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Nonfiction Books » Literary Nonfiction » Page 2

Literary Nonfiction

Last updated: April 24, 2025

    Five Diaries and Autobiographies, recommended by Craig Brown

  • Read
    Five Diaries and Autobiographies - Blessings in Disguise by Alec Guinness

    1

    Blessings in Disguise
    by Alec Guinness

  • Read
    Five Diaries and Autobiographies - The Harold Nicolson Diaries by Harold Nicolson

    2

    The Harold Nicolson Diaries
    by Harold Nicolson

  • Read
    Five Diaries and Autobiographies - Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx

    3

    Harpo Speaks!
    by Harpo Marx

  • Read
    Five Diaries and Autobiographies - The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

    4

    The Story of My Life
    by Helen Keller

  • Read
    Five Diaries and Autobiographies - The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol

    5

    The Andy Warhol Diaries
    by Andy Warhol

  • The Private Eye satirist and author Craig Brown recommends five entertaining published diaries, from Andy Warhol to Harpo Marx – and tells us why parody is a pickpocket

  • Five Diaries and Autobiographies - Blessings in Disguise by Alec Guinness
  • Five Diaries and Autobiographies - The Harold Nicolson Diaries by Harold Nicolson
  • Five Diaries and Autobiographies - Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx
  • Five Diaries and Autobiographies - The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
  • Five Diaries and Autobiographies - The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol

Five Diaries and Autobiographies, recommended by Craig Brown

The Private Eye satirist and author Craig Brown recommends five entertaining published diaries, from Andy Warhol to Harpo Marx – and tells us why parody is a pickpocket

Five Diaries and Autobiographies, recommended by Craig Brown

    The Best Prison Literature, recommended by David Coogan

  • Read
    The Best Prison Literature - The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne (narrator)

    1

    The Autobiography of Malcolm X
    by Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne (narrator)

  • Read
    The Best Prison Literature - A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca

    2

    A Place to Stand
    by Jimmy Santiago Baca

  • Read
    The Best Prison Literature - Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor

    3

    Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison
    by Shaka Senghor

  • Read
    The Best Prison Literature - Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters by Wally Lamb

    4

    Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters
    by Wally Lamb

  • Read
    The Best Prison Literature - True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall by Mark Salzman

    5

    True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall
    by Mark Salzman

  • Prison literature can make difficult reading but is often incredibly touching, testimony to the resilience of the human spirit. David Coogan, an English professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who runs a creative writing workshop at Richmond City Jail, introduces 'prison literature.'

  • The Best Prison Literature - The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne (narrator)
  • The Best Prison Literature - A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca
  • The Best Prison Literature - Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor
  • The Best Prison Literature - Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters by Wally Lamb
  • The Best Prison Literature - True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall by Mark Salzman

The Best Prison Literature, recommended by David Coogan

Prison literature can make difficult reading but is often incredibly touching, testimony to the resilience of the human spirit. David Coogan, an English professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who runs a creative writing workshop at Richmond City Jail, introduces ‘prison literature.’

The Best Prison Literature, recommended by David Coogan

    The best books on Medicine and Literature, recommended by Gavin Francis

  • Read
    The best books on Medicine and Literature - Hippocratic Writings by Hippocrates

    1

    Hippocratic Writings
    by Hippocrates

  • Read
    The best books on Medicine and Literature - On Being Ill by Virginia Woolf

    2

    On Being Ill
    by Virginia Woolf

  • Read
    The best books on Medicine and Literature - A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor by Jean Mohr & John Berger

    3

    A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor
    by Jean Mohr & John Berger

  • Read
    The best books on Medicine and Literature - Intoxicated By My Illness by Anatole Broyard

    4

    Intoxicated By My Illness
    by Anatole Broyard

  • Read
    The best books on Medicine and Literature - Frissure by Kathleen Jamie

    5

    Frissure
    by Kathleen Jamie

  • What can literature offer to medicine and what can medicine offer to literature? Author and physician Gavin Francis offers his professional opinion – and prescribes a list of five notable books at the intersection of his two great passions.

  • The best books on Medicine and Literature - Hippocratic Writings by Hippocrates
  • The best books on Medicine and Literature - On Being Ill by Virginia Woolf
  • The best books on Medicine and Literature - A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor by Jean Mohr & John Berger
  • The best books on Medicine and Literature - Intoxicated By My Illness by Anatole Broyard
  • The best books on Medicine and Literature - Frissure by Kathleen Jamie

The best books on Medicine and Literature, recommended by Gavin Francis

What can literature offer to medicine and what can medicine offer to literature? Author and physician Gavin Francis offers his professional opinion – and prescribes a list of five notable books at the intersection of his two great passions.

