EASY non-fiction book recommendations for beginners

[@robinlouise2865]

If you want a non-fiction book about unicorns: The Natural History of Unicorns is a book about the history of the unicorn myth and the unicorn in popular culture. You're welcome.

[@ayeshazafar1641]

Thank you mam!

[@Ssh4H]

3:49 starting recommendations

[@Peserta-KhoerilAnwar]

Thanks

[@veronicasvideodiaries]

I used to love YA but then I hit a reading slump when I felt like all the protagonists were younger than me 🙃Once I started reading non-fiction I was amazed at how many unique stories and perspectives were available to us that don't follow the general tropes and structures of the classic fiction stories.

[@bellaanderson6526]

You give me bestdressed vibes but with books. She’s a youtuber

[@selina9260]

YES

[@pakoparler]

English is not my mother tongue, I started watching videos on KZbin in this language to improve listening and everyone I've seen, your channel is my favorite, please do not stop uploading videos Good vibes from Mexico!

[@aless.andra9620]

As non-native English speaker myself, I would recommend watching videos with subtitles, as they highly increase understanding. "Bowties and Books" puts subtitles on their videos, I would recommend check them out❤

[@RLVRT]

I actually prefer non fiction more than fiction. Or if I do read fiction, I prefer the ones that are more based in reality.

[@lightyagami1634.]

Same

[@xlanila]

I fell in love with non-fiction after I read a book written by George Moise, a Romanian man, giving up on his office job, falling in love with a Japanese woman and moving to Japan for her. The culture shock, his experience with other Japanese people, with his future wife's family, as a man who can't even speak the language, his writing style, everything was SO fun, I found myself laughing out loud a lot of times. I then began buying more travelling books about people from one part of the world going to another part. They're just so entertaining for me and they feel real. After a while my interest in astronomy made me buy Stephen Hawking's books and I almost have all of them. And finally, books about spirituality, meditation, art, biographies, boosting your creativity, they are all great reads I deeply enjoy. I could say I haven't read fiction in a while. It doesn't really interests me anymore.

[@nancybucke2796]

LANILA hi i was wondering what the first book you were talking about is called, it sounds really interesting

[@truelion92]

Yes please, tell us the title of the Romanian moving to Japan book! :)))

[@xlanila]

@@truelion92 It was called "Forgive me I'm not Japanese", but he only published it in Romanian and only a few copies. All the money he made selling the book, he donated to the victims from 2011 earthquake.

[@xlanila]

@@nancybucke2796 I must copy-paste 'cause YT won't announce you otherwise. It was called "Forgive me I'm not Japanese", but he only published it in Romanian and had only a few copies. All the money he made selling the book, he donated to the victims from the 2011 earthquake.

[@aless.andra9620]

"The Library Book" is a great non-fiction. It's sort of "invistigation" of fire in Los Angeles Public Library (April 1986) - biggest library fire in America, which no one heard about because Chernobyl Disaster happened on the same week. Aside from fire investigation and people involved, it's also a look into library system in general (how it assists to homeless people, or takes on the role of community center). Audiobook for this one is really great, it's narrated by author

[@GloriaZThompson]

This sounds incredible! Thanks for the recommendation.

[@Matthew-li7we]

I enjoyed your video a lot. As someone who reads almost entirely fiction stories I wanted to expand my horizons a bit so I made a new years resolution to read 12 nonfiction books this year(2022). Well that is my BASIC goal. I always have what I call stretch goals and those are goals I set to go even further beyond the basic resolution. So my stretch goal this year is 36 nonfiction books.

[@adelinared1]

Sapiens is such a wonderful novel. I read that book in 2 weeks, and learned so much. It's very dense in material, and makes you think that most human constructs are just an imagination. At least that's what I mainly took away from it. I too found myself only reading classic novels but in the past few years, started reading science books. I think this year I want to read biographies of some of my idols.

[@robertbatey9153]

If you consider yourself a curious person and like the sciences in general, then The Selfish Gene is a must read.

[@josecortez5213]

If anyone likes the North Korea topic. I would recommend "Aquariums of Pyongyang" "Nothing to Envy" and "Escape from camp 14".

[@maekylallego6296]

Oh my! I'm still a minute in the video and I just have to pause to type this comment. This person right here is a vibe, I already like her. And this is the first time that I met her/watch her vid😍

[@antoinettevangraan3010]

I was always scared of non-fiction, but I started with On Writing by Stephen King. I think it was a good place to start because his description and story-telling felt like fiction because of his experience as an author. It really helped me to get into the style of non-fictions

[@UnityBeginWithin33]

My naturopathic doctor recommended me to read fiction at night to help ease my mind. I loved reading fiction before going to sleep at night as a kid. I am excited to start doing this again. Thank you for the video, very clear and to the point. Much love from California!

