Favourite non fiction books
My process for choosing books and my favourite reads from 2024
Somewhere between starting university, adulting and parenting, I dropped the habit of regularly reading and finishing a book.
Recognising this lapse in one of my favourite childhood past times, at the end of 2022 I committed to reading a minimum of 40 books each year. For some of you, this number may seem easy. For me, it represents more than double what I read in 2021 and 12 more than my 2022 effort.
I’d noticed one or two friends I follow over on goodreads were clocking 100 books a year and I wanted what she was having. But more importantly, I wanted to return to being the sort of person who reads a lot of books. And I wanted this without the motivation that drove me to read in childhood - the MS Readathon (because my Mum’s best friend had multiple sclerosis).
Did anyone else get enlisted in this readathon as a child?
How I decide what I will read each year
When I hear or read about a book at least three times by different people in my orbit, I realise it’s time to reserve it from the library. I’ve become more tuned into the concept of ideas trying to get my attention - in the form of a book - since reading Big Magic, by
.In When a magical idea comes knocking, you have three options Gilbert writes . . .
ideas spend eternity swirling around us, searching for available and willing human partners. (I'm talking about all ideas here: artistic, scientific, industrial, commercial, ethical, religious, political.)
When an idea thinks it has found somebody – say, you – who might be able to bring it into the world, the idea will pay you a visit. It will try to get your attention.
When someone suggests a book or author who writes on a topic I’m exploring, this can sometimes feel like an idea giving me a nudge. An example of this is when Head & Heart, by Kirsten Ferguson was recommended by one of the speakers at a recent Women on Boards event.
When a fellow reader - who has a track record for recommending good books and podcast episodes - sends me a text with a photo, or specific pages, of the book she’s reading and suggests “I think this will interest you”, I save these suggestions in a list on my phone.
If a favourite author is releasing a book, I pre-order it. If I am in the middle of reading, or listening to, a book I’m really enjoying and the author references another book that sparks my interest, I add the book to my goodreads ‘want to read’ list or scan my library’s catalogue and reserve it.
My local fiction book club selects 10 books a year and I read most of them in preparation for a good conversation over a glass of wine as we talk about lots of things, including that month’s book.
Every few months it feels like all the books I’ve reserved from the library become available at once and a sense of overwhelm kicks in. It pains me to write that I can never read all of the books that are circling me in any given year.
Sometimes I feel deep remorse that I can not stop EVERYTHING and read all day!
On at least five occasions throughout any reading year I will be 20 or so pages into a book and decide it’s either not for me or not for me right now.
Favourite Non Fiction Books 2024
I hope my list of favourite non fiction books from 2024 offers you a selection of titles from which you can add to your reading list. Or perhaps you’ve read some of these already, and would like to recommend other non fiction titles for my reading list?
I’ve included my reflections on nine of the titles from the 41 books I read last year.
Do I read fiction? Yes. I also like short stories, but they were not my favourites, which is why this became a non fiction list of my stand out reads from 2024.
Long Yarn Short by Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts
This is a must read for all Australians, especially parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles.
As a survivor of out-of-home care, a practising lawyer fighting for the freedom of others and now also a mother herself, Turnbull-Roberts, Commissioner for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children & Young People, takes an unflinching look at the heartache and trauma caused by racist family policing, the shameful rates of child removals and the steady pipeline of First Nations children into the criminal justice system.
It’s still happening, and our system is broken.
Please follow and support Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Hidden Potential & Think Again by
These books are important reads if you lead an organisation and are responsible for hiring, people or are in a position (or mindset) to influence your organisation’s culture.
I was introduced to Adam Grant by my Healing through Books podcast co-host, Anna Lamb. As an organisational psychologist, Grant is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognised as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune’s 40 under 40.
Grant has also written an insightful research report - Rethinking the Extraverted Sales Ideal: The Ambivert Advantage. I’ll share more with you about this research report in next week’s update.
You can subscribe to Adam Grant’s Substack newsletter - .
