stone Unturned by Steve Jackson, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, and The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. I will NEVER stop recommending the Gift of Fear. I think it should be required reading for all women. (side note: It's a bit repetitive in places)
For me non-fiction books are growing in my TBR! And what makes me happy is that more subjects are hitting the shelves. I flew through Humble Pi and The theory of Everything as audiobooks. These are some the best books I have read so far togheter with Tainted Cup. Next up is Womans Lore: 4000 years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi. Thank you for a great chanel!
My go to books are always non fiction. Animals. Medical. Memoirs. And I prefer the audio versions. Fiction is the genre that gives me the most frustration. I do enjoy it but seem to have difficulty finding ones that are my jam.
My favorite non fictions are The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, it's about mass extinctions, how some animals got extincted and how extinction of dinosaurs was investigated, it ended up being more interesting than I expected. I also love reading about female experiences, so that's why Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran and The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg are also my favorites. Other one tells about China's one child policy and treatment of baby girls and the other about girlhood in Afghanistan. And 4th and maybe my number 1 favorite non fiction book, which you actually recommended, Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis.
I've started reading more nonfiction again since last year. My library has a lot of nonfiction audiobooks too which makes it to easier access and try new topics, I think many nonfictions are easier to listen to. There are a lot of 3 or 4 hour books too. Some of my favourite nonfiction books are: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Identity, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen and Fire and Civilization by Johan Goudsblom Some topics I've read more of recently are: nature and the history of how people see and interact with nature through history, travel memoirs, language, art through history, and women in the middle ages. I'm currently reading Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz.
My favorite non fiction book is Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (rip). It's about a woman who genuinely tries to make it on minimum wage working various jobs in different locales in the United States. I also love Evicted by Matthew Desmond
I work in policy in social sciences, focusing on homelessness (in the US), so tend to bend towards nonfiction centering on social issues in the US. Not sure they are relatable outside US (hope others have better housing policy than we do!). But some favorites are: Evicted by Matthew Desmond; Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott; and Homelessness is a Housing Issue by Colburn and Aldern
I'm also a fellow learner of everything! It's so fun to learn new things. I've read about 8-10 non-fiction a year for the past couple of years but this year it's gonna be a LOT more! I have an extremely long TBR and I've challenged myself to basically read the books I added earliest to it in order so I'm giving older books and chance and WOW are there a lot of non-fiction I randomly added when I was 12 haha. I've mainly read books relating to right's activists, racism/learning to be anti-racist, feminism, etc. but not much on History itself. But this year is allll about History now. I've recently really enjoyed The Poisoner's Handbook which is essentially Radium Girls and the book about poisons you mentioned combined together but with a bit more insight on how shitty the government is and how they didn't care about people dying from all these poisons. (There's a portion on Prohibition and boy does it get my blood boiling). I'm currently reading a huge biography on Catherine the Great and I've essentially been reading a chapter every morning, afternoon and in the evening (the chapters are so short!). Lot's of little vignettes that are almost unbelievable honestly. There's something about reading nonfiction that makes me want to share all of the weird, shocking facts with people so they can also be like wtf, and we chat about it. Also, those people (men) who said that about "women's non-fiction" need to get a life. I hate that people think they're distinctly separate from a group that's different from them and where they're from. All of our histories and cultures are intertwined, and to believe that you don't need to learn about that/think it's not something worthy of being read by you? Extremely pompous and honestly a disservice to themselves.
I love to learn EVERYTHING too hahaha so non fiction books to me is GOLD ❤ I read a Michael Jackson memoir in my high school days bc a friend recommended to me. As an adult I tend to read more fiction but after a left my religion I read so much books on analysing religion, their impact on society, mind cult like people, etc is fascinating and so mind opening. One that I would recommend toe everyone is The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan .
Same about using nonfiction to cover the learning thirst! The best from this year for me are -Doppelganger by Naomi Klein (writing is fantastic, would reread for sure), -On tirany by timothy Snyder, -Ultraprocessed people, -The dawn of everything by David Wengrow, David Graeber (this one I'm partly through, but it's fascinating. It's about how a lot of our narratives of history are based not on real evidence but assumptions made by rich, western men, and how revisiting the evidence history looks wildly different.)
The best non-fiction book I've read so far this year is Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths I definitely recommend to anyone interested in mythology
I bought the Taste of Poison on your recommendation and really enjoyed it! Thank you. I wonder if you would enjoy the Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. Very interesting.
I enjoy exploring history (e.g. Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through The Women Written Out Of It or Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art) or reading science books with a focus on medicine and psychiatry/psychology. I also enjoy memoirs/biographies and love it when subgenres intertwine (e.g. To Redeem One Person Is To Redeem The World: The Life of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann or Empire Of Pain).
Omg I was out of ideas and this video brought the non fiction book tag to my attention so thank you!! I can't wait to do it too. There is definitely a non fiction subgenre for everyone, the challenge is finding it in my opinion. It's interesting that you're trying a whole bunch because I'm doing a similar thing, but I've landed in psychology and mental health and gender studies. I can't wait to explore more and branch out too. :)
Here are a few I think you'd like, mostly medical-ish: An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back Somebody I Used to Know: A Memoir Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation
I was trying for a while to read nonfiction that is topical to today's issues, but I got fatigued because we're just surrounded by that stuff every day. So I've delved into older non-fiction and it's been fun. Just read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and it was thrilling. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard was also quite entertaining, and I am not a history buff by any means.