[@bebella9005]

I think a good starting point to get into non-fiction is reading memoirs; I feel like they're more accesible than biographies, and more fluid as well, if that makes sense. I'd recommend Just Kids, by Patti Smith!

[@Christinka888]

I would love for everyone to read Nonviolent communication - A language of life. It is relevant to all people, very accessible, simple, relatively short read and so full of compassion. Marshall B. Rosenberg has become maybe my favourite person that I don't personally know (or definitely one of!) 🙃❤️

[@TheTerminatorCarrot]

Very late to the party but don't care, commenting anyways. Personally, I've always been interested in military history - I think it's important to remember what warriors of all eras went through (and still go through) and the politics of *why* they had to go through what they did, so that we can try to avoid repeating that scenario further down the line. Specifically, because I'm Australian, I try to engage with more Australian historical events than other countries (though tbh I'm not doing a good job at it). Just to iterate; I'm not a soldier, never have been. Just got really interested in military topics and military history as a kid, and never really grew out of it (and I'm completely unapologetic). One book I read in my high school years was titled "Exit Wounds - One Australian's War on Terror" by Major General John Cantwell (Australian Army, Ret.) and Greg Bearup, first published in 2012. Basically, it chronicles the start of his military career (or rather, his first combat deployment) as a junior officer in command of a British armoured vehicle in Desert Storm in 1991, his struggles with PTSD during the 90s pre-9/11 (and said guilt for having PTSD because, to *very* roughly paraphrase, he'd been "relatively safe and hadn't seen much" during Desert Storm), his deployments to Iraq in 2006 as the commander of Headquarters Multi National Forces Iraq, and to Afghanistan in 2010 as the commander of Joint Task Force 633 (basically commanding *every* Australian serviceman/servicewoman in the Middle East), how his PTSD grew worse after his second and third deployments, and how it began to affect his career and his family life. He was, at one point, nominated to become the Chief of the Defence Force after 2010 IIRC (which is obvs a big deal), but he declined the position because he checked himself into an Army psych hospital because he wasn't doing very well (again, IIRC; it's been a while since I read the book). He retired from the Army in early 2012, and currently serves with various veterans' groups and charities in order to raise awareness regarding mental health among veterans & active duty military personnel. Generally, you don't hear these kinds of mental struggles from Army officers - especially not Generals who commanded entire contingents of troops in an entire theatre of operations - and he often talked about his encounters with his men, especially when he took over as commander of JTF 633 in 2010-11. For context, 2010-11 was a hard year for Aussie troops in the Middle East, Afghanistan in particular; we suffered the highest number of casualties that year during the war up to that point. In an anecdote, General Cantwell wrote that he went to visit some troopers after an engagement where they'd lost a friend, and was talking to the unit's medic, who was beating himself up because he didn't manage to save his friend's life. I specifically remember this as being one of the most heart-wrenching parts of the story, because of several reasons (mainly: 1, how often do you hear about a General allowing a lower-ranking medic to pour his heart out to him; and 2, the poor medic's insistence on blaming himself for his friend's death). The book moved me to tears several times; it's very rare for a highly-decorated and highly-respected Army officer to write a full book about his experiences with Post-Traumatic Stress and mental health struggles. He also seemed like he genuinely cared about the troops under him, judging by the way he wrote about his encounters with said troops; he always had good things to say about them. When you also hear of Australia's generally poor treatment of its returning veterans, and the fact that the previous Prime Minister (Scott Morrison) tried his hardest to prevent a Royal Commission for Veteran Suicides from being formed to investigate the issue & come up with solutions, the book hits you that much harder. Even if you're not Australian and don't care much for the Australian perspective, I'd highly encourage anyone and everyone to read the book, not only to try and understand the soldier's perspective of war and how damaging it can be to those who are forced to bear witness to it, but also to understand that traumatic events and poor mental health can affect anyone regardless of their stature in life.

[@maritareads5229]

I find it easier to listen to non-fiction audiobooks rather than read them

[@umey3445]

Super late reply but I am the complete opposite. I probably read 80% non fiction so when I started listening to audio books I found it hard to get into them.... until I started listening to fiction and I can now get totally lost in them.

[@user-ge2es2bp2x]

same ! when i listen to them it feels like a podcast and i can get through way bigger chunks of text than if i were physically reading it : )

[@ninadubois2842]

Same!!!!!!

