I have never had a desire to read non-fiction, I have been very happy with my queer fantasy books. But idk I've just been feeling an itch. Ironically it's partly because I'm currently going back to school for my master's degree and I've been forced to read some extremely dry textbooks. I want to see if there are non fiction books that can hold my attention like fiction books can. Currently not interested in memoirs, I want more general history topics, but again if it's one you swear by please feel free to recommend it, especially if you were like me and it swayed you to read more non-fiction
Also I love a book that can make me laugh! If you know any really funny non fiction books please recommend that, although its not a deal breaker
Some topics I'd be interested in (again not a limiting list, feel free to recommend outside these topics):
- Art therapy
- Queer history
- Fandom history
- Mythology
- Medicine (esp mental health)
- Latine History in the USA
by Dorki-doki
17 Comments
[Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44179219) is an entertaining one.
Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes
(i am also gonna take some recs here lol)
I haven’t read Bill Bryson’s book on the Body yet, but I love everything else he’s written – generally it’s informative, accessible, and amusing. Mary Roach might be fun for you, too.
Freakonomics
For medicine: Oliver Sacks’ books, like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
Almost anything Bill Bryson or David Sedaris writes will make you laugh.
Rainbow History Class, by Hannah McElhinney
Mary Roach is good for a laugh and has a variety of informative books on a number of interesting topics!
Try The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot! It covers medicine and Black American history, as well as being an excellent story “despite” being nonfiction
And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts about the beginning of the AIDS crisis has several of your interests. It is an incredible work of investigative journalism and heartbreaking stories. Oh, it won’t make you laugh.
Try The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore. Its history but tells a great story about an 1860s woman forcibly institutionalized by her husband and her fight for freedom
Everything is tuberculosis is good too because it’s interesting about the history of the disease but told through John Green so it has a story-like element that makes it a quick read
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe – eye opening re the opioid crisis and such a good read.
Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks
Queer Ducks and Other Animals by Eliot Schrefer
Caveat Emptor by Ken Perenyi
Gulp by Mary Roach
And the Category Is by Ricky Tucker
Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
Livewired by David Eagleman
The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel
Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
A Distant Mirror by Tuchman is really amazing. Summary below:
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by historian Barbara W. Tuchman. It chronicles the tumultuous 14th century in Europe, exploring major events like the Black Death, the Hundred Years’ War, and the Papal Schism, while also detailing the daily lives of people across all social classes. It won the National Book Award for History in 1980.
As You Wish by Cary Elwes
It’s about his time on set of The Princess Bride. If you like that movie at all I strongly recommend! I cried from laughing.
Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
River of Doubt. Teddy Roosevelt’s expedition to map a river in South America. Reads like a novel. Amazing.