I myself am an avid nonfiction reader. I have learned what happens to dead bodies when they are donated to science (Stiff by Mary Roach), the history and impact of race policy and relations in the United States (The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander), the experiences of other women that I could connect to (Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly), national tragedies (Columbine by Dave Cullen, Dopesick by Beth Macy), what it's like to climb Mt. Everest (Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer), the struggle of living of poverty (Evicted by Matthew Desmond, Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich), how to write better (On Writing by Stephen King), the values and behaviors of religions (Troublemaker by Leah Remini, God: A Human History by Reza Aslan), and how national policies and attitudes affect the LGBT+ community (Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin, No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell L. Moore) and so, so very many more that I can't list here. So much of what I know and believe about the world is thanks to the brilliant nonfiction writers who have enlightened me and taken me to places and ideas I did not know before I read their books.
I've also laughed a lot thanks to popular nonfiction authors like David Sedaris, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Tina Fey, and Samantha Irby.
Of course, students should also be encouraged to read "classic" nonfiction like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and others.
The benefit of nonfiction is very much like the benefit of fiction. Nonfiction expands our student's world view. It lets them get deeper into critical issues of the day, going beyond whatever they are reading in the headlines or hearing around the dinner table. It can help students become more empathetic as they hear the true stories of people not like them. It can take them to far-flung places they probably won't visit. It helps them see how others have overcome seemingly impossible challenges. It can open doors to new interests and pathways they didn't even know existed.
If we help guide students towards the awesome nonfiction that exists, students will soon see that nonfiction is the exact opposite of boring. Nonfiction shows a real world that is a wild place full of fascinating people doing unbelievable things.
Do yourself a favor and read anything you can get your hands on by these authors:
Mary Roach (Stiff, Bonk, Gulp, Packing for Mars, and Grunt)
Laura Hillenbrand (Unbroken, Seabiscuit)
Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed, Natural Causes, Bright-Sided, Living with a Wild God, and more)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi (Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, We Should All Be Feminists)
Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me, We Were Eight Years in Power)
Roxane Gay (Hunger, Bad Feminist, Not that Bad and essays)
Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven, Missoula)
Nonfiction books about really whacky stuff:
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
The Secret Life of Lobsters How Fisherman And Scientists Are Unraveling the Science of Our Favorite Crustacean by Trevor Corson
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas J. Craughwell
Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan
more here from goodreads
My up-next nonfiction reading
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Feel Free by Zadie Smith (the English department book club book for October)
Impossible Owls by Brian Phillips
Gender Outlaws Katie Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman)
Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen by Arin Andrews
Some outstanding Nonfiction Books of 2018:
Time magazine best nonfiction of 2018
For additional information on the value of nonfiction, check out this ASCD article: Nonfiction Reading Promotes Student Success
