11 Nonfiction Books that Read Like Fiction
If you’re a reader who shies away from non-fiction books, thinking they won’t hold your interest, this list is for you. Here are 11 non-fiction books that read like novels and will keep you riveted.
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I have to confess: I don’t read much nonfiction, but if a nonfiction book reads like fiction, it can draw me in just like the best novels.
My favorites are almost always narrative nonfiction books–books that tell a true story in a compelling way, much like a fictional story would be told.
I often pick up nonfiction books thinking I’d like to learn about the topics they cover. But if they don’t have a good story, I almost never get fully immersed and have to read them in bits and pieces.
The best narrative and literary nonfiction authors know how to do meticulous research AND tell a good story.
I also love great memoirs–stories told in compelling ways by the people who lived them.
When I sit down with a book, I’m ready for an escape. This doesn’t mean I need to escape into another world, or even a fictional one. It’s that total immersion in a story that I’m after.
So, if I’m going to sit down with a nonfiction book, it has to hook me with a good story.
If your nonfiction tastes are similar, check out these nonfiction books that pulled me in just like a novel.
11 Nonfiction Books that Read Like Novels
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
This tale of Louis Zamperini’s trials during World War II is so harrowing, you’ll have to remind yourself that it’s not fiction—because you won’t believe that one person could survive all that he did: a plane crash, months at sea on a raft, shark encounters…and that’s just the start. This book was hard to read, but also hard to put down. It stuck with me long after I finished it and provided perspective when day-to-day concerns threatened to overwhelm. It’s worth the reread for that reason alone.
Author: Katherine Boo
Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo immersed herself in a slum of Mumbai to tell the stories of the people who live there. Annawadi sits ironically in the shadow of a billboard reading “The Beautiful Forevers” and is pressed on all sides by the growth of the city that is leaving it behind.
Boo herself is not part of the story, and she doesn’t need to be. The lives, hopes, and hurts of the families are richly painted and bring home the individual struggles and systemic obstacles that stand in the way of people rising above the inequality into which they are born. For those of us in the U.S., the stories of struggling families in this faraway country feel closer to home than ever in today’s political climate and stratified economy.
Author: Ted Kerasote
This memoir of a man’s relationship with his dog can be slow at times, especially when he delves into scientific explanations of wolves and dogs, but dog lovers will be captivated. The introvert in me experienced some envy at Kerasote’s solitary writing life near a small town in Wyoming, exploring the nearby wilds with his independent dog. Merle may be no more special than any well-loved dog, but perhaps it’s this quiet life that gives Kerasote the space to observe, contemplate, and articulate Merle’s identity and thoughts in a way that makes him seem human. As with most pet memoirs, keep your tissues handy.
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Author: Dave Eggers
The story of Achak Deng, one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” who as a child was separated from his family during the Second Sudanese Civil War. He encounters danger, violence, disappointment, and surprising moments of humor and humanity as he flees to unknown places in search of safety and a life.
This book can’t truly be called non-fiction—Dave Eggers himself describes it as “fictionalized autobiography” because of lapses in Deng’s memory and imagined conversations. Eggers writes in Deng’s voice to tell of the horrors faced by these children in Sudan and the difficulties they face as immigrants in the United States.
Author: Rebecca Skloot
In the 1950s, Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman in her thirties who died of cancer. Doctors at Johns Hopkins University, where she was treated, took some of her unique cells without permission and used them for research. Those cells then became the basis for important medical advances, and they are still sold today for medical research—yet Lacks’s family has never received any compensation.
Heavy on science, but interesting to all readers because of the human element, Rebecca Skloot follows the path of the cells, the research, and Lacks’s family, while discussing important questions of ethics and morality in science and medicine.
Author: James Herriot
It’s been a number of years since I read this book (and the other three that come after it), but what I remember most about this memoir is how much fun I had reading it. I recall telling another bookish friend at the time, “These books are just making me happy right now!” There is no large, dramatic story here, but James Herriot’s telling of his life as a country veterinarian in Yorkshire is warm, funny, and touching.
Herriot spares himself no embarrassment but proves to be keenly observant and sensitive as he interacts with the characters—human and animal, by turns eccentric, sad, and inspiring—who pepper his stories.
This was true comfort reading for me, and one I looked forward to sinking into the couch with. I will re-read at some point, ideally during a snowstorm with a hot cup of tea.
