Nonfiction November: Memoirs, Self-Help & More Book Recommendations!

Posted On November 9, 2021

Hi Readers! November is an especially fun month for readers! It is Nonfiction November! It is also No Hype November! While I am a hardcore fiction reader, I sometimes do read nonfiction books. I thought it would be fun to make a list of nonfiction books, hyped as well as not hyped.

~~MEMOIRS~~

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Loti Gottlieb

Hunger by Roxane Gay

Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow

The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

Maid by Stephanie Land

Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhoods by Trevor Noah

Notes On Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib

The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and The Glory of Growing Up by Evanna Lynch

~~AUTOBIOGRAPHIES~~

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Educated by Tara Westover

Greenlight by Matthew McConaughey

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

~~SELF-HELP BOOKS~~

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

The 5 People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Alboom

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Francesc Miralles.

Braving The Wilderness by Brene Brown

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant

The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

Lost Connections by Johann Hari

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson

~~OTHER SUB-GENRES~~

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by  by Yuval Noah Harari

Hood Feminism: Noted from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Disability Visibility Edited by Alice Wong

Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

~~POPULAR NONFICTION AUTHORS~~

While I was researching some the books to include here, I also realised that there were many authors who wrote only non-fiction. Of course, I knew about a few, but I was shocked about a few other who had written more than 100+ nonfiction books! I tried to include the best ones on this list so that even if you won’t be able to find anything from the above lists, I am hopeful you will find a n author whose books you may want to read!

~~Mitch Alboom~~

I think Mitch Alboom is one of the most widely read authors across the globe. I have only read Tuesdays with Morrie & absolutely loved it. The best thing I noticed is that his books read like fiction but they also have a lot of wisdom in them. Apart from Tuesdays with Morrie, you can also read The Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven & Finding Chika.

~~Malcolm Gladwell~~

Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist who has written about 11 books, all of which have made a significant impact. The most popular ones include Talking to Strangers, The Tipping Point, Blink & Outliers. Most of these are self-help books.

~~Roxane Gay~~

Roxane Gay is another fierce voice in the land of nonfiction writing.  I have 3 of her books on my TBR & I plan on reading them really soon. These include Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, Bad Feminist & Difficult Women. These are her most acclaimed books and ones I really look forward to read!

~~Yuval Noah Harari~~

Yuval Noah Harari is an outstanding author in the historic nonfiction genre. His 3 books on the history & future of humankind are a landmark in today’s nonfiction. I am yet to read these but I plan on read them some day; Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow & 21 Lessons for the 21^st Century. If you are a history buff with a scientific approach towards life, I think these would be especially thrilling for you all to read.

Some of the other authors are Mark Manson, Bill Bryson, Isabel Wilkerson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ta Nehisi Coates, Jon Krakeaur & bell hooks.

Have you all read any of these books? Are they a part of your TBR list? If you are planning to participate in Nonfiction November, then let me know which books you plan on reading!

As a part of Non-Fiction November, I plan on reading a few non-fiction novels as well. These include Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller, Know My Name by Chanel Miller, Hunger by Roxane Gay, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. I am not entirely sure how many of these I will be able to read this month, but hey, here’s hoping!

Until next time,