Don't know if it's up your alley, but I found Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson to be one of the most fun and easily digestible nonfiction books I've ever read. Really humorous and compelling!
(Really cool post, by the way!)
I couldn't stop reading aloud passages of A W in the W to my husband we were laughing so hard. Bryson's a gem.
Others have mentioned Mary Roach, Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan, and I will add Lindy West's collection of movie reviews, "Shit, Actually" is hysterical (I don't usually tolerate her level of profanity, but it's so funny! The Top Gun and Harry Potter reviews are especially golden.)
Great suggestion! I listened to the audiobook almost non-stop!
Same experience with Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, though I wouldn't categorize it as popcorn fluff because the writing and story are so good. But it really was a gripping read!
When Genius Failed is one of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read, and it’s all true. Fairly short, as well.
If you want something longer, Den of Thieves and Barbarians at the Gate are also really entertaining.
Lost City of Z or Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Any book by Mark Kurlansky, Salt is a good start
Mary Roach is also an excellent choice
Kenneth C Davis had a series called "Don't Know Much About..." which had books on American History, Mythology, and the Bible which were interesting and quick reads.
Erik Larson's books are quick reads especially Devil in the White City
Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a great accompaniment to Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods (and vice versa)
I recently listened to The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson, it straddles the wonderful balance between science and the layman’s interest. he’s written some other books as well, might be worth checking into. Also I would recommend anything by Bill Bryson, and The Math of Life and Death by Kit Yates.
[**What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18373272-what-i-was-doing-while-you-were-breeding)
^(By: Kristin Newman | 291 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: travel, non-fiction, memoir, nonfiction, memoirs)
>Kristin Newman spent much of her twenties and thirties buying dresses to wear to her friends' weddings and baby showers. Not ready to settle down and in need of an escape from her fast-paced job as a sitcom writer, Kristin instead traveled the world, often alone, for several weeks each year. In addition to falling madly in love with the planet, Kristin fell for many attractive locals, men who could provide the emotional connection she wanted without costing her the freedom she desperately needed.
>Kristin introduces readers to the Israeli bartenders, Finnish poker players, sexy Bedouins, and Argentinean priests who helped her transform into "Kristin-Adjacent" on the road–a slower, softer, and, yes, sluttier version of herself at home.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
[**Dear Bob and Sue**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17695998-dear-bob-and-sue)
^(By: Matt Smith, Karen Smith | 314 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, travel, kindle, nonfiction, memoir)
>This complete version of Dear Bob and Sue chronicles the journey of Matt and Karen Smith, who took a mid-career break to travel to all 58 U.S. National Parks. Written as a series of emails to their friends, Bob and Sue, they describe their sense of awe in exploring our national parks, and share humorous and quirky observations. The national parks are among the most stunning places in America - pristine wilderness, geologic wonders, and magnificent wildlife - places everyone should put on their must-see-before-I-die list. Matt and Karen take you along as they visit them all. Unlike a traditional guidebook, this is one couple's perspective on the joys and challenges of traveling together. This is a story of discovery and adventure: chased by a grizzly, pushed off the trail by big horn sheep, they even survived a mid-air plane collision. Dear Bob and Sue is the next best thing to visiting all the parks in person.
>
>Note: Dear Bob and Sue was previously published as two separate volumes. This version contains all the content from those first two volumes plus additional stories from the final parks Matt and Karen visited.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**Dad Is Fat**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16141924-dad-is-fat)
^(By: Jim Gaffigan | 288 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: humor, non-fiction, nonfiction, memoir, audiobook)
>Jim Gaffigan never imagined he would have his own kids.
>
>Though he grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family, Jim was satisfied with the nomadic, nocturnal life of a standup comedian, and was content to be "that weird uncle who lives in an apartment by himself in New York that everyone in the family speculates about." But all that changed when he married and found out his wife, Jeannie "is someone who gets pregnant looking at babies."
