“Writing nonfiction means I tell people’s stories for them, not because they’re special but because we all are.”
Just because a book is grounded in reality doesn’t mean it can’t still have the same amount of character and entertainment as a fictional story. Non-fiction books have blossomed from being over-saturated with stuffy academic papers to housing some of the most fascinating, candid and passionate stories in the world right now. So, whether you’re looking for your next awe-inspiring memoir, thought-provoking commentary on the state of society or just on the hunt for some more fun facts to bore your friends with, join us at What We Reading as we delve into the best new non-fiction books for you to read this summer!
Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than The Life You Deserve – Drew Afualo
First up on our list of the best new non-fiction books is Drew Afualo’s 2024 memoir and self-help book, Loud. Afualo is known as the internet’s ‘Crusader for Women’. With over nine million followers across her social media channels, she is at the heart of a new generation of rising stars in the world of entertainment.
Loud came about when Afualo discovered men on social media were creating content aimed at disparaging women through fatphobia, racism and other forms of bigotry with very real-life consequences. Embracing her role as a watchdog for misogyny, Loud is part manual, part manual and part manifesto. Afualo targets the ‘terrible men’ across the internet and encourages readers to create a space where they can fight outdated patriarchal ideals. Most of all, Afualo’s infectious laugh is a strategy for reflection, self-love and self-confidence from the inside out.
Hip-Hop Is History – Questlove
Questlove is one of the most acclaimed and revolutionary figures in hip-hop history. In his new non-fiction book, Hip-Hop Is History, he unpicks one hip-hop song from each of the years since the breakbeat drums first broke out in a Bronx house party on 11 August 1973 hosted by Clive Campbell, a Jamaican-born teenager.
Hip-Hop Is History analyses how each of these songs were created, their lyrical and musical content, and how each new release pushed the genre forward and shone a light on Black American history. Having been there from the beginning and still influencing in the present, few authors are as knowledgeable and passionate as Questlove, both of which shine through in this journey through the music, context and enduring impact.
Fall Of Civilizations: Stories Of Greatness And Decline – Paul Cooper
Paul Cooper is the creator of the Top Ten podcast, and Fall of Civilizations is the 2024 history book based on the show that currently sits with over one hundred million downloads. Cooper explores how a range of ancient societies rose to power and sophistication, and how they eventually all tipped over into collapse.
Travelling through centuries of history, Fall of Civilizations takes readers from the great empires of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and Vijayanagara; from the Songhai in West Africa, Byzantium to the Maya, Inca and Aztecs across Central America; from Roman Britain to Rapa Nui. Featuring meticulous research, jaw-dropping insight and compelling storytelling, Cooper evokes the majesty and jeopardy of these ancient civilisations and asks what it must have been like for those present to witness the end of their world.
I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This, But I’m Going To Anyway – Chelsea Devantez
I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This, But I’m Going To Anyway is a dynamic new 2024 memoir by comedian, screenwriter and podcaster, Chelsea Devantez. In it, she details her tumultuous and uproarious career path in Hollywood. From getting sentenced to the ‘hell hill’ at a Mormon church camp, and surviving drive-by shootings to revealing her family’s biggest secret, Devantez showcases how the women in her life kept her going.
Devantez centres every story and anecdote around a different woman who shaped her life, taking readers on a tour of friends and strangers, fictional characters and celebrities. Rising from having $100 to her name to becoming the Emmy-nominated Head Writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart, Devantez’s biography is funny, empowering and deliciously addictive.
Check Out The Best 2024 Women’s Prize Books
Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant – Stephanie Kiser
When Stephanie Kiser moves to New York City after college to pursue a career in writing, she soon learns that her entry-level salary won’t come close to covering the high cost of living. Desperate to escape the crushing weight of her student loan and jump social classes, she picks up a job as a personal assistant to toddlers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
At first, the job seems perfect. The high salary covers Stephanie’s bills, and she is surprised by the attachment she forms with the kids she cares for, even as she gasps over Prada baby onesies and preschools that cost more than her college tuition. Soon enough though, Stephanie begins to realise more and more about what happens behind closed doors of million-dollar Park Avenue apartments, and that money doesn’t guarantee happiness. Poignant, funny and eye-opening, Stephanie Kiser’s 2024 memoir chronicles her rise from new nanny to beloved caregiver and shines a spotlight on a society stacked against anyone looking to work their way up from the bottom.
Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History – Anthony E. Kaye And Gregory P. Downs
In August 1831, a group of enslaved people in Southampton County, Virginia, rose up to fight for their freedom. They attacked the plantations and homes where their enslavers lived and planned to mark the county seat of Jerusalem, inciting a rebellion that would spread across the South. When the uprising had been suppressed, with over a hundred individuals dead, it became apparent the whole operation had been the sole idea of Nat Turner.
Anthony E. Kaye And Gregory P. Downs’ 2024 book Nat Turner, Black Prophet is the most comprehensive recounting of Turner’s uprising ever written. Through his work on one of the most defining events in nineteenth-century America, Kaye explores the enigmatic and brilliant Turner, uncovering the personal, political and spiritual motivations that drove him.
The Widow’s Guide To Dead Bastards – Jessica Waite
In the midst of mourning her late husband’s sudden death, writer Jessica Waite uncovered a series of shocking secrets that undermined everything she thought she knew about the man she had loved and trusted. From drug abuse to an addiction to pornography and secret affairs, Waite was overwhelmed by these new pieces of information and her new role as a widowed single mother. To complicate things further, strange, inexplicable coincidences forced her to consider whether her husband had somehow found a way back from the grave.
Delivered with her signature candour and unflinching, Waite chronicles her tumultuous love strony and the hardships of adjusting in her new non-fiction memoir, The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards. Riveting, difficult and surprisingly beautiful at times, this non-fiction read is a moving exploration of grief, betrayal, mental health and single parenthood.
Cue The Sun!: The Invention Of Reality TV – Emily Nussbaum
Reality television is arguably the world’s most dangerous pop-culture genre. In this revelatory deeply reported account of the growth of ‘dirty documentaries’, Emily Nussbaum unveils the surprising origin story of the genre that took the world by storm, from the voices of the individuals who created it.
This 2024 book on pop culture traces four paths of reality innovation – game shows, prank shows, soap operas and clip shows that united in the ‘Survivor’ format that sparked a Hollywood gold rush. From tricksters and innovators to the dozens of crew members and ordinary people whose lives became fodder for the reality revolution, seven decades of television are condensed into a single enthralling read that shows how television has made America what it is today.
Women In The Valley Of The Kings: The Untold Story Of Women Egyptologists In The Gilded Age – Kathleen Sheppard
Egyptology history is often shown as being a grand adventure dominated by men seizing the day and precious artefacts for them to mount on their mantlepieces. But, in her new non-fiction book Women in the Valley of the Kings, Kathleen Sheppard shows how this is only half the story. Upending the grand male narrative of Egyptian exploration, this fascinating read shows how a group of courageous women charted unknown territory and changed the field of Egyptology forever.
Sheppard begins the never-before-told narrative with the lives of Lucie Duff Gordon, Amelia Edwards and Marianne Brocklhurst, the first European women who ventured into Egypt. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. We also meet Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, and her lifelong companion, Nettie Gourlay. Through these stories, so often either forgotten over time or deliberately excluded from the history books, Sheppard unveils how they battled issues of oppression and were still able to inspire and empower.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