I read a lot of non-fiction. I typically have one non-fic and one fiction book going at the same time. I'm always baffled when people are like "I hate non-fiction." You don't like learning? There isn't a subject you'd like to know more about? So strange. Anyway. I read pretty broadly. I like science-backed health and fitness books, history (especially if it's someplace I am traveling or have traveled to), memoirs/biographies (I just listened to Stanley Tucci's and it was so good. I was hungry the whole time, though...), non "woo woo" self-improvement (Atomic Habits!), science of any kind, and some current events/social issues/women's issues/finance. I recently read The Joy of Movement, which A Book Olive recommended and it was so good. It reminded me how much I like to be active (going through a lazy spell) and talked about a lot of the science and psychology behind why humans like to exercise. 10/10 recommend. I could go on and on about this. Maybe I should start a book tube channel. haha :)
Random non fiction books that I enjoyed: The end of night by Paul Bogard (about light pollution), Quiet by Susan Cain (about introverts), Understanding comics by Scott Mccloud (a comic about how comics work) and The road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (about the working class and social injustice) 😊
50-75% of my reading is nonfiction, and I'm all over the place in terms of genre/subject. This is the hardest part about finding Booktubers who read "nonfiction." There are only a handful who read primarily nonfiction, and their genres are usually pretty narrow. Then there are some people who only read nonfiction for Nonfiction November, and a handful of people who read the one-off nonfiction book sometime else in the year. It's so hard to search... Can you imagine searching "fiction Booktube" and coming up with the same 20 results for the last 5 years... it's pretty much like that. Gah!
This is my time to recommend Audre Lorde!!! Her book of essays Sister Outsider, she was one of the precursors of intersectional feminism! I would also recommend a book I just finished, Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca, (not exactly history) a journalistic approach to learn about the Roma, their cutlure and history (though not a perfect book, it's good to start learning)
Most of my nonfiction reads have been recommendations by you! So I wholeheartedly trust you, i am already converted 😂 i also enjoy medical/historical/WTF DID WE DID THAT FOR?! nonfiction those are my faves 🫶🏽. Also not related but the background looks dreamy 🤩
I highly recommend All That Remains: A Life in Death by Sue Black, it's about forensic anthropology and she talks you through her discoveries with the real life cases she worked with (wars, natural desasters, murder cases). It's not at all crime related (I hate those) it's more about science, scientific discoveries, death, grief... But it doesn't feel depressing or sad, it's all just really interesting (to me at least) 😊
Some of the best non-fiction books I've read so far: - Unwell Women, Eleanor Cleghorn - Messalina: The Life and Times of Rome's Most Scandalous Empress, Honor Cargill-Martin - The First Ladies of Rome: The Women Behind the Caesars, Annelise Friesenbruche
Beyond Words by Carl Safina is amazing if you like animals!! Another nonfiction book I remember enjoying is Going Clear by Lawrence Wright. It’s about the cult of Scientology and it is WILD.
I read about 60% nonfiction to 40% fiction. Primarily by audio. I find instead of necessarily prefering favourite genres in my non-fiction I keep coming back to similar themes, and specifically love when it blends multiple genres. An example would be Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller- part memoir, part biography, part natural history, part reckoning of science's colonialist and white supremacist history. Or The Power of Story by Harold R Johnson (a must listen). 1) memoir (especially when read by the author-- recent one that I was impressed by was Tough by Terry Crews (the author in Brooklyn99, White Chicks, etc) he had some really poignant points on masculinity. 2) Nature/ Biology (bonus if from Indigenous perspectives) 3) Death - either grief related, or forensic anthropology, or "weird" body stuff. (Atul Gawande, Sue Black, Mary Roach, etc)
I'm real curious about those men who click on a woman's vid about non-fiction, and expect the 'dude-bro' recommendations and get pissed off not getting those enough to post angry comments. Talk about a lack of intellect.
It’s entitlement (recommend the book Entitled!!). They’re used to everything being catered to them that they can’t imagine anything a book being worthy of their time if it’s not all about men. It’s dumb because they’re such good books 😂
It's the whole idea that when e.g. a story has a man it's called a "human experience" and is aimed at everyone, but if it has a woman then it's a "female experience" and aimed at women 🙄
I want to read Quackery since you first mentioned it. And The Radium Girls (my thesis was about radiology, I loved spending time in those halls and labs ;D ).
I read a few nonfictions a year mostly true crime, celebs biographies and sometimes books about depression. I'll always prefer fiction. It would be fun if you made a video about nonfiction horror.
I love Tudor and Victorian history books. I don't read as much as I used to. I finished a history degree a couple of years ago and I'm a bit burnt out on all nonfiction.
"These nonfiction books are for women" is an INSANE thing to say. Whoever commented that must not have a fully developed frontal cortex 💀 I'm also a lover of school girly! I just wish it wasn't so expensive to go back (US) or I'd get multiple degrees 😁
I would really like for you to make a video recommending medical non-fiction specifically. I'm interested in the topic but find it kind of intimidating.
