Would you believe that of the 88 books I read in 2022, 33 of them (almost 40%) were nonfiction? Me neither. Especially because before 2022, if you had asked me if I read nonfiction, I would have looked you square in the face and said no. I’m not kidding; I read all of one nonfiction book in 2021. Yet here I am a little over year a later with an insatiable taste for them. How did I get here? Well, for one: though I rarely ever set reading goals, reading more nonfiction was a goal of mine for 2022. And for two: at the tail end of 2021, I unlocked a secret combo in my reading formula; nonfiction + audiobook = magic.
So for all of my reading life (essentially my entire life), I have known two sure things about my reading tastes; I can never really get into audiobooks and I can’t complete a nonfiction book for the life of me. And for the most part, I was fine with that. There was the occasional exception where I would read one nonfiction book here or there but the statements have always remained true. But in November of 2021, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, I randomly decided to read John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed in audiobook format and then everything changed. I realized that I don’t dislike audiobooks when it is nonfiction. And that nonfiction works so well for me in audiobook format.
And so began a wonderful adventure in reading more nonfiction, exploring so many sub-genres of nonfiction I did not know existed (admittedly, I had perceived the entire genre to be self-help books and biographies/memoirs about people I really don’t care about), and discovering what types of nonfiction I enjoy and don’t enjoy. Over the past year, I have developed quite a specific taste in nonfiction and today, I am here to share with you some recommendations of the best ones I read in 2022. So here are some great nonfiction recommendations from a nonfiction newbie.
Science / Health / The Human Body
This might be my favorite sub-genre of nonfiction. Lots of research and studies? Yes, thank you. Borderline textbook-y? Love to see it. Audiobooks that come with accompanying PDFs? Give me all the graphs and plots please. The more niche and intricate the subject, the better.
I would recommend this to everyone I came across on the street if I didn’t care about being a creep. As cliché as it sounds, this book has changed my life. Maybe others aren’t as fascinated with sleep as I am (and that’s fair) but I still think this is worth reading by anyone who sleeps.
Despite its intimidating title, this is one of the most approachable books on the subject. It includes a lot of fun activities, like testing your short-term memory capacity and how to tell if you’re more right or left brain leaning. Pick this up and you will learn a thing or two (or twenty) about yourself.
I’ve never really been scared of dying, I’m more scared of living in pain. And this book explores that and more, including how advances in medicine have affected the process of dying. It’s poignant and enlightening and I think it’s one I might reread every few years.
Rank your 5 senses in the order of can’t-live-without to I-can-probably-get-by-fairly. Then read this book and repeat the exercise. I spent an hour explaining some of the bizarre cases in this book to a non-reader friend and after, we just said “wow” and sat in silence for a bit.
Multivitamins are a scam. Antibiotics are way overused and that’s very dangerous for our future. How does sunscreen work? Fever-reducing medicines don’t do us much good. Curios? You should be. Read this.
Memoirs / Biographies
This was the most surprising of the sub-genres that I discovered my enjoyment for. Turns out if it’s about (and written by) people you are fascinated by, they are pretty fun to read. Who knew?
Bob Mortimer is a national –nay, global– treasure and I consume any content I can get from him. This book only made me love him more as there’s so much more unexpected sadness and melancholy behind this energetic and sanguine funny old man.
*Chef’s Kiss* I don’t know what to say about this one except that I loved it. The audiobook had so much personality, it felt like Simu had left you a personal voice note about his life. I laughed, almost cried, was inspired, and learnt new things.
Viola has lived a very interesting life, and I hate to think that if I hadn’t picked this book up, I would never know her story. It was hard to read in some places but as a black woman, I especially appreciated this book and Viola’s story.
Psychology / The Human Mind
Oh how I love my psychological reads. There is a vast range of sub-sub-genres within psychological nonfiction but I find that I really enjoy the ones more rooted in science and researched studies.
This is the book that every other book on human behavior references. And yes, it’s that good. It’s a long one but oh was it such a great read. Many of the things I learnt from this book have been lost to time but in a way, they remain with me subconsciously.
I think that of all the books I read last year, this one taught me the most. I still think about it daily and it is another one that has changed my life. This was such an enlightening read and I think everyone should pick it up; especially women.
This is probably the longest of all the books in this blog but every page (or minute) was worth it. It charts the human behavior biologically from the past to today and everything in between. It was so informative and honestly flew by quick.
Other Fascinating Reads
Because somethings can’t be put in boxes. These are the nonfiction books that I come across, think sound interesting, pick up, and thoroughly enjoy. Technically, they could marginally count as part of my other mentioned sub-genres, but really they stand independent enough and it would be criminal to not include them in this blog.
This is in my top 5 favorite books of 2022 and considering it was a pretty good reading year, that is saying a lot. I devoured this and have recommended it to nearly everyone who will listen. Pick this up and you will not be disappointed.
I didn’t technically read this in 2022, but I have to add the book that started it all. This was in my favorite reads of 2021. It was personal, funny, heartfelt, and just plain random and I absolutely loved it.
Philosophy fascinates me and as someone in STEM, that should be surprising. But somehow it isn’t. I read this in the first few months of the year and it continued to stand strong till the end. I love The Good Place, I enjoy philosophy and this was a great read.
Do you read nonfiction? If so, what type of nonfiction do you enjoy? And if not, was there any book in this blog that peaked your interest?
Haliyah 
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