Best Books of 2024: NONFICTION

Plus a few honorable mentions

Yes, we are 4 weeks into 2025 and still processing 2024 because the last few months have been A LOT.

Make sure you don’t miss my list of Favorite Fiction of 2024.

The further we get into the new year (or maybe just the older I get in general), the more I believe that ART is the answer. Art is gonna save us. Love makes the world go ‘round I suppose, in that we must care for one another to continue humanity as we know it, but it’s ART that makes change the most quickly.

I believe this about film, music, sculptures, all of it. But, of course, my preferred art of choice will always be books. And while I think fiction can be the real heroes in changing your perspective and world view, I have such a soft spot for the education and influence of nonfiction.

I read 39 nonfiction books in 2024. These are my favorites.

Top NONFICTION of 2024:

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne

This first book about living as a Sociopath (someone without a conscience, without empathy or remorse) is a prime example of a book that I did not necessarily enjoy, yet it still ended up on my Best Of list. (I wrote about this dichotomy on my fiction list as well.) Actually, I did really enjoy parts of Sociopath. The beginning is especially compelling. But I got a little tired of it about three quarters through just because it felt demoralizing after hundreds of pages, and I kept imagining how hard it must be for her loved ones although I am fairly certain that I probably know a few myself.

But there’s not getting around that this story and perspective is fascinating. I listened to it on audio (and Gagne reads it herself) and had the added benefit of location context since it’s mostly about LA and the music industry.

We discussed this book on Episode 224: Best Books of the Year (So Far)

Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

I could not shut up for months about this 2022 book about the restaurant industry. I even picked it for our 2025 Book Club so we could read it (again) all together. Will Guidara is a restauranteur with the #1 restaurant in the world, but Unreasonable Hospitality is about so much more than eating out. It’s about surprising people, going above and beyond for your staff and your customers, and (most applicable) how to create incredible experiences.

I read this one in print (underlining like mad) but have heard that it’s great on audio.

I have taken so much of this book to heart and cannot wait to discuss it with you in the fall.

Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

This was one of the last books I finished in 2024 (I listened to it) and was also one of the most fascinating. Now, I had a particular interest in the subject matter since I worked in reality tv for years and know maybe people who still do, but I think this book would be great for anyone who cares about pop culture.

There was SO MUCH about this tv history in Cue The Sun that I did not know. I would have told you that reality tv started with the first season of The Real World in the 90’s. I would have been off by decades.

In addition to the early history of non-scripted entertainment, Nussbaum also does a deep dive on The Real World, Survivor, and Big Brother, three of the most important tentpole shows for the genre. She also writes a bit about The Bachelor (of course) and even does a small section about jackass. Because this is a BIG topic (bigger than I even know), it’s not a totally comprehensive book. But I could have listened to 10 more hours easily.

How To Walk Into A Room: The Art of Knowing When To Stay and When To Walk Away by Emily P Freeman

I knew that I needed this book from the second Emily P Freeman announced the title of this one, and I’ve been thinking about it since I cracked the first page.

In some contexts, I feel like i’m pretty dang good at knowing if i’m in the right room or now. And then in other aspects of my life, I’ve overstayed for years beyond time to leave. I’ve valued obligation over freedom. I’ve valued keeping the peace for someone else over attaining peace myself. And, as I spoke about on a recent episode of my podcast, I haven’t walked through some of the open doors that I wish I had.

In How To Walk Into A Room, Emily addresses all of those scenarios and more. She helped me define some of my past missteps and gave me a rubric for future decisions. It’s just really, really excellent.

(I also want to mention for some readers who like to know these things in advance, there is a faith element to this book, although this book is not at all centered around religion and I think anyone could take something from Emily’s teachings.)

I talked to Emily on my podcast in the spring on Ep 212: 10 Questions for Every Room You’re In

The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook

You may or may not know this, but during the pandemic I became OBSESSED with QAnon. Not believing it, but in pure fascination at the people who did believe it. This is something I’ve kept my eye on for years now, which means that I’ve read several of the QAnon books that have come out in the last couple of years trying to dissect or explain the conspiracy theory.

The Quiet Damage is by far my favorite of these books attempting to make some sense of how this bizarre internet moment took off and, more importantly, how it wrecked so many people’s lives.

The Quiet Damage follows 4 different families with different circumstances, all affected by Q and his drops. It is beautifully written and compassionate to the victims. I listened to this one on audio and didn’t want to put it down.

I talk more about this book on Ep 243: Best Books Lately with Sophie Hudson

The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

This book was originally published in 2013 and it’s only now come to my attention that it’s resurgence in popularity is due to TikTok. I’m not on TikTok, but obviously not immune to its influence because who knows why I picked this one up.