Something I think we , as readers tend to be guilty of is being a bit snobby about the genres we read. I hear “I only read nonfiction because I want to LEARN” all the time!!!
I think that it's fine as long as it doesn't come with a "fiction is pointless". As if studies didn't show you have more empathy if you read fiction. There's nothing pointless about it!
I don't read a lot of non fiction. For years I almost exclusively did a combo of papers, textbooks, and the odd pop science magazine. Have you tried Spillover by David Quammen? It's a book about pandemics from a more journalistic and epidemiological approach. It looks a lot at how animals play a role in the development of the pathogens. It released in 2012 and I haven't read it since my first read about a decade ago but I think it held up considering people were saying our wondering if the book pandemic THE CROWN.
I rarely read non-fiction because I feel like I got my fill of it during ten years at university (degrees and postgraduate), 4 years of a post-doc and 6 years in another area that required too much reading of papers. But also, I read to relax and shut up my brain, which is hard to do with nonfiction, unless it is an insomnia cure (have read many like that). But I do have a collection of memoirs that I dip into now and then.
I'm a phD student and love to read non fiction in science because i hate reading scientific pappers so non fiction is like having the information in a more palatable way. My favourites are about forensics (i have about 5 books in that category and more in my wishlist). Right now i'm reading one about the Soong sisters which were very conected to the history of china during the 20th century (so i also like some history ones, but not world wars, hate that stuff).
How much nonfic? Usually about 6 per year (This year my 112th book is my first lol) Fav subgenre? Science/aerospace/mythology Favs Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes Lost Moon by Jim Lovell Fly Gorls by Keith O'brian Hello World by Hanna Fry You'll Never Believe What happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar What keeps ppl away? It can be hard to balanced entertainment without compromizing quality information. Bc of booktube Journey of the Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgummery (Math youtuber wrote Humble Pi by Matt Parker) Same I like to learn! Best I read "lately" Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes 5☆ (just bought Divine Might by her) One that I found that you might also like is "How to invent everything: a survival guide for the stranded time traveler" by Ryan North (havn't read it yet but it looks fun)
The mainstream is overtaken by "productivity" bros and their self-help books. Obviously that must've helped, because you need to have a certain mental aptitude to sit through the memoir of Elon Musk 😅
Last year 62% of what I read was non fiction. This year?? 33% 🤦♀️😂 I’m not sure what happened. I do have Quackery and A Taste for Poison on my TBR so good to know you really liked them. I also loved Radium Girls (2023 read for me). Thriller, mystery, and sci fi (omg Project Hail Mary ❤) are calling me this year!
I definitely go through phases where I read a lot of non-fiction in a short period of time and then I don't read any for several months. My favorite are ones about diseases and parasites and generally biology since that is what I study. I just started one called "Plagues and People" by William H. McNeil that is fantastic so far
Are the plants on your shelves real? They look great 😊 I don’t read a lot on non fiction … but I find that when I do … I deep dive into a topic … I need to learn everything! 😂 Have you read “ The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It “? I think a movie is on the way. Thanks for the recommendation, I’m going to read Radium Girls and Henrietta Lacks. 😊
Hmm, someone's not into self-help, new age mumbo jumbo! I know what you mean Emily. Reeks of b.s. under the guise of personal enlightenment, kinda like "The Secret"
I'm in the middle of helping my brother move, so I'll have to watch later. I do wish that more people, especially women, would include history in their reading.
Idk about others but I think I tend to associate history with war… and I find it mostly boring. But then I realize it’s not just about ww2 and that I’ve enjoyed some like Kate Moore’s books!
@@BookswithEmilyFox History is definitely not just about war, and even when it is, it's not just about military history. There's all kinds of different subtypes of history, from political to fashion to food history.
There's a book related to The radio girls I want to read, the title is The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, the spanish cover makes more sense.
Please do post a detailed video of that medical misogyny books (sex matters- male centric medicine) sound more interesting and whole new genre atleast for me ever since I've started reading habits. . .
Excellent video! I am a consistent follower of yours and I have a question. It is not related to books, though. How much time do you spend with filming/editing every week? I assume you also have a job. How do you find the energy to do it all? I really admire you! All the best to you!❤
I love your videos even though our taste in fiction is very different but we have a lot of overlap in our taste in nonfiction so I got really excited when I saw you posted this. I love medicine/disease history, social issues/politics, feminism, racism, lgtbq, memoirs etc. Great tips for incorporating more nonfiction reading into your life. Nonfiction audiobooks are my jam.
The last non-fiction book I read is "I'll have what she's having", a book supposedly on Nora Ephron's influence on romantic comedies. I was so disappointed. It turned out to be gossip more than anything else. 👎
The only one worth non-fiction that is hard... about how women are treated was by Souad : Burned Alive [ topic is "honour killing" in some contries]. Was emotional. It made me angry at the end. I believe it is originaly in French.
I read my favorite non fiction book of all time this year and it’s : Ain’t I a woman by bell hooks 🥰 I highly recommend of course. My fav nonfiction sub-genre is mostly feminist non fiction books and ecology and a big curiosity for marine biology books ☺️🌸🦞
@@BookswithEmilyFox Off the top of my head... I've found any of the books by Carlo Rivelli to be pretty easy listens. They're also really short audio books (the two I've listened to were under 5-6 hours) and they're also translated from Italian and I know you've been wanting to read more translations. I also liked The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery (it reads more like a memoir almost) and The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brussate (but I think you might have read this one).