Author: Jeannette Walls
Author: Tara Westover
As a young child, Tara Westover’s upbringing seemed almost charming and old fashioned. Living on a mountain in Idaho, the family strived for self-sufficiency based in faith and closeness to one another. As Tara grew up, however, she realized that their lives were driven by paranoid survivalism, religious extremism, abuse, and possibly mental illness.
Tara’s memoir traces the path from her cloistered upbringing–during which she never set foot in school–to her eventual education at BYU, Cambridge, and Harvard.
But more important than her formal educational path is her move toward awareness and a sense of self that wasn’t allowed in her mountaintop life. Educated explores her attempts to reconcile this new sense of self and the boundaries she learns to set with the love and longing she feels for her family.
An incredible read both for the excellent writing and the author’s thoughtful, unblinking, nuanced look at herself and her own life.
Author: Ann Patchett
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship is the story of the two-decade friendship between author Ann Patchett and the late poet and author Lucy Grealy. The two women met in college and cemented their friendship in graduate school and the years that followed, as both pursued writing careers. Grealy, who in childhood battled cancer that left her without part of her lower jaw, endured ongoing health difficulties and reconstructive surgeries.
Grealy was a needy, all-consuming friend–talented, tortured, and plagued by both addiction and her need for love, even as love surrounded her. Patchett, for her part, longed to be a part of Grealy’s inner circle long before she ever was, and she basked in Lucy’s need for her, as well as their shared goals and talent. The two moved toward success together, and the journey must have felt magical and pre-destined, if not always healthy. As always, I love Patchett’s writing, and listening to her narrate was a pleasure.
Author: Kitty Gogins
As the Russians advanced on Hungary during World War II, Olga Wagner and Tibor Zoltai and their families flee the country. Tibor is pressed into service for the Germans and eventually taken prisoner by the Americans. He nearly starves. Olga and her family make their way to Austria and pursue options for emigrating. It’s there that Olga and Tibor’s lives intersect. The two families eventually go to Canada under the country’s friendly system of indentured servitude for refugees. After years on the move, Olga and Tibor finally marry and settle in the United States, building their family and successful lives in academia and immigration aid. This was a fascinating look at how World War II affected the people of Hungary (a perspective I was unfamiliar with) and one couple’s struggle to survive.
The author was a colleague of my dad, and I attended the University of Minnesota (where Tibor spent most of his career) and once lived close to where the Zoltais settled in the Twin Cities, so this felt close to home.
Author: Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy is Bryan Stevenson’s memoir about his early years as a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, which defends death row inmates, the poor, and others trapped by an unjust criminal justice system, including children. Stevenson recounts numerous cases in which he is stonewalled by a system stacked against his clients, bound by red tape, and filled with corruption.
I was enthralled by Stevenson’s story–his relentless dedication in such frustrating, impossible circumstances, as well as the cases and often horrifying lives that some of his clients were sentenced to, even when they were children or almost certainly innocent.
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What other non-fiction books that tell great stories would you recommend?
The Birds of Heaven by Peter Matthiessen and The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery are two that come immediately to mind. The first is a nature travelogue and the second an ecological history of Australia – the one of North America, called The Eternal Frontier, is also good but not quite as novel like of a read. Of course I read The Future Eaters back in college when it was pretty much all academic texts – so maybe its not as ‘novely’ as I recall 😉
Isn’t it funny how your perspective on “entertaining” reads changes when you’ve been immersed in academic reading? Thanks for the recommendations–I’ll definitely check these out!
I also enjoyed All Creatures Great and Small, serious heart-tugging there. I just hopped over to Amazon to add The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks because that sounds fascinating and a little bit scary…. I’ve never heard about this story at all before, so I know what I’ll be reading later tonight.
Fascinating and scary–you’re right about that. Glad you were able to find your next read on this list! I’d love to hear your thoughts after you finish.
This was a very interesting read and I was thrilled when it was made into a movie!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is one of my all-time favorite books!
I read it a few years ago in book club. Absolutely fascinating but also really sad.
I love Erik Larson. He also writes history that reads like a novel. Devil in the White City, Isaac’s Storm, Thunderstruck and others. I highly recommend him.
Absolutely! Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania.
I just finished The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. One of best books I have ever read. I have read several of his other books and just ordered two more. They’re well-researched books that read like novels.
I liked the beginning of Henrietta Lacks but it got a little bizarre during the second half. Killers of the Flower Moon is my current non fiction pick!
River of Doubt by Candice Millard
Excellent book.
Money Duck was very interesting. It’s about tracing where all the yellow bath toy ducks and a shipping container, lost from its ship at sea during a violent storm ended up. Somewhat eye opening because the world of conservation is political as well as ecological.
