Tuesday, May 5, 2026

This season’s best nonfiction releases

 
Readworthy by BookBub
This Month’s Best New Top Nonfiction Picks
What were Readworthy’s biggest, buzziest nonfiction picks this season? Keep reading to discover the titles everyone is talking about — and find your next unputdownable book.
 
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Book cover for Bonfire of the Murdochs by Gabriel Sherman
‘A real-life Succession drama, in all its inglorious tawdriness’ (Kirkus Reviews)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • With the inheritance of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire at stake, a decades-long feud erupted, leaving the powerful family in tatters
  • A “juicy melodrama… Readers will be riveted by this merciless battle for dynastic dominance” (Publishers Weekly)
  • A New York Times bestselling author draws on interviews with more than 150 sources for this shocking read
Learn more...
Media mentions for Bonfire of the Murdochs by Gabriel Sherman MEDIA MENTIONS: The New Yorker, NPR, The Economist, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for American Struggle by Jon Meacham
The can’t-miss latest from a Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling historian
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • “This is the one book everyone should read to celebrate our 250th birthday” (Walter Isaacson)
  • A powerful anthology that highlights pivotal moments in the nation’s complex pursuit of a more perfect union
  • “If there is a soul in American history, it emerges — indeed, explodes — from these pages” (David W. Blight)
Learn more...
Media mentions for American Struggle by Jon Meacham MEDIA MENTIONS: Time Magazine, NPR, PBS, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for The Fallen by Louise Brangan
A ‘superb’ and wrenching account (The Guardian) of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • During the 20th century, tens of thousands of women were forced into reform institutions for actions such as wearing short skirts, smoking, and getting pregnant out of wedlock. And once they were brought into the system, it was nearly impossible to leave
  • “Brangan’s remarkable book, thrumming with rage and harrowing to read, is a monument to those women and their suffering” (The Times)
  • “Compelling, measured, and deeply felt… Indispensable” (Anne Enright)
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Media mentions for The Fallen by Louise Brangan MEDIA MENTIONS: The Guardian, The Times, The Times Literary Supplement, Kirkus Reviews
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Work in Progress by James Martin
How did a hapless teen find his way to the priesthood?
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Stephen Colbert calls this instant New York Times bestseller “funny, charming, inspiring, and wise”
  • Follow the unforgettable path of Father James Martin as he comes of age in the 1960s and ’70s, a journey “as swashbuckling as any action tale” (Mary Karr, author of The Liars’ Club)
  • “Heartfelt and refreshingly self-aware, this humble portrait of a priest-in-progress will charm readers” (Publishers Weekly)
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Media mentions for Work in Progress by James Martin MEDIA MENTIONS: NPR, Good Morning America, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Slate, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Literary Hub
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for The Dangerous Shore by Sara Vladic
During World War II, an unlikely group waged a secret battle to protect American shores
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Get to know the mobsters, double agents, scientists, and more who staved off sea invasions in this unique slice of wartime history
  • From a New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed documentary filmmaker
  • “A humdinger of a World War II tale populated by a cast of characters even Hollywood couldn’t invent” (Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott)
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Media mentions for The Dangerous Shore by Sara Vladic MEDIA MENTIONS: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub
GET EBOOK ON:
Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for The Flower Bearers by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Mary Karr, author of The Liars’ Club, raves: ‘This singular memoir stunned me’
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Her best friend died on her wedding day — and then her husband, Salman Rushdie, was attacked. Here, acclaimed poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths grapples with grief, love, and the rebuilding of the self in the wake of trauma
  • A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice and “propulsive archive of love, loss, and reparation” (Electric Literature)
  • “Lovers of memoir and of achingly beautiful prose should not miss The Flower Bearers” (BookPage starred review)
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Media mentions for The Flower Bearers by Rachel Eliza Griffiths MEDIA MENTIONS: NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage, Electric Literature
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Cave Mountain by Benjamin Hale
‘Engrossing and rigorous’ true crime (Publishers Weekly) as riveting as your favorite thriller
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • A six-year-old disappeared and returned with stories of an imaginary friend. How did her tale connect to a disappearance two decades prior — and a dark cult led by a teenage prophet?
  • “An intimate, deeply original true crime narrative reminiscent of Caroline Fraser’s Murderland” (BookPage)
  • Set in the Arkansas Ozarks, this story of survival, religion, and murder “evokes the idea of good and evil both seen and believed” (Kirkus Reviews)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Cave Mountain by Benjamin Hale MEDIA MENTIONS: The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage, Literary Hub
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for This Vast Enterprise by Craig Fehrman
You’ve heard of Lewis and Clark — but this revisionist history offers a new take on the famed explorers
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • This instant New York Times bestseller is “riveting… Fehrman has done a great service to American history in this must-read” (Booklist starred review)
  • Rediscover the fabled expedition through lesser-known figures like York, a man enslaved by Clark; John Ordway, a soldier who hauled the captains’ barge; and Wolf Calf, a Blackfeet boy caught in a skirmish with Lewis
  • A “rigorous account” (The New York Times) based on archival research, hundreds of interviews, and centuries-old Indigenous oral histories
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Media mentions for This Vast Enterprise by Craig Fehrman MEDIA MENTIONS: The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for The Dark Frontier by Jeffrey Marlow
Discover the life-changing secrets hidden in the ocean’s mysterious depths
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • “This is science writing at its finest” (Publishers Weekly starred review)
  • A marine microbiologist explores microbes that breathe metal, hidden ecosystems, theories about life on Earth beginning underwater, and more
  • “At once an adventure story, a tale of scientific discovery, and a plea for preserving one of the world’s most fascinating and fragile environments” (Elizabeth Kolbert)
Learn more...
Media mentions for The Dark Frontier by Jeffrey Marlow MEDIA MENTIONS: The New Yorker, Science, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Why We Click by Kate Murphy
Learn how to instantly connect with anyone in this ‘absorbing book’ (Booklist)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Discover the science of interpersonal synchronicity — and how it can help you become magnetic
  • With science-backed strategies for nailing first impressions, reading the room, changing the energy of a conversation, and more
  • “Grounded in deep research, Why We Click is an accessible, satisfying study that will change the way readers understand themselves and their world” (BookPage)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Why We Click by Kate Murphy MEDIA MENTIONS: Next Big Idea Club, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, BookPage
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
 
   
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This season’s best nonfiction releases

Discover the top nonfiction titles from the past few months! Which books deserve a spot on your reading list? Find out inside. What were Rea...