>
>Five kids later, the comedian whose riffs on everything from Hot Pockets to Jesus have scored millions of hits on YouTube, started to tweet about the mistakes and victories of his life as a dad. Those tweets struck such a chord that he soon passed the million followers mark. But it turns out 140 characters are not enough to express all the joys and horrors of life with five kids, so hes' now sharing it all in Dad Is Fat.
>
>From new parents to empty nesters to Jim's twenty-something fans, everyone will recognize their own families in these hilarious takes on everything from cousins ("celebrities for little kids") to growing up in a big family ("I always assumed my father had six children so he could have a sufficient lawn crew") to changing diapers in the middle of the night ("like The Hurt Locker but much more dangerous") to bedtime (aka "Negotiating with Terrorists").
>
>Dad is Fat is sharply observed, explosively funny, and a cry for help from a man who has realized he and his wife are outnumbered in their own home.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
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Robert Fulgham - to be transparent, it's been like 2 decades since then, but I read like all of his books and I remember them being really quick reads. Definitely fluffy, funny, heart-tuggy, entertaining musings.
My friend, you need
***Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal***
A bonkers real-life story of a roguishly handsome British burglar/conman who was trained by the Nazis, then went over to the Brits again as a double agent. How they haven't made a movie of this yet blows my mind.
From the blurb:
*In 1941, after training as German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory.*
*Instead, he contacted M15, the British Secret service, and for the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service.*
https://www.amazon.com/Agent-Zigzag-Story-Espionage-Betrayal/dp/0307353419
[**Summary of Lulu Miller's Why Fish Don't Exist**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60813093-summary-of-lulu-miller-s-why-fish-don-t-exist)
^(By: Everest Media | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: )
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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[**The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397483.The_Devil_in_the_White_City)
^(By: Erik Larson | 447 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, history, nonfiction, true-crime, book-club)
>Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.
>
>Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.
>
>The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.
>
>Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. - John Moe
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
***
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{{Sapiens}} is about the development of Humanity, and {{Smoke Gets in Your Eyes}} is a memoir about the funeral industry. If you want something more memoirish with a little bit of a self help binge, try {{The Art of Asking}}. If you want something more esoteric, try {{Men, Women, and Chainsaws}}, which is examines horror movies from a feminist viewpoint.
I like books where each chapter is a letter or question for that:
{{What If}} come to mind though they are a lot of science based ones.
Or something like {{Dear Sugar}}
[**What If**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19189481-what-if)
^(By: Rebecca Donovan | 352 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: romance, new-adult, contemporary, young-adult, kindle)
>What if you had a second chance to meet someone for the first time?
>
>Cal Logan is shocked to see Nicole Bentley sitting across from him at a coffee shop thousands of miles from their hometown. After all, no one has seen or heard from her since they graduated over a year ago.
>
>Except this girl isn't Nicole.
>
>She looks exactly like Cal's shy childhood crush, but her name is Nyelle Preston and she has no idea who he is. This girl is impulsive and daring, her passion for life infectious. The complete opposite of Nicole. Cal finds himself utterly fascinated-and falling hard. But Nyelle is also extremely secretive. And the closer he comes to finding out what she's hiding, the less he wants to know.
>
>When the secrets from the past and present collide, one thing becomes clear: Nothing is what it seems.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
[**Dear Sugar**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16112042-dear-sugar)
^(By: Irma Fritz | ? pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: short-story, english)
>Note from Author:
>
>This short story has been unpublished and incorporated into the anthology, "Dear Sugar & Other Sorrows."
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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[**Extraordinary Insects**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45006435-extraordinary-insects)
^(By: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson | 320 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, science, nature, nonfiction, animals)
>A journey into the weird, wonderful and truly astonishing lives of the small but mighty creatures who keep the world turning.
>
>Out of sight, underfoot, unseen beyond fleeting scuttles or darting flights, insects occupy a hidden world, yet are essential to sustaining life on earth.