Do you know if you are guifted? I realized recently that I am and I identify a lot of things in you. In this video you told that you loved school and studied a lot of different things. You like very diverse books. You have different opinions and you don’t care to be in the standards of the society. You are creative. You fight for what you believe. And your health issues… that doctors don’t understand but you feel it.
How many non fiction do you a year? Why types interest you?
I love quirky science (like Mary Roach), memoirs, and history from different angles. By this, I mean we don't need another history book about how slavery worked, we need more like They Were Her Property, which takes the specific angle of white women and their relationship to slavery. It makes history far more interesting, in part because it really narrows the scope and gives us something to focus on
That one has been on my shelf for too long! I need to pick it up!
A few a year. I like quirky, fun.
“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” is the account of a woman’s experiences working in a crematorium. It’s actually very funny and witty!!
I've read 24 books so far this year, and exactly half have been non-fiction. My favs (so far) have been How to Say Babylon and Hidden Valley Road.
I only read a couple non-fiction books a year, but a lot of them are about science (focused on topics like the lives of astronomers or the findings of paleontologists) or history (ancient civilizations like Assyria or colonized places like Puerto Rico).
Note to self: lip gloss and invisalign don’t mix 😂
what are you wearing on your lips??? I looove the color
It's a lipstick by Too Faced called Sugar Daddy and Sephora Outrageous lip gloss (it's basically clear)
From experience: wearing lip balm, forgetting you're wearing some and kissing your cat is also problematic 😹
LOL my cats are so upset when I don't kiss them. I can't if I'm wearing something XD
My favorite non-fiction books to read are memoirs bc for most it’s like reading a novel but knowing that the events happened in REAL LIFE to someone is what makes it more intriguing!
I love when authors narrate their own memoir!
I really appreciate how self-aware and aware you are in general. You’re one of the most understanding booktubers when it comes to not everyone having as much time to read. Makes those of us that compare ourselves to people who read 10+ books a month still feel valid, so thank you ❤️
Your background is coming together so well with the prints and the little lamp.
I'm a huge nonfiction reader- usually half of what I end up reading in a year is nonfiction! Given some of your favorites I think you may like these books: Gory Details, Just Mercy, Empire of Pain, What My Bones Know, and Being Mortal. I recently read Ultra-Processed People which truly impacted the way I think about food and eating- it's food science, economics and culture all mixed into one book. I picked up Invisible Women and Men Who Hate Women because of your recommendation and LOVED (and hated) them.
I recently had What My Bones Know recommended to me and it was EXCELLENT! Audiobook was great too.
My library has Ultra-Processed People so I just added it to my waiting list!
I want more people to discover GOOD nonfiction!! ❤
Yes!! It doesn’t have to be boring, it doesn’t have to be self help or finance 😂
This is so subjective, though, lol.
My favourite book of the year so far is a nonfiction book: This American Ex-Wife by Lyz Lenz. It’s about heterosexual marriages, part memoir part social science, and she doesn’t pull any punches.
I read mostly historical fiction romances and that's where I find non-fiction subjects that sound interesting. For example, the Tulip craze was mentioned in a fiction book and I had wondered about it before so checked out Tulipmania by Anne Goldgar. Or sometime it's an artist or political figure of the time that catches my interest for some reason.
Library looks great. Plenty to keep you busy. Happy reading to you.
I got so many great non-fiction recs from you!!
I like really niche/narrow topic ones instead of broad topics. My favorites are Mauve by Simon Garfield and the feather thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. I don’t really like true crime, but feather thief was incredible! I’ve been pretty into food ones and memoirs lately. I’m currently reading Paris by Paris Hilton and recently finished up Raw Dog (a food memoir travelogue type thing) my next one is going to be either Butts: a backstory or pockets
I liked Butts! Didn’t hear about the other ones so I’ll check them out!
A friend just recommended The Feather Thief on Monday! I think I'll be bumping it up on the list.
Mauve had been on my list for a while, but I'd forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder. I love a good niche history too!
I read Mauve waay back when it first came out and I remember really liking it.
That kitten is so clearly Clawdia's half-brother... 😍😍😍
This year so far I have read 25 nonfiction books which is 21% of my reading
I think a lot of people don't read the genre because they think it's too difficult. I always mention a book called All cats are introverts which is a poetry collection. That is also nonfiction and super easy. It doesn't have to be difficult.
My favorite genres I think are memoir/autobiography, nature and psychology. Favorite autobiography is Me by Elton John, especially because of the audiobook narrated by the actor Taron Eggerton who plays Elton in Rocketman.
For nature books I like to read humans being friends with animals. Read The penguin lessons recently for example. Really cute.
My top two are probably The Hidden Life of Trees and Quiet.
Non fiction is one of my faves 💓
Idk if this is a non-fiction genre but I really enjoy “non-fiction audiobooks read by the author.” Three fabulous examples: 10 Steps to Nanette, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on America Lives, and The Wright Brothers. When the author is reading their own work sometimes it feels like they are in you living room having a conversation with you about their deepest passion project. Two theories I have as to why people hate no-fiction: 1-the title can be daunting, and it is easier to be ignorant (as in the world is soooo complicated).
