Nonfiction Books of 2024 that would make great gifts for your loved ones!

Christmas & Hanukkah are next Wednesday! 2024 seems as though it’s the year of the memoirs whether its for celebrities, public figures & everyone in between! This list has a list of memoirs & everything in between! I even did Q&As with all these authors!

Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land A Book Deal, and Become a Published Author by Lucinda Halpern

Get Signed by Lucinda Halpern is a great book for anyone wanting to write a book, find an agent and get their book published. Not only is Lucinda an author she is an agent herself! I would want her on my team if I were to get a story released! Lucinda stresses the importance of knowing your audience no matter if the book is fiction or nonfiction while also giving your audience something new! I also love how she provided real query letters as examples on how to pitch your novel & many of these authors are on the New York Times Bestsellers Lists! I read the book & did a Q&A with Lucinda earlier this year, it was a delight! Here is my Q&A with Lucinda. Fun fact is another author who I did a Q&A with and read her book is mentioned in that Q&A! https://booknotions.com/qa-with-lucinda-halpern/ .

Forces of Nature: A Memoir of Family, Loss and Finding Home by Gina DeMillo Wagner

Forces of Nature by Gina DeMillo Wagner is a memoir about Gina & her brother Alan who dealt with a rare genetic developmental disease called Wili Prader Syndrome. Alan would be sweet one moment but then have violent mood swings next. When Alan dies, Gina discusses her grief and the difficult relationship she had with Allan despite it. If you enjoy memoirs or if you are grieving someone this holiday season, whether the relationship was great or tumultuous, I recommend this memoir.  I also liked reading the parts about Gina pursuing her own dreams of journalism & writing, outside of her family & her realizing she will never find all the answers to Alan’s death and coming to terms with it. Here are both my interviews with Gina. https://booknotions.com/qa-with-gina-demillo-wagner/ https://booknotions.com/authors-in-the-media-with-gina-demillo-wagner/

Tokyo Noir by Jake Adelstein

Tokyo Noir by Jake Adelstein is the long-awaited sequel to Tokyo Vice that came out in 2009, 15 years ago. The book is part true crime & part memoir. It was interesting reading about TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), The Fukishima Meltdown & The Olympic Committee having yakuza ties. I ended up having the water works & praying several rosaries when it came to reading about Jake suffering through liver cancer, bad decisions he’s made & the death of a special woman to him Michel. Saigo, from The Last Yakuza was back and gave Jake advice that I agreed with him on. I never thought I would agree with him on anything. It was hilarious when Jake’s daughter, Beni had to explain to him what the term BFF meant & Michel told him he was silly. My favorite quote from the book is If you don’t really want to know the answer, don’t ask the question. Many people think they want the truth, or ought to know the truth, but when you tell it to them, they act as though you’ve personally assaulted them.  If you enjoy true crime & memoirs, & Tokyo Vice, read the sequel Tokyo Noir ! It’s one of the rare times where a sequel outdoes the first book! Here is the Behind The Book Q&A I did with Jake discussing Tokyo Noir. https://booknotions.com/behind-the-book-tokyo-noir-with-jake-adelstein/

The Mountains Are High by Alec Ash

The Mountains Are High by Alec Ash is about journalist & author Alec Ash leaving behind the city life in the bustling capital of Beijing & moving to the countryside of Dali which is a rural area in China’s Yunan province. Throughout the memoir, we read of the reason why Alec moved after dealing with a broken engagement and we read about his friendships with different people from political dissidents & those fleeing persecution due to their religious beliefs. I love the important lesson that changing a location is easier than changing your mindset, meaning you can’t run from your problems. I also liked how Alec had to realize that if he didn’t love himself, how did he expect others to? That’s a lesson we all must remember or learn. I was also happy that Alec did not gloss over the fact that China is a communist country, and he had to change the names of people he met due to legal & political reasons. It’s what a great journalist does.  Alec’s writing flows so beautifully that I forgot at times while reading the book it was nonfiction and not fiction! Here is the link to Alec’s Q&A. https://booknotions.com/qa-with-alec-ash/

The Happy High Achiever: 8 Essentials To Overcome Anxiety, Manage Stress, And Energize Yourself For Success-Without Losing Your Edge by Dr. Mary E. Anderson

The Happy High Achiever written by psychologist, speaker & first time author Mary E. Anderson while it is not an overly long book, it has a wealth of information and wisdom in the book. The book is for ambitious people on how to deal with anxiety and stress in healthy ways and poking holes in negative thoughts. It’s also great for your personal life too! I also love the fact that Mary tells the reader the importance of relying on a higher power. For me as everyone knows, I’m Catholic so I depend on Jesus Christ. I felt the call to blog in 2019 as I came across a post about a 5 day free course as I was scrolling on Instagram. I thought, You know what? Why not? I will give it a try. The rest as you know is history. This book is important for us all on how to deal with stress, anxiety & negativity for us to achieve our goals & its great for our persona lives & helping us to grow as people too! I can’t wait to read what else Mary writes next! Here is my Q&A I did with Mary. https://booknotions.com/qa-with-mary-e-anderson-ph-d/

Docile: Memoirs of a Not So Perfect Asian Girl by Hyeseung Song

Docile by Hyeseung Song is a memoir covering her upbringing in Texas with her loyalties being divided between her restless father in search of a dream with big money & her mother harboring resentment over her life not working out the way she wanted. This resentment Hyseung’s mother had was so difficult that it affected their relationship. Throughout the memoir we go on this journey with Hyseung when she deals with the weight of others’ expectations, to her entering a psychiatric hospital to discover what it is that she wants and who she is and finding her self-worth. All of us can relate because sometimes what our dreams and what we want are a huge contrast in what our parents and family want us to pursue. This memoir is a reminder that we aren’t alone. I rooted for Hyseung all the way, & I love how she finally stood her ground and pursued writing & art. Here is our Q&A we did this past summer.  https://booknotions.com/qa-with-hyeseung-song/   

Believe: A Memoir In Stories by Christina H. Wilson

Believe A Memoir In Stories by Christina H. Wilson is a memoir about one woman’s journey through life and her belief’s in a higher power. We journey with Christina as she goes through her ups and downs and we are reminded that while we wish we made different choices, & we wished things happen differently, we know that everything happens for a reason. Many of us could relate to this no matter what we have faith in. Reading this memoir, I felt as though I knew Christina personally and I hope she writes more books and she’s one of many authors who I would love to meet one of these days. The Q&A I did with her was also fantastic and I learned a lot from her too.

https://booknotions.com/qa-with-christina-h-wilson/

Operation Tropical Storm by Jake Adelstein

The year is 1993, Jewish Japanese Special Agent Jim Stern is undercover to bust a meth operation in Benihana Hawaii. The question is, is Jim going to be able to gain the trust of a yakuza member without blowing his cover? Operation Tropical Storm is written in the form of a short story only its nonfiction by none other than the author of Tokyo Vice, The Last Yakuza & Tokyo Noir Jake Adelstein! It is an e-kindle short so if you or your love ones have a kindle, definitely get it for the kindle. While this is written in the form of a short story, I can picture the events in my head as things were happening. It would be a great tv series if Jake is in control of writing and directing. A book worm can dream right?