The hottest Nonfiction Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Education Topics

I'm Embarrassed to Admit This...

Between a Rock and a Card Place • 5801 implied HN points • 22 Oct 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Many people have books they find embarrassing to read or display. These can be titles that they enjoy but feel ashamed of for various reasons.
  2. The emotional reaction to certain books, like embarrassment, can reveal deeper feelings and interests of a person. It’s okay to enjoy books that might seem cheesy or awkward.
  3. Starting a book club focused on these 'embarrassing' reads can create a safe space for discussing and sharing those hidden interests, allowing people to connect over their unique reading experiences.

Is nonfiction dead?

How to Glow in the Dark • 259 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Nonfiction isn't really dead, but selling it right now is tough. Writers need to come up with smart strategies to find success.
  2. There are rumors in the publishing world about nonfiction's decline, but these might just be worries rather than facts. It's important to dig into the reasons behind such rumors.
  3. The claim that 'nonfiction is dead' has been circulated by someone influential, but it's likely exaggerated. This shows how concerns can shape conversations in the publishing industry.

Twice-Annual Subscription Drive

Freddie deBoer • 2599 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. The project is committed to independent, honest writing that often courts controversy and resists pressure to play it safe.
  2. Reader support funds the work and keeps it accessible. Paid subscriptions are $5 a month or $50 a year to help sustain the project’s independence.
  3. You can also support by buying the novel or preordering the next nonfiction book, and subscribers will get extras like a writing roundup and a book club; the pitch mixes earnestness with a playful, personal tone.

bye, mom

Knowingless • 21650 implied HN points • 14 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Being in the ICU while a loved one dies feels surreal and paralyzing; time blurs, people can’t think straight, and even small decisions become impossible.
  2. Caregiving and small acts of tenderness become everything; intense, unconditional love can feel both hollowing and the clearest thing in the world.
  3. Accepting that death is coming forces unbearably hard choices like removing life support, and when it happens there’s a strange calm followed by ongoing waves of grief and memory.
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5 super popular magazines (and where else to submit)

The Sub Club Newsletter • 257 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Popular magazines can give good exposure, but they're very competitive. It might help to find magazines that are well-known but not too hard to get into.
  2. Many of the best magazine options offer fast response times and pay their writers. This can keep writers motivated and eager to try submitting their work.
  3. When looking for magazines, consider different styles and genres. The vibe of a magazine can be just as important as its readership.

I know your secret

Experimental History • 4997 implied HN points • 27 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Many creators have a "secret" — a specific topic, perspective, or method they've found that reliably produces value and interest.
  2. Those secrets aren't scandalous; they're practical insights or angles you can lean into repeatedly instead of shocking or contrived hooks.
  3. There are concrete notes (eleven in this case) that show how to turn unknowns into knowns by discovering and communicating those useful insights.

New Book Releases from the STSC Members

Soaring Twenties • 162 implied HN points • 18 Mar 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Tulubaikaporia follows a vanishing village and the narrator’s longing, using that place as an impossible, mythic object to explore memory, time, and the difficulty of returning.
  2. The book frames its project as a ritual, mixing magical, absurd, and cosmic elements—mirages, hallucinations, and impossible objects—to create an experimental, myth‑making narrative.
  3. Early reviews are positive and the Soaring Twenties Social Club is featuring the title among several new member releases, showing strong community interest and support.

The very best nonfiction books

Residual Thoughts • 178 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. It's nice to tell friends what they're good at; it makes them feel appreciated. Everyone likes a little encouragement!
  2. When recommending books, aim for those that are either fun or impactful. This way, you'll enjoy the reading experience more.
  3. Listening to audiobooks can enhance the experience, especially with personal stories or adventures. They can feel really intimate and engaging.

you go first

Freddie deBoer • 7456 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Memory often survives as small sensory details and textures, which can stand in for fuller recollection as time blurs events.
  2. Grief can be messy and conflicted, mixing thin, hot anger with tenderness when someone makes the choice to end their life, leaving unanswered questions.
  3. Life goes on despite loss — aging, new responsibilities, and the steady passage of time keep people moving forward even while they carry sorrow.

The books I enjoyed most this year, 2025.

The Common Reader • 6804 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Classic, immersive fiction is front and center, with long, cinematic books and great plays treated as works you live in rather than just read.
  2. Philosophy and literary criticism shaped how conversation, religion, and cultural history are thought about, with books that changed perspectives and inspired deeper discussion.
  3. Reading is eclectic and exploratory, mixing poetry, children’s books, translations, re-reads, and even divisive genre works to broaden understanding and enjoyment.

