2025’s Most Readworthy Nonfiction

 
Readworthy by BookBub
This Month's Best New Most Readworthy Nonfiction
Are you in the know about 2025's biggest nonfiction releases? Here are the books that had readers and critics raving this year, including unforgettable memoirs, eye-opening popular science, and more.
 
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Book cover for A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst
This 'triumph' (USA Today) is one of The New York Times's top 10 books of 2025
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • After a year at sea, Maurice and Maralyn's sailboat sank, and they spent months adrift together in a tiny raft. How did they manage to get along — and get out alive?
  • An instant New York Times bestseller with rave reviews from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and more
  • "I was shocked it wasn't fiction. How could a writer get so deeply into the minds of two real people in such extraordinary circumstances?" (Elle)
Learn more...
Media mentions for A Marriage at Sea by Sophie ElmhirstMEDIA MENTIONS:The New Yorker, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Recommended by Barack Obama, The Atlantic, People, The Economist, The Washington Post, USA Today, Town & Country, Elle, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Indie Next List, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, BookPage, Literary Hub
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Class Clown by Dave Barry
A heartfelt, hilarious New York Times bestseller from America's favorite humorist
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • Join Dave Barry as he looks back on nearly 80 rollicking years spent living up to his high school superlative of class clown!
  • Rave reviews from Steve Martin, Mitch Albom, The Washington Post, Mary Karr, and many more
  • "Barry is to humor what Stephen King is to horror" (The Washington Post)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Class Clown by Dave BarryMEDIA MENTIONS:NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
Readers and critics were captivated by a Pulitzer Prize winner's powerful journey of mourning
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • "Warm and life-affirming, this brilliant book has its own restorative beauty" (People)
  • Geraldine Brooks takes readers to the remote Australian island where she wrestled with the grief of her husband's sudden death
  • A moving New York Times bestseller written with "arresting precision, sensitivity, and candor" (Booklist starred review)
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Media mentions for Memorial Days by Geraldine BrooksMEDIA MENTIONS:NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Indie Next List, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage, Literary Hub
GET EBOOK ON:
AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
Get to know the father of American literature in this #1 New York Times bestseller
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • The celebrated, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Alexander Hamilton delivers one of 2025's best books, according to Time, Bloomberg, and many more
  • This "monumental achievement" (Booklist starred review) chronicles Mark Twain's complex life as the nation's first literary celebrity
  • "Stands as the new definitive biography of the revered author" (Publishers Weekly starred review)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Mark Twain by Ron ChernowMEDIA MENTIONS:The New Yorker, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Next Big Idea Club, Recommended by Barack Obama, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, New York Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, BookPage, Literary Hub
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean
See, smell, and hear the past alongside 'one of America's smartest and most charming writers' (NPR)
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • Discover how experimental archaeologists are experiencing the past for themselves — from firing medieval catapults to attempting ancient tattooing
  • Named one of 2025's best books by The New Yorker, Smithsonian magazine, and more
  • "Very hard to put down… A fast-paced, vividly written tale that brings lost civilizations into sharp focus" (Kirkus Reviews)
  • "No writer ranks higher than Sam Kean on the 'You Will Learn Something New and Weird on Every Page'-o-meter" (Ken Jennings)
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Media mentions for Dinner with King Tut by Sam KeanMEDIA MENTIONS:NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, The Boston Globe, New York Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Literary Hub
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
The #1 New York Times bestselling Facebook exposΓ© that had everyone talking
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • Meta's former director of global public policy weaves an alarming story of corporate dysfunction, misogyny, and greed
  • One of 2025's best books, according to Time, The New Yorker, Associated Press, The Economist, and more
  • This blistering indictment of the social media giant is "darkly funny and genuinely shocking… Delivers the goods" (The New York Times)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Careless People by Sarah Wynn-WilliamsMEDIA MENTIONS:NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Financial Times, Wired, Slate, Vanity Fair, Vulture, Fast Company, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Kirkus Reviews
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for The CIA Book Club by Charlie English
Don't miss this gripping true story that 'reads like a spy novel' (Financial Times)
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • The New York Times Book Review calls this Indie Next Pick "riveting" and "as fascinating as it is undersung"
  • During the Cold War, the CIA smuggled works by George Orwell, Agatha Christie, and others into Soviet Europe
  • "Vibrant, beautifully researched, and exciting… A real pleasure to read" (The Guardian)
Learn more...
Media mentions for The CIA Book Club by Charlie EnglishMEDIA MENTIONS:NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Economist, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times, Library Reads, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage, Literary Hub
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
The devastating, unforgettable memoir from Jeffrey Epstein's chief accuser
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • An instant #1 New York Times bestseller hailed as "clear-eyed and necessary… courageous" (The Guardian)
  • In this posthumous release, Virginia Roberts Giuffre details how she was recruited into a world of wealth and unchecked abuse as a teenager — and how she escaped
  • "Illuminating and heartbreaking… A window into the mind of a young girl preyed upon by demons — and a woman who fought them to the end" (CBS Mornings)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts GiuffreMEDIA MENTIONS:NPR, PBS, CBS Mornings, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Washington Post, USA Today, Vanity Fair, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Times, New York Post
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for The Mind Electric by Pria Anand
One of 2025's top science releases is a 'superb' look at the human brain (The Telegraph)
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • A neurologist shares strange, wondrous, yet somehow true stories of the mind's mysteries, including neurological diseases, brain impairments, and mental illness
  • "The Mind Electric transcends the limitations of the popular science genre and raises broader philosophical questions concerning what it means to be human" (The Observer)
  • Oliver Sacks fans will love this "engrossing exploration of the brain's extraordinary powers and terrifying frailties" (Publishers Weekly)
Learn more...
Media mentions for The Mind Electric by Pria AnandMEDIA MENTIONS:New Scientist, Next Big Idea Club, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Literary Hub
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
Book cover for Miracles and Wonder by Elaine Pagels
Uncover the mystery of Jesus alongside a National Book Award–winning historian
WHY IT'S READWORTHY:
  • A thought-provoking New York Times bestseller for secular and religious readers alike, with praise from Jon Meacham and Tara Westover
  • "The depth of spirituality [Pagels] uncovers is profound" (The New York Times Book Review)
  • This "illuminating and essential" read (Los Angeles Times) addresses persistent questions about the life, death, and miracles of Jesus
Learn more...
Media mentions for Miracles and Wonder by Elaine PagelsMEDIA MENTIONS:The New Yorker, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, Literary Hub
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AmazonOther formats and retailers
 
  

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