The best books on Medicine and Literature, recommended by Gavin Francis

    The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters, recommended by Nancy Goldstone

  • Read
    The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - The Memoirs Of Marguerite De Valois by Marguerite De Valois

    1

    The Memoirs Of Marguerite De Valois
    by Marguerite De Valois

  • Read
    The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - Why Not Say What Happened?: A Memoir by Ivana Lowell

    2

    Why Not Say What Happened?: A Memoir
    by Ivana Lowell

  • Read
    The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - Casting with a Fragile Thread: A Story of Sisters and Africa by Wendy Kann

    3

    Casting with a Fragile Thread: A Story of Sisters and Africa
    by Wendy Kann

  • Read
    The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson

    4

    The Mighty Queens of Freeville
    by Amy Dickinson

  • Read
    The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

    5

    Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
    by Cheryl Strayed

  • In her book The Rival Queens, historian Nancy Goldstone explored the destructive relationship between Marguerite de Valois and her mother Catherine de' Medici. Here she chooses five different memoirs that best explore the emotionally complex dynamics that characterise mother-daughter relationships.

  • The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - The Memoirs Of Marguerite De Valois by Marguerite De Valois
  • The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - Why Not Say What Happened?: A Memoir by Ivana Lowell
  • The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - Casting with a Fragile Thread: A Story of Sisters and Africa by Wendy Kann
  • The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson
  • The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters, recommended by Nancy Goldstone

In her book The Rival Queens, historian Nancy Goldstone explored the destructive relationship between Marguerite de Valois and her mother Catherine de’ Medici. Here she chooses five different memoirs that best explore the emotionally complex dynamics that characterise mother-daughter relationships.

The best books on Memoirs of Dauntless Daughters, recommended by Nancy Goldstone

    Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him

  • Read
    Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - La Bibliothèque invisible by Stéphane Mahieu

    1

    La Bibliothèque invisible
    by Stéphane Mahieu

  • Read
    Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - Mirabiblia: Catalogo ragionato di libri introvabili by Paolo Albani & Paolo della Bella

    2

    Mirabiblia: Catalogo ragionato di libri introvabili
    by Paolo Albani & Paolo della Bella

  • Read
    Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

    3

    The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
    by Laurence Sterne

  • Read
    Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - Nueva Enciclopedia by Alberto Savinio

    4

    Nueva Enciclopedia
    by Alberto Savinio

  • Read
    Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - The Afternoon of Mr. Andesmas by Marguerite Duras

    5

    The Afternoon of Mr. Andesmas
    by Marguerite Duras

  • ‘I like to show some restraint when it comes to making things up...’ The Spanish novelist Enrique Vila-Matas discusses the role of risk in writing, the ‘crisis of the novel’, and five books that have shaped his own work. (You can also read this interview in the original Spanish.)

  • Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - La Bibliothèque invisible by Stéphane Mahieu
  • Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - Mirabiblia: Catalogo ragionato di libri introvabili by Paolo Albani & Paolo della Bella
  • Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
  • Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - Nueva Enciclopedia by Alberto Savinio
  • Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him - The Afternoon of Mr. Andesmas by Marguerite Duras

Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him

‘I like to show some restraint when it comes to making things up…’ The Spanish novelist Enrique Vila-Matas discusses the role of risk in writing, the ‘crisis of the novel’, and five books that have shaped his own work. (You can also read this interview in the original Spanish.)

Enrique Vila-Matas on Books that Shaped Him

    The Best Nature Books of 2020, recommended by Charles Foster

  • Read
    The Best Nature Books of 2020 - Wild Child: Coming Home to Nature by Patrick Barkham

    1

    Wild Child: Coming Home to Nature
    by Patrick Barkham

  • Read
    The Best Nature Books of 2020 - English Pastoral: An Inheritance by James Rebanks

    2

    English Pastoral: An Inheritance
    by James Rebanks

  • Read
    The Best Nature Books of 2020 - Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake

    3

    Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
    by Merlin Sheldrake

  • Read
    The Best Nature Books of 2020 - The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge by Jeffrey J Kripal

    4

    The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge
    by Jeffrey J Kripal

  • Read
    The Best Nature Books of 2020 - Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (author and narrator)

    5

    Vesper Flights
    by Helen Macdonald (author and narrator)

  • Charles Foster—the barrister, ethicist and bestselling author of Being a Beast—selects five brilliant nature books that reflect a new boom in nature writing in 2020, many of which ask us to examine more closely the interconnectedness of all things.

  • The Best Nature Books of 2020 - Wild Child: Coming Home to Nature by Patrick Barkham
  • The Best Nature Books of 2020 - English Pastoral: An Inheritance by James Rebanks
  • The Best Nature Books of 2020 - Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
  • The Best Nature Books of 2020 - The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge by Jeffrey J Kripal
  • The Best Nature Books of 2020 - Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (author and narrator)

The Best Nature Books of 2020, recommended by Charles Foster

Charles Foster—the barrister, ethicist and bestselling author of Being a Beast—selects five brilliant nature books that reflect a new boom in nature writing in 2020, many of which ask us to examine more closely the interconnectedness of all things.

