A great memoir can offer the reader an opportunity to connect with a stranger in a way so rarely experienced otherwise. The best memoirs are truly remarkable things.

The Best Memoirs Ever Written

The best memoirs are ones with specific themes: self-discovery, social change, unique jobs and life experiences. Or they might be about a specific topic, such as race, queerness, migration, family, class, fame, art, and even more besides. The memoirs you’ll find here are diverse, telling many different kinds of stories by many different kinds of people.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Jung Chang’s grandmother was born in pre-revolution China. Her mother was an active participant in the revolution. And Chang herself left China in the 1980s. Wild Swans is a memoir which spans the lives of not only the author but also her mother and grandmother. Three generations of women tell the story of 20th century China.

Through the eyes of these women, we learn about Mao’s Great Leap Forward, the largest famine in recorded history, and so much more. This is an intimate memoir that spans decades of family history, but also one that paints a vivid picture of the Chinese Revolution and the changes that followed.

Wild Swans is a multi-generational tale which tracks the history of China across one of the greatest social, economic, and political shifts in human history. Staggering in its scope but as beautiful, tragic, and intimate as any detailed memoir, Wild Swans is one of the best memoirs ever written. A life-changing read.

After the publication of Wild Swans, Chang went on to write a best-selling biography of Chairman Mao, and a biography of three incredible women of the Chinese Revolution.

Buy a copy of Wild Swans here!

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Alison Bechdel made a name for herself with the long-running weekly comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, which inadvertently birthed the famous “Bechdel Test”. Her graphic memoir Fun Home is a raw and powerful tale of queer self-acceptance and father-daughter relationships.

Bechdel uses her skills as a cartoonist to bring her childhood to life, a childhood spent living in a funeral home, which the family dubbed “fun home”. Bechdel’s father was both a funeral director and a high school English teacher, and his love for literature inspired Bechdel, both personally and professionally.

Bruce was also gay, but closeted, and two weeks after his wife filed for divorce, he stepped in front of a truck and died. This is Bruce’s story as much as it is Alison’s. A graphic memoir which loops in and around itself, playing with time and repetition in ways that reinforce the book’s themes and revelations.

Fun Home is a truly remarkable work of self-reflection, honesty, discovery, and memorialising. One of the very best memoirs you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of Fun Home here!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Civil rights activist Maya Angelou is best remembered for her memoirs, poetry, and essays. Her debut memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings remains her most famous work.

Published in 1969, this is a vital piece of American literature that tells the story of Angelou’s life up to the age of seventeen. There are a handful of great memoirs that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with classic works of fiction, and this is one of them. One of the most famous and beloved memoirs ever written.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings tells the story of Angelou’s childhood, as she and her brother Bailey were subject to racist abuse in a small Southern town.

It’s also a story of isolation, abandonment, loneliness, and finding the antidote to much of this in words and stories. The loss of innocence through early experiences with prejudice are balanced by the hope and beauty found in art and literature.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is, and always will be, a true American classic, and one of the most important and best memoirs ever written.

Buy a copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings here!

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Jenette McCurdy was forced into a life of child acting as a young girl. She found fame as a star of the Nickelodeon show iCarly, and she hated every moment of it. This was never her life. It was a life her mother thrust her into, to experience the fame McCurdy’s mother failed to find for herself during her own youth.

And the provocatively titled I’m Glad My Mom Died is the story of that childhood. A childhood of gaslighting, abuse, and saying yes to everything for fear of disappointing others. From the age of six, Jenette’s mother takes her to auditions in LA, forces her to act, and repeatedly tells Jenette that she’s doing this for her. She’s giving her daughter the life she never had.

Conversely, Jenette is doing this for her mother. Kids like to see their parents happy and proud. All of this leads to a life of intense childhood trauma, eating disorders, and anxiety. It’s a bleak story told with honesty and gusto, and one of the best memoirs you’re ever likely to read.

Buy a copy of I’m Glad My Mom Died here!

Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst

Filled with danger, unwavering hope, and tender moments, the true story of Maurice and Maralyn’s survival against the odds is a testament to the enduring power of love and the indomitable human spirit.

The couple spend 118 days lost on a tiny raft on the Pacific Ocean with limited resources and facing the harsh realities of the open sea, their love for each other is truly put to the ultimate test.

Their journey takes them from the UK to South Korea, Hawaii, and California in the seventies with a truly nail-biting adventure in between. It’s a page-turner full of adventure, tenderness, highs, and extreme lows.

Buy a copy of Maurice and Maralyn

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang

In this moving memoir, a collection of essays on living with schizophrenia, Esmé Weijun Wang looks back at her own life. She examines the cultural zeitgeist surrounding mental health, and explores the science and stories surrounding schizophrenia in the 21st century.

In The Collected Schizophrenias, Wang gives examples from her own life, and also looks at the news stories, statistics, and research conducted painting a devastatingly vivid picture of what living with schizophrenia is like. Her skill with a pen cannot be overstated; she paints an image that is at once true and clear but also demanding of empathy and compassion.

She is able to take something that has struck fear into the minds of people for years, thanks almost entirely to the media, and allows us to understand its form and how it feels. Wang expertly toes the line in this book between memoir, scientific study, and social examination.

In one essay she discusses how she hoped that being accepted into Yale would serve as a kind of proof that, despite her mental illness, she was a worthy and good human being. As she herself says, ‘“I went to Yale” is shorthand for I have schizoaffective disorder, but I’m not worthless.’

The Collected Schizophrenias is a truly phenomenal book; one of the most important and best memoirs of the past several years.

Buy a copy of The Collected Schizophrenias here!

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi is a French-Iranian writer, artist, and director. Originally published in two parts, four years apart, Persepolis is her graphic memoir.

Book 1, The Story of a Childhood, takes place around 1980, during and after the Iranian Revolution, and documents the social changes people were forced to endure. Presented in graphic form, and told from the perspective of a child, this is a wonderfully affecting narrative that asks for your empathy.

Book 2, The Story of a Return, follows Satrapi in her new life, studying at a French high school in Vienna. Together, these stories make for one epic memoir that traces a person’s life as well as the changes in their culture, religion, and social relationships.

In 2007, an animated film adaptation was made, with Satrapi herself adapting the memoir into a screenplay and directing the film. Persepolis, like Wild Swans (above) is both a personal memoir and a tale of sudden political and social change from the perspective of an ordinary person. One of the best memoirs on the shelves.

Buy a copy of Persepolis here!

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who lived in hiding for two years — in an attic in the Dutch city of Amsterdam — during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands. She hid in that space with her family and four other people, before eventually being discovered and tragically dying in a concentration camp in 1945, at the age of 15.

The building in which she hid, now called the Anne Frank House, is now a museum and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Amsterdam.

This memoir, The Diary of a Young Girl, is the diary that she kept during those two years. For so many people, and for so many reasons, this memoir is an invaluable collection of writings. It’s a powerful book that is now cherished and studied around the world. It frames the war and the Nazi occupation in a way that is so rarely seen: from the perspective of a child.

But it’s also a coming-of-age story; the diary of a girl growing up, trapped in a hiding space with a family fearing for their lives.

This is a collection of thoughts, feelings, and experiences; an innocuous diary that immortalised its author due to its remarkable circumstances. For these reasons, The Diary of a Young Girl remains a vital book that everyone should read, and one of the most important and best memoirs ever penned.

Buy a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl here!

Pageboy by Elliot Page

Elliot Page’s memoir Pageboy is an elegantly-written, raw, powerful exploration of a life lived and survived via romance, work, and the gradual journey towards personal truth. Page came out as a transgender man in 2020, and has since gone on to flourish in his comfort and authenticity. But this memoir isn’t so much about his transition as it is about the life that led him there.

Written in a non-linear fashion that jumps back and forth between periods in his life (because, as Page himself says in the book, queerness is also non-linear), Pageboy is an assured and brilliantly written memoir.

Across 250 pages, we are shown elements of dysphoria and confusion, denial, self-love, self-discovery, self-destruction, and more. We get a true and raw sense of who Page has been, as well as who he is now. This is a book that doesn’t shy away from toxic, difficult, traumatic events and experiences.

But what it leads to is truth and admittance to oneself and the joy that comes out of it. Written with literary skill and love and honesty, Pageboy is one of the most necessary and best memoirs from a celebrity in years.

Buy a copy of Pageboy here!

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

Men We Reaped is a frightfully, strikingly powerful and important book about inequality, racism, economic struggles, and what is truly to blame for all of this. Jesmyn Ward frames these musings and discoveries as a memoir, which she wrote after losing five men in five years.

These men were all killed by their circumstances and the things that circumstance leads to: addiction, suicide, and violence. These are the things poverty and inequality lead to. Men We Reaped is a memoir about growing up in poverty, about being born in an unjust world and struggling on as that injustice takes people away and leaves us with grief.

It’s a story of mourning, but also one of cultural examination, as Ward searches for meaning and understanding in a society that puts people in situations where death is hard to avoid.

Easily one of the most powerful American memoirs and books about race you’ll ever read, Men We Reaped is a vital read and one of the best memoirs out there.

Buy a copy of Men We Reaped here!

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee

Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a very specific kind of memoir. This piece of fantastic Korean nonfiction is a narrative exploration of one person’s depression. In many ways, this is an exercise in empathy; a gateway into the mind of a depressed person. If you struggle with depression and anxiety yourself, you will feel seen and understood and, maybe, comforted by this book.

In her introduction, author Baek Sehee notes that her hope is for people to read this book and think, “I wasn’t the only person who felt like this.” She is reaching out and reminding those of us who do struggle that we are not alone.

What separates this book from so many of the other best memoirs out there is that it is presented as a transcript. It’s a kind of epistolary narrative that tracks a woman’s life through therapy. Most chapters begin and/or end with a confession: a personal experience or a feeling related to the author’s depression and anxieties. The rest of the chapter is a transcript of a therapy session.

Writing something so revealing and honest must have taken incredible courage, but Baek Sehee has done so with the selfless desire to help others feel less alone and unique in their pain. There are few memoirs that feel as intimate and voyeuristic as this one, and few that feel like a companion to those who struggle with their mental health. An amazingly unique and wonderful book.

Buy a copy of I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki here!

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Caitlin Doughty is a mortician based in LA. She runs a YouTube channel called Ask A Mortician, and she has published multiple books about the death industry. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was her first book, a memoir which details her first years working in the industry, and it is a wonderfully empathetic tale.

For those of us who are afraid of death and dying, afraid of the unknown, and afraid of losing those we love, this is a powerful and invaluable memoir. Born in Hawai’i, Doughty’s first job as a mortician was in San Francisco, and we follow the beats of that job through this book, as she lifts the veil on death.

Reading about death through the eyes of a mortician is eye-opening. And she also peppers this book with anecdotes about death rituals from across different cultures.

The ways in which attitudes towards death differ across the world are fascinating, and Doughty takes serious umbridge with the clinical and fearful attitude that modern America has with death. Told with wit and honesty, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is a memoir like no other. You’ll laugh, cry, and squeal. This memoir will change you.

Buy a copy of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes here!

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

(Speaking personally and candidly for a moment, Crying in H Mart sent me spiralling. This book did some real damage, but that wasn’t the book’s fault. When I read this memoir, I was badly depressed and suffering with intense illness anxiety, and this book only exacerbated that. So consider this a warning for anyone in a similar state).

Michelle Zauner is a Korean-American musician, lead singer of the truly excellent alternative pop band Japanese Breakfast. Crying in H Mart is a memoir about her relationship to her mother, to death, to disease, and also to her own cultural roots.

This is the story of growing up as a child of immigrants in a small Oregon town, of spending short snapshots of time in Seoul, visiting family. Of moving away to college and starting a band.

Zauner tells us about the complex relationship she has had with her Korean roots, and her attempts to bridge that gap through food and experiences. But it’s also the story of losing her family to disease, of watching her mother slowly slip away as she succumbs to cancer.

Crying in H Mart is a painful, powerful, raw, and honest memoir about loss: of culture, youth, family, and more. One of the best memoirs of recent years.

Buy a copy of Crying in H Mart here!

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

This is a book that builds on the legacy of queer graphic memoirs established by Alison Bechdel with Fun Home (above). Tracing a line from childhood to adulthood, Gender Queer uses a blunt and honest openness to create a kind of discourse between writer and reader, encouraging the reader to listen and consider and understand.

This is a candid story of self-discovery that everyone can relate to, even if they’re cisgender. We have all, after all, experienced self-discovery in some way, shape, or form.

What makes this one of the best memoirs for modern readers is its honesty, clarity, and how both of these aspects are enhanced by its art. Creating a graphic memoir rather than one built entirely from prose somehow makes it more alluring and more honest.

Buy a copy of Gender Queer here!

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness by Kabi Nagata

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is a graphic memoir composed with raw and honest pain. It opens your eyes to an important yet painful reality in Japan, all through the use of dark humour, minimalist art, and queer honesty.

This is the story of Kabi, a woman who decided against attending university, and spent her early twenties in a haze of depression. Kabi drifted through jobs at stores and bakeries and, when she found the energy to do so, she would write manga.

She begins with one eating disorder, and moves onto another. She loses her job, and finds another. She lives with her parents, and often fails to find the will to leave her bedroom.

Eventually, she arrives at a turning point. She decides to hire a female escort and a room at a love hotel, in order to learn and understand all that she believes she has missed out on in her youth. These desires and experiences are things which she has, tragically, distorted into fear and anxiety in her mind.

Nagata was not trying to accomplish anything with this, beyond perhaps telling her story for her own sake. And the result is a wonderful lesbian manga memoir. But, like so much literature on mental health, it hugely succeeds at making us feel far less alone in our strangeness. Because we’re not strange, we’re just people.

Buy a copy of My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness here!

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung

All You Can Ever Know is a memoir in two parts. First, it’s the memory of growing up as an adopted Korean new-born into a white American family. Second, it’s the ongoing story of an adult starting a family of her own and, during her pregnancy, finally taking the plunge to find and contact her birth parents.

Despite her parents’ dedication to providing Chung with a perfectly fulfilled and wholesome life, there are of course things that she could not avoid wanting to know. But, of course, they could never know everything, and Chung grew up with an insatiable thirst to know more than she could ever know.

The hope that Chung has is carried with so much weight it often feels alive. With the deft skill of an empathetic and subtle writer, she guides us through the story of her adoption, her childhood, her adoptive parents’ relationship, her own relationships, her pregnancy, and beyond.

This is a beautiful and intimate book about family, adoption, immigration, and race. One of the most beautiful and best memoirs you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of All You Can Ever Know here!

Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens was a remarkable and treasured author and journalist. Raised in the UK, he lived and worked in the US for most of his life. There, he wrote more than a dozen books on religion, politics, and literature, and wrote for both The Nation and Vanity Fair.

His book God is Not Great is a seminal work of anti-theistic literature that is often praised and cited alongside Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion.

Hitchens is perhaps best remembered for his anti-theistic views, but his life was a harsh one, captured for decades in his own writings. Hitch-22 is a powerful and dense memoir, written with both wit and bleakness, that captures the life of a confident yet troubled writer beautifully.

Hitchens himself admitted that Hitch-22 was difficult to write, because his books and journalistic writings are always arguments, but this one wasn’t.

This memoir is full of revelatory information about political figures, based on the author’s own experiences, including an incident in which he was spanked by Margaret Thatcher at a party. Hitchens was a man who lived, worked, and played hard, and that is all expressed with honesty and snark in his memoir.

Buy a copy of Hitch-22 here!

Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

Written in 1946, after the end of World War II, Man’s Search for Meaning is a memoir that has captivated readers for generations. Victor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp and ultimately survived the Holocaust.

Man’s Search for Meaning is separated into two halves. The first half is a biography of Frankl’s time in the camp and the psychological observations he made about his fellow prisoners.

This first half uses its setting and events to examine how people find meaning in their suffering and devise a purpose for living. As the memoir’s title states, it brings up questions such as these. How do they cope? How do they make sense of their situation? How do they find meaning in their life?

In the book’s second half, Frankl lays out his own psychological invention: logotherapy, which was inspired by the events of the book’s first half. Logotherapy encourages people to find meaning in their suffering, in order to better cope with it.

Man’s Search for Meaning has inspired countless readers, both through its author’s own experiences and through the philosophy he devised.

Buy a copy of Man’s Search for Meaning here!

Biographies hold a unique place in the world of nonfiction. The best biography books often appeal to people who may not even explicitly care about the book’s subject.

It’s all about human connection. Learning the historical, cultural, religious, political, economic and social contexts behind a person’s life is satisfying, but connection is what sells it.

For some of us, we read biography books to become intimate with historical figures we admire. For others, it’s simply about the act of connecting with someone through their story.

The Best Biography Books to Read Now

With all of that in mind, you’ll find here a wide range of the best biography books.

These are biographies about writers, artists, musicians, political figures, scientists, and more.

When composing a list of the best biography books, variety is essential. Variety of work, ethnicity, gender, and class.

And, with variety at the forefront, here is a selection of the best biography books of all time.

Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd

Peter Ackroyd is a huge name in the world of nonfiction, having written celebrated history books and biography books about British history.

Ackroyd has written an entire history of England, and another of London. And here, he dedicated five hundred pages to The Bard himself: William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is widely considered the most influential writer in history.

His plays are studied in schools around the world, and people make full careers out of being Shakespearean scholars, actors, directors, and more.

A legacy like The Bard’s inevitably leads to speculation, conspiracy, and more. Against all of that is Peter Ackroyd’s biography: a full and immersive journey through Shakespeare’s life.

Ackroyd has spent time researching and detailing the period in which Shakespeare lived.

London’s religious and political dynamics, Shakespeare’s own family and education, and the world of English theatre at the time. All of this and so much more is laid bare here.

While nobody will ever know every detail of Shakespeare’s life, Ackroyd has done his due diligence when it comes to piecing together a vivid picture of who The Bard was.

An incredible feat of biography writing from one of England’s best-loved historians, and one of the best biography books you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of Shakespeare: The Biography here!

Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith

So much has been written about Vincent Van Gogh, and deservedly so.

Multiple documentaries have been made; museums, galleries, and interactive exhibitions have been built; songs have been sung; and books have been written.

The 19th century Dutch painter was a revolutionary of the craft, a legend of post-impressionism, and his life was a truly fascinating one.

His life is well-known, and remembered with as much intrigue as his art. Van Gogh was the original struggling artist, the one who began the toxic trend of seeing depression as a mark of genius.

Deeply troubled, Van Gogh lived a life of tragedy as much as one of beauty. And all of that is masterfully captured in Van Gogh: The Life.

Working alongside Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, authors Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith have brought us nearly a thousand pages of incredible research and writing.

Van Gogh: The Life is the definitive work of biography on the genius Dutch painter. A truly remarkable book, and one of the very best biography books ever written.

Buy a copy of Van Gogh: The Life here!

Ida: A Sword Among Lions by Paula J. Giddings

Ida B. Wells was a hero. Born in 1862, she was a great feminist and a leader of the Black civil rights movement.

Wells dedicated her entire life to the fight for equality within the USA; part of that fight was being a founding member of the NAAPC.

As a teacher and journalist, Wells used every skill available to advance the movement for racial equality forward. And all of that (and more) is explored in this immense biography.

Focussing less on the personal and more on the political, Ida: A Sword Among Lions is as much a history of American racial politics and change as it is a biography.

This is because the changes we can trace were made by Wells and her comrades, and those comrades — including her husband Ferdinand L. Barnett — are also given their due.

This is an inspiring work of nonfiction that throws into sharp relief the importance of community effort, of always fighting for change, justice, and equality.

It’s impossible to imagine what 20th century USA would have looked like without Ida B. Wells, but the changes she made were goliath, and the world should forever be grateful.

We are reminded of that over and again as we read this book and marvel at what she accomplished.

Paula J. Giddings has done Wells justice in a way that nobody else could have, and in doing so she has written one of the best biography books in American history.

Buy a copy of Ida: A Sword Among Lions here!

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin

You’ll find that many of the best biography books ever written have also inspired a huge number of great cinematic biopics, and this is one of them.

American Prometheus is the biography on which writer/director Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece Oppenheimer was based.

And while that is an excellent piece of filmmaking, it took a huge number of liberties that make American Prometheus required reading for fans of the film.

Theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer led the USA’s Manhattan Project during World War II, which led to the invention and production of the first atomic bombs.

All of this led to two of the darkest days in world history: the bombing of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

American Prometheus tells the full story of Oppenheimer’s life and the Manhattan Project.

This is a biography that offers readers so much; so much more than just a life. This is a book about the USA, about war, science, politics, and more.

An astonishing work of nonfiction that stands alongside many of the best biography books ever written.

Buy a copy of American Prometheus here!

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Shirley Jackson is a legendary figure within the world of gothic fiction, and of American literature in general.

A dark figure and an author of beloved gothic masterpieces such as The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and the iconic short story The Lottery.

Jackson is one of many great authors and artists whose own life was as strange, dynamic, and interesting as the art she created.

And that is all proven here in Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life — one of the best biography books about an author you’ll ever read.

If you happen to have seen Josephine Decker’s excellent 2020 film Shirley, a biopic about Jackson starring Elizabeth Moss, that film was in fact not based on this biography.

Jackson saw a lot of professional success in her life, and her legacy has been fully cemented, but her personal life was far more rocky and inconsistent.

This biography goes into why that was, exactly, and how her turbulent home and family life, relationships, and mental health inspired her great works.

Biographies of authors are often as compelling as what those authors created, but that goes double for this book; one of the best biography books you should read right now.

Buy a copy of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life here!

Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

One of the most celebrated and beloved painters of the 20th century, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo left behind an enormous legacy.

Anecdotes about her life are liberally shared by those who love her work. Her disability, her love affairs, her communist sympathies. These are all well-known facts

But in this incredible biography of her life, author Hayden Herrera has expanded on these details, stitching them into the rich and dramatic tapestry of her varied life.

This is a book that celebrates her artistic genius and her creative mind, and one that also takes time to explore the love and romances of her life.

Kahlo’s tempestuous relationship with Diego Rivera is the stuff of legends, and it is given room to breathe in this biography, which paints them both in honest light.

Kahlo was a great feminist, a revolutionary, a proud communist, and a champion of the working class. All of that is explored and expanded upon here.

A wonderful exploration of the life and loves of one of the 20th century’s greatest painters, and one of the best biography books of our time.

Buy a copy of Frida here!

Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross

Few individuals from across the history of rock & roll — and modern music in general — have been as memorialised as Kurt Cobain.

There are many reasons for this: the ways in which he pushed and defined genres; his outspoken aggression towards sexism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry.

But the most obvious reason is his mind. Cobain battled depression for all of his twenty-seven years, until it finally won and he took his own life.

And so began an enormous legacy that has been explored across multiple books and documentaries, but this one is easily the most impressive.

Heavier Than Heaven is an unapologetically honest book that peels back the layers and exposes the truth behind so many myths about the infamous grunge rock star.

You’ll unlearn things that were never true, learn things you never would have known otherwise, and come close to understanding the mind behind the art.

Through some impressive sleuthing, analysis, and good old-fashioned journalism, Charles R. Cross has given us access to the man behind the myth.

A truly wonderful book, Heavier Than Heaven should be celebrated by Nirvana fans the world over. One of the best biography books the music world has ever been gifted.

Buy a copy of Heavier Than Heaven here!

The Brontes by Juliet Barker

The Bronte sisters were three of a kind. As Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel Glass Town explored, they were creative giants right from childhood.

Penning some of the finest works of romantic and gothic fiction in the history of British literature, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are celebrated the world over.

And then there’s Branwell, a tragic young man who quite literally painted himself out of their lives.

This family was unique, exceptional, and strange. And all of that is captured in Juliet Barker’s The Brontes, an enormous thousand-page biography of the literary sisters.

When the world of art and literature has so many enigmatic figures, it’s hard to call any one work of nonfiction a “definitive” history or biography, but this might be it for the Brontes.

Juliet Barker spent more than a decade gathering every scrap of evidence and information about these sisters and their works, in order to paint this vivid tapestry of their lives.

The ways in which Charlotte controlled and oppressed the others; the unsung beauty of Branwell’s mind; the anxiety and depression that Emily struggled with.

All of this and so much more is put on display here in one of the very best biography books you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of The Brontes here!

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang & Jon Halliday

Chairman Mao Zedong was one of the great villains of recent world history, and there might be nobody better to tell his story than Wild Swansauthor Jung Chang.

Chang has dedicated so much of her life to telling the political stories of 20th century China, including her dynamic work Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister.

But while that book and Wild Swans are both sweeping epic works of nonfiction that focus on multiple people, Mao is a dedicated biography of one man.

Mao’s monstrous political decisions as chairman of China were legendary, but what are far less well-known are the tactics and decisions behind them.

Mao Zedong’s laws and policies led to the most widespread and destructive famine in recorded history. But why? Questions like this are rarely asked, and even more rarely answered.

Jung Chang spent ten years of investigation to answer this, and so many even more pressing questions about Chairman Mao’s life, actions, and relationships.

Jung Chang wowed the world with Wild Swans, and then did it all over again with Mao: The Unknown Story, one of the best biography books anyone has ever written.

Buy a copy of Mao here!

Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Huw Lemmey & Ben Miller

Bad Gays is a remarkable anthology of miniature biographies, each focussing on an infamous person from world history who also happened to be queer.

From the Roman emperor Hadrian to the London gangster Ronnie Kray, Bad Gays offers up a selection of detailed short biographies of histories most unlovable gays.

Excellently researched and presented with real charm and wit, this is one of those rare biography books that blends the informative with the entertaining.

Amongst even the very best biography books, Bad Gays stands as something very important: a work that humanises the queer community by showing readers its darkest sides.

The breadth of subjects here is also satisfying and diverse. King James VI and I of Scotland and England, Lawrence of Arabia, and Japanese author Yukio Mishima are all explored here.

Bad Gays is a fantastic work of nonfiction, one of the most unique and best biography books of the past several years.

Buy a copy of Bad Gays here!

Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography by Walter Isaacson

Leonardo da Vinci’s legacy has cemented him as a unique mind within the realms of both art and science; an inventor and artist of unparalleled genius.

Placing someone on a podium that high can be dangerous and even beggar belief, but as Walter Isaacson’s biography proves, it is certainly deserved where da Vinci was concerned.

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian renaissance polymath who painted two of the best-known works of art the world has ever seen: the Mona Lisa, and the Last Supper.

But he was also someone with an unquenchable curiosity and an eye for discovery. His passions were spread across the sciences, from biology to geology.

All of this is captured and presented in this remarkable biography. This book explores how da Vinci studied all there was to study, and sought to understand the world on every level.

da Vinci was a man of curiosity and creativity, but he was also human. And this book is what really reminds us of that. It humanises this giant of art and science in a way that few books have.

Whether you’re a lover of Leonardo da Vinci or all you know about him is that he painted the Mona Lisa, this biography book has so much to offer you either way.

Buy a copy of Leonardo da Vinci here!

Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

As was the case with American Prometheus and Oppenheimer (above), The Enigma is a biography that served as the inspiration for Morten Tyldum’s biopic The Imitation Game.

Unsurprisingly, however, Alan Turing: The Enigma is less concerned with drama and tension, and more with laying bare the extraordinary mind and the tragic life of Alan Turing.

Turning is best known for cracking the “Enigma Code” used by the Nazis during World War II, an act which turned the tide of war for the entire world.

Beyond that act, however, Turing was also a pioneer of computer design and technology, most simply expressed by his infamous “Turing Test”.

But the tragedy of his life was that Turning happened to be gay at a time in British history and culture where that simple fact led to social and political prejudice.

Turning didn’t commit suicide because he was gay; he was killed by a bigoted and unjust political system that ruined the life of a genius and a hero of war.

All of this is explored in great detail in a biography that does Turning’s life justice, which is the least he deserved.

Buy a copy of Alan Turing: The Enigma here!

Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art by Susan Napier

Hayao Miyazaki will forever be known as one of Japan’s greatest filmmakers. A master of multiple disciplines, including art, writing, and directing.

His films, most of which have dark and intense anti-war, anti-industrial, anti-capitalistic underpinnings, are some of the 20th and 21st century’s greatest works of art.

Born during World War II, raised in a turbulent post-war Japan, his life shaped his art and his expression. And all of that is explored in wonderful detail in Susan Napier’s Miyazakiworld.

It’s no secret that Miyazaki was always a workaholic and a perfectionist, but this book demonstrates that wonderfully, as it strips back all the purpose and meaning behind the smallest choices when it comes to his art.

Every tiny nuance, every word, every detail; Miyazaki’s films were meticulously designed, and we see the cogs turning in this biography.

Miyazakiworld contextualises Japan’s animation industry for a non-Japanese audience, gives us a personal background to Miyazaki’s work and writing, and so much more.

A really amazing biography that focuses on the art of a great filmmaker, how it exists, and why it exists. One of the best biography books for film and animation fans.

Buy a copy of Miyazakiworld here!

Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

After the enormous success of her Jane Austen biography (below), historian and TV personality Lucy Worsley turns her attention to another great woman of English literature.

Agatha Christie was, and will forever be remembered as, an astonishing force of creativity within the world of literature.

Across a career longer than many human lives, Christie wrote timeless tales of murder and mystery, and brought us characters that remain beloved to this day.

But when it came to her personal life, Christie presented an image of meekness and good behaviour, which Worsley reveals was far from the truth.

There are so many facts and titbits about Christie’s life, career, and work ethic that fascinate her fans, but this brilliant biography goes so far beyond all of that.

Agatha Christie wrote many of the greatest thrillers and crime novels of all time, but she also had a wonderfully active and adventurous modern life.

All of that is explored with enthusiasm and wit by Worsley, who has clearly relished the challenge of unpacking the truth about Christie and bringing that truth to us.

Worsley is a charismatic writer and speaker, and that charisma shows in this book; one of the most humorous and best biography books of recent years.

Buy a copy of Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman here!

Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross

Charles R. Cross has written two of the best biography books about members of the “27 Club” — musicians whom we lost at the cursed age of 27.

One was the biography of Kurt Cobain (above) and the other is this: Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix.

Hendrix was a rare example of a kind of reverse British invasion; an American prodigy who found fame and fandom in London’s rock ‘n’ roll era.

With The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he wrote and recorded three albums, and he made a name for himself as a revolutionary guitarist.

But there is so much more to his life behind the scenes. While his struggles with fame and addiction are well-documented, this biography dives so much deeper.

We learn about his tumultuous youth in Seattle and the things he truly wanted from life but rarely ever dared to mention.

Charles R. Cross has proven himself a fantastic biographer of great musicians, and the proof is here in Room Full of Mirrors.

Buy a copy of Room Full of Mirrors here!

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

Another great biography that was given the Hollywood treatment; Sylvia Nasar’s excellent book on renowned mathematician John Nash adapted to the big screen by Ron Howard.

While that film won Howard an Academy Award for best director, it remains an adaptation and, as such, glosses over so much about Nash’s life that is important to know.

A Beautiful Mind tells the full story of John Nash, an eccentric mathematician whose chance to win a Nobel Prize was dashed because of how the world treated his schizophrenia.

As a mathematician, Nash had an enormous effect on the world of American economics, and the onset of his schizophrenia made him a compelling and fascinating person.

Nasar’s biography frames Nash’s schizophrenia in an honest light without vilifying or romanticising it, but it also doesn’t shy away from the more cruel of Nash’s actions.

For example, Nash was abusive towards his wife, unfaithful to her, and even pushed her down the stairs when she was pregnant. The film neatly glosses over these facts.

When creating a biography about a genius and a tragic figure, it’s important to humanise them and reveal the darker sides, even if they may be uncomfortable facts.

This is what makes Nasar’s A Beautiful Mind one of the best biography books of the past several decades.

Buy a copy of A Beautiful Mind here!

Jane Austen at Home: A Biography by Lucy Worsley

Several years before writing her biography on Agatha Christie (above), historian Lucy Worsley dazzled Jane Austen fans with the fantastic Jane Austen at Home.

Jane Austen remains one of the most celebrated classic authors in the history of the English language. Her wit and social commentary is legendary.

The stories and characters of novels like Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion are beloved by bookworms, and likely always will be.

But who was the woman behind the wit? What in Austen’s life inspired such fantastic tales of family life, romance, sisterhood, class disparity, and more?

Lucy Worsley answers all of those questions, and many more, in this amazing biography that paints a vivid picture of Austen’s home life.

Here, we learn about her youth, her family, her home, her habits, her loves, and more.

This is a must-read for any Austen fan, and when it comes to literary figures, this is also one of the best biography books that exists.

Side note: I read this book before visiting Jane Austen’s house, and it wonderfully enhanced the experience.

Buy a copy of Jane Austen at Home here!

Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones

Completely peerless, Jim Henson was one of the most unique creative minds that 20th century TV and film ever had.

Often overshadowed by his creations — The Muppets, Sesame Street, Labyrinth, and his work on Star Wars — Henson was one-of-a-kind.

It’s thanks to his work that puppets remain a part of mainstream television, for children and adults alike, and here you can learn all about his life in this excellent biography.

Henson died tragically young, at age 53, from a bacterial infection, but he accomplished so much in his life, and those accomplishments brought so much joy to the world.

The characters and worlds that he created have gone on to resonate with people of all ages for decades. The impact that his films and TV shows have had is immeasurable.

With the generous support of Henson’s family, Brian Jay Jones has been able to present us with the full life story of Jim Henson and all that he did.

Buy a copy of Jim Henson: The Biography here!

The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne & Tamara Payne

Few infamous public figures of American history have ever been as talked-about and obsessed over as Malcolm X.

A civil rights activist who joined the Nation of Islam while in prison as a young man, Malcolm X has fascinated many kinds of people for many reasons for several decades.

Beginning in 1990, renowned investigative journalist Les Payne worked to gather more than a hundred hours worth of interviews surrounding Malcolm X.

However, Payne died before the book was completed, and so his daughter and research partner Tamara finished their work and had it published in 2020.

The Dead Are Arising went on to win the Pulitzer and the National Book Award.

A remarkable work of investigative journalism that reveals to its readers an equally remarkable life.

Given the magnitude of Malcolm X’s life and legacy, and that of Les Payne’s own work and renown, The Dead Are Arising is a uniquely powerful biography.

When it comes to biographies built from tremendous hard work of investigative journalism, few compare to The Dead Are Arising.

Buy a copy of The Dead Are Arising here!

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields

Author Charles J. Shields is a well-renowned biographer of American writers, and Mockingbird is his most celebrated work.

Two years after its publication, Shields even adapted Mockingbird into a version more palatable for younger readers, titled I Am Scout.

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee tells the story of one of 20th century USA’s best-known and best-loved authors.

One of the most unique and intriguing things about Lee was that she only ever wrote the one novel, and that novel is rightly considered a great American classic.

To Kill A Mockingbird is taught in schools across the US and UK to this day; it received a celebrated film adaptation; it has even been adapted to the stage with amazing results.

But who was the woman behind this true American masterpiece of a novel? Charles J. Shields answers that question with appreciation and attentiveness.

Buy a copy of Mockingbird here!

Others are simply so engrossing and captivating in their subject matter, whether that be broad or specific, that we find ourselves unable to close the book. You’ll find both kinds here. This is a selection of history books that are both incredibly well-researched and written with a moreish, absorbing quality.

The Best History Books Ever Written

These history books have also been selected for their breadth of subject matter. Here you’ll find some of the most popular and celebrated history books of the past several decades, and among them some more specific, obscure, and remarkable history books.

These are books on world history, empire, the histories of specific peoples and nations and cultures, as well as history books that focus on intriguing moments in time. All of these are worth your time, and are some of the best history books ever written.

Read More: The Best Biographies Ever Written

Humankind by Rutger Bregman

Rutger Bregman is a remarkable historian. His book Utopia for Realists explored the economic history of universal basic income, and how it can be implemented.

