I started to put this in a reblog on @abyssalaquarist00’s excellent post about reading nonfiction, but it’s a little off topic and I don’t want to hijack that post. Go check out the original, reblog that version, and then see if what I’ve got to say resonates with you.
In the spirit of building community like we have with fiction, which I believe is one of the ways we can encourage nonfiction in reader spaces, share your nonfic recs! I read primarily science-heavy nonfiction, so these might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but here are some of my all time favs that have helped me view the world differently:
1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
An essential text for anyone in the biomedical sciences. The story of the origin of HeLa cells, the first immortal cell culture line, which were taken without permission from a Black woman who was never compensated or acknowledged by the scientific community. An excellent, devastating read.
2. Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green
You’ve probably heard of this one, and it deserves the hype. John Green’s experiences meeting and working with tuberculosis patients and doctors in Sierra Leone. This book is a great introduction into scientific and medical enforced scarcity, the use of trademarks to deny access to affordable or generic variety drugs, and global oppression through medicine.
3. When It All Burns, Jordan Thomas
Severely underrated book. It tells two stories. 1 - the history of fire in California - its use to keep the land healthy by Native populations, and its manipulation for political & religious oppression by colonizing forces. 2 - the author’s summer in a California hot shot crew - fighting a historic outbreak of mega fires and the corporations & legislation that will keep these outbreaks coming, and keep firefighters from good health and good wages.
4. Any book by Mary Roach
Mary Roach is my favorite nonfiction writer. Her background in science journalism and impeccable sense of humor make her books informative and fun to read. Her breakout was Stiff, a look into how we use cadavers in research and throughout history. She has subsequent books on space travel, military science, the alimentary canal, ghosts & the human soul, sex, animals, and human anatomy & prosthetics. While her books aren’t particularly focused on political consciousness, they are a great first step into nonfiction.
You’ll see that my list isn’t super diverse, so if you see this, please shoutout your favorite nonfiction by writers of color, disabled writers, or otherwise diverse authors in reblogs or comments!
Nonfiction is such an excellent gateway to understanding each other, which we often have a hard time doing in our current social structure. All of these books are in my local library, and it costs nothing to get one from a library near you. There’s so much more to the world than the bubble you know, and the folks in power don’t want you to learn about it. It is your moral imperative to do it anyway, and reading is way to do so when you don’t know where to start.
