List
2024 Staff Picks: Nonfiction
Our expert staff members look back at the year and share their favorite titles.
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Briefly Perfectly Human: Making An Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End
2024 by Arthur, AluaGet this itemI really enjoyed this beautifully written book. I found that it read more like a memoir, as the author recounts memories of her life leading up to her becoming a death doula. The way she writes about death makes the dark topic less scary; providing comfort to readers who want to be more open to thinking about death. Suggested by Sheena.
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The Message
2024 by Coates, Ta-NehisiGet this itemTa-Nehisi Coates structures a series of essays as letters to his students at Howard University. What else is there to say about this book? That his prose remains as razor sharp as his intellect? That it’s still impossible not to have an emotional reaction to his writing? That he’s still his own harshest critic? That he still can’t quite believe that someone would place their job at risk rather than stop teaching his books? Suggested by Andrew.
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Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook
2024 by Nguyen, NiniGet this itemFormer Top Chef contestant Nini Nguyen presents a sumptuously illustrated Vietnamese cookbook that bookends her easy to follow recipes with loving family reminiscences that add a robust layer of depth. The pantry staples section at the beginning provides those new to cooking the cuisine a smooth on-ramp. Suggested by Adam.
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A Mission without Borders: Why a Father and Son Risked It All for the People of Ukraine
2024 by Robichaux, ChadGet this itemThis book opened my eyes to what is really happening to the people of Ukraine, and it reads like a military-themed action movie. It makes me want to take action to make a difference in what is important to my heart. Suggested by Holly.
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Brooklyn Tweed's Knit & Crochet Blankets: Projects to Stitch for Home and Away
2024 by Flood, JaredGet this itemJared Flood's patterns are beautifully designed, and the tutorials clearly explain how to make the pattern. His designs are my go-to baby blanket gifts. Suggested by Martha.
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The Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in America
2024 by Schuettpelz, Carrie LowryGet this itemAn eye-opening, fascinating, and reflective primer on looking into the complexities of Native American identity and the problematic layers of the U.S. Census. The author uses her own personal story as a jumping off point to explore the thorny issue of "blood quantum." Suggested by Rummanah.
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The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir
2024 by Dunne, GriffinGet this itemMy pick for this year's best celebrity memoir focuses on actor, director, and producer Dunne's intricate, interesting, and often painful family history, peppered with humorous anecdotes and Hollywood shenanigans throughout. From his father's (author Dominick Dunne) alcoholism and identity struggles to the tragic murder of his sister, much of his story has been written by others before, but it sure is something to read in his own words. Even better for me was to listen to his words as he soulfully narrated the audiobook version. Suggested by Mandy.
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Psychedelic Outlaws: The Movement Revolutionizing Modern Medicine
2024 by Kempner, JoannaGet this itemI was really drawn in by this compelling history of a group of people suffering tremendously from cluster headaches. The author wove together how that international group developed, starting from the early days of the internet, through discovering and sharing how psilocybin helped when nothing else did, to their fight for recognition in our not always helpful medical system. The larger legal and political landscape surrounding psychedelics became more accessible because of the journey of this group of patients, who call themselves "clusterbusters." Suggested by Christie.
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The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora
2024 by Pearlman, WendyGet this itemWhat does it mean to be forced into exile from your homeland and to begin again? Based on more than a decade of interviews conducted by the author, this moving, deeply humane book explores how Syrian refugees think about, create, and nurture the idea of home in the face of displacement, trauma, and loss. In a time of so much divisiveness, I appreciated this compassionate, necessary book. Suggested by Chris.
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Thunder Song: Essays
2024 by LaPointe, Sasha taqwšebluGet this itemA beautifully written, powerful, and sensitive collection of essays that I can’t recommend enough. The author reflects on several interweaving topics, including her Indigenous identity, colonialism, traditional practices, family, two-spirit people, activism, healing, and more. Suggested by Sharon.
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Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline
2024 by Cooper, Paul M. M.Get this itemLong fascinated with fallen civilizations, I found this sweeping history surpassed even my high expectations, sustaining my interest throughout and providing much that was new to me. Popular podcaster Paul Cooper really knows his material and relates it with great flair. Suggested by Steven.
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Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People
2024 by Miles, TiyaGet this itemYou couldn’t diminish Harriet Tubman if you tried. And Tiya Miles doesn’t try; she explains how Tubman’s faith fit into a larger (if largely unrecorded) spiritual tradition, just as her extraordinary achievements as an Underground Railroad conductor were inseparable from her understanding of both the ecological and social worlds she moved through. I learned a lot about someone I’ve been reading about since I was a kid. Suggested by Andrew.
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2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed
2024 by Klinenberg, EricGet this itemThis was the first year I felt ready to reflect on the global Covid-19 pandemic, the long wake of which we're still churning in. Focusing on seven profiles of average New Yorkers in 2020, sociologist Eric Klinenberg’s book is an impressive first draft of this difficult history, capturing and helping to bring into focus the queasy uncertainties, heartbreak, and struggles of that perilous year. Suggested by Chris.
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Whiskey Tender: A Memoir
2024 by Taffa, Deborah JacksonGet this itemI loved this candid and compelling coming-of-age memoir about growing up between Quechan and Navajo territories. Deborah Jackson Taffa shares stories from her childhood while looking at how her ancestors’ history and experiences have shaped her life. Suggested by Brenna.