That book is called 10 little rubber ducks.
Sorry! Wrong on my part. Can’t delete. But I can’t find Money Duck.
Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng…Excellent and helped me understand China’s Cultural Revolution!
I loved Unbroken and couldn’t put it down. I would add Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca to your list. It’s the story of Grace Humiston, a lawyer, detective, and the first female U.S District Attorney. From the back cover, “Her poignant story reveals important clues about missing girls, the media, and the real truth of crime stories.”
Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir is a wonderful book. It’s an easy read but one of those books that changes how you see the world. She was the daughter of a former aide to the king of Morocco. Her father was executed after trying to overthrow the king. She, her siblings, and her mother were imprisoned for 20 years.
The Tehran Children by Michal Dekel is amazing. Its the story of her dad and countless other (Jewish and nonJewish) Polish refugees who fled to the East in WW ll and their journey from gulag to Azerbaijan, Iran and evtually to Israel. She never really knew any of his story and recreated it with contemporary stories, historical data and inference. I couldn’t pit the book down.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone- i immediately wanted to re-read when it was over.
Travels by Michael Crichton – amazing read!!
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. About a serial killer and the Chicago World’s Fair. Fantastic.
Great list! I’ve read 6 of the 11 and thoroughly enjoyed them all. Can’t wait to check out the others! Here are a few more for your list: Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow, The Body by Bill Bryson, This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay and Radium Girls by Kate Moore.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown is really good. Read it for my old book club and enjoyed it.
Yes! I actually JUST finished The Boys in the Boat on audio. It’s amazing, and wonderfully narrated by Edward Herrmann from Gilmore Girls!
One of my favorites was The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom. It is the story of her survival during the holocaust. Excellent read.
I will never believe that The Glass Castle is a memoir. It was written at a time when novels weren’t selling so well. I think her editor told her to market it as a memoir instead. And it worked! As someone who worked in social services all my life, I found her story to be utterly incredulous in numerous levels. Entertaining, but seriously flawed. I challenge her to verify just one tenth of what she claims.
Oh interesting! I wonder the same thing about Educated.
One of the best NF books I have ever read is called Surviving the Extremes by Kenneth Kamler, MD. He describes his experiences as the attending physician on expeditions into some of the craziest places on our planet, including high altitude, on the ocean, underwater, down the Amazon, and into space. I learned more in this book than I have in a very long time. Fascinating stories!
Also books by Mary Roach read like novels and are filled with humor. Roach writes about delightful topics such as corpses, human waste disposal, sex, digestion, etc. You will learn and laugh a lot.
I so agree with you. I read Surviving the Extremes and thought it was one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. I also like Mary Roach’s books but I can’t say that they read like novels. Enjoyable but not nearly as beautifully written as Erik Larson’s books are.
Timothy Egan’s “The Worst Hard Time” (the Depression) and “The Big Burn”.
“When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalamithi.
“The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch.
Warning: Have a dozen boxes of tissue on hand for these last two.
Unbroken is a gut-wrenching, difficult to read story, which I finished in less than a week. It is mind-boggling to read about the evil some people are capable of, as well as how strong other people can be. Another story about strength and endurance is A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout.
I hated Educated. Hated. Loved What is the What.
I also loved What is the What. It’s a beautifully written story of a young black man who journeys across Africa. Really makes you think.
Exciting recommendations! Always love books that blur the line between fact and fiction, immersing us in captivating real-life stories. Can’t wait to dive into this list.
I totally agree with Unbroken and Henrietta Lacks. My addition would be Angela’s Ashes, heartbreaking yet funny.
In my view, Just Mercy is top of your list. I would add Boys in the Boat and Killers of the Flower Moon.
I have read most on your list but will look into the others you suggest. Nonfiction is usually my preference because I like learning something ALL the time! Other suggestions in the comments, The Boys in the Boat, When Breath Becomes Air, The Last Lecture, The big Burn (a little dry and harder reading), The Hiding Place are all good. Also consider Alex and Me (scientist with a parrot-delightful), Nothing to Envy (escapees from North Korea) and Red Notice by Bill Browder (reads like a thriller, read sequel too).
And Radium girls by Kate Moore. Someone else mentioned it and it’s a shocking read.
The Wager and Immortal Irishman were also amazing non-fiction reads.
Nonfiction that reads like fiction is the article, not just NF like most of the comments here recommend (good recommendations! Just not what the article is about). Salt to Sea is NF That reads like fiction and you can’t put down. Beautiful book.