Nonfiction Beach Reads
This week, Kim and Alice take a deep dive into types of nonfiction that are great for reading at the beach — stunt and celebrity memoirs, science and nature stories, and historical true crime reads.
While you’re here, don’t forget Book Riot’s YA giveaway! Go here to win $500 of the year’s best YA fiction and nonfiction: bookriot.com/500yagiveaway.
FOLLOW UP
From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Drinking in America by Mark Edward Lender
NEW BOOKS
Barons of the Sea by Steven Ujifusa
Blood and Ivy by Paul Collins
A Bite-Sized History of France by Stephane Henaut (translated by Jeni Mitchell)
Killing It: An Education by Camas Davis
NONFICTION BEACH READS
Stunt Memoirs!
My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock
Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis
The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
The Lunatic Express by Carl Hoffman
Nature/Science Books!
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
Light/Historical True Crime!
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.
The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
Comedy Memoirs!
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang
I Know I Am But What Are You by Samantha Bee
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y’All Don’t Even Know by Retta
READING NOW
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Fighting Chance by Faye Dudden
OTHER
Ask a Slave (web series)
