The best nonfiction books of the century so far

Narrowing down the best nonfiction books of the century so far was no easy feat. Not only is the category broad, but the popularity of true stories has greatly increased over the last 26 years. In fact, many of the bestselling books, books that have inspired countless conversations and even steered pop culture, have been nonfiction.

This makes sense once you consider how our relationship with reality changed in the 2000s. As the popularity of reality shows rose, so too did memoirs. No longer were they mostly reserved for celebrities and politicians—readers wanted stories about regular, everyday people. Out came books about overcoming adverse childhoods, and even collections of humorous life experiences. We also got a few notable culinary memoirs, and graphic memoirs gained traction.

And of course, the public’s hunger for real stories extended past the personal. Some science nonfiction releases of the 2000s reshaped everything we thought we knew about American history, medicine, and more, and new forms of nonfiction emerged.

No matter the genre, one thing is for certain: the best nonfiction books of the century so far have made us laugh, cry, and think, and have forever changed our relationship with our world.

Here is a sample of the 60 memoirs, science, history, and general nonfiction books that made our list:

Memoir: All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson History: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz Science: How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler General Nonfiction: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Check out the full roster of titles and add more culture-moving nonfiction to your life.

CLUB CULTURE

Oprah’s Book Club turns 30

Image of oprah with books from her book club, on top of an image of a special goodreads badge

One of the most well-known celebrity book clubs celebrates 30 years this month: Oprah’s Book Club. Launched in September 1996, Oprah has highlighted 124 books.

Oprah’s Book Club began as a monthly segment on her television talk show, with a break from the monthly cadence in the early ’00s when Oprah said she could not keep up with the required reading.

This ran until 2011, when the club evolved into Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, rolling into Oprah’s OWN and utilizing social media for discussion. Apple TV+ brought Oprah’s Book Club back to television between 2019 and 2021, and today, the book club operates as part of Oprah’s podcast.

Many of the books Oprah selected have sold millions of copies, and titles have ranged from fiction to nonfiction, new releases to classics.

The very first Oprah’s Book Club pick was The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacqueline Mitchard, which was Mitchard’s debut novel. Oprah’s most current pick, for September 2026, is Little Wonder by Sophie Chen Keller. 74 of the authors who’ve had books selected are female–including two female author duos–while 52 of the authors are male. About 34% of the authors have been authors of color. Authors Eckhart Tolle, Bill Cosby, Toni Morrison, Charles Dickens, Marilynne Robinson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jonathan Franzen, Wally Lamb, Jane Hamilton, Kaye Gibbons, Tayari Jones, and Barbara Kingsolver have each seen more than one of their books selected.

Oprah’s got several celebrations planned throughout September for the big 3-0:

“30 Books I Can’t Forget” Daily Reveals, with Oprah announcing one of her Club Picks each day in September as among the most memorable. A new Amazon storefront featuring her Book Club picks A fall reading challenge on Goodreads, featuring a badge that Goodreads users can earn for reading qualifying Oprah’s Book Club Picks between September 15 and December 30. A special episode of Oprah’s Book Club Podcast on September 30, featuring Barbara Kingsolver, Ocean Vuong, Abraham Verghese, Elizabeth Strout, and Viola Davis.

Oprah’s Book Club has inspired numerous celebrity book clubs. It has also been at the center of several literary controversies. Who can forget Jonathan Franzen’s disdain about The Corrections being selected or the discovery of fabrications in James Frey’s “memoir” A Million Little Pieces?

Whatever you may feel about Oprah or her picks and whatever format her club has taken, one thing is for sure: she’s helped countless people discover or rediscover a love of reading for three decades. —KJ

ADVICE

How to read more and scroll less when you have no self-control

a photo of a person reading with a phone in the background

I wish I could just stop scrolling when it has ceased to bring me joy, but alas, that’s not how I’m wired.

Here are some strategies for giving books a fighting chance to compete for your attention, rated on a scale of 1-5 for self-control.

Externalize your scrolling time limits: Whether it’s Bricking your phone, using a Chrome extension, or setting a time limit on your problem apps, this lets you set your limit beforehand.

Self-control requirement: 3. You can get around this if you’re determined, but it will at least be a reminder.

Always have a book handy—even on your phone: It’s not enough to carry a paper book with you everywhere. You should also have an ebook and an audiobook on the go. Bonus points: keep a graphic novel open in a tab on your browser. That way, when you’re clicking aimlessly, you might end up accidentally reading.

Self-control requirement: 2. You just have to keep those apps/tabs open and not actively avoid clicking on them.

Bury your apps: If you can’t delete Instagram, TikTok, or whatever your go-to time waster app is, consider burying it. Put it on your last page of apps. Put it in a folder. Put that in another folder. Repeat.

Self-control requirement: 3. There is some self-control required to put in the work to hide those apps, and you can still access them if you’re determined, but this at least buys you time to reconsider.

Try the gummy bear method: Lay a piece of candy over every paragraph as a reward when you finish it. This is usually used for studying, but it could work with novels, right?

