7 Of The Best New Nonfiction Book Releases Of August 2026

On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 in the morning, tens of thousands of people in Hiroshima, Japan were killed and countless others were injured in an atomic blast. Kiyoshi Tanimoto was on the edge of the city when he saw the blast and ran to the city center to find his family. In this newly discovered memoir, Tanimoto gives a first-hand account of the horrors he saw and the region’s long road to recovery.

After her fiancé broke up with her, Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn found herself single and without health insurance. With few options, she and her best friend decided to get married and move in together. Through the pandemic, they began to wonder if their platonic relationship might be something more. What starts out as a marriage of convenience turns into a little something like love. Let me tell you, I have rarely added a book to my TBR faster! There’s also a lot of discussion of tending flowers and the beauty of the natural world. Nature writing PLUS love? Where do I sign up?!

There are feminist movements all over the world, each on the frontlines fighting for women’s rights. In Sex and Dissent, Meaghan Beatley takes us to Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Spain and shows the advances feminism has made over the course of the last decade. While other countries in the world have seen women’s rights rolled back, Beatley gives us some hope with these wins across Latin America and Spain.

With scary season just around the corner, this adorably creepy book is perfect for anyone who loves all things haunted and sinister. Conner Gossel takes us on a tour of 70+ ghostly locations across North America, giving readers an in-depth look behind each location’s sinister facade. The book is divided into regions, which is perfect for the brave souls who adore a haunted road trip. (We all have one in the family.) My favorite bit has to be the illustrations—I could look at them for hours!

Sometimes you need a book all about the depraved and obscene art that you just can’t look away from while visiting a museum. What was the artist trying to convey? How did this piece of art come to be? Philosopher Daisy Dixon is here to answer all of those questions and more with this deep dive into the strangest works of art around. She also examines what exactly makes a piece of art depraved, including which societal beliefs have determined those qualities make a piece of art seem so dangerous.

As someone who grew up as a library kid, I’ve always believed libraries are special places that should be protected. Librarians were the superheroes of my childhood, just like Dorothy Lazard was at the Oakland Public Library. In her new memoir, Lazard gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her day-to-day life at the library. She shows us, firsthand, how much work goes into maintaining a public library and emphasizes why libraries are so important.

Danny Roamadan’s life as a queer man born in Damascus has always been full of danger. Long before he found a safe place to call home, Ramadan’s life was spent living across West Asia and North Africa in a constant search for safety. Ramadan’s story pushes back against the one-note, simplified refugee narrative. His story is multi-faceted, complex in its portrayal of a life just as vibrant—with both its joys and its sorrows—as anyone else’s.