Staff Picks Nonfiction (2025)

Updated January 17, 2025
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Outlive : the science & art of longevity
Attia, Peter
Paper Book
#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
Paper Book
From "weird, scary, ingenious" (The New York Times) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, an instant New York Times bestselling, brutally honest, and "laugh-out-loud funny" (Jennette McCurdy, #1 New York Times bestselling author) memoir about show business, mental health, and the...
Food to die for : recipes & stories from America's most legendary haunted places
Bruni, Amy
Paper Book
Discover tantalizing recipes, spine-tingling stories, and historic photos from the most notoriously haunted locations across America in this fun and fascinating cookbook. Paranormal investigator and Kindred Spirits co-host Amy Bruni leads you through eerie hotels, haunted homes,...
My beloved monster : Masha, the half-wild rescue cat who rescued me
Carr, Caleb
Paper Book
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...
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
Paper Book
USA Today Bestseller A surprising, groundbreaking, and fiercely entertaining medical history that is both a collective narrative of women's bodies and a call to action for a new conversation around women's health. For as long as medicine has been a practice, women's bodies have been...
Counting the cost
Duggar, Jill
Paper Book
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...
Transitions : a mother's journey
Durand, Élodie
Paper Book
When Anne learns that her 19-year-old is a transgender man, she struggles to understand her son's new identity. A new landmark in nonfiction comics, Transitions is a sympathetic, informative, and moving story of a family's journey to acceptance. "I thought I was open...
Scarcity brain : fix your craving mindset and rewire your habits to thrive with enough
Easter, Michael (Health and fitness writer)
Paper Book
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,...
Crossings : how road ecology is shaping the future of our planet
Goldfarb, Ben (Environmental journalist)
Paper Book
Some 40 million miles of roadways encircle the earth, yet we tend to regard them only as infrastructure for human convenience. While roads are so ubiquitous they're practically invisible to us, wild animals experience them as entirely alien forces of death and disruption. In Crossings,...
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
Paper Book
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
Paper Book
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...
Dolls of our lives : why we can't quit American Girl
Mahoney, Mary
Paper Book
Which American Girl are you? Are you a Molly (a patriotic overachiever with a flair for drama)? Felicity (the original horse girl)? Kirsten (a cottagecore fan who seems immune to cholera), Samantha (a savior complex in a sailor suit), or Josefina (who dealt with grief by befriending...
Over my dead body : unearthing the hidden history of America's cemeteries
Melville, Greg
Paper Book
A lively tour through the history of US cemeteries that explores how, where, and why we bury our dead The summer before his senior year in college, Greg Melville worked at the cemetery in his hometown, and thanks to hour upon hour of pushing a mower over the grassy acres, he came to realize what a...
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...
Thinning blood : a memoir of family, myth, and identity
Myers, Leah
Paper Book
Leah Myers may be the last member of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in her family line, due to her tribe's strict blood quantum laws. In this unflinching and intimate memoir, Myers excavates the stories of four generations of women in order to leave a record of her family. Beginning with her great...
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,...
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
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by Elle, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, NPR, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, and more! "In Britney Spears's memoir, she's stronger than ever." --The New York Times Over 2 million...
The good enough job : reclaiming life from work
Stolzoff, Simone
Paper Book
"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
Paper Book
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
Paper Book
From trailblazing Michigan governor and rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer comes an unconventionally honest, personal, and funny account of her remarkable life and career, full of insights that guided her through a global pandemic, showdowns with high-profile bullies, and even a kidnapping...
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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