His follow-up, Humankind, was a much grander undertaking. This is a massive history book that examines the entire breadth of human culture.

And it does so to prove one simple point: that we, as a species, are kind.

Humankind spends its time exposing lies, debunking myths, and attacking propaganda, proving that we are so much better as a global society than we allow ourselves to think.

This incredible history book examines our evolution, our social dynamics, our economics, our psychology, as well as specific infamous moments in time.

There is so much breadth here, as well as a lot of intimacy and attention to detail. It’s a book full of hope and inspiration, making it one of the best history books you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of Humankind here!

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Guns, Germs, and Steel is a legendary history book; one that many consider required reading for understanding how and why the world looks the way it does today.

Jared Diamond’s celebrated history book explores geography, geology, climate, biology, evolution, and more, all to explain the economic dynamics of our planet.

This is a book that explains why the world’s colonialist powers came specifically from Europe, and the answer lies in guns, germs, and steel.

The planet itself — the climate, soil, temperature, and topography of nations and continents — explains away so much of why things happened the way they did.

Guns, Germs, and Steel is a history book about the relationship between our planet’s ecosystem and the cultures, religions, inventions, economies, and industries of nations.

A truly remarkable book that really is required reading, whether you’re a history fan or not. One of the best history books you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of Guns, Germs, and Steel here!

The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan

When The Silk Roads was published, it left the jaws of readers and critics on the floor. This was a history book that seemed to have come from nowhere and done something incredible.

Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads tells the geological, geographic, economic, industrial, and cultural history of the silk roads.

The silk roads were (and technically still are) a network of roads that spread like veins across Eurasia, from the eastern coast of China to eastern Europe and northern Africa.

These trade routes were necessities for entire civilisations, across centuries of history and development. And this book tells their story.

This is a book about the development of the modern world and how we got here, with a detailed focus on trade and immigration via the silk roads and beyond.

In its first half, the silk roads are the entire focus, but by the halfway point Frankopan turns his attention to empire and the ocean routes that were carved out.

A remarkable book; easily one of the best history books ever written.

Buy a copy of The Silk Roads here!

SPQR by Mary Beard

Mary Beard is a national treasure in Britain, a remarkable historian, scholar, and professor; one of the nation’s leading experts in Ancient Roman civilisation.

She has written several books on Rome, but her most celebrated book is easily SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.

This book is exactly what it says on the tin: the entire history of Ancient Rome in a single book. An enormous undertaking that Beard pulls off flawlessly.

Across 600 pages, Beard takes us on a journey through a millennium of Roman history. Trade, conquest, war, philosophy, invention, religion, tradition, and so much more.

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the rise and rise and rise and fall of Rome is covered here, in one of the most engaging and best history books you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of SPQR here!

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Wild Swans is a remarkable and wholly unique history book. Written as a biography which takes us across three generations of women and the history of Communist China.

In Wild Swans, Jung Chang tells us the personal histories of her grandmother, her mother, and herself.

Each of these women lived through a specific period of 20th century Chinese history, and through their stories we learn about how China rapidly changed across these decades.

Beginning before the revolution, and explaining the traditions and economics of that time, Chang then moves into the revolution.

We learn about the Kuomingtang and Sun Yat-sen, about the rise of Mao Zedong, about the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution.

We see how people lived on the ground level, what it was like to fight in that revolution, to survive the famine that came after, to handle the propaganda and torment that ensued.

And we also learn what came after, how China opened its borders in the ‘80s and what happened next.

Blending biography and history, Wild Swans is easily one of the best history books ever written.

Buy a copy of Wild Swans here!

Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici

Caliban and the Witch is the kind of history book that will be highlighted, annotated, and dog-eared to the point of being unreadable by the time you turn the final page (my copy certainly is). This nonfiction is a blend of history, sociology, and political philosophy that explores the relationship between the rise of capitalism and the subjugation of the bodies of women and minority people to better serve patriarchal hierarchies in Europe.

Beginning with the established status quo of the feudal system in Western Europe—serfs toiling in service of their lords—Caliban and the Witch teaches us about the peasant revolts and the surprising elements of equality that existed in the Middle Ages, before moving on to the rise of capitalism and how that remodelled the social dynamics between genders, classes, and races.

This is certainly a feminist text, but it is also a work inspired by the writings of Karl Marx; a book that aims to explain the reasons behind the European witch hunts in the Early Modern period, and also to present a clear historical diagram for the relationship between capitalism and patriarchy, and how those in power manipulated religious doctrine, philosophy, and the law to best benefit their consolidation of that power.

Buy a copy of Caliban and the Witch here!

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

Prisoners of Geography was a well-hyped revelation upon its initial publication, and it has kept that legacy intact ever since. A truly remarkable book about history and geopolitics.

Similar to Guns,Germs, and Steel (above), Prisoners of Geography explores — via ten gripping maps and chapters — how borders and geography have determined how international politics have played out for centuries.

This is a book about the past, but it’s also one about right now and where we might be headed, based on the lines we’ve drawn between one another across the globe.

Examining both the natural and the man-made borders between nations, and how those borders have influenced national and international politics across the map, Marshall breaks down the landscape of geopolitics today.

This is a blend of history, geography, and politics, as so many of the best history books often are, but this is very much a book about the past as a guide towards the future.

Buy a copy of Prisoners of Geography here!

The Language Puzzle by Steven Mithen

Archaeologist Steven Mithen has blended an incredible range of disciplines—including evolutionary biology, linguistics and etymology—in order to answer the question of how human language developed in The Language Puzzle: How We Talked Our Way Out of the Stone Age. This is a thoroughly well-researched and eye-opening journey across early human history which reveals how language itself evolved.

As you move through this book, you’ll learn about humanity’s evolutionary history, its relationship to other apes, the biology of our speaking and listening organs, the evolution of languages, and so much more. This is the kind of history book that will provide readers with so many fascinating facts about language and history that you’ll want to share with your friends.

The way we see our own history and how we developed as social creatures will change as you read this, as you develop a clearer understanding of how language developed, how its role has changed and shifted, and how the evolution of language has gone hand-in-hand with our development of tools, agriculture, and society itself.

Buy a copy of The Language Puzzle here!

A Brief History of Japan by Jonathan Clements

Jonathan Clements is a remarkable historian; an expert in both Chinese and Japanese history who speaks both languages and knows both cultures inside and out.

He has written several books on Chinese and Japanese history, and here he has attempted to condense thousands of years of Japanese history into a single book.

A book that is surprisingly short, easy to follow, nicely linear, and full of information about war, religion, literature, art, tradition, fashion, theatre, economics, and politics.

There is an enormous breadth of information here. If you’re a fan of Japanese history and culture — of shinto, kabuki, ukiyo-e, samurai — you need to read this book.

A Brief History of Japan is also full of charming anecdotes and humour. It gives small insights into the history of specific arts and traditions that are so thoughtful and endearing.

Truly one of the best history books about Japan and its culture.

Buy a copy of A Brief History of Japan here!

The LGBTQ+ History Book

DK is a publishing house, owned by Penguin, that publishes large coffee table books on specific topics, from literature and music to mythology and architecture.

One of the most important, well-researched, and remarkable books they’ve ever published, written by a selection of expert contributors, is The LGBTQ+ History Book.

This is a book that traces the entire history of queer people across the globe. The scope and scale of this history book is staggering.

From the traditions of Maori people and native Americans to the social and political attitudes of Ancient Greeks and Chinese dynasties.

From the rise of Christianity to Section 28, the Lavender Menace, the AIDS crisis, and Stonewall, every corner of queer history is explored here.

Not a single stone is left unturned. By the time you finish this book, you’ll know almost everything about every nation and culture’s queer traditions for the past several millennia.

And all of it is presented in short easy-to-follow chapters full of timelines, statistics, graphs, and anecdotes about specific people from across queer history.

From the Greek heroes Achilles and Patroclus to modern lesbian and transgender philosophers, nobody is left out and no stone is left unturned.

If you want to fully understand the breadth of queer history across the entire planet and across all of human history, you need to read The LGBTQ+ History Book, one of the most important and best history books on the shelves.

(Side note: I narrated the audiobook).

Buy a copy of The LGBTQ+ History Book here!

Black and British by David Olusoga

David Olusoga’s book received more than a few awards and accolades upon its publication, including a longlisting for the Orwell Prize.

Black and British: A Forgotten History is a detailed retelling of the relationship between Britain and the people of Africa and the Caribbean.

Black and British is a richly detailed history book that recounts and explores the British Empire’s role in the African slave trade and Britain’s relationship to African and Caribbean people.

It traces Black British history from the pre-Elizabethan Middle Ages, through the colonialist days of the British Empire, to the state of Britain in the 21st century.

This is the history book we should be learning in school and beyond. Every British teenager should come out of secondary school and immediately pick this book up.

Absolutely essential reading for understanding how Britain came to be what it is today, Black and British is one of the most essential and best history books of recent years.

Buy a copy of Black and British here!

Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Huw Lemmy & Ben Miller

This is one of the most unique, remarkable, and best history books to have been written in the past several years.

Bad Gays is a daring and exciting collection of biographies that detail the lives and exploits of some of history’s worst gay men and women: kings, tyrants, gangsters, fascists, and so much more.

From the Roman leader Hadrian to the British gangster Ronnie Kray via legendary figures like King James I, and Lawrence of Arabia, we take a detailed look at the lives of these awful people, who all happened to be members of the LGBTQ community.

One chapter focusses on the Bad Gays of Weimar Berlin. Another on the fascistic Japanese author Yukio Mishima. These are all strange, complex people who did great and terrible things.

All the while, their sexualities and gender expressions were inexorably tied to who they were and what they did.

This is a history book that humanises queerness, reminding us that we queers are as bad as we are good, because we’re human.

One repeated theme is the definition of homosexuality itself, and the clash between the unacceptable feminine expression of camp men and the acceptable sexual bonds between two burly, manly men.

Bad Gays is a detailed, wonderfully well-researched, hilariously well-expressed history book on the gays that we love to hate throughout history, and how they left their mark on the world.

Buy a copy of Bad Gays here!

The Wager by David Grann

American historian David Grann has made a name for himself in the realms of fiction and nonfiction, with his history book The Lost City of Z receiving critical acclaim and having been adapted into a Hollywood film.

The Wager once again demonstrates his talent at writing impeccably well-researched history with the flair and flourish of a great mystery novel.

This is the story of the titular Wager, a British man-of-war that set sail with a fleet of naval vessels during the war between the British and Spanish empires in 1740.

After a year at sea, the Wager passed through unmanageable and turbulent weather and was wrecked on the shores of an uninhabited and inhospitable island off the southwest coast of Chile.

David Grann tells the story of that voyage, the shipwreck, and the murders and mutiny that followed. Grann paints a luscious but uncomfortably picture of desperation, starvation, and aggression.

One of the souls that was wrecked and involved in the mutiny was the grandfather of legendary poet Lord Byron, and it was his grandfather’s experiences here that inspired several of Byron’s best works.

The experiences that these castaways went through were harrowing, and Grann captures it all in immense detail and with the excitement of a good novel. Easily one of the best history books of recent years.

Buy a copy of The Wager here!

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

It’s almost impossible, and arguably unfair, to discuss the best history books of all time without mentioning Sapiens.

This is a history book that popularised history books, had readers and non-readers alike suddenly desperate for more great works of nonfiction.

A captivating, engrossing, almost hypnotic book, Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens skyrocketed him into stardom within the historian community.

Sapiens is a book about the entire history of mankind; no small thing.

What sets it apart from other books which have set out to do something similar is the way in which its author injects so much easy-to-follow philosophy and psychology into its narrative.

And narrative feels like the right word, as this book flows with the energy of a captivating novel.

From the history of the written word to the agricultural revolution and beyond, Sapiens is a staggering work of nonfiction that took the world by storm, and rightly so.

Buy a copy of Sapiens here!

Femina by Janina Ramirez

Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It is a lengthy title, but it perfectly sums up the entire book. The European Middle Ages lasted for a millennium, from the fifth to the fifteenth century, and the history we often learn about that enormous span of time usually ignores the successes and contributions of women. This book explores and outright celebrates the female artists, scientists, leaders, and warriors of the Middle Ages.

Across nine chapters, we move forward a century at a time, and each time we also refocus on a different kind of woman: from religious and political leaders to warriors, artists, philosophers, scientists, theologians, and beyond. Not only that, but we also shift our focus to different nations—from England to Sweden, France, and Germany—all the while dispelling irritating propaganda about entire religions and cultures; most notably the Vikings.

Femina doesn’t just teach us about the many incredible warrior women, polymaths, and painters of the Middle Ages. It also reframes that entire period as something far more culturally, theologically, and ethnically diverse than what we are so often led to believe. This is a true reframing of the Middle Ages and a vitally important history book.

Buy a copy of Femina here!

The Ruin of All Witches by Malcolm Gaskill

Author and professor Malcolm Gaskill is considered one of Britain’s leading experts in the history of witches and witchcraft, and here he turns his knowledge and research skills to the history of a specific time and place.

The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World is a historical account — a piece of nonfiction written with the fluidity and narrative heft of a novel — about a small New England town in the 1600s.

That town is Springfield, Connecticut; a remote town one hundred miles from Boston, MA.

We begin near the end, with the town of Springfield flooded with paranoia; residents are having dreams and fits. And a Welsh woman named Mary has been arrested for witchcraft.

Gaskill then returns us to the beginning, painting us a detailed picture of the town, its founder (William Pynchon) and its residents.

This is the story of an ordinary town of God-fearing Christians, English and Welsh colonisers who have set down roots in a small corner of New England.

It’s also the story of the first cases of alleged witchcraft in the New World. Until this moment, witch hunts and trials had been left behind, in Europe, but this is where and when they began in the USA.

Several years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials, there was the story of Mary Parsons and her husband. The Ruin of All Witches is a masterwork of history writing and one of the most unique and best history books of recent years.

Buy a copy of The Ruin of All Witches here!

The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson has written memoirs, books on travel, as well as books on science and literature. With The Mother Tongue, he turns his focus to the history of the English language.

For fans of the linguistic side of history, this is an exceptionally captivating book that delves into the origins of the English language, as well as its various accents and dialects, its global spread, and many etymological details.

It’s impossible not to walk away from this book with so many charming facts and details about the English language in your head (like how it is the language with the second-largest number of unique sounds, after German).

The Mother Tongue provides readers with all the historical, geographical, and political details that they need to build a fully-formed map of the English language and how has become what it is today.

One of the most unique and best history books about a specific topic that you’re ever likely to read.

I have my issues with Bill Bryson, but some of his books really do shine and captivate. And The Mother Tongue is the one that has captivated me the most, as someone with a love for etymology and the history of languages.

Buy a copy of The Mother Tongue here!

Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

As already mentioned (above), Bill Bryson is a huge figure in the world of nonfiction and history books. A writer of wit and savvy who has turned his attention to an array of interesting topics.

One such topic is The Bard himself. While there have been several history books about the Elizabethan period in which he lives, and biographies on Shakespeare himself, Bryson’s history book remains unique.

This short book was clearly written from the heart, by someone with a passion for what The Bard accomplished with his life, and for a legacy that hasn’t diminished in five hundred years.

Rather than being an in-depth biography, this is a history book that debunks the myths, lies, and conspiracies surrounding Shakespeare and his world.

Shakespeare sets the record straight on how Shakespeare lived and worked, the Elizabethan world in which he flourished as an actor and a playwright, and how he was inspired to write his plays and sonnets.

This book dives into Shakespeare’s youth in Stratford and his London career. It explains how he studied and learned, and what inspiration he gleaned from myths, history, and the world around him.

A brilliantly witty book written in Bryson’s now-iconic style, and one of the best history books for fans of art, theatre, and the Elizabethan world.

Buy a copy of Shakespeare here!

Normandy ’44 by James Holland

Author and broadcaster James Holland is widely regarded as one of the great British World War II historians, and he also happens to be the brother of Tom Holland (not that one), an expert on Roman and Islamic history.

Normandy ’44 is well-considered to be Holland’s greatest achievement as an historian, and one of the best World War II history books we have.

When it comes to the world wars, fiction and nonfiction play vitally different roles, and there is a weighty significance put on history being told accurately when it comes to these modern wars.

When it comes to D-Day and the battle for France, Holland tells this story with confidence, bolstered by a fantastic amount of research. There is a tense vividness to his telling in this history book.

This period of WWII has been explored numerous times, and also been put to page and screen in a fictional capacity, but the facts are laid out here in Normandy ’44 with honesty and transparency.

This is the definitive story of the Normandy Campaign. Fans of war history owe it to themselves to read this; one of the best history books about World War II you’ll ever read.

Buy a copy of Normandy ’44 here!

Persian Fire by Tom Holland

From one Holland to another. Tom Holland (not that one) has proven himself an authority figure on classical and medieval history, and here he turns to the Greco-Persian Wars of the 5th Century BCE.

While Holland has written several books on Roman history, that topic has been covered by Mary Beard and SPQR (above), while Persian history is too often overlooked by historians and academics.

Thankfully, Holland does the topic justice, and then some, with Persian Fire.

He begins by establishing the cultures, traditions, and laws of the Persian Empire and the disparate city-states that made up the islands of Greece.

The Greeks famously invented the concept of democracy, but that is a much dirtier and more complex fact than a simple titbit, and Holland elaborates on it here, while also establishing how the Persians vastly differed in culture.

The majority of this book, however, is a dramatisation of the wars between the Persians and the states of Athens and Sparta, who led them, how they played out, and what the lasting impact of these wars was.

This is a concise, clear, and addictively readable book; one of the best history books we have about the ancient world and its wars.

Buy a copy of Persian Fire here!

River Kings by Cat Jarman

Historians have a variety of different beginnings. Some have backgrounds in academia, others in science. Dr Cat Jarman is a bioarchaeologist, specialising in using forensics to build a story.