(You can hear me talk about the culture relevance of BookTok with my 25-year-old niece Alex on Ep 191: How BookTok and Gen Z Are Changing the Way We Read)

The Courage To Be Disliked is a Japanese book but it’s actually the explanation of Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler’s work and it is, as you might have guessed, guiding you through the reasons we care so much about what other people think and how we can retrain our brains and spirits to care less.

This book (among other things) is one of the main reasons my word of the year for 2025 is UNAPOLOGETIC. I needed someone to spell it out for me without talking about aging, menopause, or trauma.

Dinner For Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz

I know this book has been everywhere and also it deserves the hype. I say this as someone who has never once watched One Tree Hill nor had I heard of the religious cult Bethany Joy Lenz fell into. But 10 minutes into the audio version of this memoir, I was hooked on how good of a storyteller she was and how much I needed to know more (despite previously knowing nothing).

What makes some cult stories fascinating is how utterly crazy they seem on the outside (see QAnon above), but what made this story so compelling was how normal it began. This is the type of story where you can see how a fairly normal religious experience can go (very, very) sideways over time.

I talk more about this book and about my own experience with Hollywood house churches in the early 2000s in Ep 250: Best Books of the Year

And that’s it!

Those are my favorite NONFICTION books that I wanted to share with you.

But of course, I do have a few other categories that I can’t help but recommend…

Books About Writing

1,000 Words by Jami Attenberg is based on a summer writing challenge she spontaneously created and hosted to get writers to commit to 1,000 words a day towards any project. (And you know I love an internet challenge.) This book was the kick in the pants I needed. I appreciated Attenberg’s insights as well as the many authors who wrote essays giving tips and motivation for those participating in the challenge over the years.

Deep Freewriting by Stephen Lloyd Webber is another type of writing challenge, but this one is really different from 1,000 words. In this short book, Webber explains his process of long writing marathons without editing or overthinking. (This is what free writing is.) I really bought into what he was saying in this book about getting in a flow and want to try this technique (best done after checking into a hotel without all of your normal life distractions) sometime this year.

Write Your Story by Allison Fallon has a simple and effective framework for sharing your stuff (if you will) that I think would be great for anyone who knows they want to write about their life, but aren’t sure where to start.

You can hear my conversation with Ally Fallon on this BONUS podcast episode

Books from my friends!

I simply cannot be objective about my friend’s books, but I never want to miss an opportunity to shout them out. All of these were great.

The Plan by Kendra Adachi is the time management book you didn’t know you needed. Kendra (aka The Lazy Genius) has guided me (us) for years on how to prioritize, so it felt totally natural to read her philosophies on how to look at your days, months, and life. What I love about this book is that it’s not prescriptive, there’s so much freedom in what she’s describing. (I’ve also never read another time management book that accounts for your menstrual cycle.)

You can listen to Kendra on podcast Ep 238: The Conversation That Changed My Year

A Fine Sight To See by Sophie Hudson made me laugh out loud because Sophie makes me laugh out loud. (Do yourself a favor and get this one on audio.) This book goes through the Bible’s book of Exodus and speaks to women in leadership and it is just such a delight. If this topic interests you, you will not do better than to hear it from Sophie.

You can listen to me laugh with Sophie on Ep 243: Best Books Lately

Pick Up by Nora Dahlia was the only romance novel I read in 2024 and (spoiler alert!) I just loved it. Set primarily among parents are school pickup in New York City, this story made me laugh and had just enough spice.

You can listen to us talk about Nora’s career pivot from journalist to novelist on this bonus episode

Classics

I read two classics that this year that simply must be mentioned. I know that “classics” have a broad definition, and you may side out that designation for these two works, but they are defining in their respective genres.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson was originally published in 1962 and has long been considered a standard of the horror genre. This book reads like a Young Adult novel (or maybe ghost story) and starts off a little slow and confusing. Stick with it. It gets creepy and poetic in all the best ways.

I talk more about We Have Always Lived in the Castle on Ep 239: Horror for Beginners

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier was originally published in 1938 and has been a conversation piece of controversy and snobbery for 85 years. We read it for the Secret Stuff Book Club and this story has seriously held up. It is SO good.

Secret Stuff paid members can listen to our book club replay conversation HERE.

---

Okay, now that really is it!

If you liked this post, feel free to share it with a friend.

Next up….most anticipated reads of 2025!

You can hear me talk with Traci Thomas from The Stacks podcast about this topic on Ep 252: Most Anticipated Books of 2025 but I’m also putting together a more comprehensive list to reference all year long.

Also don’t miss my list of fiction favorites from last year:

Best FICTION of 2024

The beginning of 2025 has been hard. I’m hope you’re hanging in there.

Remember that ART is the answer.