The Best Nonfiction of 2025 for Adults | Multnomah County LibraryLike this list

38 items

• The Harder I Fight the More I Love You

  a Memoir

  Case, Neko,

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  I understand her music so much more now, and Neko reads the audiobook herself - pure delight. - Amy F.

• Funny Because It's True

  How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire

  Wenc, Christine,

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  A fascinating and comprehensive dive into the history of the Onion, that beloved staple of alt-comedy satirical journalism. For anybody interested in underground pop culture, telling truth to power, or advertisements. - Isaac H.

• Memorial Days

  Brooks, Geraldine,

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  This one hit to my core - so personal, so poignant, and so beautiful. This one has all of the feels and provides incredible perspective on grief and love. - Laura L.

• Algospeak

  How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language

  Aleksic, Adam,

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  Aleksic deploys humor in explaining why what we say is changing so fast. What's up with "Skibidi toilet"?, why "Unalived" instead of "killed" or "suicide?". My favorite part was his breakdown of why some phrases fizzle out vs what stays permanently.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Carpool Detectives

  a True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case

  Hogan, Chuck

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  Calling all true crime fans! This true story of four mothers who used their early Covid quarantine time to solve a cold case has stranger-than-fiction twists and turns that keep you turning the pages. - Kady F.

• Everything Is Tuberculosis

  the History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

  Green, John, 1977-

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  A fascinating and readable look at a truly horrifying disease. - Bruce J.

• Pure Innocent Fun

  Essays

  Madison, Ira, III,

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  Capturing the essence of growing up as an outsider during a pop culture boom time, these essays had me laughing, reflecting, and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes. - Matt S.

• Right Story, Wrong Story

  How to Have Fearless Conversations in Hell

  Yunkaporta, Tyson,

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  Tyson Yunkaporta casts an Indigenous lens on contemporary society, challenging us to face conflict and embrace conversation to find our way onto the right track with a sense of humor. - Sharon P.

• The Containment

  Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North

  Adams, Michelle, 1963-

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  Adams does a brilliant job illustrating the complex struggle for desegregation in the North. I laughed, I cried, and I came away with a deeper understanding not just of the Bradley v. Milliken case, but of how social change is made. -Isaac H.

• Careless People

  a Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

  Wynn-Williams, Sarah,

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  The lost idealism mentioned in the title is that of the author's as it appears the executives of Facebook never had any. The more they reveal themselves to her, the more they can be understood as people who really couldn't care less. - Heidi H.

• Girl on Girl

  How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves

  Gilbert, Sophie (Sophie G.),

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  Well researched book on how we are at a backlash moment in women's rights and how pop culture is to blame for a lot of this, especially the media many adults were exposed to as tweens and teens. - Kirsten A.

• Off the Spectrum

  Why the Science of Autism Has Failed Women and Girls

  Rippon, Gina,

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  Highly informative, up-to-date read about autism and the failures of medicine and how autistic girls and women are often ignored and misdiagnosed. Validates the female autistic experience at a time when the cultural dialogue is highly skewed toward…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Field Guide to the Subterranean

  Reclaiming the Deep Earth and Our Deepest Selves : a Memoir

  Hocking, Justin,

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  Gorgeous and educational, braids together a myriad of subjects that, while at first may seem disconnected, fall into place like puzzle pieces. - Jessica G.

• Sucker Punch

  Essays

  Koul, Scaachi,

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  This book will make you laugh, feel bad about society, reflect on all types of relationships, and then laugh again. Scaachi Koul should be someone who's work you never pass over. - Marten M.

• In Light and Shadow

  a Photographic History From Indigenous America

  Adams, Brian, 1985-

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  A phenomenal survey of Indigenous photography of the Americas from the 1860's to the present. Just gorgeous and inspiring. - Eketrina S.

• The Last Sweet Bite

  Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found

  Shaikh, Michael,

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  Human rights investigator and serious eater Michael Shaikh visits five communities whose foodways have been disrupted by conflict to document the destruction people have endured, and the ways they are reinvigorating their cuisines. With recipes!-…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Heaven Looks Like Us

  Palestinian Poetry

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  Rich collection of poems on Palestinian identity, grief, and dreams for the future. Features many different poets and perspectives; some poems made me laugh and others made me cry, but they were all profoundly beautiful and moving. - Isaac H.

• Original Sins

  the (mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism

  Ewing, Eve L.,

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  This is the best history book I’ve read in years! Vitally important for anyone trying to make sense of the state of our country. - Alison H.

• The Last American Road Trip

  a Memoir

  Kendzior, Sarah,

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  Kendzior has published several books since 2016 examining the growing cracks in our political, economic, and cultural systems in precise, accessible language. This book works with those themes in a personal narrative about a family road trip. -…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ginseng Roots

  a Memoir

  Thompson, Craig, 1975-

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  Deeply researched, self-deprecating memoir graphic novels are my jam. - Patrick P.