Her talents are many and very impressive, and she has done remarkable things with her skills and her knowledge. That is all evident in this remarkable history book on the vikings.

With the right technology at her fingertips, Jarman has been able to write a history of the vikings that is so much clearer, and yet more complex, than any which have come before.

As the book’s subtitle makes clear, the journey Jarman takes us on spreads far beyond Scandinavia, and reveals that the vikings travelled farther, and much more complex routes, than we ever could have thought until now.

All of this began with a bead which found its way into Jarman’s hands. A viking bead that was somehow made in India. And so a viking journey across the silk roads unfolds.

This is a remarkable, award-winning book, and one of the best history books of the past several years.

Buy a copy of River Kings here!

Histories of Nations by Peter Furtado (Editor)

This is an ambitious history book that deserves credit for simply existing. Edited by author and historian Peter Furtado, Histories of Nations is a collection of essays by historians from around the world.

Each writer featured in this history book is an expert in the history of their own nation, and presents us with an intimate, personal insight into their home country.

These essays, woven together, create a tapestry of political and cultural histories from the native children of twenty-eight different countries from around the globe.

It’s a wonderful project, full of dynamism and variety, as each historian is tasked with summarising the history of their homeland in an essay that will have something valuable to teach people from everywhere else.

The knowledge that can be gleaned from this world history book cannot be understated, and that makes it one of the best history books of recent times.

Buy a copy of Histories of Nations here!

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Like Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens (above), Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time was a game-changer within the world of history, science, and nonfiction in general.

Stephen Hawking was one of the great minds of his time, a theoretical physicist, author, and professor who changed the landscape of his field, and became an icon in the process.

A Brief History of Time is a book on cosmology, one that blends history and science to teach us about the formation of the universe and all that it contains.

With its wonderfully witty title, A Brief History of Time is beloved by so many for its wide-eyed approach to the cosmos, and for its easy-to-follow narrative.

This is a book designed to inspire wonder at the birth and expansion of reality itself. A truly remarkable, one-of-a-kind science and history book.

Buy a copy of A Brief History of Time here!

Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes

Natalie Haynes saw huge success with her fractured novel A Thousand Ships, and rightly so. This led to the successful publication of a more traditional compendium style of book: Pandora’s Jar.

Much like Charlotte Higgins’ Greek Myths, Natalie Haynes’ Pandora’s Jar is a history book about Greek Mythology.

But where it differs from many of its contemporaries is in the fact that Pandora’s Jar puts the focus on the women of Greek mythology.

As the tales of heroes got retold again and again, the women were left by the wayside. This has been rectified in recent years by the many wonderful retellings by women writers.

The chauvinistic, and sickeningly patriarchal approach to Greek mythology is historically unfair.

And so, with that fact in mind, Haynes fixes it by reminding us of the great tales of Greek myth that focus on its women, beginning with the titular Pandora.

Fans of history are often also fans of mythology, and for those fans Pandora’s Jar is essential reading.

Buy a copy of Pandora’s Jar here!

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones

Dan Jones is one of the UK’s most celebrated historians, not only for his knowledge and perspective, but also for his ability to write nonfiction as though it were fiction.

Jones’ love for the subjects which he covers comes through in his style and his structure, writing electrifying narratives about British history that shock and entertain.

The best example of this is The Plantagenets, a 600-page book about (as its subtitle makes clear) the kings and queens who made England.

With their origins in France, the Plantagenet family held control of England for three hundred years, from the 12th century until the death of Richard III.

This is a remarkable and action-packed history book that traces the entire lineage of the Plantagenet family, and the ways in which they moulded and transformed England.

Jones has written several of the best history books on British history, and The Plantagenets is the perfect place to start reading his excellent bibliography.

Buy a copy of The Plantagenets here!

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is something of a controversial figure; ironically deified by atheists the world over, and scorned by people who make their religion their personality.

But if we put his status as a public figure aside, we are left with a great mind within the world of evolutionary biology.

And that mind was first put to work on writing The Selfish Gene. Despite being his first book, The selfish Gene remains a pivotal work of biological history.

Put simply, this is a book about evolution. While it is undeniably a science book, it is also one that explores how we — humans — got here. How we came to evolve in the way we did.

Written with fluid prose and a lack of ego, The Selfish Gene is easy to follow and helps put into perspective the growth of all living things. A remarkable book.

Buy a copy of The Selfish Gene here!

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Written in 1946, after the end of World War II, Man’s Search for Meaning is separated into two halves. The first half is a biography of Frankl’s time as a concentration camp prisoner.

That first half uses its setting and experiences to examine how people find meaning in their suffering and devise a purpose for living. How do they cope? How do they make sense of their situation? How do they find meaning in their life?

In the book’s second half, Frankl lays out his own psychological invention: logotherapy, which was inspired by the events of the book’s first half. Logotherapy encourages people to find meaning in their suffering, in order to better cope with it.

Man’s Search for Meaning is a remarkable book that blends biography, history, psychology, sociology, and self-help to create something vital and wholly unique.

Buy a copy of Man’s Search for Meaning here!

Every year, countless nonfiction books come out that prove to be as spellbinding as any gripping novel. Their writers have the language mastery and tight grip on pacing as their novelist counterparts. And what we have here is a list of compelling, engaging non-fiction books for fiction readers.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. It doesn’t match any particular themes. Here, you’ll find a few books about race, feminism, travel, nature, politics, history, and more. What connects them all is an intensely lyrical quality that makes them such spectacular page-turners.

If you want more specific nonfiction recommendations, we’ve already covered transgender books, black British history books, and books on mental health.

This is, arguably, a more personal list than usual. These are all inspirational non-fiction books that have captivated and changed us, and should change you, too.

And, of course, every one of these inspirational nonfiction books has the power to teach, and to shift your perspective entirely.

Humankind by Rutger Bregman

Rutger Bregman has made a name for himself by upsetting conversative politicians and capitalists the world over. The Dutch historian made waves in 2018 with the astute and excellent Utopia for Realists.

In 2020, he followed it up with Humankind, a book which rewrites the common narrative that most of us follow when it comes to seeing our fellow man.

While most of us are taught that human beings are innately selfish and cruel, Bregman uses a wealth of historical, political, and cultural examples to break this narrative apart and prove that humans are instinctively good and kind.

Bregman points to everything from warzones to psychological experiments to the behaviour pattern of arctic foxes in order to definitively demonstrate just how kind the average human is.

He also uses this book to demonstrate how our current capitalist and political systems allow a minority of bad people to rise to the top.

Few books are as enthralling, captivating, educational, and revolutionary in their thinking as Humankind. A necessary, inspirational nonfiction book that has the power to change, well, everything.

Read More: Must-Read Books About Life

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

This was my own first experience with real narrative nonfiction. Jung Chang’s Wild Swans is both a personal and a political journey across 20th century China. Based in London, historian and author Jung Chang is the daughter of a woman who played her own role in Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution.

In Wild Swans, Chang takes us on a captivating journey through the personal lives of her grandmother, her mother, and herself, telling the story of 20th century China as she goes.

I read this book after having spent a year living in Shanghai. If I’d read it before, instead of afterwards, it would have taught me so much that could have helped and prepared me. A true lesson in reading books about a place before you go there.

I can’t think of a better example of captivating, inspirational nonfiction than Wild Swans. One of the greatest narrative works ever written and a grand lesson in history, politics, and family.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

A book for our time like no other. While there are countless contemporary works of inspirational nonfiction that cover the topic of race across the US, the UK, and beyond, it was Eddo-Lodge’s book that helped rekindle the discussion just a few years ago.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race was initially born out of a simple blog post and morphed into an incredible text about black history in the UK, Britain’s role in the African slave trade, and current attitudes towards race in the UK, both socially and politically.

Eddo-Lodge’s book is an eye-opener for white readers. The UK has a nasty habit of not talking about racism and its history of slave-trading, in spite of how much pride white Brits have in the legacy of the British empire.

Eddo-Lodge tears all of this apart and makes sure we listen to black British voices. Necessary inspirational nonfiction reading for anyone and everyone.

Yes, You Are Trans Enough by Mia Violet

As a non-binary reader and writer, I’ve read a lot of transgender stories. At age 23, was captivated by the album Transgender Dysphoyia Blues by Against Me! and my journey went from there. Books by writers like Laura Kate Dale and Against Me!’s own Laura Jane Grace have been invaluable works of transgender nonfiction.

But it was Mia Violet’s Yes, You Are Trans Enough that proved to be the most lyrical, addictive, and captivating book by a trans writer I had yet read. Hilarious, life-affirming, encouraging, and sweet, this is a wonderful example of inspirational nonfiction by a trans writer.

Taking a difficult and intensely personal topic and making it a light, fun, and inspiring read is no easy feat, by Mia Violet is a savvy, competent nonfiction writer; a master at what she does. A lesson in gender euphoria as much as dysphoria.

An outstanding work of inspirational nonfiction and an excellent transgender book for anyone looking to understand the queer world, and the world in general, a bit better.

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

Sapiens needs no introduction. One of the best-selling books of the past decade, Sapiens was then followed up by the equally compelling Homo Deus and the starkly depressing 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. But regardless of its popularity, Sapiens still deserves a spot on this list.

The reason for that is simple: Sapiens is a book that I, and millions of other readers around the world, continue to think about on an almost daily basis. This history of the human race is full of digestible philosophy, politics, and economics lessons.

It touches on world religions, human rights, and such curious, fascinating themes as the history of money, the evolution of writing, and the very concept of ideas and shared belief in those ideas.

By this point, everyone and their mum has read Sapiens. But, in case you haven’t, you really need to stop waiting. Sapiens is the most compelling, inspirational nonfiction book I’ve ever read.

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak

This slender little book is, at the time of writing, almost brand new. And its author, British-Turkish writer of fiction and nonfiction Elif Shafak, is more popular than ever. A world traveller and award-winning author, Shafak’s voice is one worth listening to, regardless of the topic.

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division is a lesson in optimism. It has the power to rekindle our hope and our faith when we all feel so exhausted by climate change, the rise of populism, and more.

It’s a book that can be read over a coffee, with the lyrical strength of poetry and the wisdom of a hundred lifetimes. It has a simple message but it presents that message through personal examples and grounded, cautious optimism.

A beautifully written book that may just help to alleviate some anxiety. And, in this world, that is worth everything.

Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books by Cathy Rentzenbrink

I’ve talked before, in both an article and a video, about how I didn’t grow up reading. About how it took the right teacher to inspire me to pick up a book at age fifteen. Since then, books have been my comfort, my solace, my inspiration. This book communicates all of that better than anyone else could.

Dear Reader is both a personal journey through a life lived among books and a lesson in the importance of books to provide love, laughter, friendship, company, understanding, sympathy, everything.

Rentzenbrink is an intensely funny writer who brings so much joy and humour to every topic, even the darker ones. Her words could inspire a tree to grow without sunlight.

If you’re a lover of stories and the written word, this book will remind you why. If you’re not, get ready to have your life changed. This is true inspirational nonfiction and a real love-letter to literature.

Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane

Robert Macfarlane is a national treasure. A writer whose words have the power to captivate in much the same way that a great work of art or a pure natural landscape does. It’s fitting, then, that the subjects of his writing and language and nature.

Macfarlane is a man who sees the majesty of the British landscape, and is endlessly fascinated by the evolution of the English language.

Every one of his books is worth diving into for its romanticism, scientific and etymological lessons, and sheer beauty, but Landmarks is where I started, and I say you should, too.

Landmarks is a travelogue which takes us across the physical natural spaces of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, as well as the linguistic spaces of those areas, too. The book explores the language of a place and the weight of that language to bring new life to something as simple as a hill or a rabbit warren.

Robert Macfarlane has a unique eye, and with his words he can give you that same sight that he uses to inspire his books. Inspirational nonfiction? Honey, yes, you have no idea.

Strangers by Rebecca Tamas

A collection of alluring, inspiring essays on the human relationship with itself, its race, and the planet itself, Strangers is like nothing you’ve ever read.

In this collection, Rebecca Tamas weaves a narrative through the loose theme of man-and-nature as she considers climate change, capitalism, and other big, contemporary talking points.

Strangers is very much a book for our times, inspired by modern politics and the state of our world. It reveals a sharp intelligence and each essay has the power to inspire the reader. It’s slender and concise, but mighty, with the power to move mountains.

The Power of Ritual by Casper Ter Kuile

This book was a very recent discovery for me, handed to me by Books & Bao’s dear friend Rick MacDonnell. Casper Ter Kuile is a British-born, US-based fellow of Harvard Divinity School, and his book explores the importance of religious ritual in a secular world.

The book begins by considering what church-related practices are lost in an increasingly secular world. The two most prominent things are community-based practices, in which a group of likeminded people share time and support one another, and personal rituals like prayer.

The Power of Ritual invites secular readers to explore their own habits, hobbies, and personal behaviours, looking at how we can add a spiritual sense of ritual to the everyday, thus enhancing the importance of what we do.

He considers how our favourite novels can become sacred texts. How a community space like Crossfit can become church-like community spaces. It’s a simple concept with an immense amount of potential impact. It has changed the way I personally approach individual and community habits, and I hope it can change you, too.

Read More: 12 Inspiring Books like Atomic Habits

In the Kitchen: Essays on Food and Life

Here is a delightful and varied collection of modern essays by a selection of writers from a wide range of backgrounds, classes, and cultures.

Anyone who has ever had a home has had a kitchen. We all cook; we all eat; we all wash dishes. But it’s in talking about the familiar that we can often have our eyes opened the most. Or, at the very least, feel tickled and inspired.

In the Kitchen offers a handful of writers a platform on which they might talk about their own relationship to food and cooking. From childhood tales to family rituals, from local cuisines to culinary journeys, In the Kitchen is a varied and inspiring delight.

Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton

It’s always a risk, telling people you’re a socialist. A Marxist. A communist. With every day that goes by, the likelihood that the other people will reply with “me too!” goes up, but the fear that they will turn and run is still there.

A book that has helped me understand my own politics, the modern political landscape, and the writing of Karl Marx much better is Terry Eagleton’s Why Marx Was Right. I was impressed by Eagleton as a modern philosopher when I read his book On Evil but Why Marx Was Right is, undoubtedly, his magnum opus.

If, like me at age 26, you’re someone who aligns themselves on the left and sympathises with what you’ve read about Marx, but a dive into Das Kapital just seems too daunting, Why Marx Was Right is the book you need.

This is a book which uses humour and a grounded approach to politics, history, and economics to demonstrate why Marx was right about, well, everything. It takes common arguments against Marxism and disputes them. It takes vague leftist ideas and cements them. It is a book to convince anyone (who isn’t a wealthy capitalist landowner) why Marx was right.

Goodbye, things by Fumio Sasak

This quiet book is written as a series of very short, easily digestible essays on minimalist living, starting with the home or living space. From here, Sasaki helps the reader to transform their entire life and how they view the world around them.

Inspired by movement-makers like Marie Kondon, Sasaki improves on the Japanese philosophy of minimalist living in meaningful, deeply affecting and inspiring ways.

Goodbye, things helps the reader to reconsider their approach to their own income, their personal aspirations, their wants, needs, and urges, and so much more.

This book has the power to change your attitude towards work, home, family, possession, and everything that has come to define us as modern people. A truly inspirational nonfiction book for this generation.

For that reason, we’ve done our best to provide as much variety as possible here (and, to that end, this list will be periodically updated).

What does variety mean here? Well, you’ll find a good mix of books about life by women and men; by white writers and writers of colour; by English-language authors and writers in translation from German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and more.

Variety also means a good range of themes and topics explored. These are all life-changing books (or, at least, books with the potential to change your life), but not all of them will be each reader’s cup of tea. And so, variety is necessary.

Some of these books are about living free, without constraint. Some are warnings against living a bad life (and what that means). Others are about life’s meaning and life’s purpose.

Some of these books are positive, hopefully, hedonistic. Others are dark and bleak, but with important lessons to teach.

All of these are books about life, but very much in their own unique way. They’re about work, family, parenthood, friendship. They’re about structure and purpose and motivation. They’re about politics and economics and race and class and feminism.

One final note: this is a list of good books about life. For that reason, you’ll find nothing toxic here. No Jordan Peterson. We’ve also avoided the useless and the over-worshipped. No Paolo Coelho and no Matt Haig.

These are all potentially life-changing books; useful, actionable, inspiring books about life. Enjoy.

Fiction Books About Life

Fiction has the power to teach us great lessons. It uses language and character and tone to inspire empathy and encourage big ideas.

These are all books about life, but each in their own unique way. We’ll discuss here their themes and ideas and characters, and how these things relate to life.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori

The book that put Sayaka Murata on the map as one of the biggest names in Japanese literature, Convenience Store Woman is one of those potentially life changing books that gets readers thinking about what success and personal satisfaction actually mean.

The novel’s protagonist is a woman who has worked for eighteen years at a convenience store. She enjoys her existence as a cog in the machine. She has no aspirations for love and marriage, nor for money and fame.

She does not wish for more responsibilities. She is content with her lot in life, much to the confusion of everyone else in her life, from family to friends to colleagues.

Convenience Store Woman is one of the sharpest books about life, in that it asks us to consider why we want the things we desire. Who are we making happy when we seek promotions, money, and relationships?

How do we find happiness and contentment? These things look different for each of us, and that’s okay. Convenience Store Woman asks big questions about the search for happiness and life satisfaction, making it one of the most truly potentially life changing books of today.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Few books about life in existence are as raw and smart as Kazuo Ishiguro’s magnum opus: Never Let Me Go.

Written by one of the UK’s most beloved and literary authors, Never Let Me Go is a subtly science fiction novel about a woman who grew up in a seemingly peaceful boarding school, and now works as a carer or some kind.

As we search through her memories, we see that she was taught about art and literature, taught to make art and play with others, but life at Hailsham is insular and private, with the outside world remaining a mystery.

Never Let Me Go is, inarguably, one of the biggest and best examples of life changing books ever written. It explores the theme of purpose in myriad ways: the purpose of education, of work, of art, of learning, of discovery, and even the purpose of the human body.