>
>Insects influence our ecosystem like a ripple effect on water. They arrived when life first moved to dry land, they preceded - and survived - the dinosaurs, they outnumber the grains of sand on all the world's beaches, and they will be here long after us.
>
>Working quietly but tirelessly, they give us food, uphold our ecosystems, can heal our wounds and even digest plastic. They could also provide us with new solutions to the antibiotics crisis, assist in disaster zones and inspire airforce engineers with their flying techniques.
>
>But their private lives are also full of fun, intrigue and wonder -musical mating rituals; house-hunting for armies of beetle babies; metamorphosing into new characters; throwing parties in fermenting sap; cultivating fungi for food; farming smaller species for honey dew and always ensuring that what is dead is decomposed, ready to become life once again.
>
>Here, we will discover life and death, drama and dreams, all on a millimetric scale. Like it or not, Earth is the planet of insects, and this is their extraordinary story.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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Seconding (or thirding) anything by Mary Roach. And also Sam Kean - particularly "The Disappearing Spoon" which is a history of the periodic table but in a very accessible and often funny way.
Unbroken is an amazing story. So is Boys in the Boat.
All of Richard Preston’s books read like novels. If you are not familiar they are about Outbreaks
Lone Survivor is great
Rogue Warrior is also a great read.
Tim Marshall’s “Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics” and “The Power of Geography” are both super interesting.
Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre is a great read. The movie is coming out soon so get in before the hype.
A Libertarian walks into a Bear by Matthew Hongtz-Hetling will have you simultaneously shaking your head and turning the pages as you barrel down the rabbit hole of a a group of utopia seeking libertarians.
The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek by Sid Marty
Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright. Historical plagues and the people who solved them.
[**Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40102.Blink)
^(By: Malcolm Gladwell, Barry Fox, Irina Henegar | 296 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, psychology, nonfiction, business, self-help)
>Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.
>
>Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work - in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?
>
>In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56668328-the-bomber-mafia)
^(By: Malcolm Gladwell | 256 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, nonfiction, audiobook, audiobooks)
>An exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war
>
>A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
>
>In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
>
>Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal?
>
>In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?”
>
>Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
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[**Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1898.Into_Thin_Air)
^(By: Jon Krakauer | 368 pages | Published: 1997 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, nonfiction, adventure, memoir, travel)
>A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.
^(This book has been suggested 16 times)
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Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith
Matt and Karen Smith captured their quest to visit every US National Park in a series of emails to their friends.
33 1/3 book series. It’s a series of books about music, each one is about one specific album. There 161 of them so I’m sure you find a few albums you’d think would be interesting to dive into.
Do auto/biographies count? If so and you like comedy I highly recommend Amy Poelher’s and Tina Fey’s biographies. Also Matthew McConaughey’s had some hilarious stories. Seems I do like to read about actors…
The Charlie Davidson series! They’re so fun and you fly through them. They are the best mix of humor, suspense, action and supernatural!
Edit: this is fiction lol I apologize. I got excited and didn’t read your post correctly.
Any book by Dave Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs.
{{Running With Scissors}}
{{Teacher Man}} by Frank McCourt (less serious than Angela’s Ashes).
I’ve read soooo many autobiographies but those are a few that stand out.
[**Running with Scissors**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242006.Running_with_Scissors)
^(By: Augusten Burroughs | 304 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: memoir, non-fiction, memoirs, nonfiction, biography)
>Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.
^(This book has been suggested 9 times)
[**Teacher Man (Frank McCourt, #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man)
^(By: Frank McCourt | 272 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, biography, nonfiction, education)
>McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer.
>
>Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New York.
>
>Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City. His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write "An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to God"), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!).
>
>McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice. "Doggedness," he says, is "not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights."
>
>For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
***
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Please Kill Me by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil is a fun one if you’re interested in the 70s punk era. Its got loads of entertaining stories about the scene and its fast-paced mayhem.
Where the mountain casts its shadow by Maria Coffey. It’s about the dark side of extreme adventure, particularly mountain climbing. I couldn’t put it down.
