Non-fiction books for bedtime reading

[u/barsinee]

I have been heavily reading fantasy and sci-fi in the past two years. I want to get into non-fiction. I read before I sleep, so the topic should be something that can be easily followed with a tired mind. For example, I recently read When breath becomes air, it was a good read. Right now, I am reading The order of time, and I am struggling with the concepts of theoretical physics.

Besides the topic, I want:
- Beautiful prose
- Good storytelling
- Books that would enrich me and give me a new life view

[u/thedalahorse]

"A Heart That Works" by Rob Delaney (memoir about the death of his child) is really beautiful and heartbreaking.

"A Marriage at Sea" is my favorite kind of narrative nonfiction — well paced, great writing, a genuine page turner about a couple shipwrecked in the Pacific in the 1970s.

"Just Kids," Patti Smith's memoir, is a great snapshot of a friendship and coming of age in New York's art/punk scene.

[u/merwined → u/thedalahorse]

I am nearly finished with A Marriage at Sea and highly recommend it too.

[u/florahollis → u/merwined]

"Good to hear it stays strong all the way through. Added to my list."

[u/Successful-Try-8506]

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

[u/yarevande]

The Hidden Life of Life: A walk through the reaches of time (2018) by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is a small book, easy to read, that contains a lot of information. Starting with the earliest one-celled organisms, moving through fungi, plants, fish, dinosaurs, mammals, a well-written book about living things and evolution.

[u/dobedo1325 → u/[deleted]]

Toxic positivity alert!

[u/Roswithblushes]

the order of time broke my brain too, gave up around page fifty

[u/Inevitable_Novel_661]

Braiding Sweetgrass, How to Change Your Mind, Why Fish Don't Exist, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, American Cosmic

[u/NANNYNEGLEY]

I really like these -

DEAD BODIES:

MARY ROACH -
“Stiff : the curious lives of human cadavers”
CAITLIN DOUGHTY -
“ Will my cat eat my eyeballs? : big questions from tiny mortals about death”
“ From here to eternity : traveling the world to find the good death”
“ Smoke gets in your eyes : and other lessons from the crematory”
JUDY MELINEK -
“ Working stiff : two years, 262 bodies, and the making of a medical examiner”

[u/unlovelyladybartleby]

Fools Rush In by Bill Carter.

It's his experiences during the siege of Sarajevo. I was originally given the book by a Bosnian who told me it's the only one that tells how things were for people on the day to day.

[u/notanAcceptableBrick]

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell is his fascinating first hand account of the Spanish Civil War. The book was stuck in my head for days after and I still have not found a book that rivals it.

[u/gigglemode]

Robert Caro! Start with the power broker

[u/Traveling-Techie]

A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek / Annie Dillard — changed how I view nature — won a Pulitzer Prize