As books about life go, few are as far-reaching and heavy-hitting as Never Let Me Go.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The original science fiction novel, written by a young woman who had not yet hit twenty years of age. An undisputed masterpiece of classic literature and early sci-fi. But Frankenstein is also one of the best books about life you’ll ever read.

I’m a little biased here; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is my favourite novel. But it’s that for a reason: Frankenstein is a novel about human responsibility and hubris.

Frankenstein tells the story of the titular Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who, upon losing his mother, seeks to cure death itself. He forms a new being from body parts and reanimates it, only to run from it in terror.

And here is where the themes come into play. Frankenstein is one of those life-changing books that invites readers to consider our responsibility to one another, as parents and friends and teachers and givers of life.

Frankenstein has the power to resonate with anyone who is responsible for anyone else: parents, older siblings, doctors, teachers, caregivers. It asks us to consider one human’s duty to another; our duty to educate, support, comfort, and guide one another.

There aren’t many books about life as powerful as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

If you know anything about Franz Kafka, this may seem like a strange choice for a list of best books about life. At first. What does a novella about a poor man who turns into a bug have to teach us about life? A lot, actually.

The Metamorphosis is Frank Kafka’s most famous story. It begins with Gregor Samsa, a Czech man who lives with his family. One day, he wakes up to find that he is now a big, ugly beetle.

Samsa’s first thought, however, is fear and frustration. He’s going to be late to work. How will he call his boss? How will he explain this? What if he gets fired?

While it might be absurd and darkly funny, Kafka’s The Metamorphosis has a lot to teach us about our relationship to work; about being servants to capitalism and bureaucracy.

For many who first read The Metamorphosis, it proves to be one of those truly life-changing books; one that has us reevaluating our mental and physical relationships to money and work. A very worthwhile read as books about life go.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Yaa Gyasi’s second novel is a piece of literary fiction about the migrant experience in the US. But it’s also a book about science and religion, about family and addiction and survival.

Told from the perspective of Gifty, a Black American woman born of migrant parents from Ghana, Transcendent Kingdom flits between Gifty’s current life as a neurobiologist studying addiction and her childhood, one defined by religion and race and poverty.

Transcendent Kingdom is one of those life-changing books that asks us to consider the migrant experience, the effects of racism and prejudice, and the impact of capitalism on the poorest and most marginalised people.

Using Gifty, her mother, her father, and her late big brother as examples, Transcendent Kingdom examines the comforting and corrupting effects of religion on individuals and families. It looks at how the most vulnerable of us turn to addiction.

By being grounded, topical, and relevant to racist, capitalist American life in the 20th and 21st Centuries, Transcendent Kingdom hails itself as one of the best books about life you can read right now.

My Brilliant Life by Ae-ran Kim

Translated from the Korean by Chi-young Kim

While My Brilliant Life might be one of the lesser-known Korean novels in translation, it remains one of the most quietly impactful and life-changing books you could read right now.

My Brilliant Life tells the story of Areum, a boy struck with a degenerative disease. Areum is sixteen and probably won’t live to see eighteen.

Raised by two loving parents in small-town South Korea, Areum has a plan to document his life and that of his parents, then present his finished journal to his parents on his seventeenth birthday.

While this is an undeniable tear-jerker of a Korean novel, it’s also one of the most powerful potentially life-changing books on the shelves. It teaches us to appreciate our days, our experiences, and our families.

My Brilliant Life teaches us how to love well. And, for that reason, it is one of the most incomparable and valuable books about life.

The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara

Translated from the Spanish by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre

The Adventures of China Iron is a very different kind of novel, especially as books about life go. This is an Argentinian novel all about hedonism. It’s also a queer novel about how to love unapologetically and loudly.

Set in the wilds of 19th Century Argentina, The titular China Iron is a young woman who has already been married, had a child, given that child up, and been abandoned.

All of that quickly changes, however, when she is picked up on the road by a Scottish woman driving a horse and cart. Liz gives China Iron a name and invites her to wander, live, love, and laugh with aplomb.

The Adventures of China Iron is one of those life-changing books that serves as a reminder to enjoy yourself. Whatever your gender or sexuality, you deserve happiness. You deserve to enjoy love and sex and passion and adventure, just as China Iron does.

Here’s an anti-patriarchy book that, quite literally, laughs in the face of oppressive masculinity and heteronormativity. For that reason, it’s one of the most glorious books about life.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

Translated from the Korean by Jamie Chang

This is not one of those books about life that will inspire you. It’s more of a wake-up call to the disparity and cruel imbalances of our world. To put it bluntly, it’s a book about systems of sexism and patriarchy.

But a book like Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 has its place on a list of life-changing books by merit of the lessons it can offer. This is a novelisation of your average woman’s life: a life dictated by unfair disadvantage, societal rules, family pressures, and threats of violence.

While not a pleasant book, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 remains one of those books that change your life for the better. It teaches us to be kinder to women, to fight inequality, to be good feminists, to call out sexism, to march for women’s rights, to be good and righteous.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

This one is a bit of a cliche. It’s certainly not uncommon — and pretty expected — to find Slaughterhouse-Five on a list of books that will change your life, or best life-changing books. But that’s, admittedly, for good reason.

Like most World War I & 2 fiction, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five is a kind of parable; an anti-war novel full of loud and clear themes and motifs that beg us to consider the value and meaning of human life.

Admittedly, Slaughterhouse-Five does this in true Vonnegut fashion: through odd symbolism, wacky science fiction, and often funny surrealism. Nevertheless, the themes are striking and the lessons vivid.

Slaughterhouse-Five is one of the strongest and best books about life, as it explores the meaninglessness of war and the futility of fate and choice. A powerful novel, to say the least.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

While this is a book that so many (maybe most) of us were made to read in high school (I was also made to teach it), Of Mice and Men remains one of the most poignant books about life ever written. As relevant today as it was a century ago.

Telling the story of two wandering white men in early 20th Century America, Of Mice and Men is a story that debunks and deconstructs the infamous American Dream. It proves the cyclical nature of the capitalist trap, and shows us a life not worth living.

George and Lenny have a plan to cheat the system, to break the cycle, to live free and smart and proud. But capitalism comes for us all, in the end. For this reason, Of Mice and Men is one of those truly life-changing books of the 20th Century.

Nonfiction Books About Life

Written by women and men from all over the world, these nonfiction books about life have the power to change your way of thinking, to inspire compassion and empathy and a different approach to life.

Some of these books inspire action, others inspire thought. Some are about how we live, others about why we live. Some are about the body, others about the mind. But they are all, in some way, nonfiction books about life.

Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life by Yiyun Li

Nobody in the English language today writes like Yiyun Li. This fact is made all the more impressive when you consider that English is her second language, having moved from Beijing to New York City years ago.

With these writing skills, Yiyun Li has penned several excellent novels, but her most impressive work is the nonfiction Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life.

This book, which blends essay and memoir together, reflects on childhood, love, mental health, and death. It was begun after a pair of failed suicide attempts and took two years to complete.

Dear Friend is a meditation on life, death, reading, and writing, as perhaps best demonstrated by this quote from the book:

“Writing is an option, so is not writing; being read is a possibility, so is not being read. Reading, however, I equate with real life: life can be opened and closed like a book; living is a choice, so is not living.”

By being a book on death, Dear Friend also doubles as one of the best books about life you’re ever likely to read.

Read More: Essential Nonfiction Books About China

A Field Guide To Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit is a veteran nonfiction writer and essayist. A fierce and electrifying feminist, political activist, and social commentator. From a book on the history of walking to a manifesto against mansplaining, she’s done it all.

In A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnit blends meditations on life, art, and loss to create something truly profound. She begins the book with an essay that includes this pearl of wisdom:

“Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go … Love, wisdom, grace, inspiration — how do you go about finding these things that are in some ways about extending the boundaries of the self into unknown territory, about becoming someone else?”

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

Men who write big, bold books on human history are a dime a dozen these days, but I promise that Dutch historian Rutger Bregman’s Humankind is something different; something worth your time.

Its title being a play on words, Humankind sets out to teach us that humanity — culturally, historically, politically, socially, genetically — is far kinder than we often give it credit for. The breadth of scope in Humankind almost beggars belief.

The book debunks psychological experiments built on lies by liars; it finds a real-life example of Lord of the Flies to demonstrate that the novel is cynical nonsense; it rewrites a more truthful and optimistic history of humanity.

For anyone whose faith in humanity often wavers, Bregman’s book is a balm. It is a light in the dark, and a soothing tonic. One of the best life-changing books you’ll ever read.

Constellations: Reflections From Life by Sinead Gleeson

Irish writer Sinead Gleeson is a beloved and respected woman in many ways, and for many good reasons. In Constellations, Gleeson turns the focus of her writing on her own life — and specifically her own body — as inspiration for discussion about life and love.

In a pure, almost figurative sense, this is one of the best books about life, as it is quite literally about a life: her body, her health, her mind and experiences.

It’s a book about the things that make a life: people, places, thoughts, experiences, the things we love and lose.

Constellations is a tough book, hard-hitting and raw. That’s what makes it one of the best life-changing books you can read.

goodbye, things by Fumio Sasaki

Translated from the Japanese by Eriko Sugita

Going from a life of excessive spending and self-abuse, Fumio Sasaki decided to part with all of his possessions, except for some very basic things needed for day to day living.

While Fumio Sasak’s approach is a little extreme in some areas, every single lesson he shares in goodbye, things is actionable such as his tips on taking pictures of things you’d like to remember.

We spend more money on buying or renting bigger homes, not to put extra people in but simply to fit in more stuff, which also costs more money.

There are real, practical life lessons in here, making it one of the most visceral life-changing books to read if you want to enact real change in your real life. Truly one of the best books on minimalism out there.

The Power of Ritual by Casper Ter Kuile

Casper Ter Kuile is a British-born, US-based fellow of Harvard Divinity School, and his book explores the importance of religious ritual in a secular world.

The Power of Ritual begins by considering what church-related practices are lost in an increasingly secular world.

The two most prominent things are community-based practices, in which a group of likeminded people share time and support one another, and personal rituals like prayer.

The Power of Ritual invites secular readers to explore their own habits, hobbies, and personal behaviours, looking at how we can add a spiritual sense of ritual to the everyday, thus enhancing the importance of what we do.

He considers how our favourite novels can become sacred texts. How a community space like Crossfit can become church-like community spaces. It’s a simple concept with an immense amount of potential impact.

This is one of those books that change your life in more ways than one. It can change your attitude to ritual and religion, while also bringing meaning to your hobbies and habits in a way you never would’ve expected.

Read More: 12 Books like Atomic Habits

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak

A world traveller and award-winning author, Elif Shafak’s voice is one worth listening to, regardless of the topic, whether her writing takes the form of fiction or nonfiction.

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division is a lesson in optimism. It has the power to rekindle our hope and our faith when we all feel so exhausted by climate change, the rise of populism, and more.

It’s a book that can be read over a coffee, with the lyrical strength of poetry and the wisdom of a hundred lifetimes. It has a simple message but it presents that message through personal examples and grounded, cautious optimism.

A beautifully written book that may just help to alleviate some anxiety. And, in this world, that is worth everything. One of the great life-changing books of our time? Very likely, yes.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Translated from the German by Isle Lasch

Of all the nonfiction books that will change your life, Man’s Search for Meaning is perhaps one of the most obvious. You’re likely to find it alongside The Alchemist on many other lists. 

The difference is that The Alchemist is full of worthless, empty pseudo-wisdom, while Man’s Search for Meaning actually deserves to be on these lists of life-changing books.

Written in 1946, after the end of World War II, Man’s Search for Meaning is separated into two halves. The first half is a biography of Frankl’s time as a concentration camp prisoner.

This first half uses this space to examine how people find meaning in their suffering and devise a purpose for living. How do they cope? How do they make sense of their situation? How do they find meaning in their life?

In the book’s second half, Frankl lays out his own psychological invention: logotherapy, which was inspired by the events of the book’s first half. Logotherapy encourages people to find meaning in their suffering, in order to better cope with it.

Of all the overly-relied-upon life-changing books out there, Man’s Search for Meaning is a genuinely important one.

Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton

Here’s a book that will likely make a lot of people cringe, roll their eyes, or worse (depending on what kind of audience this list has drawn in. But it’s not my job to care. Terry Eagleton is a fantastic critic and philosopher, and Why Marx Was Right is an important book.

I haven’t just added this book to a list of books that will change your life for the hell of it. I’ve done it because this is a book about modern life; it is relevant to right now. It looks at the atrocities thrust on us by capitalist economies and fascist, right-wing leaders.

It then applies the economic and political philosophies of Karl Marx to everything, proving how an application of marxism could, and would, fix so much of our current political climate, in ways that even the staunchest socialist (myself included) would be surprised by.

If you’ve ever suffered at the hands of a conservative government or a capitalist economic system (which, if you’re alive today, you have), then this book is for you. It’s about life and how to make it better as a community, as voters, and as people.

Behave by Robert Sapolsky

Even though it’s irrelevant, I still think it’s important to know: Robert Sapolsky sounds exactly like Adam West, and that’s super neat.

Robert Sapolsky is also a very cool scientist. In Behave, Sapoksly looks at the habits, rhymes, and reasons of human behaviour from a neurobiological angle.

In Behave, Sapolsky asks the question: why do we behave with aggression or compassion at any given time? He then plies his own expertise and research in order to answer that enormous and daunting question.

The results of this are fascinating. Behave is an enormous and dense book, but one that is worth every second of your time. This is a book about life in the truest, purest sense. It’s about life from the inside out.

Setting sail for uncharted waters and touching down on exotic lands, bold and brave men and women have explored every corner of the map and recorded what they’ve learned for us to enjoy in the comfort of our own homes.

Travel writing can teach us about worlds we may never see, share incredible stories of survival and adventure, or it can inspire us to head out onto the road and see what they saw for ourselves. It’s an exciting, illuminating, and often hilarious form of writing that has changed the course of our lives in more ways than one.

As readers, writers, and travellers, we have always devoured travel books and, generally speaking, we try to read travel accounts and fiction from any new country before we set sail for it.

Read More: 19 Books for Digital Nomads (and Freelancers)

Our 3 favourite travel books are:

• Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent following her incredible journey adventure through Arunachal Pradesh, one of the world’s least explored places
• Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson, an all-at-once hilarious and sorrowful travel writing account of one Canadian’s mission to hitchhike from Japan’s southernmost island to its northernmost tip
• Notes by Bill Bryson, one of the first we ever read and an incredibly witty and accurate painting of our own British Isles, replete with its literal and metaphorical peaks and valleys.

To add to our favourite pieces of travel writing we asked seven travel bloggers what their most inspiring travel writing experience was and they’ve each selected a travel book to share with you.

From Iceland to Portland, you can experience the world from the comfort of your armchair with these incredible pieces of travel writing. They might even convince you to see it for yourself.

The Sagas of Icelanders, Anon

If you want to learn about Iceland, its best to start at the beginning. These sagas tell the tales of Iceland’s settlement in ~900AD.

They were initially oral stories passed through the generations. But in the 12^thcentury, the Icelanders actually created the first non-fiction prose form by writing down and publishing the sagas. Previously, most written tales were poetic, such as Beowulf and Shakespeare.

The sagas are stuffed full of melodramatic heroism, none more so than with the Saga of Egil. His family settled Iceland, eking out a living in the harsh landscape. He was a marauding Viking of the most heroic and psychopathic sort and he had a very unforgiving nature.

During his decades-long beef with the King of Norway, Egil took every opportunity to aggravate him by murdering, plundering and enslaving everyone in his path. It makes for a ripping good yarn.

You can also check out this list of books set in Iceland for more fiction and non-fiction set in one of the most book-ish countries in the world.

Chosen by Wayfaring Views

The Lost Executioner by Nic Dunlop

We see books and reading not just as a way to relax or escape but as a way to educate ourselves about the historical context of the places we travel. The Lost Executioner by Irish investigative journalist Nic Dunlop is a must-read if you are planning a trip to Cambodia.

On a visit to Phnom Penh, it’s impossible not to encounter echoes of the Khmer Rouge and the dark period of Cambodian genocide heralded by their reign.

The Lost Executioner reveals the story of Comrade Duch who was in charge of the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh during the time of the Khmer Rouge. Duch was ultimately responsible for the torture and cruel deaths of thousands of Cambodians.

When Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime fell in 1979, Duch simply disappeared. For 20 years, no one knew what had become of Duch and he escaped the hands of justice until Dunlop tracked him down in a remote village and published the interview that ultimately put him in prison more than 30 years later.

The Lost Executioner is equally fascinating and horrifying read. We felt that it was important to understand the history so that we could visit and pay our respects to the people who lost their lives to the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian genocide.

Find out more about this turbulent period at: Sidewalk Safari

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Wild is a life-changing memoir about loss, transformation, and exploration. After her mother’s death and her own divorce, 26-year-old Strayed embarks on a thru-hike (a long-term hike where you carry your belongings and camp along the trail) on the Pacific Crest Trail in the western United States).

Strayed starts out on the trail with no hiking experience. She makes all the classic rookie mistakes. Her shoes are too small. She carries way too much weight in her pack.

Humorously, she even carries multiple leisure reading books with her. And—what drove me craziest—hadn’t even completed an overnight hike ahead of time. Still, one day after day, she puts miles behind her. Over time, she becomes a real, veteran thru-hiker.

As a female solo traveller and aspiring thru-hiker, this Wild made me feel like I could do anything. Even if you aren’t typically into nonfiction, you will absolutely fly through this book. The movie is great but it’s no replacement for the full story.

Though Strayed’s experience, I learned that almost anything can be achieved with persistence, no matter what level you start with. As soon as you finish reading this empowering memoir, you’ll want to hit the trail!

Chosen by: Carly Matthew — follow her adventures on Instagram.

The Lost Girls: Three Friends, Four Continents

One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett & Amanda Pressner

The Lost Girls is about three friends who quit their intense New York City media jobs and leave everything behind for a year-long backpacking trip around the world.