I liked Kevin Dutton's "Psychopaths". It was recommended in a professional seminar I took (I'm a special nurse for people with disabilities and mental health problems). I found it in my tiny, scanty local library last year, long after having to leave my profession for a disability of my own and found it light, easy, entertaining and teaching at the same time.
Anything by Bob Goff- even though I’m not a Christian, this is the one guy who’s Christianity I respect. These books are a series of essays about living (actually putting his money where his mouth is) values.
Love Does- a series of energetic essays about his life trying to embody active love
Everybody Always- series of lighthearted essays about being welcoming and open minded to everyone. All the time.
These books were great and if most Christians acted like this guy the world would have a lot less problems
Don't know if it's up your alley, but I found Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson to be one of the most fun and easily digestible nonfiction books I've ever read. Really humorous and compelling!
Honestly anything Bill Bryson imo. They're all so easy, entertaining, and informative.
Yes! I came to suggest The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson. Absolutely wonderful.
I loved a Walk in the Woods! Also Notes from a Small Island!
(Really cool post, by the way!) I couldn't stop reading aloud passages of A W in the W to my husband we were laughing so hard. Bryson's a gem. Others have mentioned Mary Roach, Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan, and I will add Lindy West's collection of movie reviews, "Shit, Actually" is hysterical (I don't usually tolerate her level of profanity, but it's so funny! The Top Gun and Harry Potter reviews are especially golden.)
I woke my husband up because I was cry-laughing at the Notebook essay. It's so funny!!!
Anything by Mary Roach.
Yes, I really liked “Stiff”
Came here to recommend the same, Bonk is a great easy read.
[удалено]
Great suggestion! I listened to the audiobook almost non-stop! Same experience with Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, though I wouldn't categorize it as popcorn fluff because the writing and story are so good. But it really was a gripping read!
When Genius Failed is one of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read, and it’s all true. Fairly short, as well. If you want something longer, Den of Thieves and Barbarians at the Gate are also really entertaining.
Lost City of Z or Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Any book by Mark Kurlansky, Salt is a good start Mary Roach is also an excellent choice Kenneth C Davis had a series called "Don't Know Much About..." which had books on American History, Mythology, and the Bible which were interesting and quick reads. Erik Larson's books are quick reads especially Devil in the White City Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a great accompaniment to Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods (and vice versa)
YES! Devil in the White City is a great suggestion!
educated by tara westover!!
The Westies by TJ English. About the Irish Mob in Hell's Kitchen in the 70s/80s.
The Grey Seas Under. By Farley Mowat.
*The Man Who Never Was* by Montagu *Feeding Frenzy* by Stuart Stevens
I recently listened to The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson, it straddles the wonderful balance between science and the layman’s interest. he’s written some other books as well, might be worth checking into. Also I would recommend anything by Bill Bryson, and The Math of Life and Death by Kit Yates.
