Nonfiction books are also portals—not to other worlds but to different perspectives of this world. The words you read are a condensed form of the author’s thoughts and experiences.
Everyone loves diving into tales of swashbucklers, star-crossed lovers, prophesied ones, alien minds, and more. Often, we’ll internalize these stories as fantastical, but truth can often be stranger than fiction.
Top Nonfiction Books of 2022
A lot of nonfiction works touch upon relevant concerns, current or otherwise. Some view the world on a macroscopic scale, while others concentrate on human interactions that might otherwise be lost to history.
Whether you want to cry, laugh, or learn, here are some of the best nonfiction books that 2022 has to offer.
1. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Jennette McCurdy was only six when she did her first audition. It’s been a long time—and many issues—since then.
Thrust into fame, she is hounded by paparazzi, eating disorders, and self-loathing. From growing up in front of the screen to trying to please her mother, this is her tell-all book about the dangers of child acting.
2. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? By Dr. Julie Smith
Mental health is everything nowadays, especially when everyone seems to be living in the most trying times. But how do you maintain your mental fortitude?
Dr. Julie Smith teaches you her coping techniques on how to manage anxiety, find your motivation, deal with criticisms, and build your self-confidence. Learn more about how your mind works and discover the path to a more resilient you.
3. Solito by Javier Zamora
In the small town of El Salvador, a young Javier Zamora watches his parents leave for the United States. Four years later, a nine-year-old Javier will follow in their footsteps, leaving the protection of his extended family behind.
Traveling with strangers and a coyote as a guide, his two-week trek turns into a two-month, life-altering journey full of danger, deception, and unexpected kindness.
4. Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown
There are 87 emotions and experiences that define the human—all mapped out into a complex web that hardly anyone understands. Which is why some people find it hard to create meaningful connections with other people.
Brown speaks of the necessary skills and frameworks that help you be more courageous in engaging with the world. Each one is delivered through anecdotes, humor, and data collected from over two decades of work.
5. All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell
Humanity has a fascination with death. We explore it in our true-crime entertainment, the morbidity of our songs and stories; and the constant chatter on the news. And yet, it’s something we’re all taught to fear.
From embalmers and gravediggers to executioners and medical examiners, Campbell seeks out those who’ve embraced death and made it their life’s work.
6. Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes
Paul Holes is best known for his contributions to catching the Golden State Killer, a murderer who has evaded and taunted the police for decades. And though it’s his biggest case, it’s far from the only horror that he’s dealt with.
Crime solving takes a heavy toll, one that Holes has been paying for a lifetime. Here, he talks about what it is like to be a forensic detective and dedicate your life to solving some of humanity’s most brutal acts.
7. An Immense World by Ed Yong
Earth is full of senses outside the five you’re usually taught about in school. They activate when you experience sights, sounds, textures, vibrations, invisible fields of energy, and more.
But each creature, humans included, often limits itself inside its own sensory bubbles, missing much of the world. In this book, Yong talks of how these creatures experience the world, from dogs using their sense of smell to how turtles track the Earth’s magnetic fields.
8. In Love by Amy Bloom
Amy Bloom’s husband, Brian, is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. And the world they’ve built together suddenly has a deadline.
Brian doesn’t want to live as a shadow of himself but die with his memories intact. There are choices to make—ones that will lead to painful decisions, including a visit to Dignitas, where a person has the chance to die in peace.
9. Madly, Deeply by Alan Rickman
From Die Hard to Harry Potter, Alan Rickman has portrayed characters that have embedded themselves into the public consciousness. That ability to captivate wasn’t limited to the craft, but also in real life.
In this book are snippets of Rickman’s journey as an actor, a director, a friend, a traveler, and more. Some of his thoughts are incomplete or coded—the result of an abrupt death—but enough remains to draw an image of the man beyond his legend.
10. Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age by Dennis Duncan
Most people ignore the index of a book, preferring to dive immediately into the meat of its contents. But within these spurned pages is a wealth of information that will surprise anyone.
From the rough papers of the medieval ages to the digitized knowledge of the 21st century, Duncan traces the index’s rich history. Along the way, you’ll find out how such a neglected tool has saved kings and politicians, bred philosophers and poets; and made many people the thinkers and readers that they are.
11. Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
In a fast-paced, capitalistic world, rest has changed from a basic necessity into a luxury. Most people are now accustomed to subjecting themselves to unrealistic and punishing levels of work.
Hersey talks about how to fix this troubled relationship with rest. Your value isn’t based on how much you can do despite the system’s insistence on unrelenting productivity. Rest is resistance—a step forward to reclaiming your humanity.
12. Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions by Sabine Hossenfelder
Science and Religion strive to answer the same questions that have plagued humankind since its inception. Where did we come from? Does the past still exist? Is the universe meant for us?
Over the last centuries, physicists have attempted to answer such spiritual questions with a scientific answer. But though there are advancements, there is still a lot to learn. Hossenfelder lays out which questions are currently being answered, the limits of what science can do, and the possibility that some questions may be unanswerable forever.
Reading Nonfiction Books of 2022
Nonfiction can be a difficult genre to get into. Sometimes you want works that still read like a novel, other times you want something that gives off the vibes of a documentary, news, or even a textbook.
The list above is a mix of these, though they’re not the only excellent books published this 2022. There are just too many of them to put on one list.
What’s your favorite nonfiction book this 2022?
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 17 Popular Nonfiction Genres
- 10 of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 (So Far)
- 30 Best Nonfiction Books for Kids
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
