Best Nonfiction Books of 2025 for Adults

Updated December 10, 2025
J
Johnson County Public Library
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Dirtbag queen : a memoir of my mother
Corren, Andy
Paper Book
In this "utterly unhinged, hilarious" memoir, a son pays tribute to his larger than life 'zaftig good time gal' mother and his unusual childhood (Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author). "Because she was my mother, the death of zaftig good-time...

“Dirtbag Queen is a love letter to a woman who didn't bother herself with any motherly or traditional housewife duties. Renay Mandel Corren was a chain-smoking, dirty mouthed, vulgar Jewish redneck who was good at bailing kids out of jail, rolling joints, and making sure she was never without a pedicure, but not so good at doing laundry or keeping food on the table. Brash, loud, hilarious, heartbreaking, and unforgettable; Dirtbag Queen is a fitting tribute to a one of a kind woman. The audiobook is STELLAR!”

Erin (Adult and Teen Services Librarian, Clark Pleasant Branch)

Everything is tuberculosis : the history and persistence of our deadliest infection
Green, John
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! * #1 Washington Post bestseller! * #1 Indie Bestseller! * USA Today Bestseller! John Green, acclaimed author and passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the...

“This made me realize how ignorant I was to this still very present, debilitating, and deadly disease. A beautiful blend of science and history, you will be left informed and in awe of how much this particular bacteria has affected our world, in the past and modern day.”

Elysia (Library Assistant, White River Branch)

"A brisk but engaging look at the history of tuberculosis in the modern era, contrasting its now high level of treatability with its status as the world's deadliest infectious disease."

Andrea (Shelver, White River Branch)

"Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it. In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year."

Katie (Reference Assistant, White River Branch)

Replaceable you : adventures in human anatomy
Roach, Mary
Paper Book
The body is the most complex machine in the world, and the only one for which you cannot get a replacement part from the manufacturer. For centuries, medicine has reached for what's available--sculpting noses from brass, borrowing skin from frogs and hearts from pigs, crafting eye parts from jet...

"It's basically about swapping out body parts. Think prosthetic limbs, cataract surgery, skin grafts, organ transplants, etc. "

Megan (Adult Reference Librarian, White River Branch)


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