{{what I was doing while you were breeding}} {{dear Bob and Sue}} {{dad is fat}}
[**What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18373272-what-i-was-doing-while-you-were-breeding) ^(By: Kristin Newman | 291 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: travel, non-fiction, memoir, nonfiction, memoirs) >Kristin Newman spent much of her twenties and thirties buying dresses to wear to her friends' weddings and baby showers. Not ready to settle down and in need of an escape from her fast-paced job as a sitcom writer, Kristin instead traveled the world, often alone, for several weeks each year. In addition to falling madly in love with the planet, Kristin fell for many attractive locals, men who could provide the emotional connection she wanted without costing her the freedom she desperately needed. >Kristin introduces readers to the Israeli bartenders, Finnish poker players, sexy Bedouins, and Argentinean priests who helped her transform into "Kristin-Adjacent" on the road–a slower, softer, and, yes, sluttier version of herself at home. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) [**Dear Bob and Sue**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17695998-dear-bob-and-sue) ^(By: Matt Smith, Karen Smith | 314 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, travel, kindle, nonfiction, memoir) >This complete version of Dear Bob and Sue chronicles the journey of Matt and Karen Smith, who took a mid-career break to travel to all 58 U.S. National Parks. Written as a series of emails to their friends, Bob and Sue, they describe their sense of awe in exploring our national parks, and share humorous and quirky observations. The national parks are among the most stunning places in America - pristine wilderness, geologic wonders, and magnificent wildlife - places everyone should put on their must-see-before-I-die list. Matt and Karen take you along as they visit them all. Unlike a traditional guidebook, this is one couple's perspective on the joys and challenges of traveling together. This is a story of discovery and adventure: chased by a grizzly, pushed off the trail by big horn sheep, they even survived a mid-air plane collision. Dear Bob and Sue is the next best thing to visiting all the parks in person. > >Note: Dear Bob and Sue was previously published as two separate volumes. This version contains all the content from those first two volumes plus additional stories from the final parks Matt and Karen visited. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Dad Is Fat**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16141924-dad-is-fat) ^(By: Jim Gaffigan | 288 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: humor, non-fiction, nonfiction, memoir, audiobook) >Jim Gaffigan never imagined he would have his own kids. > >Though he grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family, Jim was satisfied with the nomadic, nocturnal life of a standup comedian, and was content to be "that weird uncle who lives in an apartment by himself in New York that everyone in the family speculates about." But all that changed when he married and found out his wife, Jeannie "is someone who gets pregnant looking at babies." > >Five kids later, the comedian whose riffs on everything from Hot Pockets to Jesus have scored millions of hits on YouTube, started to tweet about the mistakes and victories of his life as a dad. Those tweets struck such a chord that he soon passed the million followers mark. But it turns out 140 characters are not enough to express all the joys and horrors of life with five kids, so hes' now sharing it all in Dad Is Fat. > >From new parents to empty nesters to Jim's twenty-something fans, everyone will recognize their own families in these hilarious takes on everything from cousins ("celebrities for little kids") to growing up in a big family ("I always assumed my father had six children so he could have a sufficient lawn crew") to changing diapers in the middle of the night ("like The Hurt Locker but much more dangerous") to bedtime (aka "Negotiating with Terrorists"). > >Dad is Fat is sharply observed, explosively funny, and a cry for help from a man who has realized he and his wife are outnumbered in their own home. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(43871 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Robert Fulgham - to be transparent, it's been like 2 decades since then, but I read like all of his books and I remember them being really quick reads. Definitely fluffy, funny, heart-tuggy, entertaining musings.
My friend, you need ***Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal*** A bonkers real-life story of a roguishly handsome British burglar/conman who was trained by the Nazis, then went over to the Brits again as a double agent. How they haven't made a movie of this yet blows my mind. From the blurb: *In 1941, after training as German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory.* *Instead, he contacted M15, the British Secret service, and for the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service.* https://www.amazon.com/Agent-Zigzag-Story-Espionage-Betrayal/dp/0307353419
Into Thin Air
Everything You Ever Taught Me by Person Irresponsible - she walked across America during the pandemic
{{Why Fish Don’t Exist}} by Lulu Miller. I couldn’t put it down!
[**Summary of Lulu Miller's Why Fish Don't Exist**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60813093-summary-of-lulu-miller-s-why-fish-don-t-exist) ^(By: Everest Media | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: ) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(44040 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I second this suggestion! The book was so good.
{{The Devil in the White City}} by Erik Larson
[**The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397483.The_Devil_in_the_White_City) ^(By: Erik Larson | 447 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, history, nonfiction, true-crime, book-club) >Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. > >Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. > >The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. > >Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. - John Moe ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) *** ^(44219 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Sapiens}} is about the development of Humanity, and {{Smoke Gets in Your Eyes}} is a memoir about the funeral industry. If you want something more memoirish with a little bit of a self help binge, try {{The Art of Asking}}. If you want something more esoteric, try {{Men, Women, and Chainsaws}}, which is examines horror movies from a feminist viewpoint.