The girls each tell their own stories in separate chapters dispersed throughout the book. They describe some of their unique and crazy adventures, what motivated them to go on this once-in-a-lifetime journey, their trials and tribulations along the way, and how the trip changed their perspective on life.

I credit The Lost Girls for making me who I am today. I found this book at a time when I was still searching for what I wanted in life and defining who I was.

As someone who also planned on having a career in media (specifically journalism, at the time), I could strongly identify with these women. I was ambitious and driven.

I thought the path I wanted to take was to work at a well-known publication, most likely based out of New York City, just like these women. But reading The Lost Girls reminded me of what I actually found important in life, and that the dream I had wasn’t really what I wanted at all.

It had me reflecting on my life and goals, and ultimately changed what I wanted for my career and lifestyle.

Even if this book doesn’t inspire you the way it did for me, their adventures around the world will make for an entertaining read!

Chosen by Brittany from B Out Exploring

This is Portland by Alexander Barret and Andrew Dickson

This is Portland by Alexander Barret and Andrew Dickson is not a typical guidebook or travel book.  Instead of instructing their readers to go to this specific location or do this particular activity, Barret and Dickson give their readers a glimpse of what it’s like to be a Portland local.

From the feud between the Southeast and Northeast sides of the city to the insane amount of beer, bikes, beards, and books that can be found, the authors are able to show readers aspects of Portlandian culture that visitors – including myself – would have been completely oblivious to.

Yet, throughout this hilariously honest description of Portland, Barret and Dickson still manage to slide a few recommendations of note in there, including Pine State Biscuits, Crafty Wonderland, and Salt & Straw.

Consequently, the authors have narrowed down their guidebook-like recommendations for the city of Portland to just the local essentials. In other words, want to experience Portland like a local? Start by reading This is Portland.

Chosen by Sarah from Borders & Buckets. Follow her on Pinterest.

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

Novels that paint an authentic and historic picture of a destination, are my favorite to read. This is the precise reason why I love Travels with Charley: In Search of America. John Steinbeck is well-renowned for his novels Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath.

Steinbeck had an inept talent to honestly portray his character and the land that they are adventuring. In this novel, Steinbeck is writing about his own adventures with his poodle Charley. The two of them travel across America in his rusty camper trying to uncover what makes Americans American.

Steinbeck accurately encompasses the nuances and quirks each region of the country possesses.

When I was reading about his travels through the Midwest, Minnesota specifically, where I call home, I laughed at how accurate he described Minnesotans.

It was as if he photocopied a description of my next door neighbour onto the page. Not only did Steinbeck pay attention to the landscape that whizzed by him, but he also admired the people and celebrated their differences.

Travels with Charley is filled with funny anecdotes and humorous mishaps. It’s guaranteed to make you laugh. Steinbeck will also make you pensive and baffled at the fact that you hadn’t thought of that before. And in fair warning, he’ll also make you cry.

This novel is a rollercoaster of emotions, but definitely worth a read. Chosen by the Quirky Globetrotter

Backpacked: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America by Catherine Ryan Howard

This is one of my favourite books and it also happened to inspire my first solo trip to, you guessed it, Central America. Backpacked is a hilarious recounting of two friends with totally different travel styles backpacking across Central America together for three months.

I love this book for two main reasons: the setting and the writing style.  The author, Catherine Ryan Howard, was just finishing up a year working at Disneyworld in Orlando on a J1 visa and decided to tag along on her best friend Sheelagh’s (pronounced Shelia) big trip.

You’ll find hilarious recountings of events from struggling up the side of an active volcano to not learning Spanish in the most idyllic lakeside town ever.

No matter the story, she finds a way to make it hilarious and I find myself going back to read it about once a year, wishing I was back there myself.

Chosen by Megan Johnson. Check out her own adventures in Central America.

We hope you enjoyed these wonderful pieces of travel writing, if you’d like even more inspiration check out the Most Memorable Travel Destinations chosen by bloggers.

I suspect most English-language readers would go for fiction. It’s so much more easily available, for starters.

In the Paper Republic roll call of books translated from Chinese in 2020, only a tiny number were contemporary non-fiction. That is a pity. Novels are works of the imagination, by their very nature. 

Must-Read Nonfiction Books About China

For facts and real-life stories, I am a big fan of literary non-fiction. Chinese essays and reportage, memoirs and blogs are often very good reads: incisive and witty, and every bit as entertaining as a novel.

Plus you can be sure that they will represent the writer’s unvarnished views of their country and give a fascinating glimpse into their thoughts. 

Let’s talk about some essential nonfiction books about China to illustrate my point.

China in Ten Words, essays by Yu Hua

I have read many books about China, as well as online posts and blogs by Chinese writers about China, but few have had me riveted the way this one did.

Not surprisingly, considering its acerbic tone, it has never been published in mainland China, although an edition came out in Taiwan in 2011 (《十個詞彙裡的中國》) and it can be found online in simplified Chinese.

There are quotable quotes on every page. It is almost impossible to choose from them. There are jokes, perceptive analysis, personal stories and historical context, all in one medium-sized volume. 

One of the remarkable things about Ten Words — undoubtedly one of the best books about China by a Chinese author — is that it has something to say not only to those who want to know about China (but don’t know much yet) but also to readers who already know a fair bit. 

As one of those readers, I was shocked at Yu Hua’s story of a three-year-old being denounced during the Cultural Revolution for saying ‘the sun has gone down’ (the sun being Chairman Mao’s emblem). 

I recognised from my own experience, his observation that most of today’s younger generation know nothing about Tian’anmen. And I was charmed by his description of his thirst for reading material as a child: ‘I would pick up the Selected Works [of Chairman Mao] and read it avidly by the light of the setting sun.

The neighbors all sighed in wonder, impressed that at such a tender age I was already so assiduous in my study of Mao Zedong Thought. My parents brimmed with pride on hearing so much praise. …In reality Mao Zedong Thought had completely failed to engage me.

What I liked to read in Selected Works was simply the footnotes, explanatory summaries of historical events and biographical details about historical figures, which proved to be much more interesting than the novels in our local library.

Although there was no emotion to be found in the footnotes, they did have stories, and they did have characters.’ 

Yu Hua’s essays — which comprise one of the best books about China you could ever hope to read — also bring us bang up-to-date and into today’s get-rich China. There are various mirth-making scams recounted in the Bamboozle chapter, perpetrated on the government by its people.

One city decided to set its teachers an examination in a bid to raise teaching standards. But it acknowledged that single-parent teachers had a hard life and exempted them.  There was a sudden outbreak of divorce … and re-marriage when the exam crisis was over.

Something similar happened when some farm land was redistributed. ‘Just how much square footage each … peasant should get involves a complex computation that takes into account the size of their original house and the number of their family members, but marital status is the most crucial element. 

Marriage and divorce, remarriage and redivorce, thus become the instruments of deception and subterfuge.’ That made me smile… I have known people in London do the same.

See also: Will Heath’s review of China in Ten Words

Oriental Silk by Zhu Xiaowen

My second choice for this list of essential nonfiction books about China is Oriental Silk, by Zhu Xiaowen. It tells the story of a Chinese family who emigrated to America and opened a shop importing that icon of Chinese culture – silk.

It is a truism, for most of us, that the Chinese and their shops are everywhere in the world. But how many customers know the back-story of the families who run them?

This book is Zhu’s account of her chance encounter with Kenneth Wong and his store, the eponymous Oriental Silk, and the stories he told her.

Wong’s great-grandfather went to America, then Mexico, where he made his money in casinos, before going back to China and losing every cent.

Ken’s father who left Guangdong again for Los Angeles in the late 1930s and settled there, serving with distinction in the US armed forces during the Second World War and helping to liberate Auschwitz. In the meantime, his wife and daughter lived through the almost unbelievable horrors of the Japanese occupation of China.

Once the family were united in Los Angeles after 1945, Ken’s parents set up a couple of small businesses, culminating in the Oriental Silk store in the early 1970s.

The store became famous, the go-to place for Hollywood film-makers in search of fabulous high-quality fabrics for their film costumes. 

In a reversal of the usual order of book-to-film, Oriental Silk was only written up as a book after Zhu had made her film about the Wongs.

It is a beautiful hardback, with a pale grey tactile cover and intricately designed pages, an artist’s book, but it is Wong’s family history and his memories that take pride of place.

Zhu Xiaowen herself has said, ‘Behind every person is a story.’ This book is about one family’s inner, and outward, journey. 

Excerpts from the film that Zhu Xiaowen made can be seen here, and give a better idea of the beauty of the fabrics and embroidery.

Read More: Must-Read Chinese Science Fiction Books

More than One Child by Shen Yang

My third choice for essential books about China is a memoir. Shen Yang was born a second daughter, during one of China’s biggest-ever experiments in social engineering — the One-Child per Family Policy.

She had to be hidden from the authorities from birth, and grew up, unwanted and illegal, in the family of an uncle and aunt who were volatile and sometimes abusive towards her.

All of that said, More than One Child is by no means miserable. Shen Yang is often funny and always sharply observant, and this is a colourful and, ultimately, uplifting read.

Instead, let me say something about the challenges of translating what I can only call ‘new-speak’.

One-Child per Family, a new policy, gave rise to a whole new language, both in the form of slogans and of words to describe the children, whether they were first-born and legal, or subsequent children and thus illegal.

In Shen Yang’s Foreword, she writes, ‘At the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, when family planning was strictly enforced, and social controls were tightest, the ubiquitous wall slogans were intimidating and even contained direct threats.’

Translating slogans is a bit like translating song lyrics. They have to go with a swing. Puns, alliteration, rhymes… Chinese slogans have them all. Here is a sample of some where, horrible though they are, I had some fun creating a translation:

‘Give the snip to poverty, coil yourself in money.’

Original: 结贫穷的扎，上致富的环

Here, I used ‘snip’ to keep the reference to tubal ligation/vasectomy, and ‘coil… in money’ to pun on the birth control coil.

Another: ‘If you won’t have your tubes tied, we’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks; if you won’t have an abortion, we’ll pull a ton of bricks down on you.

Original: 该扎不扎，巨额严惩，该流不流，拆墙扒房。

It helped that in English, to come down on someone like a ton of bricks means to criticize or punish severely; and the second part refers to the practice of punishing multi-birth families by pulling their houses down.

So, no, the word play in the English does not reflect the Chinese, it is original. But the translation accurately conveys the meaning.

Then there are the words used to describe the first-born and subsequent children. Chinese is very concise and that conciseness had to be reflected in the translation. 独生子女… just four characters, for the legitimate, licensed first-born, the ‘only-birth-son-daughter’. I called them ‘only-children’, hyphenated.

Finding an English word for the illegal ones, the ‘second or third birth, (and some women even had five or six)’ as Shen Yang writes, was a different problem. In Chinese, they were variously called 超生儿, literally, excess-birth-children, or 小黑孩。

This term presented us — translator, author and publisher — with a problem, because it means ‘black child’. Not, of course, a reference to skin colour, but to the fact that she or he had been born illegally.

We tossed around a number of possibilities before settling on using the pinyin, heihaizi, in combination with the term ‘illegals’. ‘New-speak’ language often demands creative, new-speak translation.

Essential Non-Binary Books to Read

What you’ll find here are two lists of non-binary books: one of non-binary fiction, the other of non-binary nonfiction.

The non-binary fiction is diverse, covering various formats and genres. It features books by non-binary writers as well as books that feature non-binary characters (which may have been written by non-binary, trans, or cisgender authors).

The non-binary nonfiction mostly features memoirs and inspiring non-binary books that aim to educate, console, and inspire cis and non-cis people alike. These lists are far from definitive, but every book here matters. I hope you feel inspired.

Non-Binary Fiction

As I mentioned, the non-binary books on this list range from novels featuring non-binary characters to books which feature characters of all genders but were written by non-binary writers.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

She Who Became The Sun is a genderqueer retelling of the origin story of one of China’s most iconic historical figures: Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Set in the 14th Century, She Who Became The Sun takes the story of Zhu Yuanzhang — the story of a peasant who became a monk, then a rebel leader, and finally an emperor — and makes it into a beautiful fantasy-inspired genderqueer epic.

In its first chapter, She Who Became The Sun shows us a peasant family on the brink of starvation. Though a fortune teller has told the father that his son will find greatness, the father and son are soon killed, and all that’s left is the fateless daughter.

This daughter takes the name Zhu Chongba, the name of her brother, disguises herself as a man, seeks refuge at a monastery, and from there rises up through the ranks of a rebel army as they gain power against the mongols who currently occupy China.

As a piece of non-binary fiction, She Who Became The Sun explores the life of someone who is at first a woman disguised as a man, but who later finds their identity as both and neither. Zhu Chongba is a truly inspiring non-binary protagonist.

Buy a copy here!

Nettleblack by Nat Reeve

Nettleblack is the debut novel by non-binary British author Nat Reeve. Of all the non-binary books we’ve ever read, this one is the greatest celebration of queerness.

Taking influence from Shakespeare, Dickens, Agatha Christie, and being reminiscent of the settings found in Hot Fuzz and Schitt’s Creek, Nettleblack is an absolute delight.

Written in an epistolary style, Nettleblack is set in the late 19th Century and tells the story of Henry Nettleblack, youngest daughter of a family who made their fortune developing a medicinal tincture.

When Henry’s eldest sister wishes to marry her off into the gentry, she flees, and a strange twist of fate lands her in the ranks of a local vigilante group called the Dallyangle Division.

There, she meets and works clumsily alongside a host of eccentric characters with names that would make Dickens jealous and personalities lifted from Shakespeare’s finest comedies.

One of these characters is Pip Property, a wonderful dandy of a non-binary character.

In a scene that should go down in history, Henry’s meeting with Property involves them explaining they/them pronouns by asking Henry to “stumble in sweet Shakespeare’s footsteps and use them“.

Nettleblack warms and entertains in equal measure; it is a celebration of strangeness and difference. It congratulates those of us who don’t fit the status quo and gives us a wonderful world to escape to.

X by Davey Davis

X is a very mature novel about obsession, sex, and kink. We closely follow our non-binary lesbian protagonist, Lee, as they wander Brooklyn in search of the titular X.

Lee recently spent a night with X and now spends every waking moment thinking about her. They are desperately asking friends and other contacts if they have seen or heard from X.

While we follow them on their search, we also learn about Lee’s troubled past, their friendships and past relationships, and their kinks.

This is a uniquely mature novel amongst non-binary books that explores sex and kink, as well as the ordinary lives of genderqueer people in big cities.

This is a book all about the queer community, populated with characters who are all queer, and almost entirely genderqueer to boot.

We spend this novel in a dark but exciting genderqueer bubble where sex and kink are normalised, but so are difficult and toxic relationships. A daring noir novel.

Truth & Dare by So Mayer

Truth & Dare is a wonderfully strange, punk, and daring collection of stories that blend memoir, science fiction, philosophy, and essay seamlessly together to create a cacophony of concept and expression.

Written by non-binary author and essayist So Mayer, Truth & Dare explores queer bodies, queer history, popular culture, historical narratives, and personal examination.

The first story, green children, is about the power of the written word, of books and libraries and stories. It also reminds us of the absurd/hilarious backlash to a non-binary alien library mascot named Tala.

Another early story, diable, recalls an encounter with the devil themself at a London gay bar, while also throwing out historical anecdotes about queer scenes and spaces in London.

A later story, fairy, is an essay on the queer metaphors at play in Dead Poets Society and the etymological origins of the word “fairy”, both to describe the fae creature and as code for a gay man.

So Mayer uses Truth & Dare as a platform to explore their own personal history, their relationship to their own body (as seen in oestro junkie), to queer history and culture, and to film and literature.

These are stories both intimate and unknowable; at once perfectly relatable and impossibly alien, peppered with references to everything from the writings of Paul B. Preciado to the Spongebob Squarepants movie.

By merging memoirs and philosophy, fiction and memoir, So Mayer has created a book like no other; essential reading for trans and non-binary readers everywhere.

Buy a copy of Truth & Dare here!

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor

Written by non-binary author Andrea Lawlor, Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is a lot of things, and it executes those things perfectly.

This is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story about a young queer man in the early ’90s. The twist is that Paul can shapeshift. He can make himself taller, change his penis size, and even transform into a woman.

As he works, studies, and travels, Paul meets friends and lovers, experiments with his gender and his sexual orientation, and attempts to find and understand who and what he is.

But Paul is also wonderfully hedonistic; a kind of anti-hero to follow thirstily as he makes mistakes and hurts people.

Setting this novel in the ’90s, with conservatism on the rise in the wake of the AIDS crisis, politics of all kinds play a part in this story, and in Paul’s growth.

This is a smart, fun, funny, raucous novel about self-discovery, hedonism, gender expression, and sex. A clever and engaging non-binary novel.

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman is a queer cisgender author. Her novels and comics have inspired and comforted countless readers, young and old. In Loveless — a novel inspired by her own experiences — she introduced a memorable non-binary character.

While the focus of Loveless is on its protagonist, a young woman figuring out her asexual identity, an important secondary character is Sunil, a non-binary character who plays the role of new president of Durham University’s queer society.

Sunil is written with both sensitivity and gusto, a wise and considered non-binary character who made a big impact on this writer as I was first figuring out my own non-binary gender identity.

Buy a copy here!

Chlorine by Jade Song

Written by non-binary Chinese-American author Jade Song, Chlorine is a sapphic coming-of-age tale inspired by their years spent as a competitive swimmer.

Our protagonist, Ren, is a Chinese-American girl with a deep love for swimming. We learn from the beginning that she is telling her story after having somehow transformed into a mermaid.

We follow Ren as she grows through her teen years, experiencing puberty, sex, depression, friendship, and crises. All the while her friend Cathy, who holds a deep romantic love for Ren, remains by her side.

Occasionally, the narrative switches to Cathy’s perspective, expressed via letters which she has been casting out to sea in the hopes that they will reach the mermaid Ren.

The build up to Ren’s supposed transformation is one fraught with feelings of pain, stress, disappointment, dysphoria, violence, and more.

