• General Recommendations
  • Staff-Created List

Top Adult Nonfiction Checkouts of 2024

Memoirs and personal improvement dominate this list, but many interesting topics earned spots on your shelves in 2024!

Columbus Metropolitan Library

50 items

  • The Anxious Generation

    How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic of Mental Illness

    Haidt, Jonathan,
    A generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.
    BookNew York : Penguin Press, [2024] — 305.23 HAI
  • The Demon of Unrest

    a Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

    Larson, Erik, 1954-
    Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln's election and the Confederacy's shelling of Sumter-a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions,…
    BookNew York : Crown, [2024] — 973.711 Lar
  • The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope. In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice--her…
    BookNew York : Gallery Books, 2023. — B S7412w
  • Atomic Habits

    An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

    Clear, James,
    No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving-every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits,…
    BookNew York, New York : Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, [2018] — 152.33 C623a
  • Oath and Honor

    a Memoir and a Warning

    Cheney, Liz, 1966-
    In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump and many around him, including certain other elected Republican officials, intentionally breached their oath to the Constitution: they ignored the rulings of dozens of…
    BookNew York : Little, Brown and Company, 2023. — 328.73092 C518o
  • It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow--and horror. As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered…
    BookNew York : Random House, [2023] — B H525s
  • A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor--including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother--and how she…
    BookNew York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2022. — B M1337i
  • Killers of the Flower Moon

    the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

    Grann, David,
    Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling…
    BookNew York, NY : Doubleday, [2017] — 976.6 Gr
  • The Body Keeps the Score

    Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

    Van der Kolk, Bessel A., 1943-
    An expert on traumatic stress outlines an approach to healing, explaining how traumatic stress affects brain processes and how to use innovative treatments to reactivate the mind's abilities to trust, engage others, and experience pleasure.
    BookNew York, New York : Viking, 2014. — 616.85212 V234b
  • Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged and countless others weren’t. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a…
    BookNew York : Random House, [2024] — 796.323 ABD
  • The Wager

    a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder

    Grann, David,
    On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s…
    BookNew York : Doubleday, [2023] — 910.452 W131 G759w
  • Mostly What God Does

    Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere

    Guthrie, Savannah,
    If we could believe this, really believe this, how different would we be? How different would our lives be? How different would our world be? If you ever struggle with your connection to God (or whether you even feel connected to a faith…
    BookNashville, Tennessee : W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, [2024] — 248.4 G984m
  • Hillbilly Elegy

    a Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

    Vance, J. D.,
    Vance, a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, provides an account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class. J.D. Vance tells the true story of what…
    BookNew York, NY : Harper, [2016]. — 305.562 Van
  • Outlive

    the Science & Art of Longevity

    Attia, Peter,
    In this operating manual for longevity, Dr. Peter Attia draws on the latest science to deliver innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health. His…
    BookNew York : Harmony, [2023] — 612.68 ATTIA
  • Hidden Potential

    the Science of Achieving Greater Things

    Grant, Adam, 1981-
    We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we…
    Book[New York, NY] : Viking, [2023] — 153.8 Gr
  • How to Know a Person

    the Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen

    Brooks, David, 1961-
    As David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another…
    BookNew York : Random House, [2023] — 302 B873h
  • The beloved star of Friends takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this candid, funny, and revelatory memoir that delivers a powerful message of hope and persistence In an extraordinary story that…
    BookNew York, NY : Flatiron Books, 2022. — B P466f
  • The long-awaited memoir by the superstar of stage, screen, recordings, and television. She tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career, from growing up in Brooklyn to her first star-making appearances in New York nightclubs…
    BookNew York : Viking, [2023] — B S915m
  • Being Henry

    the Fonz . . . and Beyond

    Winkler, Henry, 1945-
    Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell…
    BookNew York : Celadon Books, 2023. — B WINKLER HENRY
  • Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn’t possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family’s way of life. She was the responsible, second…
    BookNew York, NY : Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2023. — BIOG DUGGAR