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Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist
2024 by Graham, JasminGet this itemYou don’t need a particular interest in sharks (though you will learn a lot about them) to appreciate this book by the founder of Minorities in Shark Science. Jasmin Graham was determined to do rigorous work in a subfield that functioned as an exclusive (white) boys’ club, but wound up wondering if many of the problems weren’t inseparable from academic science in its current form. Was it possible to educate the public and incorporate the deep knowledge of communities like her father’s, fishing along the Carolina coast for generations? Suggested by Andrew.
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Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
2024 by Ghosh, AmitavGet this itemThis book functions as a kind of nonfiction counterpart to Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis Trilogy, which I would personally rank among the greatest works of historical fiction. The novels helped inspire new scholarship on the ways opium bound together 19th Century China, India, Britain, and America, creating enormous suffering while building fortunes whose origins would be occluded with euphemisms about “the China trade.” Suggested by Andrew.
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Ka-boom!: The Science of Extremes
2024 by Darling, DavidGet this itemThink of this book as “The Guinness Book of World Records” but with nature doing awe-inspiring things rather than humans doing silly things. If you’re looking to have your mind boggled, look right here for an assemblage of our universe’s GOATs. Suggested by Steven.
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The Backyard Bird Chronicles
2024 by Tan, AmyGet this itemWhether or not you’re an experienced birder, this book is a charming read. Amy Tan’s thoughtful observations and lovely drawings kept my interest throughout. The joy of nature jumps from the pages, something I truly can appreciate. Suggested by Sharon.
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On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service
2024 by Fauci, Anthony S.Get this itemAnthony Fauci took over the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease just as AIDS was exploding upon the world. No one’s ever going to mistake the man for a brilliant prose stylist, but it’s hard not to care when the story he has to tell is this gripping and the qualities that made him beloved as “America’s doctor” are so obvious. His decades-long frenemyship with Larry Kramer needs to be a movie. Suggested by Andrew.
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The Devil's Best Trick: How the Face of Evil Disappeared
2024 by Sullivan, RandallGet this itemA journalist mixes true crime reportage with a history of Western ideas about the Devil in this seemingly ridiculous yet oddly compelling exploration of the reality of demonic influence on our world. This may be the creepiest nonfiction work I’ve ever read. Suggested by Steven.
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That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America
2024 by Jones, AmandaGet this itemLouisiana school librarian Amanda Jones drew national attention when she brought a defamation suit against the creators of an online smear campaign targeting her. An at times messy yet deeply affecting book about a story that isn’t over, told by someone who knows in her bones that what she does means too much to too many people to give up the fight. Suggested by Andrew.
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Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell
2024 by Powers, AnnGet this itemThis is not a biography in the traditional sense, which is the way it should be given Joni Mitchell has never been an ordinary musician. She contains multitudes and Ann Powers' biography, at times exhausting, also revels in exploring the artist's many rabbit holes. I don’t know if I came any closer to understanding Joni Mitchell, though I certainly enjoyed the effort, especially that mid-80's collaboration with…Thomas Dolby! Suggested by Chris.
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On Freedom
2024 by Snyder, TimothyGet this itemSeven years after On Tyranny made waves far beyond the history profession, Timothy Snyder looks at the contested idea of “freedom” from Plato (he’s not a fan) to the war in Ukraine. If there’s an overriding theme, it’s that “negative’ freedom--freedom defined simply as the absence of state coercion, with no attempt to address all the other things that make people “unfree”--is a poor shield against tyranny. Suggested by Andrew.
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Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich
2024 by Evans, Richard J.Get this itemOne the world’s greatest experts on the Nazi regime turns his attention to the rogues gallery of warped individuals who created it and kept it running. Writing without speculation or sensationalism, he does justice to his fascinating subjects in his brisk portraits. Suggested by Steven.
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A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnes Varda
2024 by Rickey, CarrieGet this itemAgnès Varda has long been one of my favorite filmmakers, and this delightful biography does justice to her fearless spirit and relentless creativity. Tracing her journey from photographer, filmmaker, installation artist and trailblazing influence, this is an essential read for anyone who admires artistic innovation and the absolutely remarkable woman who embodied it. Suggested by Chris.
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The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
2024 by Schlanger, ZoëGet this itemCan something that doesn’t have a brain make choices? Where plants are concerned, the answer increasingly seems to be: that depends on how you define “brain"...and “choices.” This book paints an accessible picture of an in-progress scientific revolution, one that reminds us yet again that humanity isn't the measure of all life. Suggested by Andrew.
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How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi: Collected Quirks of Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math from Nerd Nite
2024Get this itemScience geeks share their enthusiasms in this collection of short pieces that explore the wonders of the natural and physical worlds. This rollicking book will make you want to be a scientist or at least hang out with them when they’re having fun. Suggested by Steven.
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Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business
2023 by Gay, RoxaneGet this itemFans of Roxane Gay's work will enjoy delving into this selection of her column in the New York Times. Articles delve into topics like politics, culture, and art, all with her characteristic thoughtfulness, depth, and unflinching prose. Suggested by Amanda.
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100 Ways to Change Your Life: The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships & Success
2023 by Moody, LizGet this itemI found this self-help book to be fun and easy to digest. It provides practical and actionable solutions to different life challenges: physical, mental, emotional. Moody provides science-backed wisdom without coming off preachy. It's a great book to pick up when you're in need of motivation! Suggested by Sheena.
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Sins of the Shovel: Looting, Murder, and the Evolution of American Archaeology
2023 by Morgan, RachelGet this itemThe early years of archeology in the United States (my beloved Field Museum very much included) make for extremely uncomfortable reading. To the casual looting that prevailed in the Old World at the time--the “days of amassing wonderful things”-- was added a lot of ethnographic pseudoscience that painted “primitive” peoples, whether ancient or modern, as natural history specimens. Suggested by Andrew.
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