[@MrCmon113]

That's very odd. Perhaps it's due to the intonation, but usually something should be easier to follow if you can read it an jump around at your own pace. You wouldn't want to have a formula read to you for example.

[@ottoismy1dog]

I've actually read Salt: a world history :D One of my favorites is A World Lit Only By Fire By William Manchester. I think it's entertaining & accessible.

[@pattidoyle5102]

How was Salt?

[@ottoismy1dog]

@@pattidoyle5102 I liked it 3/5, but a bit inflated. I feel like it could have been trimmed down to improve the experience.

[@pattidoyle5102]

@@ottoismy1dog thanks for letting me know

[@emilypark5112]

In order to live - i finished the book in 3 days as i was soo into! Truly recommended!!

[@jooniesgal]

I loved it too!!

[@Tweetie4018]

I read A Brief History of Time and I use the term 'read' here very loosely because that book is impossible to get through. It starts of great but then slowly turns into a mush of very complex astrophysics.

[@Tweetie4018]

My non-fiction recommendations: Girls will be Girls by Emer O'Toole - the best feminist non-fiction I have yet come across. It is both academic as well as personal, it's very fascinating and really changed my view on things. Factfulness by Hans Rosling - such an amazing book about how the world is doing better than we think it is, which uses a lot of data and is so insightful. Mistakes Were Made but Not By Me by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson - if you like social psychology or if you are just interested in why people do the things they do, this book is for you. It's about why we do bad things and then justify it to ourselves.

[@yorurei4047]

I really enjoyed "a short history of nearly everything" It seems daunting because it is quite long but it is humorous take on science and might be a jumping of point to find more specific topics your could be interested in

[@andreagrasso7635]

I've always wondered when the moment of Sapiens would have come and HERE WE AREEE! Great video,Leonie. Keep it up!

[@0APK]

I actually started with non-fiction books and then I got into fiction books. Now, I find it difficult to get back to NF 😂 I'll give your last book recommendation a try :)

[@howardnay5053]

I read Sapiens. I agree it is a good read. I saw Salt on the shelf in the library. I haven’t read it, but now I’m thinking about it. I like biographies too. I have read several by Walter Isaacson recently, in fact, I’m reading Leonardo Da Vinci now.

[@sweet_t_reads]

I love non-fiction books. I think you gave some really good tips! I mostly enjoy true crime and animal related (mostly animal science) books. Some of my favorite reads are books by veterinarians, or animal trainers/behaviorists. I am very interested in forensic science as well, so books involving forensics and crime solving fascinating to me. I think a good tip is just find a topic you are interested in and start there. I can almost guarantee you, you’ll find a book about an interest you have.

[@orion.6]

Kind of a late comment but what animal related books would you recommend?

[@Niyati99]

a year late but, hey here is a tip: if you are a fiction reader, go to your bookshelf/ books you've liked previously and try to pick out the elements that you liked about them. for example, if you like Anxious People by Fredrick Backman, maybe try a non-fiction book about mental health, or if you like Six of Crows, read one about a famous heist.

[@Niyati99]

also my recommendations: 1. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (humour and deals with race issues in America and Africa) 2. Flawless by Scott Andrew Selby (about the 2003 diamond heist in Antwerp) 3. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 4. Hamilton by Rob Chernov (if you like the musical Hamilton)

[@Harry-xh5ll]

Hey...thank you for your suggestions I really like Anxious People .Do you have any Recs ? And i also enjoyed Born A Crime . Would be great if you had some recs Thanks.

[@piroska9645]

*I love a good non-fiction books. I feel like when u read fiction it doesn’t inspire me. When I read non-fiction I think about it and I’m like wow! This actually happened, someone did this, they believed this! C:*

[@megwithbooks]

so many good recs!!! I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE SPEAK UP FOR NON FICTION!!!! ive been meaning to read sapiens forEVER so you've really shamed me hahaha

[@MissFearless1999]

I love this video! I've been thinking about picking up more non-fiction and this makes me want to do it even more. I'm also interested in the books on societal issues, I'm Dutch too and I would love to know what types of non-fiction Dutch books you'd recommend!

[@nxbxxha_1764]

Book recommendations starts at 3:51

[@EmmaRiddle543]

My favourite celebrity has 4 biographies (Paul O’Grady) 😊

[@wills2652]

Thanks I need this!!!!! I want to read more nonfiction this year!

[@billcameron]

I wrote one a year ago and it has a part of my soul in it. The book is called Your Realm of Life hope you enjoy it thanks.

