Best and Worst Non-Fiction of 2019

[@hellonafeeshello3225]

Thank you maria for such a valuable video on non fiction. Please make a video on best nonfiction of all time. It's a humble request maria.

[@valenciataylor4966]

I like your format of including disappointing books inside the wrap up rather than dedicating an entire video. This has given me more non-fiction suggestions. Thanks!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad it was helpful!!

[@cozyafternoons]

I think you're one of the only people who can get me excited for nonfiction 🙌

[@bookslikewhoa]

Mission accomplished!!

[@AlwaysBooked]

LOVE your sweater!

[@scrapgirl82]

I read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes a few years ago and I recommend it to people all the time. Especially people who fear the concept of death. It’s great for demystifying the process, which is what, I find, is most fearful for people. They just don’t know what to expect when they walk into a mortuary. Also, I got Catch and Kill for Christmas and cannot wait to get to it! Great list and great video, as always! Happy New Year!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Happy New Year!!

[@meljstephan]

Caitlin Doughty is one of my favorite KZbinrs, as well

[@magicalemmarose]

Okay, wow. I think you talked about Smoke Gets in Your Eyes in a previous video but somehow it didn't strike a chord with me then. It definitely did today, for some reason (maybe it's waking up in a new year, I don't know). I need that book and I need to sort out my own death (this was.. interesting to type, but let's try and be practical). I've got no significant other, no children, no assets and I'm - knock on wood - healthy but I feel like it's an important thing to do. My mum made a binder when she had me called 'In Case of Death' that I've been joking about my entire life ('mum, who does that, get rid of it, when you die all I'm going to do is cry all day, I won't care about that' etc). I know 2020 was hard on you personally, I hope you find 2020 to be a lot happier and more peaceful. I love your videos so much, Mara, they bring me so much joy ❤️

[@bookslikewhoa]

I'm so glad you enjoy my videos! And, yes, it is definitely an important thing to think about before it becomes relevant :)

[@auldsmith1]

Such a great video. My goal next year it's to read at least 1 non-fiction a month. You helped me find some to add to the top of my tbr. Thank you!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yay, good luck with your goals!!

[@bts_vinyl]

One of my top non-fiction reads for the year was Chanel Miller's Know My Name. I listened to it on audio and it was beautifully written, but also gut-wrenching at times because you can hear the emotion in her voice as she's narrating it. Highly recommend.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I've heard that one is amazing! I'm not sure I could take the intensity of a first-person narrative, but mad respect for it

[@lifefullofwords]

I’m rarely sorry I read a nonfiction book. Even when I don’t agree with the argument or the writing style isn’t great I still find nonfiction to be informative or just good grist for the mill.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Well said!!

[@eralonuva]

Adding all the ones I didn't already read to my 2020 TBR list. (Some I already read at your recommendation earlier in the year.) Thank you!

[@abookgirl6574]

Are there any other F.I.R.E. books you’d recommend?

[@bookslikewhoa]

I haven't dug further in on more books, so not at the moment! Their blog probably has a reading list

[@heth300]

I really like and appreciate how well you describe the books you read. It really helps when deciding on which books to potentially purchase at some point. I purchased Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill' today at a library book sale for one dollar. I'm looking forward to reading it.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@debralavoie9095]

Happy New Year!

[@honeydew75]

love your videos🥰🥰 I think my favorite nonfiction this year was How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell, so much of it stuck with me especially since I spent so much of this year being sick it was very comforting haha

[@bookslikewhoa]

I've heard about that one! Heard it's really good

[@krakentoagoodbook]

I've heard good things about Caitlin Doughty's books from several people! I definitely want to look at Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. It seems like it would be a comforting read to learn more about all of that and come to terms with everything for sure. I don't tend to read much nonfiction, but I generally go for ones that are about scuba diving, animals, outdoorsy things in general, or other hobbies that I enjoy. I tried a couple of true crime ones in 2019 and thought they were fine, but I didn't fully connect with them.

[@leanneburnham3515]

I just read Catch and Kill last night and I was up until 2am reading it, I couldn't put it down. I'm still on the wait list for She Said from the library, but looking forward to reading it.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Enjoy!! It's a great reading experience

[@avasisx]

im reading Anti Social my Andrew Marantz right now and im loving it so much, have you read it?

[@annajo6576]

I just read the preface of No Visible Bruises (on hold for the ebook at my library!) and .... wow. Cannot wait to get my hands on that one. As always, you speak so eloquently and passionately about these books and it’s a treat watching your videos! Happy new year 🎊

[@bookslikewhoa]

I tried to read Anti-Social, but it was making me so sad... I couldn't keep going :D. That's me, though, not the book

[@avasisx]

@@bookslikewhoa I don't blame you. I'm not American so I felt I could look at it from the outside but I had to read it in small increments cause I'd find myself getting dour

[@pleasepleasethebees]

Great list! There are a couple I wanna pick up now. I've been really leaning on memoirs this year and my two favorites were Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba (hope I spelled that correctly).

[@Nicathatsme]

2019 was a great year for increasing my nonfiction consumption. Thanks in large part to your reviews! 😊Braiding Sweetgrass was my #1 this year, and Evicted by Matthew Desmond was a very close second. But unlike you I didn’t really click with The Uninhabitable Earth; I thought it was a big didactic & over-sensationalized. It could have been the author’s audiobook narrative tone that turned me off though.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I could definitely see that-- I think because I first encountered him on a podcast, I didn't experience his voice/tone that way, but see how it come off like that