The best non-fiction of 2024
Our best of the year & a review of the end of year round up lists
Multiple ‘best of 2024’ lists were published this week. I love checking these out, they are my favourite version of the ubiquitous gift guides you get this time of year. I find following these lists, and their reactions, fascinating. Too many big hitters and it’s at once boring and obvious, not enough and people are incredulous at the results. The balance of the bestsellers, big names and more quirky or under the radar seems a fine line to tread.
These lists also tend to make me feel a bit bad if I haven’t already read the titles that come up a lot… if this is also you then here’s a reminder for us both: these are a guide, not your personal reading plan. Let this be a fun exploration read and not a ‘how well did I do’ review. You do not need to gamify or set goals for your reading time.
I don’t have a list I really love yet, so I’m holding out for the NYT.
Our thoughts on the best of the year lists:
NYT: Didn’t come out! You can see their best of 2024 (so far) list from October while we wait.
Telegraph: I found this one totally bizarre, I had to go back to read the intro multiple times just to check that it was actually for this year and that it did include fiction.
The Times: Critics picks from The Times and Sunday Times. A nice mix of the more obvious and unique.
TLS: A nice short list of 12 as decided by their contributors. I added Karla’s Choice to my want to read.
Waterstones: Broken down into 14(!!) categories, and the lists for each category are long. Quite overwhelming, little to no prioritisation and they haven’t really set out their view.
FT: Lots of categories, although more curated than Waterstones. I like that they have different writers recommending each category, but I prefer an overall list. I’m more likely to read outside of my norm if something is really highly rated, and for that I think you need cross category comparisons. Fiction recs as expected (I added Rosarita to my want to read), non-fiction recs had too many categories and I lost track too quickly going through them.
Others you might like to peruse:
Time: Their top 100 but it’s missing a couple of lines to ‘sell’ each one and clicking into each book reveals too much detail. This list really spoke to the books I’ve seen all over my social feeds this year.
Independent: Same same but different. Nice round up, looks like my instagram feed.
Coming next week, our take on:
NYT’s most notable books of 2024, if they release it.
Waterstones book of the year - shortlist here. Not what I was expecting but I like the more eclectic nature of the inclusions, and that it’s based on their bookseller nominations.
As ever, if you like the look of any of these, then perhaps you might like to support Verse? If you buy through this link (you can browse our lists or search for any book you like!) then we get a small affiliate fee which helps to power our development efforts. Thanks if you choose to do this!
The best non-fiction of 2024
As with fiction, this is our best of what we’ve read this year. Some came out in 2024, others didn’t. We get enough new books recommendations, perhaps this will tempt you towards something old-er.
Jen’s picks
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (published 2023). I’ve read this a couple of times now and I have really enjoyed the pieces of wisdom I’ve taken from it. Would make a brilliant gift to your creative or art-y friend, and looks great on a coffee table.
The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation by William Hart (published 1988). Earlier this year I did 10 days of silent meditation to learn Vipassana. Here’s my review (and all the books I couldn’t stop thinking about because not only can you not speak, you can’t do anything at all including reading, writing, exercise). This book is a great companion to the technique.
Cold Kitchen by Caroline Eden (published 2024). This has gone straight to the top of informing my ‘next places I want to travel’ list. The mixture of food, travel and friendship is really moving and beautiful.
A Beginner’s Guide to Dying by Simon Boas (published 2024). I have just finished this small but mighty book and it’s a beautiful read. Very insightful and life affirming, despite the title. This would make a great gift, or a lovely afternoon read by the fire. And yes, I did cry myself through the first 40 pages but it’s very bright after that. I haven’t seen the word equanimity used quite as much outside of Vipassana books, so it sung to me from the opening chapter.
Tom’s picks
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (published 2023). Who knew a book about mushrooms could be so magical?!
Celtic Myths That Shape the Way We Think by Mark Williams (published 2021). Arthurian myth usually sits better in the fiction category. This work explores the myths, their origins and the history behind them.
Between Meals by A. J. Liebling (published 1959). I don’t generally consider myself a fan of Paris, lovely though it is. This book made me rethink things.
Championship Fighting by Jack Dempsey (published 1950). Without Dempsey there would have been no Tyson. If you want to learn about boxing and self defense this is the original manual. YouTube is absolutely not going to help you here - as Netflix so ham-fistedly demonstrated.
This post follows on from our previous round ups:
Part 1: Our fave reads of 2019-2021. Read here
Part 2: Our fave reads of 2022-2023. Read here.
Part 3: Our fave fiction of 2024. Read here.
Part 4: Our fave non-fiction of 2024. This post.
Say goodbye to bad recommendations and hello to a better reading experience 👇