Class is in session!

I have finished my BA in English and have been enjoying a school-free life. But what I realized is that I love to learn. Absolutely love it. I love discovering new information. I have finished school, but I am as busy as ever. From reading as many books as I can get my hands on, working on this blog, and teaching myself a new language, I cannot get enough. So, if you are like me and are done with school, just know that your pursuit of knowledge and learning never stops.

As the air gets cooler and the days get shorter, there is nothing better than curling up with a good book. But it is easy to get stuck in a fall rut, so here are some picks to learn something new.

Below are my favorite nonfiction books that you can pick up to ignite your love of learning once again.

Different: Gender through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans de Waal

Primatologist Frans De Waal discusses the fascinating research on how gender plays a role in different primate societies. This book shatters commonly held myths about gender and biological sex.

This is one of the best books I have read in 2023. I read this at the beginning of the year, but I learned so many fascinating facts that have stuck with me months later.

One of my favorite facts is how scientists have observed that some young female primates will play with sticks and pretend they are their babies, even carrying them around, like how young girls will play with dolls. This is a dense read, but if you can power through it, I promise you will learn some fascinating information.

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe

With a fresh perspective, Coe takes away the grand mythos of the first president and provides a refreshing look into his storied life. Most of the time, if I see a biography about a president, it’s an automatic snooze fest. I imagine those thick, 500-page or more bricks that almost every dad loves to read.

But this was such a fun read. Coe does a great job humanizing the mythic figure of Washington and dispelling popular myths, all with a dash of humor. By exploring his accomplishments and flaws, he feels less like an American myth and more like a real man. I listened to this as an audiobook read by the author, which made this even better.

Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It by Gabriel Wyner

One of the best books I have read on how to learn a language in a way that you won’t forget. Wyner is a master of language learning, and he provides practical and step-by-step processes for learning almost any language. Fluent Forever goes beyond memorization, and instead offers a robust system for how to methodically approach any language.

From high school Spanish to self-teaching myself, my efforts have been on and off for the past few years. So, I was delighted to find that there were so many ideas and tips that have helped me a lot, especially the emphasis on spaced repetition and how to format vocabulary cards. If you want to learn a language but do not know where to start or are overwhelmed with the number of resources, then make sure to pick up this book first.

Where the Girls Are: Growing up Female with the Mass Media by Susan J. Douglas

Where the Girls Are is a retrospective on the media of the Baby Boomer era, and the conflicting and dizzying messages it gave to young women at the time—and how this generation resisted or accepted these messages.

A definite must-read for pop culture fanatics, filled with fascinating analysis of Beatlemania and the oh-so-cheesy teen beach movies. I read this for my American studies class and loved it. This is a perfect nonfiction book for anyone who has sworn off the genre for being too boring.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

At the age of 15, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for defying bans on women’s education. She survived and has been fighting ever since for young women’s right to education worldwide. This is such a moving memoir of one of the most inspiring and important activists of our era. This book does an excellent job of explaining the history behind Pakistan and how the Taliban came to power.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

Foster peels back the curtain on literature and explains the meanings of common themes, symbols, and images in literature. I highly recommend this book if you don’t have a background in literature but want to read more elevated or complicated classics. There are lots of chapters that cover a range of topics of the tools in a professor’s toolbelt for analyzing and appreciating literature. This is a great book to read all the way through or to keep by your bedside table for quick references.