The metaphor being played with can be interpreted in a variety of ways, as one which explores a general sense of truth and honesty, or more specifically feelings of dysphoria, sexual repression, and freedom from society.

This is a raw and difficult coming-of-age story, a tale of sapphic love and self-hatred. A story of frustration and pain; a difficult read that tackles many difficult themes with honesty and empathy.

Buy a copy of Chlorine here!

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Put bluntly, Phoenix Extravagant is one of the coolest non-binary books you’ll ever read. A fantasy novel about art and politics and dragons. American Author Yoon Ha Lee is a transgender man based in Texas, and in Phoenix Extravagant he has written one of the most exciting non-binary books of our time.

Our protagonist is Gyen Jebi, a non-binaary artist recruited by their nation’s Ministry of Armour to paint the magical sigils which bring the occupying army’s automatons to life. In a world allegorical of Japanese-occupied Korea, this is a cleverly political fantasy novel.

Buy a copy here!

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi is a visionary writer; there is no other word for it. Their debut novel Freshwater turned countless heads, won awards, and put them on the map as an author to pay very close attention to. They have been churning out books of every genre and style in a shockingly short space of time, and Pet marked their YA debut.

Pet is an exciting novel with some poignant themes concerning the generational divide between young and old and that absurd dividing line between human and monster, as the youth rise up and the older generations shrug off their words with instinct and eagerness.

In Pet, we follow Jam, a young trans woman who has been taught that there are no monsters anymore. And yet she has come to meet Pet, a creature born from one of her mother’s paintings.

Emezi is a bold voice in contemporary literature, a non-binary writer penning some of the smartest non-binary books (and books in general) of our time.

Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi

Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi’s Little Rot is a novel as much about place as it is about people. The setting of New Lagos is a city of danger, hypocrisy, and corruption. We begin with two of several protagonists: Aima and Kalu, whose relationship has fallen apart and now Kalu is driving Aima to the airport, where she will board a plane to visit her parents in London. But she never gets on that plane, and Kalu doesn’t know that.

From here, we follow Kalu to a seedy nightclub run by his friend Ahmed, and there Kalu sees and learns uncomfortable and awful things about the men around him and what they do to the women they see as commodities. Kalu’s morals are shaken, and he ends up in the sights of a dangerous and corrupt religious leader.

Little Rot follows several different protagonists, including Aima’s best friends, Kalu’s morally broken friend Ahmed, and two trans escorts who have flown in from Malaysia. Their lives brilliantly intertwine as the city’s underbelly gradually gets exposed, its inner workings uncomfortably laid bare for the reader to wrangle with.

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

Neon Yang (formerly JY Yang) is a non-binary writer from Singapore. Their novellas The Black Tides of Heaven and The Red Threads of Fortune were published in tandem and tell the story of twins Mokoya and Akeha, children sold to the Grand Monastery.

The twins each possess powerful prophetic gifts, with Mokoya seeing what will happen and Akeha seeing what is possible. When Akeha sees the monstrous political moves his mother, the Protector is soon to make, he leaves to join a growing rebellion. This leads to a widening schism between the twins.

This is a beautiful pair of fantasy novellas by one of the most exciting non-binary authors writing today.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Rivers Solomon is an American author based in the UK. Fae are a non-binary writer who uses fae/faer pronouns. Faer debut science fiction novel, An Unkindness of Ghosts explores systemic and structural racism in a sci-fi setting.

Taking place aboard a generation ship (an interstellar ship that travels for generations), An Unkindness of Ghosts uses the structure of the ship Matilda to explore systems of racial divides.

Rivers Solomon is one of the most exciting non-binary writers of today, making An Unkindness of Ghosts one of the most exciting and topical non-binary books, especially when considering its mainstaging of racism through science fiction.

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

Mason Deaver’s novel I Wish You All the Best is at the top of a lot of readers’ lists of non-binary books. It tells the story of Ben, a senior in high school who comes out to their parents as non-binary and are then immediately kicked out.

Ben moves in with their older sister and her husband, comes out to them, and goes back to navigating what is left of their school life. Things are further complicated when they are befriended by a boy named Nathan, who — personality-wise — is the yin to Ben’s yang.

This relationship between Ben and Nathan begins to grow, change, and complicate as time goes on. I Wish You All the Best is one of the most charming and touching YA non-binary books on the shelves. It has the power to touch a lot of lives in a lot of ways.

Outlawed by Anna North

California-born, New York-based journalist Anna North has here penned a fantastically fun piece of American historical fiction in Outlawed.

Taking place in the wild west, loosely inspired by real people and events, Outlawed follows the story of Ada, a young woman who cannot conceive. Confined both mentally and physically by her community, she escapes and joins the outlaw Hole in the Wall gang.

The gang of women outlaws is led by a character known only as The Kid. he Kid is never gendered or given any pronouns. They exist only as The Kid. This is a truly inspiring non-binary character, especially for a piece of historical fiction.

Despite Anna North being a cisgender woman, she takes a professional interest in gender issues through her journalism and has created here one of the coolest non-binary books thanks to her creation of The Kid.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

On a Sunbeam is the most beautiful and ambitious graphic novel by multi-talented writer/artist Tillie Walden.

Set between a boarding school in space and a craft whose crew are charged with visiting and repairing space ruins in order to rebuild the past, On a Sunbeam follows Mia, new member of the Aktis’ crew.

What makes this one of the coolest non-binary books is the existence of crew member Elliot, a non-binary character and silent member of the Aktis ship.

The inclusion of a non-binary character is always cause for celebration, and framing such a character’s existence as ordinary to the point of being unremarkable is satisfying, demonstrating how acceptance can morph into normalcy as time goes by.

On a Sunbeam is also a topical, engaging, and flat-out gorgeous graphic novel. A true treat for the eyes.

The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

Translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison

The Discomfort of Evening was the winner of the International Booker Prize 2020. A Dutch novel by non-binary author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld. It is also Rijneveld’s debut novel.

Told from the perspective of ten-year-old Jas, The Discomfort of Evening is a story of grief and the impact of religion on a family.

When the family’s oldest son dies, Jas’ parents spiral into depression and away from one another. This family are rural farmers and devout Christians.

The family is ripped apart by grief and its own relationship to religion. This is an exploration of the ways in which parents’ attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs can severely impact the inner and outer lives of their children, and we see it all from the child’s perspective.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

The Echo Wife is non one of the defining non-binary books in an ordinary sense, since this excellent piece of science fiction includes only cisgender characters. Its author, however, is a non-binary writer.

Sarah Gailey identifies as non-binary, and their mere existence as an enby writer is cause for celebration; representation in the world of literature doesn’t always have to come from fiction and its characters, but rather from the personal successes of non-binary writers.

Sarah Gailey does a lot by simply existing publicly. Luckily for them, and for us, The Echo Wife is also a phenomenal science fiction novel.

The Echo Wife follows Evelyn, a research biologist who has just gone through a divorce. Early in the novel, we discover that her ex-husband’s new wife is, in fact, a clone of Evelyn that he created. This close is also pregnant.

This is such a fantastic science fiction novel, and the fact that it is written by an awesome non-binary author is cause for celebration.

Read More: Must-Read Sci-fi Books by Women (And Non-Binary Authors)

Mordew by Alex Pheby

Mordew is another curious one, as non-binary books go. Cisgender author Alex Pheby has here created a murky, nasty, Lovecraftian fantasy world. In it, however, is an inspiring and imaginative non-binary character.

Mordew is set in the titular city of Mordew, a place where the mud is alive and its slum-dwelling protagonist Nathan trawls that mud to collect things he may be able to sell.

Early in the book, Nathan meets, and is welcomed into, a gang of dastardly youngsters. One member of this gang is a non-binary character: a pair of twins who exist in the same body.

As the light shifts, their countenance seems to morph between the male and female binaries. They are an original and exciting non-binary character that, all by themselves, turn Mordew into one of the most original non-binary books (and fantasy books) on the shelves. Unexpected and delightful.

Non-Binary Nonfiction

What you’ll find here is a selection of inspiring and educational non-binary books from queer, non-binary, and transgender writers.

If you are experimenting with your gender identity; if you think you may be non-binary; if you know you’re non-binary but want to understand the history and culture deeper; if you’re cisgender but want to educate yourself; or if you have a non-binary friend you want to understand better, these non-binary books are for you.

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Maia Kobabe is a non-binary writer who uses e/em/eir pronouns. In Gender Queer e have created an impactful and educational graphic memoir.

Tracing a line from childhood to adulthood, Gender Queer uses a blunt and honest openness to create a kind of discourse between writer and reader, encouraging the reader to listen and consider and understand.

This is a candid story of self-discovery that everyone can relate to, even if they’re cis. We have all, after all, experienced self-discovery in some way, shape, or form.

What makes this one of the best non-binary books for modern readers is its honesty, clarity, and how both of these aspects are enhanced by its art. Creating a graphic memoir rather than one built entirely from prose somehow makes it more alluring and more honest.

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

Beyond the Gender Binary is part of a collection of pocket books known as Pocket Change Collective: little books written by big names in the world of art and activism.

Written as a short manifesto and survival guide for queer people of all stripes, Beyond the Gender Binary seeks to educate, enlighten, and celebrate genderqueer lives. Written with love, kindness, and understanding by a gender non-conforming American icon.

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson

This is a short and fun graphic guide created by two best friends — one a non-binary artist and the other a cisgender guy, both of whom want to help the world understand and navigate the world of pronouns.

Their mission led to the joint-creation of this fun little graphic guide that goes over the importance of using pronouns correctly, and even how to handle your own slip-ups if and when they happen.

This is an insightful guide amongst non-binary books that is especially valuable for our cisgender friends.

Gender Euphoria by Laura Kate Dale

Laura Kate Dale is a transgender legend. A video games pundit, podcaster, and author (whose memoir Uncomfortable Labels is a very inspiring and empathetic read).

In Gender Euphoria, Dale has gathered the words of non-binary, transgender, and intersex writers, compiling them in an uplifting celebration of genderqueerness.

Gender Euphoria is a warming anthology of non-cisgender writers celebrating their own gender journey.

Too many stories — both fiction and nonfiction — focus on the scary, the tragic, the difficult sides of non-cisgender life. The mission of Gender Euphoria is to show the world how beautiful and exciting and liberating being trans, intersex, and non-binary can be.

This is such an important book for young readers who are figuring out that they might be trans or non-binary, or for anyone who needs to see the positive, the good, the powerful side of being a non-cisgender person.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most vital, moving, and exciting non-binary books and transgender books ever assembled. Thank you, Laura Kate Dale.

In Their Shoes by Jamie Windust

Of all the non-binary books that exist, this is the one I wish I could have written. A frank, funny, uplifting, inspiring book about being non-binary from a non-binary writer living their happy life.

In Their Shoes blends memoir and manifesto in order to create something that can serve as a guide to non-binary life for trans, non-binary, and cisgender people alike.

Personal stories and experiences range from fashion to pronouns, from work life to sex, from physical to mental health. Jamie Windust covers it all, and they do so with humour and wonderful wit.

While this is a fun and funny books, In Their Shoes also has an infinite number of important lessons to teach; one of the most important being this: there is no right or wrong way to be non-binary. It is a gender identity that you get to craft for yourself.

Life Isn’t Binary: On Being Both, Beyond, and In-Between by Alex Iantaffi and Meg-John Barker

Life Isn’t Binary is a pretty fantastic piece of nonfiction, existing both as one of the most impactful non-binary books and as a guide for rethinking our approach to all the other binaries of ordinary life.

This is an engaging, almost interactive, book that invites readers to consider their own binaries. It discusses the fluidity of human experiences. It uses the non-binary and bisexual experiences as examples of a less rigid way of seeing and experiencing the rigidity of modern life.

While it does celebrate non-binary life, Life Isn’t Binary goes a lot deeper than that, projecting the non-binary experience onto all aspects of life, from sex to work and beyond. A savvy, progressive, and inspirational book for our time.

What’s the T? The No-nonsense Guide to All Things Trans And/or Non-binary for Teens by Juno Dawson

Author of This Book is Gay Juno Dawson has here turned to the transgender and non-binary experience, writing a book for teens to better understand the world of non-cisgender young people.

Juno Dawson is a former teacher and trans author who has invited other trans and non-binary writers to offer up their own insights, ensuring that, like Gender Euphoria, What’s the T? is a diverse examination and celebration of trans and non-binary experiences.

Written specifically for teens, What’s the T? offers advice on sex, relationships, and coming out as a non-cisgender young person in the 21st Century.

 Important and impactful as one of the best non-binary books and transgender books of today.

Cookbooks are a huge passion of mine, there’s very little that will stop me dropping money on a new cookbook despite my wallet crying out at me.

The history and culture you learn from African and Asian cookbooks is almost always worth the price and I often find them better for digging into the culture than many travelogues.

Here, I’ve tried to pick some of the very best Asian cookbooks to get you started with your Asian cooking journey.

Bear in mind that I’m not covering all of the wonderful and diverse cuisines in Asia, this is a list of my personal favourites which I’ve learned a lot from recently or over the years.

I generally like to buy cookbooks that cover more than one country preferring books that focus on a single country or food type as I learn a lot more — which does make for a very full bookshelf.

If you do want a fantastic cookbook which picks some of the very best food from around Asia, I do recommend East by Meera Sodha.

Below, the fourteen Asian cookbooks have been categorised into: Southeast Asian cookbooks, Indian cookbooks, Korean cookbooks, Japanese cookbooks, Chinese cookbooks, and a few others that don’t fit neatly into a single category.

We love using Sous Chef for buying our cooking ingredients. From staples like noodles and rice, to harder to find specialties. You can find everything you need here. We can also offer ten pounds off your first purchase with this link.

Southeast Asian Cookbooks

Here are two cookbooks from Southeast Asia: one all about traditional Indonesian cooking, and another about foods and meals from Vietnam.

Coconut & Sambal: Recipes from my Indonesian Kitchen

The gorgeous cover is admittedly what initially drew us in to this exceptional Asian cookbook. Indonesia is somewhere we’ve always wanted to visit and we’ve always found Indonesian food to be a delight for the senses.

But it’s definitely a knowledge gap for us so getting to experience Indonesian cuisine through these recipes and beautiful pictures of Indonesia as Lara tells stories of her childhood in Indonesia was a real pleasure.

The title comes from the fact that you will always find coconut and sambal (a chilli sauce used to season food) at any Indonesian table and the history you learn about these key aspects of the cuisine is just one takeaway from the many lesson this book offers.

You’ll learn everything from street food snacks, to main dishes including favourites like beef rendang, nasi goreng, and satay, and desserts in over eighty recipes and come out with new knowledge and appreciation of Indonesian food and culture. 

The Food of Vietnam

This book is very much a journey through Vietnam as tv host and chef takes us with him as he travels from south to north Vietnam regaling us with stories and region-specific recipes as he goes.

Whether you want to perfect your pho and understand the heritage of this belly-warming dish or dig into making some crispy banh xeo these are actionable, easy to follow recipes that will have you cooking in no time.

Or if you simply just want to enjoy the photos and learn more about the country, this hefty book is a real celebration of the culture and will transport you to Vietnam.

Indian Cookbooks

These are two fantastic Indian cookbooks, both celebrated but each very different, showcasing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wealth and breadth, and diversity of food and cooking in India.

Dishoom: From Bombay With Love

If you’ve had the pleasure of dining in the extremely popular London chain Dishoom, then you’ll already be as excited about this cookbook as I was.

And yes, their okra fries, bacon nan, and chai recipes are in there! If you haven’t, Dishoom serve Indian comforting meals often with a Western twist and it works on so many levels.

The photography and history sections of the book, which do make up about half of the book, are a delight to delve into and the passion for Bombay jumps out at you at every page turn.

The design and aesthetics of the book make this one that you’ll want to pick up over and over again. The book also offers alternatives for difficult to source items and offers menu ideas at the end for special occasions like Eid and Diwali.

If you want your Asian cookbooks to be detailed and beautiful, there are none better than this one.

Read More: Best Asian Cooking Classes in London

Chai, Chaat & Chutney: a Street Food Journey Through India

The food of India is incredibly diverse and it’s sad that many of us in the UK think Indian cuisine starts and ends with what we can get at our local takeaway.

This amazing cookbook takes the reader through Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi giving an introduction to each city, photos, and around twenty street food recipes special to the area.

A real treat is the chutney and masala section where you can learn to make favourites like tomato and date chutney and chaat masala.

This book absolutely focuses on the food and recipes rather than stories so if you want maximum new dishes to experiment with, this is a perfect book.

Read More: Cookbooks for Amazing African Food at Home

Korean Cookbooks

These two Korean cookbooks compliment each other perfectly, with one being an introduction to Korean home cooking (and Korean food in general) and the other being more intense and detailed.

Our Korean Kitchen

The cookbook that started our love of cookbooks. We bought this after living in Korea and missing all the wonderful foods that had been readily available there but painfully expensive or hard to find in the UK.

There are 100 dishes in this clear and bright cookbook, as well as recipes on how to make your own kimchi and other pickles plus a selection of savoury pancakes that are simple to make and difficult to resist.

Our Korean Kitchen is ideal if you’re looking to introduce Korean cooking to your kitchen with simple to follow recipes.

Read More: A Culinary Journey Around South Korea

Judy Joo’s Korean Soul Food

While Our Korean Kitchen is a great starting point, Korean Soul Food takes you much deeper into the cuisine and explains Korean key ingredients and basics before delving in the recipes, street food, and kimchi options.

The modern twists also give you much more to work with like the legendary Philly cheesesteak dumplings and the Korean UK fusion dish fish and mushy beans!

The recipes are consistently fun, fresh, and heartwarming. This cookbook is a joy to read. When it comes to detailed and fun Asian cookbooks, there are few as good as Korean Soul Food.

Read More: The Best Korean Cookbooks

Japanese Cookbooks

With Japanese food being so diverse, here are three unique Japanese cookbooks with three different approaches to cooking Japanese food at home.

