Staff Picks Nonfiction (2025)

Updated January 17, 2025
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Outlive : the science & art of longevity
Attia, Peter
Ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD * A groundbreaking manifesto on living better and longer that challenges the conventional medical thinking on aging and reveals a new approach to preventing chronic disease and extending long-term health, from a visionary...
Sure, I'll join your cult : a memoir of mental illness and the quest to belong anywhere
Bamford, Maria
Audiobook
My beloved monster : Masha, the half-wild rescue cat who rescued me
Carr, Caleb
Ebook
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "The most brilliant feline portrait in literary history." -People Magazine (Book of the Week) The #1 bestselling author of The Alienist tells the extraordinary story of Masha, a half-wild rescue cat...
Between the world and me
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * NAMED ONE OF TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST * ONE OF OPRAH'S "BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH" * NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT...
All in her head : the truth and lies early medicine taught us about women's bodies and why it matters today
Comen, Elizabeth
Audiobook
Counting the cost
Duggar, Jill
Ebook
For the first time, discover the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC's hit show 19 Kids and Counting. Jill Duggar and her husband Derick are finally ready to share their story, revealing the secrets, manipulation, and...
Scarcity brain : fix your craving mindset and rewire your habits to thrive with enough
Easter, Michael (Health and fitness writer)
Ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The author of The Comfort Crisis asks: Are we hardwired to crave more? From food and stuff to information and influence, why can't we ever get enough? "Reveals the biological and evolutionary foundations behind your brain's fixations,...
Hijab butch blues : a memoir
H, Lamya
Paper Book
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this "raw and relatable memoir that challenges societal norms and expectations" (Linah Mohammad, NPR). "A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on...
Wow, no thank you : essays
Irby, Samantha
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction Award Winner * A rip-roaring, edgy and unabashedly raunchy new collection of hilarious essays from the New York Times bestselling author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. "Stay-up...
Doppelganger : a trip into the mirror world
Klein, Naomi
Ebook
A finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner of the Women's Prize for Nonfiction NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | National Indie Bestseller A New York Times notable book of 2023 | Vulture's #1 book of 2023...
The sediments of time : my lifelong search for the past
Leakey, Meave G.
Paper Book
"Extraordinary . . . This inspirational autobiography stands among the finest scientist memoirs." --New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice Meave Leakey's thrilling, high-stakes memoir--written with her daughter Samira--encapsulates her distinguished life...
Just add water : my swimming life
Ledecky, Katie
Ebook
A New York Times bestselling memoir from Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and the most decorated US female Olympian in history: Katie Ledecky. Katie Ledecky has won more individual Olympic races than any female swimmer in history. She is a four-time Olympian, a nine...
The beauty of what remains : how our greatest fear becomes our greatest gift
Leder, Steven Z.
Paper Book
As the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Steve Leder has learned over and over again the many ways death teaches us how to live and love more deeply by showing us not only what is gone but also the beauty of what remains. This inspiring and comforting book takes us on a...
Over my dead body : unearthing the hidden history of America's cemeteries
Melville, Greg
Paper Book
Journalist Greg Melville's Over My Dead Body is a lively tour through the history of US cemeteries that explores how, where, and why we bury our dead. "Astonishing. . . fascinating . . . powerful. . .This clever, sensitive book gives us a new way to think...
Bury my heart at Chuck E. Cheese's
Midge, Tiffany
Paper Book
Why is there no Native woman David Sedaris? Or Native Anne Lamott? Humor categories in publishing are packed with books by funny women and humorous sociocultural-political commentary--but no Native women. There are presumably more important concerns in Indian Country. More important than...
Know my name : a memoir
Miller, Chanel
Paper Book
Universally acclaimed, rapturously reviewed, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography, and an instant New York Times bestseller, Chanel Miller's breathtaking memoir "gives readers the privilege of knowing her not just as Emily Doe, but as Chanel Miller the writer,...
Cultish : the language of fanaticism
Montell, Amanda
Paper Book
The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power. What makes "cults" so intriguing and...
The grieving brain : the surprising science of how we learn from love and loss
O'Connor, Mary-Frances
Paper Book
NPR SciFri Book Club Pick Next Big Idea Club's "Top 21 Psychology Books of 2022" Behavioral Scientist Notable Books of 2022 A renowned grief expert and neuroscientist shares groundbreaking discoveries about what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new...
Fen, bog & swamp : a short history of peatland destruction and its role in the climate crisis
Proulx, Annie
Paper Book
*Named a Best Book of the Year byThe New Yorker and Literary Hub!* A Finalist for the 2022 NBCC Awards in Nonfiction, the 2023 Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award, and the NEIBA 2023 New England Book Award* From Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx, this riveting...
My body
Ratajkowski, Emily
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "My Body offers a lucid examination of the mirrors in which its author has seen herself, and her indoctrination into the cult of beauty as defined by powerful men. In its more transcendent passages . . . the author steps...
This is what it sounds like : what the music you love says about you
Rogers, Susan
Paper Book
This Is What It Sounds Like is a journey into the science and soul of music that reveals the secrets of why your favorite songs move you. But it's also a story of a musical trailblazer who began as a humble audio tech in Los Angeles, rose to become Prince's chief engineer for Purple Rain, and...
The five : the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper
Rubenhold, Hallie
Paper Book
Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London--the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper. Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine...
How to be perfect : the correct answer to every moral question
Schur, Michael
Paper Book
From the creator of The Good Place and the cocreator of Parks and Recreation, a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life, drawing on 2,400 years of deep thinking from around the world. Most people think of themselves as "good," but it's not...
The woman in me
Spears, Britney
Audiobook
The good enough job : reclaiming life from work
Stolzoff, Simone
Ebook
"Superb."--Oliver Burkeman A challenge to the tyranny of work and a call to reclaim our lives from its clutches. From the moment we ask children what they want to "be" when they grow up, we exalt the dream job as if it were life's ultimate objective. Many entangle...
When God doesn't fix it : lessons you never wanted to learn, truths you can't live without
Story, Laura (Singer)
Paper Book
Is it possible that good things can come out of our broken dreams? Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story's life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same. Yes, with God all things are possible....
The in-between : unforgettable encounters during life's final moments
Vlahos, Hadley
Ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Passionate advocate for end-of-life care and TikTok star Hadley Vlahos shares moving stories of joy, wisdom, and redemption from her patients' final moments in this "brilliant" (Zibby Owens, Good Morning America) memoir.   "This...
Mama's last hug : animal emotions and what they tell us about ourselves
Waal, F. B. M. de
Paper Book
Frans de Waal has spent four decades at the forefront of animal research. Following up on the best-selling Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, which investigated animal intelligence, Mama's Last Hug delivers a fascinating exploration of the rich emotional lives of animals. ...
The good life : lessons from the world's longest scientific study of happiness
Waldinger, Robert J.
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? In their "captivating" (The Wall Street Journal) book, the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever...
True Gretch : what I've learned about life, leadership, and everything in between
Whitmer, Gretchen
Audiobook
Get well soon : history's worst plagues and the heroes who fought them
Wright, Jennifer Ashley
Paper Book
A witty, irreverent tour of history's worst plagues--from the Antonine Plague, to leprosy, to polio--and a celebration of the heroes who fought them In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days...

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