Is it possible to have too many books? We don’t think so–that’s why we’re still campaigning for shopping carts in bookstores. Still, you can only read so much, which is why we’ve decided to share the 10 must-read nonfiction books of 2015 (including our own biggest release, Vaporized). So if you need a new home for your bookmark, pick a book (or two [or 10]) and start reading!
Social issues
This list–and any list like it–would be incomplete without Ta-Nehisi Coates’ modern masterpiece. A winner of the National Book Award and hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading”, Between the World and Me looks at America’s racial history in the form of a letter from father to son. This format creates a highly personal look at what is a monumental subject, and Coates’ reminds the world of the power of the written word.
A book by many authors, this anthology features citizens of New York who never intended to tell their story. However, chance led each of them to an encounter with Brandon Stanton and his team of street photographers, resulting in pure, unadulterated photos with accompanying stories. Hosting over 400 pages of humanity, HoNY: Stories is at the same time tragic, inspirational, and ultimately relatable.
Business
App dictatorships, robot workforces, and immortality–these now seem more inevitabilities than science fiction, and Robert Tercek breaks down the digital era with stunning clarity. With glowing praise and reviews from technological provocateurs such as Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari), Jarl Mohn (CEO of NPR), and Rio Caraeff (founder of Vevo), Vaporized will change the way you operate within the world of business along with the way you see the future of our society–for the good and the bad.
Coffee mugs, projectors, and stressed individuals–these are what we expect to see in a board room. However, these may soon be replaced by yoga mats, meditation pillows, and mindful workers. A revolution that is a long time coming, David Gelles proves once and for all that even the business world can benefit from a mindful workplace, and provides a road map to doing so. Whether you’re a CEO or a software engineer, get ready to find your inner peace.
Self-improvement
Elizabeth Gilbert once said that she was terrified of writing a follow-up to Eat, Pray, Love–how could you top such a breakaway bestseller? Of course, she has since penned multiple books, breaking through her fears instead of becoming paralyzed by them. In the highly lauded Big Magic, she lays out the creative processes that allow her to keep doing what she loves in the face of what she fears, from the attitudes she employs to the habits she’s honed.
It is an inevitability that in trying to achieve our goals–whether they are personal, creative, financial, or otherwise–we will sometimes stumble and fall. In Rising Strong, social scientist Brené Brown tackles exactly what it takes to rise from that fall, stronger than before. Through the personal stories of everyone from founders to artists to couples, Brown uncovers the simple truths behind our persistence, and how we can get more of it when we need it most.
Science & Technology
Our world is starving for innovation, and Elon Musk is glad to oblige it. A man who became a household name through companies like Tesla and SpaceX, this fascinating book delves into how Musk got his start from a rough upbringing, how he redefined car and space travel, and how he plans on beating mortality. If you want to know what the future will look like, simply read Musk’s resume–or if you can’t get a hold of that, read this book.
As the saying goes, “If you can’t explain something to a six-year-old, you really don’t understand it yourself.” Randall Munroe proves his understanding of the entire world in this pithy illustrated guide to complicated concepts, written only with the 1,000 most common English words. For example, the International Space Station is a “shared space house”, and a dishwasher is a “box that cleans food holders”. Read this paper word display as soon as you can.
And of course, our favourite category: Writing
Mary Karr is the author of three bestselling memoirs, including The Liars’ Club which spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Karr has also spent three decades teaching the craft of writing, both of which combined make her the perfect candidate to write the book on writing memoirs. Full of unmissable tips and techniques as well as excerpts from her favourite memoirs and anecdotes from other writers, this book is a must-read for anyone looking to share their own story.
After spending over thirty years in The New Yorker’s copy department–notorious for its high standards–Mary Norris has earned her self-imposed title of Comma Queen. She’s now taken her experience in the fray
and turned it into a grammar book as enjoyable to read as it is informative. Whether she’s drawing from Emily Dickinson or The Simpsons, Norris has an opinion of everything from punctuation to gender-neutral pronouns–and it’s probably right. A must-read for the modern writer.
Paris is the Publishing Coordinator of LifeTree Media. When not working on the next bestseller, he can often be found reading one.
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