Taiohi: Non-fiction titles you'll enjoy

There isn't very much non-fiction out there that is published specifically for young adults, so we've brushed off some of our favourite titles from across our library collections that we promise you will enjoy.

Updated November 27, 2025
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Smash the patriarchy
Breen, Marta
Paper Book
★ "This is a well-told and highly informative read. Highly recommended for young adult graphic novel and nonfiction collections." - School Library Journal (STARRED review) Winner of the 2024 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult...
A short history of nearly everything 2.0
Bryson, Bill
Paper Book
In this fully revised and updated edition of the best-selling popular science book of the 21st century, Bill Bryson makes complex subjects clear and compelling for everyone with an interest in the world around them. NOW FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED. 'Possibly the...
The observologist : a handbook for mounting very small scientific expeditions
Clarkson, Giselle
Paper Book
A highly illustrated, playful field guide for budding natural scientists and curious observers of the world right under our noses. Observology is the study of looking. An observologist makes scientific expeditions, albeit very small ones, every day. They notice interesting details in the...
Smoke gets in your eyes : and other lessons from the crematory
Doughty, Caitlin
Paper Book
Most people want to avoid thinking about death, but Caitlin Doughty--a twenty-something with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre--took a job at a crematory, turning morbid curiosity into her life's work. Thrown into a profession of gallows humor and vivid characters (both...
Mythos
Fry, Stephen
Paper Book
STEP INTO ANOTHER WORLD - OF MAGIC, MAYHEM, MONSTERS AND MANIACAL GODS - IN STEPHEN FRY'S MOMENTOUS SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, MYTHOS 'A romp through the lives of ancient Greek gods. Fry is at his story-telling best . . . the gods will be pleased' Times
The anthropocene reviewed : essays on a human-centered planet
Green, John
Paper Book
A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its...
Sapiens. a graphic history / Volume one, The birth of humankind
Harari, Yuval N.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A hardcover edition of the first volume of the graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari's smash #1 New York Times and international bestseller recommended by President Barack Obama and Bill Gates, with gorgeous full-color illustrations and concise, easy to...
The story of art without men
Hessel, Katy
Paper Book
**OUT NOW: How to Live an Artful Life, Katy Hessel's new guide to finding art in the everyday** WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A long overdue, revisionist history of art by the...
Into thin air : a personal account of the Mount Everest disaster
Krakauer, Jon.
Paper Book
Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended in the worst single-season death toll in...
Bad gays : a homosexual history
Lemmey, Huw
Paper Book
These "very funny-deep dives into the lives of the most dastardly queer people in history" offer a passionate argument for rethinking gay politics beyond identity (Vogue). What can we learn from the homosexual villains, failures, and baddies of our past? ...
The age of magical overthinking : notes on modern irrationality
Montell, Amanda
Paper Book
In the modern information age, our brain's coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to eleven. Amanda Montell blends cultural criticism and personal narrative to explore our modern cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages and highlights of magical overthinking....
What if? : serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions
Munroe, Randall
Paper Book
From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology,...
What if? 2 : additional serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions
Munroe, Randall
Paper Book
WHAT IF... one man decided to answer all the unanswerable questions, using science.The Sunday Times-bestselling author and xkcd creator, Randall Munroe is here to provide the best answers yet to the important questions you probably never thought to askThe millions...
How to speak whale : a voyage into the future of animal communication
Mustill, Tom
Paper Book
'Fascinating' Greta Thunberg 'Extraordinary' Merlin Sheldrake 'A must-read' New Scientist 'Enthralling' George Monbiot 'Brilliant' Philip Hoare As a biologist and nature filmmaker, Tom Mustill had always liked whales. But when one landed...
An outbreak of witchcraft : a graphic novel of the Salem Witch Trials
Noyes, Deborah
Paper Book
A gripping tale of paranoia at its worst, this bewitching narrative nonfiction graphic novel visually imagines the haunting details behind the Salem witch trials. From 1692 to 1693, fear reigned in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts. The night Abigail...
Supremacy : AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Could Break the World
Olson, Parmy
Paper Book
***WINNER OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024*** 'Astonishing . . . [Olson has] exclusive access to a network of high-ranking sources' - Financial Times 'A riveting tale . . . Olson is a compelling storyteller...
Around the world in 80 trains : a 45,000-mile adventure
Rajesh, Monisha
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER AWARD FOR BEST TRAVEL BOOK SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 'Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting...
Side Quest : A Visual History of Roleplaying Games
Steenz
Paper Book
A Mary Sue Best YA Graphic Novel Runner-Up! For fans of dungeon crawls and dice rolls--and anyone wanting to know more about them--Side Quest is a stand-alone graphic novel history of roleplaying games (RPGs), from ancient games to those played today, with personal stories...
No one is too small to make a difference
Thunberg, Greta
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller The history-making, ground-breaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate crisis activist who has become the voice of a generation. 'Everything needs to change. And it has to start today.' In August 2018 a fifteen...
Radical sewing : pattern-free, sustainable fashions for all bodies
Weiss, Kate
Paper Book
Take control of your wardrobe and learn how to escape from the never-ending cycle of fast fashion. Regardless of your sewing experience, gender, or body type, this illustrated guide will empower you to make your wardrobe your own - with information on basic sewing techniques, how to alter your...

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