If you’d like a longer list of Japanese cookbooks including desserts, drinks, and specialist books then enjoy our list of Best Japanese Cookbooks.

Vegan JapanEasy

Tim Anderson has written some of the most colourful and fun books on Japanese cooking with highlights including Tokyo Stories and Japan Easy, this latest gorgeous cookbook addition brings vegan Japanese food to your home.

With detailed explanations of Japanese cooking methods and flavourings, you get a thorough understanding of Japanese cooking, the vegan Japanese and how veganism lends itself well to this cuisine.

Fun recipes include watermelon sake mojitos and one-hour aubergine and courgette ramen that’s apparently easier to make than cleaning up after a naughty plant-pot-breaking cat (though I haven’t made it yet to confirm!)

The vegan sushi chapter is very welcome and clearly explained so you’ll be making delicious rolls in no time.

(Bonus: For Vegetarian Japanese food lovers, I also recommend Japan: The World Vegetarian)

Atsuko’s Japanese Kitchen

Atsuko has been running cooking classes in London for over ten years after missing her home cuisine.

We often associate Japanese food with delicate and healthy dishes served in high-end restaurants but Japanese home cooking some of the most hearty and satisfying out there and this cookbook really brings that home – so to speak.

It also takes through Japan’s eight major regions and their differences in cooking style as well as the basis for all Japanese cooking, those skills you should master and meal planning.

From easy one-plate meals to soups and noodles plus delicious desserts. If you want to start mastering Japanese cookery, this is one of the best Asian cookbooks to further your knowledge beyond the usual with simple, actionable recipes.

Read More: How to Make Katsudon at home

Sushi at Home: The Beginner’s Guide to Perfect, Simple Sushi

We were lucky enough to take Yuki’s udon making class in London so we were very happy to also indulge in her cookbook Sushi at Home.

We’ve taken sushi-making classes before but this book still served as a reminder of those tips and tricks that make rolling sushi at home easy as well as more advanced techniques and recipes that we wouldn’t have tried without this book.

From simple rolls to more complicated recipes, everything you need is explained in detail with a short background to every dish. This is everything you need for making great sushi at home.

Chinese Cookbooks

We all see something different in our mind’s eye when we think and talk about Chinese food. To try and cover as many bases as possible, these three Chinese cookbooks each explore a different tradition, region, or approach to Chinese home cooking.

The Dumpling Sisters Cookbook

Master Chinese cookery at home with sisters Amy and Julie, they also have a blog and Youtube channel so this brings all of that together in a handy guide of delicious recipes.

This is the kind of cookbook that you just keep coming back to, the recipes are achievable and it’s full of tips and tricks to master those Chinese flavours and textures that make us love the cuisine so much.

Simple tips like ‘slicing meat against the grain’ and using ‘light vs dark’ soy sauce can make all the difference despite seeming like small factors.

You’ll find chapters on dumplings, easy and quick dishes like fried rice, syrupy soy chicken, and stir-fries, noodles, and desserts. This is an all-in-one friendly recipe book that’ll get you cooking in no time.

Read More: 14 Middle Eastern Cookbooks (For Aromatic Home Cooking)

Complete Chinese Cookbook

This is the book you want if you really want to delve into the traditional cuisine of China and get to know the country’s variations across its provinces.

The complete introduction to the schools of Chinese cooking and how history has greatly impacted Chinese cuisine leaves you fascinated and want to learn more.

The author has been teaching Chinese cookery for over forty years and it shows, the recipes are clear, detailed, and  Hom is ready to impart his decades of knowledge to you here.

Aside from hundreds of recipes separated by category, you’ll also receive lessons on how to eat Chinese food, what equipment you need, and menu guidance.

The Food of Sichuan

An absolute classic cookbook of Chinese cuisine, The Food of Sichuan introduces you to the fundamentals of cooking food from the Sichuan province of China which has some unique (and incredibly spicy) dishes on offer.

This is an updated version of the original cookbook with over fifty new recipes of varying preparation times from quick side dishes to truly impressive spreads.

Also, delving into the history and culture of China and Sichuan province, this is more than a cookbook and in many ways a love letter to a gastronomically fascinating region.

Chinese Takeaway Cookbook

Since Chinese takeaway is a very different beast to standard Chinese and Cantonese cuisine, then it seemed fair to include this for those wanting to make their takeaway favourites at home!

This book is a great way to save money and recreate dishes like ’crispy seaweed’ (a confirmed addiction of mine), ‘duck pancakes with hoisin sauce’, ‘sesame prawn toast’, ‘wonton soup’, ‘honey and lemon chicken’ and other delicious dishes.

You’re also given chapters on Chinese cooking techniques and food etiquette and customs to broaden your knowledge in that area. They also offer a vegetarian version of this book!

Read More: 11 Greek Cookbooks for Mouthwatering Greek & Cypriot Dishes

Other Asian Cookbooks

Here are two Asian cookbooks which don’t fit one specific country, but rather a broader area or region. The first is a book on traditional food from the Caucasus region, and the second is an Asian cookbook showing you how to make Asian food from home that’s entirely gluten-free.

Kaukasis The Cookbook

This cookbook is a powerhouse of knowledge and storytelling from a part of the world that we perhaps at first don’t consider when it comes to fantastic cuisine.

This was a totally new ingredient set for me and not a cooking style I’d ever tried before but was perfect for recreating some of those fantastic dishes I’ve had on my travels at home.

Some ingredients are difficult to find in the UK but you can easily swap things outdoor substitute when you have to.

One of the highlights of this book are the big photographs which take you on a journey of these fascinating countries.

Dumplings and Noodles

If you’re a lover of starchy, doughy noodles and dumplings then this is the book for you. This cookbook teaches you how to make all of your favourites from scratch, from barbecue pork bao to chili oil wontons, while also sparing some room for ramen and other noodle-based dishes.

Dumplings and Noodles is ideal for someone who loves to cook and is looking for a few extra recipes or would like to learn a whole new skill such as how to hand-pull noodles or make wontons. The author also has a new Asian-inspired cookbook Bowls & Broths on the way.

The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen

This book is fantastic for mastering the basics like sauces and dumplings if you need to make things gluten-free.

As someone who follows a gluten-free diet who almost entirely eats Asian food, learning how to easily substitute some ingredients without dramatically changing the dish has been invaluable.

I hope you enjoy these wonderful Asian cookbooks and make some incredible meals for yourself at home. If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing.

Few topics grip me more than those of language and translation. I have not formally studied either, but I find myself constantly reading books on both. Throughout my twenties, I’ve dipped in and out of studying the Japanese and Chinese languages, and I almost exclusively read fiction in translation.

I become easily obsessed with accents and dialects. Nothing grips me harder than a deep dive into the history and philosophy of language and translation.

If you’re a budding translator or simply someone fascinated in how languages work and change — how they influence us and how we influence them — here are the best books about language and translation (very loosely separated into two categories) for you to enjoy.

Note: I’ve also made a conscious choice to avoid mentioning Noam Chomsky or Stephen Pinker here. They get enough attention and you already know their names. Here are some fresher faces (and Bill Bryson).

Books About Translation

As I said, these two categories are loose divides. As I also said, the topics are inescapably linked. But the following five books are all ones that focus more on translation and the relationships between world languages. They’re all books about translation in one way or another.

Who We’re Reading When We’re Reading Murakami by David Karashima

Haruki Murakami is Japan’s most widely-celebrated and successful modern novelist – not only in his homeland but across the planet. How was this accomplished? Who else took part in the growth of the “Murakami Industry”? This fantastic book puts the spotlight on Murakami’s English-language translators and editors: people like Alfred Birnbaum and Elmer Luke, who made Murakami a household name in the West.

Who We’re Reading When We’re Reading Murakami recounts stories of translating Murakami via interviews with Birnbaum, Luke, Murakami himself, and more. It’s a book that illuminates the vital importance of translators, the role they play in a story’s success, and the weight they carry on their shoulders.

If you ever wanted to get a far better, and deeper, look at (and appreciation for) the translator and their work, this is the book for you. David Karashima has done an incredible amount of research here.

Fans of Murakami will remember why they love his books the way they do, and budding translators will be reminded of the importance of their work. This is one of the most original books about translation out there right now.

Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton

This is a book that fits into either category — books about language or books about translation — but, since Barton is a Japanese-to-English translator, we’ll put it here. Fifty Sounds is a memoir/essay collection that documents one young woman’s journey to discovering a language, one which she becomes so enamoured with that she ends up becoming a translator.

Polly Barton graduated from Cambridge with a degree in philosophy. From there, the JET programme took her to a remote Japanese island. In the course of just a few months, she finds herself growing obsessed with the unique beauty of the Japanese language.

Fifty Sounds documents Barton’s linguistic battle with Japanese as she works as a teacher and builds a liveable life in Japan. These essays explore the most fascinating aspects of the Japanese language, most notably its use of onomatopoeia.

Through these essays, which represent a kind of linguistic philosophy, we come to consider how learning language can unlock entirely new life experiences; how we can see and feel things we couldn’t before, once we have access to a new language.

That language gives us words we never had before, and now we are experiencing life through a different lens. It’s a transcendent experience, and Barton brings it to us with humour and wit, page after page. A truly enlightening and gripping read.

Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything by David Bellos

Author David Bellos is a UK-born, US-based professor, biographer, and translator. As a translator of French to English, he has won the Booker International prize. In this book, Is That a Fish in Your Ear?, Bellos takes a deep and often whimsical dive into cultural anthropology through the lens of language and translation.

Bellos here tackles everything from the translation of great world literature to advancements in translation technology. It’s Bellos’ approach to writing that makes this book such a joy to read. He has a wit and wisdom about him that makes the read an effortless joy, but the topics being broached are nevertheless broad and intense and, frankly, awe-inspiring.

How We Are Translated by Jessica Gaitan Johannesson

Being a novel, this is something of an outlier on this list, but How We Are Translated is no less enlightening and educational than anything else on this list. In fact, being a novel gives it the artful power to inspire some philosophical thought regarding language and its relationship to, well, relationships.

How We Are Translated is the debut novel of Jessica Gaitan Johannesson, a woman who grew up speaking Spanish and Swedish, and now lives her life in English.

Inspired by her own life and experiences, the novel is set in Edinburgh and follows the life of a Swedish woman working at a museum in Edinburgh Castle. She has a Brazilian-born Scottish boyfriend who is training to be an NHS nurse.

The book is not a straightforward narrative so much as it is a collection of disjointed moments, feelings, and events. It’s an almost abstract novel that explores the ways in which language plays a part in our work and our interpersonal relationships.

Between them, our protagonist and her partner have a lot of languages and cultures, to explore, and they feed into the good and the bad of their relationship. This is a book of big themes and ideas pertaining to language and translation.

Through the Language Glass: Why The World Looks Different In Other Languages by Guy Deutscher

Israeli linguist Guy Deutscher is the only author to feature on this list twice. First, with Through the Language Glass. This 2011 book is academic but on a very approachable, almost playful, level. Through the Language Glass is the most famous book to attempt to wrestle with that eternally fascinating question: does our language change the way we see, think about, and interpret the world around us?

Through a blend of linguistic history, cultural history, and easy-to-follow scientific examination, Deutscher spends the book supporting his (fairly unpopular) opinion that, yes, our language does dictate how we think and see the world.

As a lover of linguistics, this is a question that has fascinated me endlessly. And while many linguists and translators (some of whom also appear on this list) disagree with Deutscher, it doesn’t mean his argument is worth anything less. This is a great read regardless.

Before the release of this book, Deutscher wrote this piece for The New York Times. If you enjoy it, you’ll likely love the book.

The Unfolding of Language by Guy Deutscher

Before he penned that more controversial above work, Deutscher became a household name with his 2006 book, The Unfolding of Language. This book was first recommended to me by a friend who was, at the time, getting his MA in linguistics. He promised that it would be a well-rounded introduction to the topic, and it truly is exactly that. The Unfolding of Language is, as it says on the cover, the evolution of mankind’s greatest invention.

The book takes us on a rich and winding journey from the beginnings of language, and the purposes it originally had, to the vast landscape of world languages we have today. This book on linguistic history looks at the whys and hows of language, dismantling the Tower of Babel and building, in its place, something far more captivating.

Read More: 13 Inspirational Nonfiction Books

Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler

Nicholas Ostler has an impressive resume to read before even getting to this outstanding book. Having obtained degrees in both Greek and Latin from Oxford, he then studied under the legendary Noam Chomsky and finished his academic journey with a PhD in linguistics and Sanskrit.

With all of this academic baggage on his back, Ostler sets out on a vast and ambitious journey in Empires of the Word: a history of several millennial across the entire planet, as seen through the lens of language. The most important and valuable lens, argues Ostler, to look at history through.

A history of language leads us to a greater understanding of migration, politics and diplomacy, and even the schools of engineering and invention. The book details the very movement of language, how some have survived against all odds and others have adapted to the point of being unrecognisable. There are deep waters to plunder here, and the rewards are plentiful.

Books About Language

Language is an endless ocean to be plundered. When tackling the topic, we can investigate everything from how geography affects the way we speak to the inner workings of the human mind. Each of these books about language approaches the topic from a unique perspective and, chances are, one of them will be a new favourite book.

Don’t Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth About Language by David Shariatmadari

Here is one of the most gripping, fascinating, and absorbing books about language that I have ever come across. David Shariatmadari’s attitude and insight is contagious. Don’t Believe A Word is an unfolding journey into the roots of languages and how they travelled across lands and time.

The initial hook of Don’t Believe A Word is the idea that no word is untranslatable – that this is simply a popular and deceptive myth of language. While it may seem alluring at first, stripping away the idea of untranslatable words then leads us to a whole new world of exciting concepts and ideas about language history and etymology.

Don’t Believe A Word is a work of cultural enlightenment, full of exciting stories about world languages (things like gendered words, etymology, and even human consciousness). It’s a deep dive into language from multiple entry points, completely accessible to every reader, and infinitely fascinating.

An I-Novel by Minae Mizumura

Translated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter

As its title suggests, An I-Novel is a piece of autofiction which blends the real-life events and experiences of its author, Minae Mizumura, with the rules and conventions of fiction writing.

An I-Novel traces the life of its author, a woman from Tokyo whose family moved to New York City when she was twelve. Twenty years later, she hopes to return to Tokyo, become a writer, writing in Japanese and rediscovering her language and culture along the way.

What makes this book so informative and lightening in an ocean of books about language is the fact that, when originally penned in Japanese, it was considered the first bilingual novel.

An I-Novel is mostly written in Japanese, with English peppered through out (in the English translation, the parts originally written by Mizumura in English are simply in bold).

What this bilingual aspect does is reinforce how its author is a product of two cultures and languages. She cannot simply write in one. She needs the use of both in order to fully express herself. The languages form the writer and so the writer must use both in order to write.

This is a piece of autofiction but it is also a pseudo-philosophical exploration of language as a vehicle for expression, communication, and understanding. A truly fascinating book.

The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg

Throughout this article, I’ve referred to language as having travelled and made journeys, but it’s difficult to describe language as doing anything else, with it being ever in flux and, well, moving. Given the title of his book on the English language, Melvyn Bragg would likely agree.

The style of writing which the fiction-and-non-fiction author uses in The Adventure of English falls somewhere in the crevice between narrative and history. The book often anthropomorphises English, casting it as a wide-eyed adventurer. It’s one of the most ambitious and romantic books about language, but it is not insincere.

The Adventure of English is very much a piece of narrative nonfiction; a page-turner of a history book. It is not a book of philosophy or science, like many others on this list. But it is not less satisfying of a read for that. It’s a book with so much to enjoy and learn from, and one of the most enthralling books about language out there.

Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

US-born Anglophile Bill Bryson has become something of a national treasure in the UK. While his personal politics are something of a minefield, his books are undeniably charming, telling us engrossing stories and showering us in facts, all through the medium of comedy.

It’s impossible to separate Bryson’s writing from his wit and personality; he brings so much of it to everything he writes. And that only makes his books more of a pleasure to read. Mother Tongue, alongside his short book on Shakespeare, is my personal favourite Bryson book, and one of the best books about language on the shelves.

Mother Tongue is a tangled but short exploration of the English language, full of anecdotes and facts pertaining to its history, makeup, etymology, and versatility. Mother Tongue is a celebration of English and a perfect light introduction to the subject of language and linguistics for anyone interested in dipping their toe in. It was one of the first books about language that I ever read, and it led me down an intoxicating road.

The Cabinet of Calm by Paul Anthony Jones

Here’s a very unique and interesting new book. The Cabinet of Calm, release in 2020, is both a collection of rare and obscure English words and a tool for finding calmness and comfort in a difficult age. This is a short, digestible, dip-in-and-out kind of book that celebrates the power of words as singular ideas and entities that can carry so much weight and responsibility.

Each word in this book has the power to make you smile, feel relaxed, and find your centre. It truly is a cabinet of calm. While The Cabinet of Calm isn’t an intense examination of linguistics or translation, it is a fun book that can teach us many forgotten words, and even engage our philosophical brains with the concept of words giving meaning to ideas.

If these words are no longer used, where did the feelings they describe go? And how do we discuss them today? The Cabinet of Calm is real comfort food. A charming and sweet book that any bookworm or fan of linguistics can enjoy simply and calmly. A unique approach to the idea of books about language.

Words on the Move by John McWhorter

If you want your books about language to be easy-to-digest but repeatedly awe-inspiring, Words on the Move will be your jam. While the book takes an entirely Anglo-centric perspective, it is nevertheless an illuminating and exciting deep dive into the history of English etymology and the evolution of our language.

Words of the Move tantalises readers, over and again, with facts about specific words, where they come from, what they once meant, and how they’ve changed. It’s a positive book that congratulates English on its resilience, dynamism, and ability to break rules and experiment.

English is an undeniably infuriating language, full of paradoxes and nonsensical hypocrisies, but it is also a language that shifts and changes on a daily basis. Words on the Move is one of those books about language that will wind up purists who have an idea of what English should sound like, and for that alone, I congratulate it.