What did the nonfiction book say to the fiction book at the party? “Let’s get real!”

Jokes aside, there is a common misconception among readers that nonfiction books are boring, sleep-inducing, difficult pieces of writing that only the skilled can comprehend. To put it frankly, many believe that the genre is a snooze fest. When thinking of nonfiction, one tends to think of thick, daunting history and biology textbooks that haunt students with assigned reading. However, good nonfiction books (for there are definitely some poorly written ones out there damaging the genre’s reputation) barely read as nonfiction at all and can be as engrossing as a fantasy saga while improving readers’ worldly knowledge.

Especially for high school kids, reading nonfiction supports students’ development to become literate thinkers, and for younger students, it is even the gateway to literacy. In fact, some believe nonfiction books are in their “golden age,” so the time to start reading them has never been better.

Coming back to a new school year means that students are off from their break of required reading and back to Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) books and Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) time. Juniors, and some sophomores as well, were welcomed back with a new requirement for their books this year: they must be nonfiction. So, for anyone who needs more ideas for their next quarter book, or simply takes pleasure in reading, here is a compiled list of six nonfiction books that truly define their specific genre: science nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and historical nonfiction.

For everyone who denies the horrible harm our planet has undergone as a direct cause of the human species, this book should be mandatory reading to soundly debunk their ideology. Kolbert creates a riveting, heartbreaking account on past and modern environmental issues, with the fault of the extinctions mentioned at the feet of the human race. 

Featuring a plethora of subjects, such as natural history, evolution, biology, archaeology, paleontology, zoology, and sociology, this book appeals to a wide demographic of interests, and should be read by anyone who cares for the future of Earth. 

“Though it might be nice to imagine there once was a time when man lived in harmony with nature, it’s not clear that he ever really did.”
― Elizabeth Kolbert, “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History”

This book is for all the dinosaur nerds and fanatics out there who are looking for recent discoveries regarding paleontology, utilized to tell an immersive narrative story. Focusing on the single worst day in the history of Earth, the day the asteroid ended the cretaceous period and the age of reptiles in one go, it shows detailed descriptions on what the dinosaurs and other animals experienced in such an order less time.

The way in which Black describes the events transforms the lives’ of the book’s subjects, which are dinosaurs and the prehistoric animals to succeed them, to incredibly intimate tales, while also being reinforced with concrete scientific fact and educated conjectures.

“This is not a monument to loss. This is an ode to resilience that can only be seen in the wake of catastrophe.”

― Riley Black, “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World”

Fair warning: do not pick up this book unless you are ready and willing to cry ugly, uncontrollable tears with snot dripping down your face. That is not even an exaggeration–this book is basically a guaranteed tear jerker. The best part? It is all, painstakingly 100% real. It truly reads like a fictional book, except the complete rawness of the content is emphasized ten-fold upon the discovery that Morrie was a real person.

This is a book that one can revisit again and again but it will always hurt and hit as deep as the first time. A beautiful book that directly mirrors the beauty found in life, the plot follows a sociology professor and the lessons he teaches for the last few months of his life. It is definitely a book that one has to read at least once in their life.

“The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

― Mitch Albom, “Tuesdays With Morrie”

Written by a child actor and Nickelodeon star of shows “ICarly” and “Sam & Cat,” this story is a deep dive into the dark and untold side of child acting. Chilling and oftentimes uncomfortable, McCurdy reveals her experience with Hollywood combined with a complicated and unhealthy dynamic with her mother as well as food. 

Serving as a cautionary tale, this book is an admirable, courageous endeavor for McCurdy to reveal her troubles, and also shows a hopeful journey towards recovery, rehabilitation, and healing. 

“Mom didn’t get better. But I will.”

― Jennette McCurdy, “I’m Glad My Mom Died”

The importance of these accounts, all real-life stories of those who witnessed and suffered from the bombing of Hiroshima, cannot be overstated. Hersey interviews a wide variety of people with differing backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, and beliefs, but all who were there on August 6, 1945, to form a cohesive narration on what occurred on that fateful day.

Now containing a follow up forty years after the fact, the book shows the long term effects and what that entails for the future of nuclear warfare. This book is a necessity to understand the true consequence of the H-Bomb and the destruction it reigned.

“The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose.”

― John Hersey, “Hiroshima”

This book offers a look into the women’s suffrage movement of the late 1800s and the early 1900s while taking into account the intersectionality of women that may have previously prevented them to receive the recognition they rightfully deserve. While also highlighting the major players, such as Susan B. Anthony, Ware talks over other women who have been kept in the footnotes of the suffrage movement despite their unrelenting efforts in fighting for their rights. Sojourner Truth, Mormon wives, and even the husbands of suffragists have their stories explored in the book.

Connecting the movement with objects of the time, Ware gives readers the full picture of the fight to celebrate more than 100 years of the nineteenth amendment. A racially and socially diverse cast of subjects forms a beautiful tribute that truthfully shows the brave women of the past who have paved the way for the women of the future. 

“There is only one kind of woman who can live doing nothing and that is a woman utterly without brains.”

-Gertrude Foster Brown, as quoted by Susan Ware, “Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote”

Hopefully this guide inspired you to take on the challenge to step out of your comfort zone and read nonfiction, or has given you a few more titles to add to your TBR list. Nonfiction books will always serve an important purpose and are just as interesting as fictional books in their own right. Next time you need a book to read, pick nonfiction to expand your imagination and knowledge.