Bookstagram has only gotten bigger with all the time we’re spending at home. I’ve seen friends and influencers’ book recommendations everywhere and IDK about you but it’s motivating me to challenge myself and read more. I’ll admit that I haven’t done so well in past years’ reading challenges, but every new year is a fresh start! And there’s no time like the present to start a good reading list.
I like escaping in between the pages of a novel as much as the next person, but these days I’m gravitating towards stories that are more in touch with reality. And lucky for me, there are plenty of new and exciting non-fiction titles coming out in 2022! Here are the best non-fiction books readers can look forward to this year.
‘The Lonely Hunter: How Our Search for Love Is Broken’ by Aimée Lutkin
After finding herself at a dinner party surrounded by couples asking about her dating life, writer Aimée Lutkin decided to start a social experiment. She set out to see if there’s a trick to escaping loneliness by going on hundreds of dates, reading books by all the experts, and exploring the wellness industrial complex.
Release date: February 8, 2022
‘The Nineties: A Book’ by Chuck Klosterman
New York Times bestselling author Chuck Klosterman analyzes the iconic decade that was the 1990s. He talks about it all: the fall of the Berlin Wall, Titanic, the rise of the internet, 9/11, Seinfeld, “Cop Killer,” and much more.
Release date: February 8, 2022
‘To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure, and Dinner in Your Own Backyard’ by Tamar Haspel
This part-memoir/part-how-to guide by Washington Post columnist Tamar Haspel digs into the joy of “first-hand food.” The self-proclaimed “crappy gardener”—who moved with her husband from Manhattan to Cape Cod—wants to show others how growing, foraging, fishing, or even hunting for our own food can change the way we think not just about what we eat, but who we are.
Release date: March 8, 2022
‘In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing’ by Elena Ferrante
Though she may not have wanted to reveal her identity, renowned Italian novelist Elena Ferrante is willing to share the origins of her literary prowess. In four essays, she talks about herself as a reader and writer, her influences, the challenges she’s faced, and the works of her predecessors such as Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and Ingeborg Bachmann.
Release date: March 15, 2022
‘Time Is a Mother’ by Ocean Vuong
In this poetry collection, Ocean Vuong once again shares his most intimate thoughts with readers as he deals with the grief of losing his mother. Beyond the theme of personal loss, he also talks about the meaning of family and being the product of an American war in America.
Release date: April 5, 2022
‘The Trayvon Generation: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’ by Elizabeth Alexander
This book is an expansion of Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Alexander’s viral essay about race as an ongoing issue at the center of the American experience. With detailed analysis and profound insight, it looks into both the tragedies and hopes for the young people of this era. The Trayvon Generation is definitely essential reading for every generation.
Release date: April 5, 2022
‘Finding Me: A Memoir’ by Viola Davis
The legendary Viola Davis shares the story of her inspiring life, putting it in her own words. It starts from her coming-of-age as a young Black girl in Rhode Island to her present-day, award-winning acting career.
Release date: April 5, 2022
‘Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life’ by Delia Ephron
Bestselling novelist (and co-screenwriter of You’ve Got Mail) Delia Ephron has struggled with heartbreak and loss over several years. She lost both her sister and husband to cancer and dealt with her grief by writing a New York Times op-ed. And her piece caught the attention of recently-widowed Bay Area psychiatrist Peter.
Delia thought it was a very rom-com turn in her life as they fell in love, but then four months later she was diagnosed with adult acute myeloid leukemia and life got a little more complicated.
Release date: April 12, 2022
‘Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong’ by Louisa Lim
Award-winning journalist and longtime Hong Konger Louisa Lim tells the story of Hong Kong—its culture, its people, and its untold history. Through deep research and personal accounts, she looks at the British takeover in 1842, the negotiations over the 1997 return to China, and the future Beijing is seeking to impose.
Release date: April 19, 2022
‘Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks’ by Patrick Radden Keefe
For people on a true crime bend, this book from award-winning journalist Patrick Radden Keefe is a solid collection of twelve true stories about—as the title says—”grifters, killers, rebels, and crooks.” Patrick explores the intricacies of a forgery and the takedown of a black market arms merchant, among other trickeries.
Release date: June 28, 2022
Via Cosmopolitan US.