[@tnan123]

great tips and recommendations! Always a fun video with great editing 👏

[@Elinnlundberg]

Heh, watching this in late 2020 and hearing you say "a real bookstore, not online" i immediately had to look when this video was published. Those were the days huh... Completely agree tho, real bookstores and browsing > anything else

[@selina9260]

Same :(

[@lwm5610]

I've dabbled in a bit of non-fiction in the past, but stopped for some reason. Since everyone raves about Sapiens, I definitely need to pick it up sometime!

[@LittleMew133]

The derpy humour is *chef's kiss*

[@ComradeZBunch]

'At the Existentialist Cafe' and 'Sapiens' were really great books. Between video content and beauty in her blue eyes + her ridiculously sexy accent, this video was an absolute pleasure.

[@ellona3645]

I mostly read non-fiction books, life-changing especially in my 20s. Lol. I need help.

[@cryingaboutbooks]

your recommendations? *chefs kiss*

[@student1243]

Thanks to your video i bought a Psychologie book by Viktor Frankl, which is called Mans search for Meaning, just a little recommendation for a book because its a Psychologie book which is kind of Philosophic at the same time

[@languagepolicy]

I loved your nonfiction recommendations. Cheers 😘📚

[@ninahelvar479]

I love fantasy fiction but I love non fiction even more, they have ALWAYS gotten me out of a reading slump

[@QuaesitorDei]

A brief history of time isn't an easy book to read. I think it took me 2 note pads and 4months to finish it with a good understanding. I'm interested in if you've read it yet and you're thoughts on reading it and understanding it. 😊

[@jmsl910]

was it worth it? i tried reading it & couldn't get passed the first chapter...

[@TheFightDiary]

Glad to see the channels active again!!! Makes me wanna do the same. PS Art of War by Sun Tzu is a great philosophical book. Really sharpens and strengthens the mind in whatever challenge you may face in life. Definitely a must read

[@lenakataeva7525]

I really want to read art of war but always have something else to read.

[@DirektorATP]

I don't know English at all. But you are telling so emotionally. It's very cool! ;)

[@lightyagami1634.]

You should read Atomic habits

[@pag9128]

I highly recommend History of the Modern World as another nonfction.

[@meboomzxc]

you are so funny!! HAHHAH what a cute twist to the whole video

[@gds-guydoingstuff]

Book Recommendations: 1. "Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers" -Great book for people who have work that involves creativity. Alternative to brainstorming. Short abstract read that describes how to make a game that will solve a problem. Includes many examples of games for solving specific problems. 2. "Anxious Visions: Surrealist Art" -Great insightful book that gives context to what defines surrealist art of the 1920s-1940s and gives the history behind it. It is good for getting ideas for how surrealist art can be made.

[@lostkid726]

PERCY JACKSON IS THE BESSSTTTT, read it.especially if you like greek mythology. My 11yr brother is obsessed, and so am i.

[@aprajitasingh9802]

This video was really great!!!✨

[@Miguelc271086]

If I’m going to start reading (something I wish my parents taught me a young age) I would only read non-fiction. Why waste my time reading and learning in something fake… I like people that are direct and straight to the point. I need short books

[@nataliecampbell4214]

I DIEDDDD, in school we were taught fiction-fun, nonfiction-no fun like wth

[@jmsl910]

yep nyc, 1979 middle school english

[@Grassmpl]

I'm looking for a nonfiction book that i wanna read, besides math, computer science, stats, physics. Currently I would have better time reading nonfiction than fiction.

[@cityracing3d]

nice

[@waterblonk]

I know you get pelted with this phrase, verbatim, at every given turn but: Please make another video in Dutch!!!!! : D :D T-T

[@GloriaZThompson]

I love nonfiction! Educated by Tara Westover and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson are great nonfiction for beginners!

[@Emily-ci6vc]

One of my favorite non-fiction books is The Bad Food Bible by Aaron Carroll. It's all about debunking misconceptions about what foods are unhealthy.

[@adillaafiani6921]

Heyyy i wonder if you have a book club or host a meet and greet in the Netherlands? I'm currently in the Netherlands for studying and have been searching a book community to join ('cause I love reading, and books, and interested in making new friends!) . Let me know if you have or know any!

[@Tweetie4018]

I'm in the Netherlands too but I don't know any. Maybe check some libraries or bookstores, they might have events or book clubs.

[@adillaafiani6921]

@@Tweetie4018 hey! Thank you for replying! I'm Dila btw. Let me know if you're interested in meeting up and talking about books maybe?

[@NeilBruder]

Another Sarah Bakewell book that I really enjoyed is “How to Live” about 16th century essayist Michel de Montaigne.

[@nancybucke2796]

i’m pretty anti-nonfiction purely because i lose motivation and patience with nonfiction books but you’ve made me really want to give them a second chance, particularly you’re recommendations, so thank you :)

[@annrossfrancis5940]

I started with 'Educated'.

