As someone who only read fiction for the longest time, I understand where you’re coming from. However, I’ve explored a number of sub-genres in nonfiction over the past two years, and some of them have turned out to be my favourite books of all time. Nonfiction books don’t always have to read like textbooks. The well-written ones can be extremely engaging while being profoundly educational. Some writers really take their time to break down complex concepts for anyone to understand, provided they pick up the book! As much as I love escaping in a good story, learning about the real world through some era-changing books has been an absolute pleasure.
Here’s a list of some diverse and fascinating nonfiction books from the decade. It includes titles that started and steered conversations, changed cultural discussions and defined genres.
For more, check out our nonfiction books archive. You can start with Quiz: What Nonfiction Book Should I Read Next? and 25 Nonfiction Suggestions For Your Book Club.
We have started to undervalue qualities of introversion as a culture, and we miss out on so much while doing so. I’m a textbook introvert and this book made me feel so seen. It made me understand and value my rich inner life even more. It also made me realise that labels are for comfort and not conformation. I can break out of my cherished introversion when something I care about needs me to.
Malala miraculously recovered and has started important political discourse throughout the world about women’s education. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her powerful yet peaceful protest to make this world slightly less cruel and a lot more aware.
It’s short, interesting and brings to life the very topic we spend so much time avoiding – death. She also talks about how people have cared for the dead over the centuries in different regions of the world. Making the concept of “dust thou art, to dust returnest” very real, this nonfiction book is sure to stay in your head long after you’re done reading it.
Humans have and are continuing to change the world in ways they don’t always comprehend. This 2015 Pulitzer Prize–winning book tries to help us understand our undeniable, irreversible impact on everything around us.
It was first published in Russia in 2013 and translated to English in 2016 by Bela Shayevich. Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015 “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.”
These are the questions she tries to ponder and answer throughout. She does so by exploring the lives of historical figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, and Rachel Carson. Picking up this book will lead to fascination, contemplation and comfort.
