Hello and welcome back!
Today’s category is a stacked one. Non-Fiction is a pretty broad category and encompasses biographies, histories, essay collections, and works of theology. I don’t read as much non-fiction as I do fiction but I read some truly excellent non-fiction in 2025. The runners-up (in order that I read them) are:
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This – Omar El Akkad
I got an ARC of this book and it was the first book I read in 2025. It’s one I’ve returned to throughout the years as the news cycle has continued, as I watched the fallout of the 2024 US election, as we had our own election here in Canada, and as I’ve seen and interacted with people around me throughout the year. It’s a truly powerful and challenging book to read.
At a Loss for Words – Carol Off
Another truly stimulating read and one that’s very currently important in 2025. I would say the one flaw with this book is that it came out before the results of the American election and so almost immediately could use a new chapter or two. At the same time, I really appreciated Off’s Canadian focus and I was fortunate enough to hear her speak at our local writers festival in August.
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory – Tim Alberta
For me, personally, this was a book that gave me a lot of context for the religious atmosphere I have spent a good deal of my life within. It’s a great book for providing history and information about both the current state of right-wing Christianity in North America and how we got to this point in time. I’d recommend it for anyone who had mixed feelings on James Dobson’s death this past year.
The Harder I Fight the More I Love You – Neko Case
More about the life than the musical career but Case’s memoir was so honest and fresh and soul-baring. I don’t read many celebrity memoirs but this really barely felt like it counted as one.
Why I Write – George Orwell
I didn’t review this one and now I’m struggling to pinpoint specific things I really appreciated about Orwell’s essay collection. But I do recall thinking about how much of it still felt relevant to our world and politics today and there were several passages I highlighted as I read.
And the winner is…
Run Towards the Danger – Sarah Polley
I could wax on about Polley’s excellent essay collection but I already wrote a long-ish review in the summer so I’ll mostly just say that it’s selection as winner for this category really highlights the personal nature of these awards. (In case there was any doubt!) Any of the above titles would have been a worthy winner but in the end I chose the one that made me cry because I found so much to recognize and empathize with.
Karissa Reads Books 
Many have praised Omar’s book, and I know I would love it because I love his fiction, but I’ll say to you what I’ve said to others; I’m worried that after I read that book, I will be haunted by it. Which is shameful to say, but do you know what I mean by it? I’m still haunted by the book I read a few years ago by the sister of that man who lost his wife and kids in a boat passage from Syria, when that little boy’s body washed up on the beach. There are parts of that book that I can still remember so clearly!
It’s a hard one, for sure. And even more disheartening how little has changed since it came out. I know what you mean because I struggle too with trying not to look away from hard things while also protecting my own emotional health. Have you read What Strange Paradise by this author? I still think about that book a lot.
Yes I have, and it still stays with me too! That’s why I’m afraid to read his non-fiction haha
That’s fair!