Fave nonfiction reads of 2024
from birding to mystics to being a revolution
Happy New Year! I hope the strange time warp that is the last week of December (and possibly the first couple days of January) has afforded some time to rest, play, and maybe even read.
Personally, I found myself not reading nearly as much as I expected in the last couple weeks. I think I needed a break from anything that felt remotely like work, to be honest, and I consider reading broadly to be part of my work as a writer.
But I love nonfiction books, and I’m looking forward to getting back to them soon. This year some of my favorites have had to do with themes of rest, detoxing from toxic (over)productivity, resisting the ruthless norms of white supremacist patriarchal capitalism, and learning gentler ways of being in our world.
I’m sure all this has something to do with the debilitating pain issue I was having in March-May of this year, and something to do with the US presidential election season and everything it’s surfaced, and something to do with deeper movements of Spirit that preceded both those things and will continue beyond them.
Not all of the books here directly touch on those themes, but many do. It’s a journey I’m still on, and I’d welcome your recommendations in a similar vein!
So, following last week’s fave fiction reads, here are a few nonfiction books I enjoyed (and learned a ton from) this year. Once again, in reverse alphabetical order by author’s last name:
Women Who Work Too Much: Break Free From Toxic Productivity and Find Your Joy by
Loved the mix of health science, body exercises, and practical wisdom, all with an intersectional, let’s not forget how these things are not just personal issues but are deeply baked into the toxic systems of our world perspective. I have a few more specific thoughts over here and over here.
I recommended this book to someone on Threads recently because it spoke to me personally and it also felt related to things this person was saying their friend was interested in and thinking about. Later, I remembered that this person also said their friend was pretty right-wing, and I feel like Laziness Does Not Exist kind of assumes you come from a left-activist type perspective. Oops. Anyhow, with that caveat, this book helped me think through a lot of toxic capitalist lies about worth and productivity and who we are and what we need as humans, and I loved it. I hope you (and your left-leaning friends) do, too.
I appreciate Seattle-based writer, speaker, and (self-proclaimed) “internet yeller” Ijeoma Oluo’s work so much—from So You Want to Talk About Race, to Mediocre (SO good), and now to her newest book, Be a Revolution. In Mediocre, Oluo goes into history and psychology and leadership and organizational studies and all the things to pinpoint exactly what is wrong with ‘Murica; Be a Revolution, then, is such a great follow-up, because Oluo interviews a ton of people who are working hard to make things better, in as many different ways as there are currently messed up systems. Informative and inspiring.
Birding to Change the World: A Memoir by Trish O’Kane
I have a few thoughts over here, and also over in Sojourners Magazine (unfortunately most of this article is behind a paywall, but I figured I’d include the link in case you’re a subscriber—or if you’re local and want to borrow a copy of the physical magazine from me). Such a lovely book; such an interesting journey into environmental activism rooted in gentle, attentive, slower ways of being in our world.
The Mystics Would Like a Word: Six Women Who Met God and Found a Spirituality for Today by
A few thoughts over here. What a lovely book, exploring the wisdom of six historical women mystics from different eras of the Christian tradition and what we might learn from them in our own bonkers time.
Sometimes I feel like I should give people a heads up that, on a scale of total focus on the lives and thoughts of the mystics to total focus on memoir / the author’s reflections on life today, this book leans a little more toward the latter than one might expect. I love Evans’ memoir / life reflections-type writing and have no regrets. Just something to be aware of.
Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace M. Cho
This memoir-informed-by-history-and-sociology-and-psychiatry blew me away. Totally heartbreaking, totally keenly insightful, totally gorgeously written. Mental illness is so complex and influenced by so many things. I found myself thinking about
’s writing on mental illness and societal conditions (for example, in Why Therapy Isn’t Enough, I Need a Revolution) and deeply appreciating work that doesn’t miss these connections.Read any of these books and loved them, hated them, or have other fun complicated feelings about them? I’d love to hear. Also feel free to comment with any other nonfiction books you think would be up my alley based on these :).
ps. My friend
will be exceedingly cross with me if I fail to mention my book, Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women’s Humanity from Evangelicalism. I wouldn’t put it on my own list, lol, but I will say it was a hoot and a great honor to see it on a couple folks’ recent favorite books lists on Instagram. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you enjoy!
Thank you Liz, I’m delighted to have made your very noteworthy list!
I just grabbed the mystics book. Thanks for the recommendation.