[@normmansor1313]

I only read non-fiction, trying to move myself to read fiction

[@DallasfanTen]

Check out Homo Deus (same author of Sapiens). Freaking amazing. Perfect book to read after Sapiens. I just finished "The Road Back to You" a must read!

[@o0BlackSand0o]

I recommend 'why is the penis shaped like that'. It's a book about a different evolutionary things and is a fun, weird read. Another is 'common phrases and where they came from' which looks at thing like the saying raining cats and dogs, and similar sayings.

[@kalman9233]

I love it 😂

[@federalagenciesarecourtesans]

What about Unauthorized Biographies?

[@tanishqdhingra8734]

danm you're good

[@mordaeu1411]

Step One: Go to a physical bookstore Me, lives literally in the middle of nowhere with no real bookstores in my state 💀

[@conversationcorner1837]

I recently started reading the book by Yuval Noah Harari called "Homo Deus".

[@zcapari]

i'm sure "non fictie" on the sign is dutch but its also cute

[@byz88]

I don't normally comment but I have to point out the potential irony that the first non-fiction book example is very likely mainly, if not just partially, fiction. She is well known in political orientated groups as being a grifter and a lot of her stories conflict with her other accounts, little mistakes can be attributed to just memory, but in her case it seems a lot more nefarious considering the conservative views it backs up, which is why she has many more reasons to embellish the truth now. Regardless of how true her story is just be warned not to fall into watching or listening to her outside this book as she is funded by Turning Point USA (a well known conservative misinformation group), and she is supported and appears on many of the worst podcasts and shows that the internet has to offer. I suggest looking into all the people she works with if you're interested in non-fiction as it's much more interesting (although depressing) how it all works and why. I'm not talking about disagreements on politics, I'm talking about massive purposeful disinformation campaigns by a lot of the people she has went on to speak to. But for non-fiction books I'd appropriately, and ironically, suggest reading George Orwells' essays 'Politics and the English Language' and 'Notes on Nationalism' as an alternative. I say ironically, as all the people she talks to weaponise the 'Orwellian' term, and these essays show very clearly that Orwell would despise all the kind of people she talks to.

[@elinehijlkema]

Ik koop de meeste boeken in het engels, tenzij ze origineel nederlands zijn. Bijvoorbeeld Sapiens heb ik ook op mijn plank staan in het engels (nog niet gelezen), maar jij hebt die in het nederlands. Ik vraag mij af of je dat bewust doet om een specifieke reden, of dat het gewoon toeval is dat iemand het cadeau geeft ofzo? Ben benieuwd!

[@missdead1]

fiction is often more boring than non-fiction in my humble opinion. Because non-fic is REAL

[@codyw4140]

you should try to set up affiliate links for all the books you recommend

[@letipybleu5509]

Je leest in het Nederlands? 👀

[@DrManishaSharma1]

U R PRETTY!

[@MrCmon113]

I don't understand what it means for a "book" to be "easy". If I'm a mathematician a book on linear algebra will be very easy to read, but for others it will be hard to digest.

[@rachelrrr2981]

U made me buy the sapiens😅

[@davidschmidt5507]

Weird hearing someone pronounce Harari correctly

[@movies_webseries_forever9220]

U ol should read warm winter diary by sumaiya Shaikh n it's super awesome

[@jessicalynn6506]

💛

[@Sabas_library]

Please check out my Non-Fiction recommendations too. Just uploaded a video on my channel. 😇

[@tahartouati9349]

are you really 14? :O

[@yonaallouche9693]

I thought she said that too... she's 22

[@5to1eratogninisaul73]

With all respect, you're beautiful Excelent video! Aa A

[@elayeth]

I find Neil deGrasse Tyson more accessible the Stephen Hawking.

[@jaxjax960]

I like nonfiction scientific books and books about astrophysics Or a book about how nothing exists, existed, or will exist. Or about communism

[@mallu2.05]

😍

[@KashmirEmpireof5000years]

Lot of over acting in the video

[@mallu2.05]

Wow w

[@micah5277]

WE BROKE GODS LAW. 2000 YEARS AGO, GOD PROVIDED A SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST WHO SUFFERED AND TOOK OUR PUNISHMENT ON THE CROSS. THE BIBLE SAYS IF WE DECLARE WITH OUT MOUTH JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN OUR HEART GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD YOU SHALL BE SAVED. Romans 10-9. GOD WILL FORGIVE YOUR SINS AND GRANT YOU EVERLASTING LIFE ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS DID ON THE CROSS