The Way We Are by Hugh Mackay
If you are a policy maker in Australia, this is a must read.
Hugh Mackay is a social researcher and has dedicated his professional life to researching Australian society. One of the most significant, of many, insights in The Way We Are is that Australia’s biggest public health issue is no longer obesity - it is loneliness.
And guess which age group is most impacted by loneliness? 16-24 year olds.
The Way We Are and Julia Baird's book, Bright Shining (mentioned below) made it on my favourite books list because I've found myself sharing these author’s perspectives many times, when deep in conversation with family, friends and colleagues.
I enjoyed hearing Mackay’s insights, meeting him and getting a signed copy of The Way We Are at a Readings event in Carlton in May last year.
Thank you to Readings for hosting these events. Check out Readings events.
Always Was, Always Will Be by Thomas Mayo
This is a necessary read if you care about what it means to be Australian.
This book gave me promise of a way forward since Australia's Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum result in October, 2023.
It's not about whether we voted yes or no, and Mayo offers guidance as to how to support Indigenous recognition, with insight and practical tips.
Follow Thomas Mayo on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything by Julia Baird
This is an inspiring read about restorative justice.
I have photographed and sent some of the pages in this book to at least two people since reading this exploration of grace, an attribute or behaviour that is both mysterious and hard to define.
Baird suggests that it can be found, in part, when we create ways to find meaning and dignity in connection with each other, building on our shared humanity, being kinder, bigger, better with each other.
Follow Julia Baird on Instagram, LinkedIn, and her ABC Podcast - Not Stupid.
Four Gifts of the Highly Sensitive by Courtney Marchesani
If you identify as a highly sensitive person, I highly recommend you order this book from your local library.
While at times I found it hard to anchor onto some of her concepts, there were key insights about sensitivity that deserve my attention and reflection. I often think about and would like to return to Four Gifts of the Highly Sensitive.
When I read this book again, I will have a journal and pen so I can dig deeper.
Learn more about Courtney Marchesani.
The Queen is Dead, by Stan Grant
Stan Grant’s writing always reaches into my soul, encouraging the contemplation of deep and complex questions.
I mentioned in this update that I discovered The Queen is Dead on a visit to Berkelouw Book Barn. It was a recommendation from their wonderful Manager who runs this new and used bookstore. As I handed her Hidden Potential, by Adam Grant, to purchase, she looked at Grant's name on the cover and commented that he'd visited the store recently.
"No, not Adam Grant" she corrected herself.
"Stan Grant?" I asked.
"Yes, that's the one. Have you read his latest book?" And she walked to the bookshelf to find and hand me a copy of The Queen is Dead.
I had to ask. "What did Stan buy when he was here?"
Turns out he'd been interested in the philosophy books, in the second hand book section of this treasure of a bookstore, nestled in the restaurant and barn at Bendooley Estate in the Southern Highlands of NSW. I fondly remembered this encounter when I read Grant’s latest book, Murriyang: Song of Time.
I have a deep respect for Grant because of his writing. I was relieved to read in Murriyang: Song of Time, that he’s walking away from his broadcasting career.
You will occasionally find Stan Grant on LinkedIn and Instagram.
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
This book will change the way you plan and organise gatherings.
It is one those books that circled me for a couple of years. I borrowed it from the library in 2023, but returned it because too many reserves arrived at once.
When a colleague (who became more of a friend after joining me on a bookish day out to Clunes Booktown Festival last year) referenced Priya Parker’s approach to facilitation, I knew it was time to return to this book and give it my full attention.
The Art of Gathering offers a transformative exploration of the power, purpose, and benefits of gatherings in our lives: at work, at school, at home and beyond. I found this a wonderful deep dive into the why and how of facilitating gatherings and can already feel it influencing my client workshops.
Priya Parker is active on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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Before I sign off, I must mention that 2024 is when I read these books, it’s not necessarily when they were first published.
Please message me or let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of the books from this list, or suggest other titles to add to my reading list.
With love & gratitude,
KPH
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which I live and pay my respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
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