Non-Fiction Reads For Fiction Readers

Bookstagram is a relatively new playground for me. I have only really been active for a year or so, and in that time the community has helped transform my reading interests and preferences, and I’ve read and loved books that I would never have considered picking up before. 

I don’t, however, see non-fiction getting as much love as they should, and the ones that make it through to the fore are often memoirs. There’s nothing wrong with memoirs, but I feel there is so much out there that people are missing out on (just as I was). With that in mind, then, I present to you a selection of non-fiction books, a list curated especially for fiction readers. These may not be the finest books I have ever read (we can do that list another day), but they are all books that are very accessible, and they all do certain things very well. They are in no particular order, and I have left some off the list for a possible part 2.

Clicking on the title of the books below will take you to an affiliate link on Bookshop.org if you are interested in learning more about any of them. 

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Factfulness by Hans Rosling

The full title of the book, “Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think”, will give you an indication of what this book is about. As Professor of International Health, Hans believes that we tend to get answers to certain questions about the world we live in very wrong, such as the percentage of the world living in absolute poverty, and the percentage of girls who achieve secondary school education. In fact, those who you’d expect to know better, such as politicians and campaigners, scored worse than average and no better than the general public. This book aims to explain why we get these so wrong, and against the flow of the common narrative, it provides some reasons to be positive. 

Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates

I have written a piece about this book, so I will leave a link to that if you are interested in reading more. Laura Bates builds on her previous work, where she established firmly the existence of institutionalised sexism in western societies, and now defines here the insidious ever growing political ideology of misogyny, and how violence towards women is more than just mindless violence perpetrated by individuals in isolation. It is growing at a rate on knots beneath our feet and it is invisible to the majority, and Bates in this book attempts to make this visible. There have been a few cases recently in the UK that can be seen as examples of what Bates describes, and I believe Bates is the first to develop this theory. While there are many books about sexism out there, Bates here goes further and defines the issue specially, so we have a better idea on how to tackle it.  

Natives by Akala 

If you have listened to Akala speak you will know just how eloquent he is, and his knowledge of given topics will make anyone feel intellectually inadequate. This book is a highly personal discussion of race and injustice. He provides a history of racism, both personal and beyond himself, both subtle and blatant, both isolated and institutional. I find that generally books about race, prejudice, and racism are targeted towards the perpetrating class. I think this book, however, would make fascinating reading for anybody. 

This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

You may have seen the recently released television adaptation of this book, which was originally released back in 2017. Adam Kay is a junior doctor, or was a junior doctor. He decided to leave his profession, and when his license to practice expired and he was about to shred his diary notes, he decided to publish them into a book. This is a real rollercoaster of emotions; working in the obstetrics and gynaecology department, there are the funny anecdotes of people with objects lodged in orifices (pretending not to know how they got there), immediately juxtaposed by death and sorrow. The joy of life being born is followed by personal hardships, of not being able to celebrate Christmas with the family, of being constantly overworked and relationships being stretched to breaking point. This book perfectly encapsulates what it is like to work as a junior doctor for the NHS and everything that comes with it; the jokes, the joy, the fatigue, the despair. The diary entries range from half a page to three pages long, making this a delicious book to dip in and out of.

Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy by Tim Harford

The next few authors seem to be powered by the fuel of curiosity. Tim Harford is primarily an economist and has written several books that I enjoyed immensely. I think the right introduction to his writing, though, would be the “Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy”(there is a sequel to this with another fifty things if you can’t get enough). This book is also split into easily consumable chunks (fifty, in fact), about all sorts of things that you had never thought about.  

I was also alerted by several followers to the brilliant Cautionary Tales podcast that Tim hosts. If you want to hear more, I suggest you check that out too!

Humble Pi by Matt Parker

Yes, this book is about maths, but don’t let that put you off. Our teachers would always tell us we would need maths in the real world, but we never had time to discuss where and why - this book does just that. This book discusses the occasions when things go wrong, and the hidden mathematical failings behind them. From advice on how to win the lottery, to the year that had a record breaking 445 days, to the time when South Korean authorities mistook a dance class for an earthquake, this book will have you noticing the subtle mathematical quirks in everyday life.

The page numbers also run backwards down to 1, which is nice.

At Home by Bill Bryson

In the opening chapter of his book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, Bryson recalls an anecdote of flying over the Pacific and having the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing the first thing about the planet we live on. There are two types of people; those who would leave that thought there, and those who could not rest until they knew more. Bryson is the latter, and this drives the books he writes.

In this book, Bryson takes us back in time and investigates his Norfolk home, by looking at the original blueprints room by room and comparing them to its current layout. It is immediately apparent that a great deal of research has been put into this which is typical of Bryson. If you like seemingly random knowledge and information, and you get a lot of joy from scratching the itch of curiosity, this is the book for you.

Anything by Jon Ronson

Jon Ronson is a British investigative journalist, with a particular interest and focus on the weird, wacky, fringe and radical. His most popular book is probably “The Psychopath Test”, but I could recommend “Them”, “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed”, and “The Men Who Stare At Goats”. His charm comes from the informal, colloquial, and honest natfre of his reporting, and the limits he will go to for his work. In that respect he reminds me a little of Louis Theroux. He doesn’t just write about terrorists and psychopaths, but he meets them and spends time with them, which is probably what sets him apart from the rest. 

Hired by James Bloodworth

Another journalist, Bloodworth spent about six months living with the working class and working in some of the lowest paying jobs in the worst conditions in the UK, to ultimately highlight the circumstances that are essentially forced on some people. From Uber and delivery driving to Amazon warehouse picker, he records his life in these roles, including his housing situation, income, health, and the hostility and insecurities involved that come with them. I think we’ve all heard about the practices perpetrated by the likes of Amazon and Uber, but this book sets them out in black and white with nowhere to hide.