Bacon, Swift, Smith: Three anniversaries in 2026

The Common Reader • 2870 implied HN points • 14 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. 2026 brings three big literary anniversaries: 400 years since Francis Bacon's death, 300 years since Gulliver's Travels, and 250 years since The Wealth of Nations.
  2. Bacon, Swift, and Smith are brilliant prose writers who dealt with science, politics, and the future. They stand in a line of intellectual inheritance and share a focus on practical, argumentative writing.
  3. These anniversaries spotlight a rational, discursive literary tradition—essays, pamphlets, treatises—that is as literary as novels and poems but often gets less popular attention.

Top 10 Books of the Year of the Snake

ChinaTalk • 548 implied HN points • 16 Feb 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Listening to whole religious texts and Tibetan Buddhist guided audio shifts attention from isolated verses to broader narrative arcs and gives a direct, experiential sense of meditation practice.
  2. Modern military history can be both deeply scholarly and vividly readable, with some Pacific War histories offering masterful scene-setting and powerful climaxes that clarify strategic decisions.
  3. Recent books on the CCP, Soviet dissidents, and Gulag literature reveal how authoritarian systems shape lives and ideas, and they are essential for understanding twentieth-century repression and contemporary Chinese political and technological ambitions.

What should Tyler Cowen ask me?

The Common Reader • 1417 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. An upcoming Conversations with Tyler episode will focus on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, with the guest taking the lead in the discussion.
  2. Tyler plans to ask about the value of literature and specific writers and works such as Jane Austen, Adam Smith, and Bleak House.
  3. He will also ask about the guest's book on late bloomers and other topics, and listeners are invited to suggest what Tyler should ask.

Cat, Soutine, Feeling, Happiness, Conservative, Enigma

The Common Reader • 1665 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. A few books stand out for being vivid and immersive, especially a lively biography of Chaim Soutine and V.S. Naipaul’s quietly beautiful novel that rewards slow, attentive reading.
  2. Some famous writers disappoint in these reads: a Simenon study feels slow and devoid of suspense, and Bertrand Russell’s Conquest of Happiness relies on sweeping generalisations despite a few commonsense points.
  3. Certain works are mainly of specialist interest: The Man of Feeling is essential for those studying the sentimental novel or early novel history, while Buchanan’s essay is a brisk, robust statement of classical liberal ideas.

DIVERGE

Big Tech • 515 implied HN points • 24 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. It’s okay to keep drafts unsent and unfinished. You don’t have to force or over-polish everything to make it meaningful.
  2. Give your drafts time and permission to sit; with patience fragments can find each other and a coherent piece can assemble itself.
  3. Writing isn’t only about getting a reply; sending can be quiet because the act of writing itself makes the words arrive.

Eleven books we read this year we'll be thinking about for a while

Read Max • 895 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. A curated set of roughly eleven to fifteen books that left a lasting impression over the year.
  2. These aren’t presented as the year’s definitive 'best' or all-new releases; they were chosen because people kept returning to them mentally afterwards.
  3. The recommendations are part of a paid newsletter that offers weekly essays, updated master lists of books and movies, and subscriber perks like discounted merchandise.

The Collected Commonplace Newsletters

The Commonplace • 575 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. A free ebook collects 119 essays (over 200,000 words) on a wide range of everyday and cultural topics and is available for offline download.
  2. The essays helped sustain mental wellbeing during difficult years and attracted enough paying subscribers to support full-time writing for a while, but there is now a planned shift from nonfiction to fiction despite the likely loss of audience and income.
  3. All published pieces remain free with thanks to readers, and there is an optional donation link for anyone who wants to support the work.

All Hail the Paperback of 'John & Paul'!

The Ruffian • 491 implied HN points • 14 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. A new UK paperback edition of John & Paul features a striking design, review quotes on the cover, and a short Q&A, and it’s available for pre-order and sale later this month.
  2. The cover photos were taken in Liverpool in 1965 for a Granada TV special and give the book a tender, boyish feel.
  3. The book has picked up positive press, including a Times recommendation, and there is a London event where it will be discussed with Helen Lewis.

Boys, Flesh, Christie, Hours, Trollope, Diana, Perfection, audiobooks

The Common Reader • 4040 implied HN points • 17 Jun 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Some new books are getting lots of attention, but not all deserve it. It’s important to read critically and think for yourself.
  2. Certain novels well capture the complexity of life and character growth. Books like 'Flesh' show how transformative experiences can shape a person.
  3. Biographies can be engaging, especially when they thoughtfully connect a writer's life to their work. Good biographies help readers appreciate the author more.