Self-control requirement: 4. You have to buy the candy without immediately eating it, lay them out on every page, and not get distracted by them while you read. Tricky.

What are your strategies for reading more and scrolling less? —DE

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Book recs based on your kid’s favorite movie

strips of kids' movie posters and book covers

I’m not above using the screen to entice young readers. You shouldn’t be, either. Check out these book and movie pairings below.

If your kid loved GOAT, try…

Jalen Plays It All by Jalen Brunson and Neely Daggett I Have a Superpower by Stephen Curry and Geneva Bowers

If your kid loved Toy Story 5, try…

The Doll People by Ann M. Martin, Laura Godwin, and Brian Selznick Mission: Playtime! by Nelly Buchet and Clara Reschke

If your kid loved Moana, try…

Ning and the Night Spirits by Adriena Fong The Big One by Dashka Slater and Myo Yim

If your kid loved Hoppers, try…

Little People, Big Dreams: Greta Thunberg by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Anke Weckmann You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown

Read more about these book and movie pairings on Book Riot.

MYSTERY/THRILLER

Inspired by the Queen of Crime

covers of five books inspired by Agatha Christie

They don’t call her the Queen of Crime for nothin’.

The great Agatha Christie penned over 70 mystery novels in her lifetime, created two of the most iconic characters in literature, and is one of the bestselling authors of all time. She may not have invented them, but she certainly helped popularize and reshape tropes like the locked-room and closed circle mystery, pushing the boundaries of what an author dared to do in their twisty tales of crime.

Christie’s birthday is next week on September 15th, but this year also marks the 50th anniversary of her death, as well as the 100th anniversary of one of her most inventive and controversial works, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. In honor of her remarkable contributions to the mystery genre, here are five books inspired by the queen of crime’s life and work.

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson: When their classmate dies under very suspicious circumstances, two teens form an unlikely alliance to solve the case, with a little help from AC. Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Various Authors: This collection’s stacked list of contributors includes Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Ruth Ware, and more. They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall: In Hall’s take on And Then There Were None, this closed-circle mystery begins with seven sinners who each receive a suspicious invite to a luxurious private island. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict: True story: Agatha Christie was the original Gone Girl. Marie Benedict fictionalizes the events of this fascinating and notorious episode from the author’s life: her mysterious 11-day disappearance. The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont: Nina de Gramont takes her crack at that disappearance, too, but with a twist: the primary POV character is a character based on Nancy Neele, the woman Agatha’s husband was having an affair with.

New to the queen of crime? Here’s a primer and guide to her most iconic works. —VD

LET’S GO CLUBBING

We love these book club-friendly lit fic reads

literary books for book club flagship feature

Do you like to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s popular among readers? Look to the literary and contemporary fiction that the big book clubs are reading for the books everyone will be thumbing through on public transportation, in coffee shops, and checking out from the library.

What counts as literary fiction is a more complex question. Here’s what our book club expert Erica Ezeifedi has to say on the subject:

I have to admit that what classifies as “literary fiction” is a little slippery. We’ve teased the meaning out a bit before, and there is a general consensus among many within the book world that lit fic has an emphasis on prose, character development, and thematic depth. Still, there’s also the argument that this applies to many books, which is kind of my point. It’s ultimately a sort of I know it when I see it kind of thing.

The book club-friendly literary fiction our writers love include:

Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead: This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s latest and the final book in Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy. Haven’t read the other books? This novel, juxtaposing homelessness with the real estate boom in 1980s New York City, can be read as a standalone. How to Date a Fanatic by Aruni Kashyap: A heartbroken professor is captivated by a man he meets while on a dating spree to get over unrequited love. But Rohit’s heart and loyalties are set against political tensions in India when his love interest, Sayan, joins a student-led movement. Go Gentle by Maria Semple: “Rare is the novel that is both very smart and very funny,” Rebecca Joines Schinsky writes in her blurb for Semple’s latest. “Rarer still is the author who can write a coming-of-middle-age novel that includes a mystery, a hilarious misunderstanding, a globetrotting caper, a sweet romance, and jokes about moral philosophy.” Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke: You already knew this book about a “trad wife” influencer transported to the mid-1800s was going to make this list. An Anne Hathaway adaptation is already in the works, and you can’t avoid it on the bookish internet.

Reading isn’t a popularity contest, but if you’re looking for great, recent literary fiction, this is a good place to start.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

James McBride, born September 11, 1957

Did you know? McBride’s mother completed her degree in social work from Temple University at age 65.

CRITICAL LINKING

You are now free to roam about the internet

a laptop computer with scattered headlines on its screen against a red background

Pick up the best new LGBTQ books out this month.

Go behind the scenes to see the making of an audiobook.

Niche book clubs are on the rise.

Would you break up with someone who refused to talk about books?

People are really out here naming their babies after romantasy books.

END NOTES

Written by Rebecca Schinsky, Erica Ezeifedi, Danika Ellis, Kelly Jensen, Vanessa Diaz, Sharifah Williams, and Jeff O’Neal. Thanks to Danika Ellis for copy editing.

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