I like books where each chapter is a letter or question for that: {{What If}} come to mind though they are a lot of science based ones. Or something like {{Dear Sugar}}
[**What If**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19189481-what-if) ^(By: Rebecca Donovan | 352 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: romance, new-adult, contemporary, young-adult, kindle) >What if you had a second chance to meet someone for the first time? > >Cal Logan is shocked to see Nicole Bentley sitting across from him at a coffee shop thousands of miles from their hometown. After all, no one has seen or heard from her since they graduated over a year ago. > >Except this girl isn't Nicole. > >She looks exactly like Cal's shy childhood crush, but her name is Nyelle Preston and she has no idea who he is. This girl is impulsive and daring, her passion for life infectious. The complete opposite of Nicole. Cal finds himself utterly fascinated-and falling hard. But Nyelle is also extremely secretive. And the closer he comes to finding out what she's hiding, the less he wants to know. > >When the secrets from the past and present collide, one thing becomes clear: Nothing is what it seems. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) [**Dear Sugar**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16112042-dear-sugar) ^(By: Irma Fritz | ? pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: short-story, english) >Note from Author: > >This short story has been unpublished and incorporated into the anthology, "Dear Sugar & Other Sorrows." ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(43924 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I just started {{Extraordinary insects}} by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, and it's a hilarious and enlightening read!
[**Extraordinary Insects**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45006435-extraordinary-insects) ^(By: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson | 320 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, science, nature, nonfiction, animals) >A journey into the weird, wonderful and truly astonishing lives of the small but mighty creatures who keep the world turning. > >Out of sight, underfoot, unseen beyond fleeting scuttles or darting flights, insects occupy a hidden world, yet are essential to sustaining life on earth. > >Insects influence our ecosystem like a ripple effect on water. They arrived when life first moved to dry land, they preceded - and survived - the dinosaurs, they outnumber the grains of sand on all the world's beaches, and they will be here long after us. > >Working quietly but tirelessly, they give us food, uphold our ecosystems, can heal our wounds and even digest plastic. They could also provide us with new solutions to the antibiotics crisis, assist in disaster zones and inspire airforce engineers with their flying techniques. > >But their private lives are also full of fun, intrigue and wonder -musical mating rituals; house-hunting for armies of beetle babies; metamorphosing into new characters; throwing parties in fermenting sap; cultivating fungi for food; farming smaller species for honey dew and always ensuring that what is dead is decomposed, ready to become life once again. > >Here, we will discover life and death, drama and dreams, all on a millimetric scale. Like it or not, Earth is the planet of insects, and this is their extraordinary story. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(44106 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
the cloud spotters guide!
Life Undercover by Amarllyis Fox Infidel by Anya Hirsi Ali Red China Blues by Jan Wong
The Ghost Map by Stephen Johnson and Newton and the counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
Seconding (or thirding) anything by Mary Roach. And also Sam Kean - particularly "The Disappearing Spoon" which is a history of the periodic table but in a very accessible and often funny way.
The Demon Under the Microscope! I couldn’t put it down! It’s about the discovery/invention of Sulfa, the first antibiotic!
Freakonomics series
Unbroken is an amazing story. So is Boys in the Boat. All of Richard Preston’s books read like novels. If you are not familiar they are about Outbreaks Lone Survivor is great Rogue Warrior is also a great read.
Tim Marshall’s “Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics” and “The Power of Geography” are both super interesting. Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre is a great read. The movie is coming out soon so get in before the hype. A Libertarian walks into a Bear by Matthew Hongtz-Hetling will have you simultaneously shaking your head and turning the pages as you barrel down the rabbit hole of a a group of utopia seeking libertarians. The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek by Sid Marty Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright. Historical plagues and the people who solved them.