The 13 New Books to Expand Your Mind in 2023

Granted • 7906 implied HN points • 28 Jan 23
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Tim Urban's book 'What's Our Problem?' offers insightful analysis on societal issues and how to combat polarization and tribalism.
  2. Nedra Glover Tawwab's 'Drama Free' provides valuable advice on handling family relationships, emphasizing the importance of mental health in families.
  3. Bill Hammack's 'The Things We Make' unravels the engineering behind human masterpieces, making engineering concepts accessible even for those who don't love math.

Protocolized Writing Workshop

Breaking Smart • 49 implied HN points • 17 Feb 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. The workshop is a free, AI-positive program that teaches magazine-style longform writing and the emerging "protocol" genre, combining broad coverage with deep, genre-specific training.
  2. It runs four online sessions across Friday and Saturday, led by experienced editors and writers; Saturday sessions have limited capacity and attendees who complete the workshop and submit a strong pitch can get an anthology copy.
  3. Organizers are building a self-publishing "factory" around AI, using tools as research, administrative, and writing collaborators to accelerate turning archival and new material into many books, with the main bottleneck now being human follow-through.

15 Things I Know

Photon-Lines Substack • 278 implied HN points • 11 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Use lots of different mental models and a healthy skepticism so you can spot hidden consequences, avoid bias, and make better decisions.
  2. Focus on creating real value and building scalable assets or systems that free your time, instead of chasing flashy consumption or short-term fixes.
  3. Small choices, daily routines, and stable human relationships shape outcomes more than grand plans; steady effort, empathy, and attention to detail build resilience and healing.

How to Make Use of the Books You Don't Read

a newsletter for infovores. • 61 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Try a quick random-sampling game: pick 10–15 unread books, pick a random starting page for each, and read ten pages from each to sample many books fast.
  2. That short, low-effort sampling often relieves buyer’s remorse and makes it easy to decide what to keep, toss, or replace with modern tools like ChatGPT.
  3. Stripping away context and embracing serendipity reveals unexpected value because marketing or framing can hide good parts, and you don’t always know where you’ll find what you need.

Blockade: The Science and Ethics of Trade

Bet On It • 206 implied HN points • 01 Jan 26
💥 Comics Nonfiction
  1. A new non-fiction graphic novel about the science and ethics of trade is planned for Fall 2027.
  2. The project pairs prominent free-trade experts with a cartoonist and is being produced as part of a Cato Institute-backed series, with the team assembling quickly.
  3. The book will cover issues like trade deficits, protectionism, strategic trade, and the history and ethics of commerce, and the creators are asking for topic and imagery suggestions.

sunday dreampool

bad cattitude • 81 implied HN points • 25 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. The post is a short, poetic reflection that suggests inspiration and wisdom can appear unexpectedly.
  2. It’s a paid, subscriber-only piece, so you requires subscribing or signing in to read the full content.
  3. The title and the dedication (“for the penguin”) give it a playful, personal weekend-vibe tone.

2025 Recap

Novum Newsletter • 154 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. 2025 was clarifying but difficult and saw less output. The plan for 2026 is to write a lot more and make changes to enable that.
  2. The newsletter grew to over 3,200 subscribers, and long-form essays about cultural and media anxieties attracted notable attention.
  3. Planned work for 2026 includes publishing magazine essays, starting a nonfiction novel based on a real-life story, and launching a curated archival blog, with paid subscriptions invited to help support these projects.

Mailbag Grab Grab

Freddie deBoer • 3434 implied HN points • 23 Nov 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. The writer is open to doing a podcast if it's funded and someone else handles the technical aspects, but they don't think it would attract enough new subscribers.
  2. They are excited about their upcoming book projects, including a novel and a nonfiction book about mental health, with expected publication dates in 2025 and 2026.
  3. Despite receiving many emails, the writer can't always respond due to time constraints but values the input and feels guilty for not replying.

Join Me Tomorrow On Substack Live For A Book Update And Q&A

Singal-Minded • 111 implied HN points • 01 Jan 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. There's a live video update and Q&A tomorrow at 5:00 PM Eastern, with the join link sent five minutes beforehand to premium subscribers. It will start with a roughly 10-minute update and then move to audience questions for an estimated 45 minutes, and the recording will be available afterward.
  2. A book about the debate over youth gender medicine is nearing its deadline, which has caused delays in responding to reader questions.
  3. Readers are encouraged to post questions about youth gender medicine now, with the most upvoted questions prioritized during the live session, and the newsletter will have changes announced later this month or in early February.

2025: My Year in Books

American Dreaming • 123 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. A busy year made leisure reading harder, so a yearly Goodreads goal was used to stay on track; the initial target was lowered to 30 books and 24 brief reviews are shared.
  2. Nonfiction choices focus on race, politics, privacy, and rational thinking, with several books praised for clarifying recurring social patterns and behind-the-scenes political dynamics.
  3. Fiction highlights show wide taste—darkly comic crime (Dexter), time-travel and alternate history, psychological dystopia, and epic fantasy—with a few standout favorites earning especially high praise.

