10 Trending Non-Fiction Books of April ’21

Mohamedou Ould Slahi retells his harrowing yet inspirational true story of life as an inmate in one of the most notorious prisons in the world. This is a re-release of the memoir originally titled  Guantánamo Diary, first published in 2015.
Amazon Prime Video released its adaptation of the story into a legal drama film this April, hitting the mainstream and relighting the fire of anger and desire for reform across nations. This story is not an easy read, but its message is loud, and we all need to hear it.

This month, Tim Marshall‘s greatly anticipated follow-up to Prisons of Geography, called The Power of Geography: Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World is being published this April! This in turn has reignited excitement around the first in the series. Marshall’s geopolitical commentary is a fascinating read, reread, and read to share among your mates who love discussing ‘the bigger picture’ of things.

The importance of talking about mental health and mental wellbeing has increased exponentially in the last few years, and Fearne Cotton took to writing to express and encourage further discussions and more importantly actions to improving our general mental wellbeing. Now a well-known advocate for mental health, Fearne has her own very popular podcast called Happy Place. With over 40 million downloads spanning three years, the ever-growing fanbase is referring back to the book which started it all, Happy.

The Hairy Bikers are well known for their no-nonsense, passionate love for all things food. The duo is a national favourite thanks to their cheeky, charming attitudes and desire to make good cooking as accessible as possible. The Hairy Dieters is one of their 25 different cookbooks. It is by no means new, having been published with critical acclaim in 2012. However, as the world begins to open up again, people are turning to the Hairy Bikers for some good, honest, healthy grub!

If you’ve been gripped by another of the incredible medical memoir and biographical stories in recent years like This is Going to Hurt, The Secret Barrister, and The Prison Doctor, then this one will certainly keep you stuck in your seat. This novel tells stories we have all heard, from a very different angle: the sharp end of a scalpel. Though coming from a very physical, scientific standpoint, Dr Shepherd’s gripping stories maintain a uniquely human take, maintaining complete respect to the people involved.

This book has been a staple of parenting and child development for over 40 years. Considering life has changed so drastically over the last four decades, the fact that this book is still a bestseller for parents and guardians all-around is a testament to its brilliance. Check out the full selection of Faber and Mazlish’s work including their guides for little kids, teens, and sibling rivalry. With the monumental shift since the pandemic, parents have had to navigate this new world while also navigating the already massive life-long job of parenthood, so it’s understandable why they’re turning to the best for assistance!

This memoir documents Alderton’s twenties in a way that leaves all the doors open for every reader to see, hear, and feel the events as if they were their own memories. What makes this memoir particularly gripping is the fact that many young 20-something women have had these shared experiences without even knowing how relatable they are. Dolly Alderton recently announced her decision to focus on fiction, beginning with her fantastic modern fiction novel Ghosts published at the end of 2020.

Published in 2019, held in general interest by huge Netflix series The Crown, as well as all the Royal coverage from weddings and babies to deaths and scandals, Lady in Waiting is just one of the top books trending right now featuring real-life stories from the British monarchy. Anne Glenconner offers a truly unique insight into the life of Princess Margaret, while also providing substantial background and contextual information from a lifestyle completely foreign to the masses.

We told you, you can’t escape Joe Wicks! ‘The Body Coach’, who originally rose to fame on Instagram, became a nationwide force for good during the lockdowns which began in Spring 2020. Daily exercise live streams called P.E with Joe kept the nation active and positive. The final stream was last month, and we are turning to Wicks’ books for advice on keeping fit and eating well for now and the future. Wicks has published five different Lean in 15 books as well as a number of other titles. Check out more Joe Wicks’ books here.

The unbelievably harrowing yet endlessly inspiring story of Edith Eger’s life is one of the bestselling memoirs from a holocaust survivor. Due to retellings and descriptions of the brutal acts carried out during WWII, this biographical book is an extremely hard-hitting read. However, it is ever-important to keep the stories of survivors alive, to be better equipped to prevent history from repeating itself. The words on the front of the cover say it all: ‘Even in hell, hope can flower.’