Hey Emily, have you heard of the Oxford's Very Short Introductions series? Its very short books (about 150 p.) introducing different topics. You can figure out if you are interested in a new. topic without committing to a long book. They have hundreds of books covering different topics. From Addiction, Behavioural Economics, and Blood to Utopianism etc.
I second this series! I'm a HUGE fan. They are short, but really excellent. I feel like each book is equivalent to a college course in that subject.
Love the series, I have like fifty of them in my audiobook library because they're free on audible and I find everything interesting....
Those men probably read Elon Musk or Andre Tate biographies and think they are well read 🤣
Non-fiction is one of the only things I read exclusively on audiobooks. My all time faves are: No Stone Unturned by Steve Jackson, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, and The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.
I will NEVER stop recommending the Gift of Fear. I think it should be required reading for all women. (side note: It's a bit repetitive in places)
For me non-fiction books are growing in my TBR! And what makes me happy is that more subjects are hitting the shelves. I flew through Humble Pi and The theory of Everything as audiobooks. These are some the best books I have read so far togheter with Tainted Cup. Next up is Womans Lore: 4000 years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi. Thank you for a great chanel!
My go to books are always non fiction. Animals. Medical. Memoirs. And I prefer the audio versions. Fiction is the genre that gives me the most frustration. I do enjoy it but seem to have difficulty finding ones that are my jam.
My favorite non fictions are The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, it's about mass extinctions, how some animals got extincted and how extinction of dinosaurs was investigated, it ended up being more interesting than I expected. I also love reading about female experiences, so that's why Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran and The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg are also my favorites. Other one tells about China's one child policy and treatment of baby girls and the other about girlhood in Afghanistan. And 4th and maybe my number 1 favorite non fiction book, which you actually recommended, Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis.
I've started reading more nonfiction again since last year. My library has a lot of nonfiction audiobooks too which makes it to easier access and try new topics, I think many nonfictions are easier to listen to. There are a lot of 3 or 4 hour books too.
Some of my favourite nonfiction books are: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Identity, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen and Fire and Civilization by Johan Goudsblom
Some topics I've read more of recently are: nature and the history of how people see and interact with nature through history, travel memoirs, language, art through history, and women in the middle ages. I'm currently reading Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz.
My favorite non fiction book is Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (rip). It's about a woman who genuinely tries to make it on minimum wage working various jobs in different locales in the United States. I also love Evicted by Matthew Desmond
I work in policy in social sciences, focusing on homelessness (in the US), so tend to bend towards nonfiction centering on social issues in the US. Not sure they are relatable outside US (hope others have better housing policy than we do!). But some favorites are: Evicted by Matthew Desmond; Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott; and Homelessness is a Housing Issue by Colburn and Aldern
I'm also a fellow learner of everything! It's so fun to learn new things. I've read about 8-10 non-fiction a year for the past couple of years but this year it's gonna be a LOT more! I have an extremely long TBR and I've challenged myself to basically read the books I added earliest to it in order so I'm giving older books and chance and WOW are there a lot of non-fiction I randomly added when I was 12 haha. I've mainly read books relating to right's activists, racism/learning to be anti-racist, feminism, etc. but not much on History itself. But this year is allll about History now. I've recently really enjoyed The Poisoner's Handbook which is essentially Radium Girls and the book about poisons you mentioned combined together but with a bit more insight on how shitty the government is and how they didn't care about people dying from all these poisons. (There's a portion on Prohibition and boy does it get my blood boiling).
I'm currently reading a huge biography on Catherine the Great and I've essentially been reading a chapter every morning, afternoon and in the evening (the chapters are so short!). Lot's of little vignettes that are almost unbelievable honestly. There's something about reading nonfiction that makes me want to share all of the weird, shocking facts with people so they can also be like wtf, and we chat about it.
Also, those people (men) who said that about "women's non-fiction" need to get a life. I hate that people think they're distinctly separate from a group that's different from them and where they're from. All of our histories and cultures are intertwined, and to believe that you don't need to learn about that/think it's not something worthy of being read by you? Extremely pompous and honestly a disservice to themselves.
My highest recs for non fiction:
A Little Devil In America by Hanif Abdurraqib
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri
I love to learn EVERYTHING too hahaha so non fiction books to me is GOLD ❤ I read a Michael Jackson memoir in my high school days bc a friend recommended to me. As an adult I tend to read more fiction but after a left my religion I read so much books on analysing religion, their impact on society, mind cult like people, etc is fascinating and so mind opening. One that I would recommend toe everyone is The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan .
Good tips! I often like nonfiction around themes like decluttering and organisation.
Same about using nonfiction to cover the learning thirst!
The best from this year for me are -Doppelganger by Naomi Klein (writing is fantastic, would reread for sure),
-On tirany by timothy Snyder,
-Ultraprocessed people,
-The dawn of everything by David Wengrow, David Graeber (this one I'm partly through, but it's fascinating. It's about how a lot of our narratives of history are based not on real evidence but assumptions made by rich, western men, and how revisiting the evidence history looks wildly different.)