The Best Nature Books of 2020, recommended by Charles Foster

    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019, recommended by Cal Flyn

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    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill

    1

    This is Pleasure
    by Mary Gaitskill

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return by Jon Day

    2

    Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return
    by Jon Day

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane

    3

    Underland: A Deep Time Journey
    by Robert Macfarlane

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

    4

    My Sister, the Serial Killer
    by Oyinkan Braithwaite

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Supper Club: A Novel by Lara Williams

    5

    Supper Club: A Novel
    by Lara Williams

  • Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn reflects on a year of spectacularly rich literary output, highlighting notable new books from Mary Gaitskill and Robert Macfarlane, as well as sparkling debuts that mark the arrival of exciting new literary voices in 2019.

  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return by Jon Day
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Supper Club: A Novel by Lara Williams

Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019, recommended by Cal Flyn

Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn reflects on a year of spectacularly rich literary output, highlighting notable new books from Mary Gaitskill and Robert Macfarlane, as well as sparkling debuts that mark the arrival of exciting new literary voices in 2019.

Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019, recommended by Cal Flyn

    The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’, recommended by Yiyun Li

  • Read
    The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Sakhalin Island by Anton Chekhov

    1

    Sakhalin Island
    by Anton Chekhov

  • Read
    The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Family Sayings by Natalia Ginzburg

    2

    Family Sayings
    by Natalia Ginzburg

  • Read
    The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C S Lewis

    3

    Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
    by C S Lewis

  • Read
    The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Excursions in the Real World by William Trevor

    4

    Excursions in the Real World
    by William Trevor

  • Read
    The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Crabcakes: A Memoir by James Alan McPherson

    5

    Crabcakes: A Memoir
    by James Alan McPherson

  • Yiyun Li, author of Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life, on the sheer messiness of life, the irrelevance of ‘I’, and why brutal honesty is often the truest way to capture the people we love the most

  • The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Sakhalin Island by Anton Chekhov
  • The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Family Sayings by Natalia Ginzburg
  • The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C S Lewis
  • The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Excursions in the Real World by William Trevor
  • The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’ - Crabcakes: A Memoir by James Alan McPherson

The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’, recommended by Yiyun Li

Yiyun Li, author of Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life, on the sheer messiness of life, the irrelevance of ‘I’, and why brutal honesty is often the truest way to capture the people we love the most

The Best ‘Anti-Memoirs’, recommended by Yiyun Li

    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019, recommended by Stig Abell

  • Read
    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

    1

    Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
    by Casey Cep

  • Read
    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons by Laura Cumming

    2

    On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons
    by Laura Cumming

  • Read
    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth 1922 - 1968 by William Feaver

    3

    The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth 1922 - 1968
    by William Feaver

  • Read
    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - Maoism: A Global History by Julia Lovell

    4

    Maoism: A Global History
    by Julia Lovell

  • Read
    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - Guest House for Young Widows: Among the women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni

    5

    Guest House for Young Widows: Among the women of ISIS
    by Azadeh Moaveni

  • Read
    The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

    6

    The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
    by Hallie Rubenhold

  • Every year, the Baillie Gifford Prize judges seek to identify the very best nonfiction books published in the last year. Here, the chair of this year's judging panel Stig Abell talks us through the 2019 shortlist: a thrilling line-up of books that are as notable for their literary prowess as for their weight and significance.

  • The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
  • The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons by Laura Cumming
  • The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth 1922 - 1968 by William Feaver
  • The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - Maoism: A Global History by Julia Lovell
  • The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - Guest House for Young Widows: Among the women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
  • The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 - The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019, recommended by Stig Abell

Every year, the Baillie Gifford Prize judges seek to identify the very best nonfiction books published in the last year. Here, the chair of this year’s judging panel Stig Abell talks us through the 2019 shortlist: a thrilling line-up of books that are as notable for their literary prowess as for their weight and significance.

The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019, recommended by Stig Abell

    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading, recommended by Cal Flyn

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd

    1

    The Living Mountain
    by Nan Shepherd

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

    2

    The Water Cure
    by Sophie Mackintosh

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands by Donald S Murray

    3

    The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands
    by Donald S Murray

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D Thomas

    4

    Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction
    by Chris D Thomas

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey

    5

    Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Crudo: A Novel by Olivia Laing

    6

    Crudo: A Novel
    by Olivia Laing

  • Author, journalist and Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn looks back on her favourite books read this year.

  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands by Donald S Murray
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D Thomas
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Crudo: A Novel by Olivia Laing

Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading, recommended by Cal Flyn

Author, journalist and Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn looks back on her favourite books read this year.

Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading, recommended by Cal Flyn
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