Texas Topaz Nonfiction List for Adults

Here are some recommendations for adults from the 2026 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List! The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children, teens, and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. Visit txla.org/reading-lists for the full list and lists from previous years.


Updated January 13, 2026
Lewisville Public Library Lewisville Public Library
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Texas Topaz Nonfiction List for Adults

Here are some recommendations for adults from the 2026 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List! The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children, teens, and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. Visit txla.org/reading-lists for the full list and lists from previous years.


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Whack job : a history of axe murder
James, Rachel McCarthy
Paper Book
A brilliant and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture. For as long as the axe has been in our hands, we have used it to kill. Much...
SNAFU : the definitive guide to history's greatest screwups
Helms, Ed
Paper Book
From actor, comedian, writer, and host of the hit history podcast SNAFU, Ed Helms brings you an absurdly entertaining look at history's greatest screwups, complete with lively illustrations. History contains a plethora of insane screwups-otherwise known as SNAFUs. Coined during...
The 10 : a memoir of family and the open road
Hanks, E. A.
Paper Book
From the Vanity Fair and New York Times contributor comes a "masterful blend of humor, heartache, and unforgettable landscapes" (Adrienne Brodeur, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Game) recounting the solo, cross-country road trip she made along the Ten across...
Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language
Aleksic, Adam.
Paper Book
\"A linguist explores how the internet is redefining our vocabulary. No cap-this bruh slaps and slays.\" - Adam Grant, author of Think Again \"Incisive and funny, this is a page turner from start to finish. Algospeak is a must read for anyone seeking to understand...
The art spy : the extraordinary untold tale of WWII resistance hero Rose Valland
Young, Michelle
Paper Book
A riveting and stylish saga set in Paris during World War II, THE ART SPY uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the cultural legacy of the West. On August 25, 1944, Rose Valland, a woman of quiet daring, found herself in a desperate position...
Code dependent : living in the shadow of AI
Murgia, Madhumita
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Named a best book of the year by Esquire, The Spectator and Publishers Weekly A riveting story of what it means to be human in a world changed by artificial...
Disney high : the untold story of the rise and fall of Disney Channel's tween empire
Spencer, Ashley (Journalist)
Ebook
Framed : astonishing true stories of wrongful convictions
Grisham, John
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The master of the legal thriller" (Associated Press) teams up with "the godfather of the innocence movement" (Texas Monthly) to share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. "Each of these stories is told with astonishing...
Girl on girl : how pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves
Gilbert, Sophie
Paper Book
A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book * Named one of the Best Books of the Year by TIME, NPR, Elle, and The Boston Globe "Searing... rigorously researched but never stuffy... Gilbert has compiled perhaps the first comprehensive...
Grief is for people
Crosley, Sloane
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue, TIME, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Esquire, NPR, Elle, Library Journal, LitHub, Oprah Daily, Publishers Weekly, Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, Bookpage, The Independent, and New Statesman
A marriage at sea : a true story of love, obsession, and shipwreck
Elmhirst, Sophie
Paper Book
THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER & ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025 A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2025 ALSO NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY NPR, VOGUE, TIME MAGAZINE, THE NEW YORKER, AND MORE "This is nonfiction that...
No more tears : the dark secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Harris, Gardiner
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An explosive, deeply reported exposé of Johnson & Johnson, one of America's oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies--from an award-winning investigative journalist "A damning portrait."--Associated Press "A page-turning...
Raising Hare: The heart-warming true story of an unlikely friendship
Dalton, Chloe.
Paper Book
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION, HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST...
The scientist and the serial killer : the search for Houston's lost boys
Olsen, Lise
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . The true story of how one dedicated forensic scientist restored the long-lost identities of the teenaged victims of the "Candy Man," one of America's most prolific serial killers "A masterwork of crime writing . . . Lise Olsen has taken a fifty-year-old...
Sociopath : a memoir
Gagne, Patric
Paper Book
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling memoir of the author's struggle to understand her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder. "A cross between a podcast by relationship therapist Esther Perel and a salacious tell-all."...
A survivor's education : women, violence, and the stories we don't tell
Neumeyer, Joy
Paper Book
A Kirkus Best Book of 2024  An "impeccably researched book" (Michelle Bowdler) about intimate abuse, campus politics, and the narratives we choose to believe "gives a fresh perspective on what it means to be a survivor." (Kirkus starred review)
Taking care : the story of nursing and its power to change our world
DiGregorio, Sarah
Paper Book
"DiGregorio's storytelling is pitch-perfect; narrative and nursing, she understands, come from the same place and both are concerned with a deep understanding of character and plot....This is a brilliant book, and DiGregorio is a beautiful writer. Taking Care deserves to be on the...
A Well-Trained Wife My Escape from Christian Patriarchy
Levings, Tia.
Ebook
The instant New York Times bestseller: "Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn't a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me." Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia...
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