The best non-fiction book I've read so far this year is Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths
I definitely recommend to anyone interested in mythology
I bought the Taste of Poison on your recommendation and really enjoyed it! Thank you. I wonder if you would enjoy the Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. Very interesting.
I enjoy exploring history (e.g. Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through The Women Written Out Of It or Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art) or reading science books with a focus on medicine and psychiatry/psychology. I also enjoy memoirs/biographies and love it when subgenres intertwine (e.g. To Redeem One Person Is To Redeem The World: The Life of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann or Empire Of Pain).
Omg I was out of ideas and this video brought the non fiction book tag to my attention so thank you!! I can't wait to do it too.
There is definitely a non fiction subgenre for everyone, the challenge is finding it in my opinion. It's interesting that you're trying a whole bunch because I'm doing a similar thing, but I've landed in psychology and mental health and gender studies. I can't wait to explore more and branch out too. :)
Here are a few I think you'd like, mostly medical-ish:
An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back
Somebody I Used to Know: A Memoir
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment
The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation
I was trying for a while to read nonfiction that is topical to today's issues, but I got fatigued because we're just surrounded by that stuff every day. So I've delved into older non-fiction and it's been fun. Just read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and it was thrilling. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard was also quite entertaining, and I am not a history buff by any means.
I read a lot of non-fiction. I typically have one non-fic and one fiction book going at the same time. I'm always baffled when people are like "I hate non-fiction." You don't like learning? There isn't a subject you'd like to know more about? So strange. Anyway. I read pretty broadly. I like science-backed health and fitness books, history (especially if it's someplace I am traveling or have traveled to), memoirs/biographies (I just listened to Stanley Tucci's and it was so good. I was hungry the whole time, though...), non "woo woo" self-improvement (Atomic Habits!), science of any kind, and some current events/social issues/women's issues/finance. I recently read The Joy of Movement, which A Book Olive recommended and it was so good. It reminded me how much I like to be active (going through a lazy spell) and talked about a lot of the science and psychology behind why humans like to exercise. 10/10 recommend. I could go on and on about this. Maybe I should start a book tube channel. haha :)
Random non fiction books that I enjoyed: The end of night by Paul Bogard (about light pollution), Quiet by Susan Cain (about introverts), Understanding comics by Scott Mccloud (a comic about how comics work) and The road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (about the working class and social injustice) 😊
I guess what Im saying is: I also like to learn about everything! Being curious is the best thing ❤
50-75% of my reading is nonfiction, and I'm all over the place in terms of genre/subject. This is the hardest part about finding Booktubers who read "nonfiction." There are only a handful who read primarily nonfiction, and their genres are usually pretty narrow. Then there are some people who only read nonfiction for Nonfiction November, and a handful of people who read the one-off nonfiction book sometime else in the year. It's so hard to search... Can you imagine searching "fiction Booktube" and coming up with the same 20 results for the last 5 years... it's pretty much like that. Gah!
This is my time to recommend Audre Lorde!!! Her book of essays Sister Outsider, she was one of the precursors of intersectional feminism! I would also recommend a book I just finished, Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca, (not exactly history) a journalistic approach to learn about the Roma, their cutlure and history (though not a perfect book, it's good to start learning)
Most of my nonfiction reads have been recommendations by you! So I wholeheartedly trust you, i am already converted 😂 i also enjoy medical/historical/WTF DID WE DID THAT FOR?! nonfiction those are my faves 🫶🏽. Also not related but the background looks dreamy 🤩
I highly recommend All That Remains: A Life in Death by Sue Black, it's about forensic anthropology and she talks you through her discoveries with the real life cases she worked with (wars, natural desasters, murder cases). It's not at all crime related (I hate those) it's more about science, scientific discoveries, death, grief... But it doesn't feel depressing or sad, it's all just really interesting (to me at least) 😊
Some of the best non-fiction books I've read so far:
- Unwell Women, Eleanor Cleghorn
- Messalina: The Life and Times of Rome's Most Scandalous Empress, Honor Cargill-Martin
- The First Ladies of Rome: The Women Behind the Caesars, Annelise Friesenbruche
Beyond Words by Carl Safina is amazing if you like animals!!
Another nonfiction book I remember enjoying is Going Clear by Lawrence Wright. It’s about the cult of Scientology and it is WILD.
I read about 60% nonfiction to 40% fiction. Primarily by audio. I find instead of necessarily prefering favourite genres in my non-fiction I keep coming back to similar themes, and specifically love when it blends multiple genres. An example would be Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller- part memoir, part biography, part natural history, part reckoning of science's colonialist and white supremacist history. Or The Power of Story by Harold R Johnson (a must listen).
1) memoir (especially when read by the author-- recent one that I was impressed by was Tough by Terry Crews (the author in Brooklyn99, White Chicks, etc) he had some really poignant points on masculinity.
2) Nature/ Biology (bonus if from Indigenous perspectives)
3) Death - either grief related, or forensic anthropology, or "weird" body stuff. (Atul Gawande, Sue Black, Mary Roach, etc)
I also enjoyed Why Fish Don't Exist.
I'm real curious about those men who click on a woman's vid about non-fiction, and expect the 'dude-bro' recommendations and get pissed off not getting those enough to post angry comments. Talk about a lack of intellect.
