Nonfiction November: The Kinds of Nonfiction I Like Best (Plus My Absolute Favorite Top Ten Nonfiction Books!)

Nonfiction November is hosted this year by Julie (JulzReads), Sarah (Sarah’s Book Shelves), Katie (Doing Dewey), Rennie (What’s Nonfiction) — is a month-long celebration of everything nonfiction. Each week, they’ll be a different prompt and a different host looking at different ideas about reading and loving nonfiction.

Week 4 (Nov. 18 to Nov. 22)

Nonfiction Favorites (Hosted by Leann at There, There, Read This)We’ve talked about how you pick nonfiction books in previous years, but this week I’m excited to talk about what makes a book you’ve read one of your favorites. Is the topic pretty much all that matters? Are there particular ways a story can be told or particular writing styles that you love? Do you look for a light, humorous approach or do you prefer a more serious tone? Let us know what qualities make you add a nonfiction book to your list of favorites.

What Kinds of Nonfiction Do I Like Best?

What makes a nonfiction book a favorite?

To answer this question, I first gathered data.
How many books, fiction and nonfiction, have I listed as favorites on Goodreads? 162
How many of my favorite reads are nonfiction? 50

title 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten American Wolf And the Pursuit of Happiness Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Blue Highways The Body: A Guide for Occupants Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy Eiffel's Tower for Young People Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience Life-Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephants, An Actual Size Animal Encyclopedia Lives of the Artists: Masterpieces, Messes Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies Lonely Planet's Beautiful World Material World: A Global Family Portrait Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World My Ideal Bookshelf Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure Paris to the Moon The Principles of Uncertainty The Roads to Sata: A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan Shooting the Boh: A Woman's Voyage Down the Wildest River in Borneo A Short History of Nearly Everything Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White Strong Measures: Contemporary American Poetry in Traditional Form The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption The Undefeated Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman Woman: An Intimate Geography Working: People Talk about What They Do All Day and How They Feel about What They Do Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

What percentage of my favorite books are nonfiction? 31%
What are the common themes in my books?

To figure out the common themes in my nonfiction books, I noted the shelves I'd assigned each book. Then I looked for common themes. The top ten themes I found in my favorite nonfiction are:

Unusual formats/creativity/surprise 15.0%

Problems-ideas/healing/quest 14.3%

Best-of 11.6%

Happiness/small moments 11.6%

Memoir/biography/history 11.6%

Travel/around-the-world 10.2%

Art/photography/picture books 8.2%

Science/nature 7.5%

Philosophy/spirituality 6.1%

Books-about-books 4.1%

I was surprised to find that 15% of my favorite nonfiction books had an unusual format or a creative focus. I was also surprised to see that over 8% of my books were visual, illustrated with either extensive art or photographs. Over 14% of my favorite nonfiction books dealt with problems and solutions or quests and healing. Almost 12% of my books were some version of a Best-Of book, such as the best children's books to read or the best places to visit in the world. I expected to see that lots of my favorite books would be memoir/biography/history (almost 12%); travel books (10%); science/nature books (7.5%); books with themes of philosophy/spirituality (6%); and books-about books (4%).

Let's be specific here, shall we? You want to see a list of my all-time favorite nonfiction reads, I think. Here goes.

My Absolute Favorite Top Ten Nonfiction Books

(in alphabetical order)

And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman

Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason by Nancy Pearl

Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience by Shaun Usher

Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel

The Roads to Sata: A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan by Alan Booth

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert Pirsig

What sorts of nonfiction do you find yourself drawn toward?

Do you and I have any common themes in our favorite nonfiction?