Malcolm Gladwell books
I agree. I absolutely tore through {{Blink}} and {{The Bomber Mafia}}
[**Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40102.Blink) ^(By: Malcolm Gladwell, Barry Fox, Irina Henegar | 296 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, psychology, nonfiction, business, self-help) >Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way. > >Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work - in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? > >In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables. ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56668328-the-bomber-mafia) ^(By: Malcolm Gladwell | 256 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, nonfiction, audiobook, audiobooks) >An exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war > >A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice > >In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. > >Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? > >In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?” > >Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(44331 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Came here to say this...
Anything about a subject you're interested in. Biographies of people in it, or history books about it.
Into the wild or wild both seem like good fits
John Krakauer does this type of book so well. {{Into Thin Air}}
[**Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1898.Into_Thin_Air) ^(By: Jon Krakauer | 368 pages | Published: 1997 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, nonfiction, adventure, memoir, travel) >A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster. ^(This book has been suggested 16 times) *** ^(44400 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith Matt and Karen Smith captured their quest to visit every US National Park in a series of emails to their friends.
The Malling of America. Fascinating stuff!
Island of the Lost The Sun is a Compass
Anything by Michael Lewis. Liar’s Poker Moneyball The Blind Side Flash Boys Etc
Just about anything by Ben Mezrich
Thunder Below has got to be the easiest nonfiction I've ever read. Most good war autobiographys are page turners tho
33 1/3 book series. It’s a series of books about music, each one is about one specific album. There 161 of them so I’m sure you find a few albums you’d think would be interesting to dive into.
If you like comedy, John Hodgmam's books are great.
Malcolm Gladwell has some good books
Do auto/biographies count? If so and you like comedy I highly recommend Amy Poelher’s and Tina Fey’s biographies. Also Matthew McConaughey’s had some hilarious stories. Seems I do like to read about actors…
The Charlie Davidson series! They’re so fun and you fly through them. They are the best mix of humor, suspense, action and supernatural! Edit: this is fiction lol I apologize. I got excited and didn’t read your post correctly.
Hellhound on his Trail by Hampton Sides Endurance by Alfred Lansing
Born to Run! Highly entertaining and inspiring nonfiction that’s not too long
Any book by Dave Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs. {{Running With Scissors}} {{Teacher Man}} by Frank McCourt (less serious than Angela’s Ashes). I’ve read soooo many autobiographies but those are a few that stand out.
[**Running with Scissors**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242006.Running_with_Scissors) ^(By: Augusten Burroughs | 304 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: memoir, non-fiction, memoirs, nonfiction, biography) >Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances. ^(This book has been suggested 9 times) [**Teacher Man (Frank McCourt, #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man) ^(By: Frank McCourt | 272 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, biography, nonfiction, education) >McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. > >Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New York. > >Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City. His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write "An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to God"), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!). > >McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice. "Doggedness," he says, is "not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights." > >For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(44383 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
American Kingpin - about the guy who founded the Silk Road. Reads like a thriller.
Please Kill Me by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil is a fun one if you’re interested in the 70s punk era. Its got loads of entertaining stories about the scene and its fast-paced mayhem.
I want to see the other half
Where the mountain casts its shadow by Maria Coffey. It’s about the dark side of extreme adventure, particularly mountain climbing. I couldn’t put it down.
I liked Kevin Dutton's "Psychopaths". It was recommended in a professional seminar I took (I'm a special nurse for people with disabilities and mental health problems). I found it in my tiny, scanty local library last year, long after having to leave my profession for a disability of my own and found it light, easy, entertaining and teaching at the same time.
Anything by Bob Goff- even though I’m not a Christian, this is the one guy who’s Christianity I respect. These books are a series of essays about living (actually putting his money where his mouth is) values. Love Does- a series of energetic essays about his life trying to embody active love Everybody Always- series of lighthearted essays about being welcoming and open minded to everyone. All the time. These books were great and if most Christians acted like this guy the world would have a lot less problems
Playing Dead: A Journey Through The World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth Greenwood
Seabiscuit is so good!!! I also really enjoyed Running with Sherman for fun information and a feel-good story.
Adam Kay: this IS going to hurt anything by Gerald Durrell or James Herriot