It’s entitlement (recommend the book Entitled!!). They’re used to everything being catered to them that they can’t imagine anything a book being worthy of their time if it’s not all about men. It’s dumb because they’re such good books 😂
It's the whole idea that when e.g. a story has a man it's called a "human experience" and is aimed at everyone, but if it has a woman then it's a "female experience" and aimed at women 🙄
I also enjoyed The Emperor of all Maladies and The Gene. The Song of the Cell is on my TBR list.
I want to read Quackery since you first mentioned it. And The Radium Girls (my thesis was about radiology, I loved spending time in those halls and labs ;D ).
My favourite non-fiction author is Caitlin Doughty - her book "Will my cat eat my eyeballs?" was funny and interesting 😊
I read a few nonfictions a year mostly true crime, celebs biographies and sometimes books about depression. I'll always prefer fiction. It would be fun if you made a video about nonfiction horror.
I love Tudor and Victorian history books. I don't read as much as I used to. I finished a history degree a couple of years ago and I'm a bit burnt out on all nonfiction.
I read A Taste For Poison on your recommendation and it was so good! I'll have to check out quackery too
"These nonfiction books are for women" is an INSANE thing to say. Whoever commented that must not have a fully developed frontal cortex 💀
I'm also a lover of school girly! I just wish it wasn't so expensive to go back (US) or I'd get multiple degrees 😁
The worst part is that it happened multiple times 😫
@@BookswithEmilyFox oh noooo that's so embarrassing for them! 🤣
I used to never read non-fiction. But the last couple of years I've read 4-5 a year and it's mainly memoirs, or books on about sexuality or race.
I would really like for you to make a video recommending medical non-fiction specifically. I'm interested in the topic but find it kind of intimidating.
Something I think we , as readers tend to be guilty of is being a bit snobby about the genres we read. I hear “I only read nonfiction because I want to LEARN” all the time!!!
I think that it's fine as long as it doesn't come with a "fiction is pointless". As if studies didn't show you have more empathy if you read fiction. There's nothing pointless about it!
Love none fiction books and as long they keep me into the book and etc 🩵📙📙📙📙📖📚📚📚📖📙📙🩵🩵📙📙🩵📖📚📖🩵📙🌺🌞📚📚📚📖📖📚📚📚🌺🌺📙🩵🌊🌊🌊📙📚📚📚📚📚📖📖📖🩵🩵
I don't read a lot of non fiction. For years I almost exclusively did a combo of papers, textbooks, and the odd pop science magazine.
Have you tried Spillover by David Quammen? It's a book about pandemics from a more journalistic and epidemiological approach. It looks a lot at how animals play a role in the development of the pathogens.
It released in 2012 and I haven't read it since my first read about a decade ago but I think it held up considering people were saying our wondering if the book pandemic THE CROWN.
I rarely read non-fiction because I feel like I got my fill of it during ten years at university (degrees and postgraduate), 4 years of a post-doc and 6 years in another area that required too much reading of papers.
But also, I read to relax and shut up my brain, which is hard to do with nonfiction, unless it is an insomnia cure (have read many like that). But I do have a collection of memoirs that I dip into now and then.
I'm a phD student and love to read non fiction in science because i hate reading scientific pappers so non fiction is like having the information in a more palatable way. My favourites are about forensics (i have about 5 books in that category and more in my wishlist). Right now i'm reading one about the Soong sisters which were very conected to the history of china during the 20th century (so i also like some history ones, but not world wars, hate that stuff).
I still highly recommend Being Mortal - completely changed my view of terminal care
It’s part of my pile of shame… I need to finish it!
Art theft....my favorite NF reads...also The Feather Thief
How much nonfic?
Usually about 6 per year
(This year my 112th book is my first lol)
Fav subgenre?
Science/aerospace/mythology
Favs
Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
Lost Moon by Jim Lovell
Fly Gorls by Keith O'brian
Hello World by Hanna Fry
You'll Never Believe What happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
What keeps ppl away?
It can be hard to balanced entertainment without compromizing quality information.
Bc of booktube
Journey of the Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgummery
(Math youtuber wrote Humble Pi by Matt Parker)
Same I like to learn!
Best I read "lately"
Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes 5☆ (just bought Divine Might by her)
One that I found that you might also like is "How to invent everything: a survival guide for the stranded time traveler" by Ryan North (havn't read it yet but it looks fun)
non fiction in audiobooks are the best
The mainstream is overtaken by "productivity" bros and their self-help books. Obviously that must've helped, because you need to have a certain mental aptitude to sit through the memoir of Elon Musk 😅
May we one day be free of the shackles of productivity!
I want to drink tea in my library while reading books and cuddling my cats.
@@BookswithEmilyFox Amen 🙏
Last year 62% of what I read was non fiction. This year?? 33% 🤦♀️😂 I’m not sure what happened. I do have Quackery and A Taste for Poison on my TBR so good to know you really liked them. I also loved Radium Girls (2023 read for me). Thriller, mystery, and sci fi (omg Project Hail Mary ❤) are calling me this year!
I definitely go through phases where I read a lot of non-fiction in a short period of time and then I don't read any for several months. My favorite are ones about diseases and parasites and generally biology since that is what I study. I just started one called "Plagues and People" by William H. McNeil that is fantastic so far
I also enjoy Sy Montgomery's books on nature, eg: The soul of an octopus.