2025 in Books

Investing 101 • 110 implied HN points • 20 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Keep an antilibrary mindset: unread books are a research tool that remind you how much there is to learn, and embracing that humility fuels ongoing reading and writing.
  2. Modern capitalism is distorted by short-term, shareholder-first incentives that can wreck institutions. New technologies like AI risk being amplified by speculative short-termism.
  3. Reading widely—especially science fiction and reflective philosophy—helps you explore big questions about individuality, collective consciousness, and faith. Making reading a habit also models curiosity for your children.

Book Review Contest Rules 2024

Astral Codex Ten • 4749 implied HN points • 02 Mar 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Book review contest for 2024 on www.astralcodexten.com. Participants can write reviews between 2,000 and 10,000 words, with no word count requirement. Entries must be submitted through a Google Form by May 5th.
  2. Contest rules emphasize blinding the judging process to ensure fairness. Personal information that could identify participants should not be included in the Google Doc submissions.
  3. Diversity in review topics encouraged through affirmative action. A quarter of finalist slots reserved for books from nontraditional categories like fiction, poetry, or older works.

2025 Kvetching & Books

Kvetch • 69 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. There is an urgent appeal to support the family of Yaacov Levitan, who was killed in the Bondi Massacre. Donations are requested and come with tiered acknowledgements like shoutouts, hour-long calls, or custom writing for larger gifts.
  2. The year in review notes 29 pieces published in 2025, steady subscriber growth, and several Australia-focused essays that influenced public discourse. Subscriptions remain free.
  3. The reading list is wide-ranging across history, religion, WWII, Israel, fiction, and other topics, helped by faster audiobook listening. A long deep dive on New Zealand history is planned, though the writer feels conflicted about posting given recent tragic events.

A fun end-of-year gift for you! 🎁

Tech and Tea • 98 implied HN points • 01 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. A 30-day Absurd Hypotheticals Advent Calendar runs from December 3 through New Year’s on 750 Words, offering one strange writing prompt each day that’s only available on its assigned date.
  2. The prompts use playful scenarios (like pizza bets and turtle assassins) to spark levity and reflection, helping people explore themes like money, values, identity, and creativity.
  3. Participants can earn three new badges for answering 10, 20, or all 30 questions, discuss prompts with the community, and there’s an optional deeper course called Creating Space for further exploration.

Winter

That Damn Optimist • 87 implied HN points • 13 Dec 25
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Winter in the city is physically brutal — cold, biting wind, and numb fingers make life sharp and uncomfortable.
  2. Despite overcrowding, insults, and high costs, the small public pleasures like hydrants, fire-escape hangs, and movies on the lawn make staying worth it.
  3. There’s a tension with authority and hostility, but the city’s stubborn, communal energy refuses to be silenced and seems ready to wake up.

AI is an Assistant

Life Since the Baby Boom • 1152 implied HN points • 23 Dec 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. AI can help writers by suggesting ways to make their writing more engaging. This includes adding stories and examples to capture interest.
  2. Using a conversational tone makes writing more relatable to readers. Simple language can help connect better than formal, complex words.
  3. It's important to hook readers emotionally and surprise them with interesting ideas. Engaging them with questions can keep their attention.

she’s on her period I poem

Tumbleweed Words • 10 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Her monthly period lasts several days and brings new waves of feeling and personal revelation that change how she is for a stretch of time.
  2. Men often don’t fully understand this and respond with awkward restraint, offering soothing fixes like tea, lemon, honey, ginger, or even vodka.
  3. Those monthly shifts can make her withdraw into close solitude and shape how relationships are negotiated, making conversations feel like they’re about the future.

Christmas, science, context, suicide, E.B. White, Bear, Piranesi, James, reading, epigraphs?, Murdoch, selfish, X, smells, Potter, gpt philosophy, PhD, rating Austen, American fantasy?, Art job

The Common Reader • 992 implied HN points • 25 Dec 24
📚 Literature Nonfiction
  1. Ben Jonson played a role in shaping the modern concept of Father Christmas, but it's unclear if he truly invented the character. He helped create the idea of a cheerful, fatherly figure for the holiday season.
  2. Critics argue that the scientific study of literature can't fully capture its value, suggesting that some truths about reading can't be easily tested. This raises questions about the reliability of many academic studies in this field.
  3. The review of 'Context Collapse' highlights its complex writing style and the author's impressive range of knowledge. While the book might feel like a mix of random facts, it aims to convey deeper insights through its collage-like structure.