Oh that one is on my shelf!
Are the plants on your shelves real? They look great 😊
I don’t read a lot on non fiction … but I find that when I do … I deep dive into a topic … I need to learn everything! 😂
Have you read “ The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It “? I think a movie is on the way.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’m going to read Radium Girls and Henrietta Lacks. 😊
No they’re fake (from IKEA!) I can’t keep plants alive lol
Hmm, someone's not into self-help, new age mumbo jumbo! I know what you mean Emily. Reeks of b.s. under the guise of personal enlightenment, kinda like "The Secret"
Ps this was a great and very helpful video❤
I'm in the middle of helping my brother move, so I'll have to watch later. I do wish that more people, especially women, would include history in their reading.
Idk about others but I think I tend to associate history with war… and I find it mostly boring. But then I realize it’s not just about ww2 and that I’ve enjoyed some like Kate Moore’s books!
@@BookswithEmilyFox History is definitely not just about war, and even when it is, it's not just about military history. There's all kinds of different subtypes of history, from political to fashion to food history.
There's a book related to The radio girls I want to read, the title is The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, the spanish cover makes more sense.
Please do post a detailed video of that medical misogyny books (sex matters- male centric medicine) sound more interesting and whole new genre atleast for me ever since I've started reading habits. . .
I really enjoy non fiction but nearly always via Audible. I can’t seem to absorb them as well when I’m physically reading them.
Excellent video! I am a consistent follower of yours and I have a question. It is not related to books, though. How much time do you spend with filming/editing every week? I assume you also have a job. How do you find the energy to do it all? I really admire you! All the best to you!❤
Quackery was great!
Yes!! I want to live to see boys&men reading hooks with female leads and relating to and enjoying, just like we have been doing with male leads!
War Doctor, memoir of an NHS surgeon who donates his time to MSF and Red Cross and other charities into war zones. Fantastic
I love your videos even though our taste in fiction is very different but we have a lot of overlap in our taste in nonfiction so I got really excited when I saw you posted this. I love medicine/disease history, social issues/politics, feminism, racism, lgtbq, memoirs etc. Great tips for incorporating more nonfiction reading into your life. Nonfiction audiobooks are my jam.
The last non-fiction book I read is "I'll have what she's having", a book supposedly on Nora Ephron's influence on romantic comedies. I was so disappointed. It turned out to be gossip more than anything else. 👎
I miss snow globe Emily, how is she doing? 😊
She's good! She's facing me on the other wall... always watching!
That shadow at 15:20 is scaring the sh*t out of me. I hope there was someone in the room with you? Otherwise you have ghosts. 😵💫
It’s Clawdia 🐈⬛
@@BookswithEmilyFox But of course it is! 😂😂😂
I’m ready for spooky season will my cats 😂
The only one worth non-fiction that is hard... about how women are treated was by Souad : Burned Alive
[ topic is "honour killing" in some contries]. Was emotional. It made me angry at the end. I believe it is originaly in French.
Had no idea you're a lawyer
Have you seen the upsetting cover change of the will of the many?
Ew. Now I have 🤢
I’m glad I have the old edition but I’m worried about what book 2 will look like
@@BookswithEmilyFox I am so sad, because they will be matching the new book cover. I am so sad.
I read my favorite non fiction book of all time this year and it’s : Ain’t I a woman by bell hooks 🥰 I highly recommend of course.
My fav nonfiction sub-genre is mostly feminist non fiction books and ecology and a big curiosity for marine biology books ☺️🌸🦞
I’ve been looking for that one! I’m gonna have to just buy it new!
I'm screenshotting the hell out of your comments, so many gems mentioned. - Do any of you have LGBTQIA+ recommendations you feel are a must-read?
I liked Ace! Bad Gays is also interesting (although I wish it weren’t mostly men but… history I guess lol)
❤️📚
Do you like reading nonfiction about life science and space?
That’s all I used to read! Love them but they take more mental energy than I have lately
Ahh, okay. That seems to be the only kind of nonfiction I’ve been reading lately but I’ve been jotting down the ones you’ve talked about :)
Definitely leave some of your faves! I’m sure I’ll be able to use my brain one day and pick them up!
@@BookswithEmilyFox Off the top of my head... I've found any of the books by Carlo Rivelli to be pretty easy listens. They're also really short audio books (the two I've listened to were under 5-6 hours) and they're also translated from Italian and I know you've been wanting to read more translations.
I also liked The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery (it reads more like a memoir almost) and The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brussate (but I think you might have read this one).
❤📚📚📚
Do you know if you are guifted? I realized recently that I am and I identify a lot of things in you. In this video you told that you loved school and studied a lot of different things. You like very diverse books. You have different opinions and you don’t care to be in the standards of the society. You are creative. You fight for what you believe.
And your health issues… that doctors don’t understand but you feel it.
This video was great and all, but where are the recommendations for men? These books are only for females
That’s what Joe Rogan and Andrew Tate are for
@@BookswithEmilyFox I'm sorry I should have included the /s. But yes, Tate and Rogan certainly appeal to the most toxic men, also Jordan Peterson
@@DonnaDoveWinters Oh don't worry I was replying with the same tone as you!