Best Non-Fictional Books I read in 2024

As 2024 comes to a close, it's the perfect time to reflect on the books that have left a lasting impact on us. This year, I read more than I have in a long time and although the majority of it was fiction, I also read some fantastic non-fiction books that offered new perspectives and deep insights.

In this article, I’m sharing the best non-fiction books I read in 2024—those that I particularly enjoyed or found insightful. Whether you're looking to learn something new or find inspiration, these are my recommendations for your reading list.

Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

This book isn't about adding more tasks to your list or becoming more efficient with various hacks; it's about how you truly create time. It encourages you to reflect on how you use your time. Am I constantly chasing tasks for others? Am I dedicating my day to writing emails, believing I'm being efficient? Am I spending several hours on a specific app?

Here is what I did while and after reading this book:

1. Book time slots for certain activities: Emails, WhatsApp, workouts, a hobby - once in the calendar, it’s booked. From 3-4 pm, you focus on emails; before and after, you focus on other things. This allows you to do things in one block of time instead of spreading them out over the day.

2. Reorganize your phone and apps: What are your biggest time consumers on your phone? Can you delete an app (for example, the email app), log out of social media every day to make it harder to access, or turn off the notifications? My biggest time trap is Instagram, so I've set a timer and deleted some other apps. I also have hardly any notifications.

3. Set a professional and personal highlight: You can’t do everything in one day, so decide in the morning what actually matters and what allows you to log out once you complete it. I often take a mental note of what I want to accomplish today and what will make it a successful day; for example, today - renew insurance and finish a project proposal.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

If you've been keeping up with this blog and my social media for some time, this doesn't come as a surprise. I've written not just one, but two reviews of this book, which you can find here: #1 and #2. Today, I'll approach it a bit differently - here are my key takeaways and two new habits I established this year:

My key takeaways:

1. Start Small: Habits can be simple, we just have to start small. Even if the changes seem minor in the short term, they add up to remarkable changes over months and years.

2. Identity-Based Habits: Focus on the type of person you want to become, not just the goals you want to achieve. Don't focus on the marathon, focus on becoming a runner. What habits do you have to implement to become a runner?

3. Environment shapes behaviour: Clear suggests that to facilitate positive habits, you should design a supportive environment. For example, if you want to eat healthier, remove junk food from your sight, or even better, don't buy it in the first place.

4. Habit Stacking: How can we tie a new habit to an old one? For example, while making your coffee before work (existing habit), do five pushups (new habit).

5. Two-Minute Rule: Start a new habit that can be started in just two minutes. Want to knit? Knit for five minutes every day instead of committing to knitting sweaters for the whole family for next Christmas (okay, I guess that's a Five-Minute Rule :))

Two new habits I've established:

1. Once a week, usually on Thursday, I book an 8 a.m. workout class at a local coffee shop/workout space, and afterward, I work for 1-2 hours at the coffee shop. It's one of my favourite days of the week, and I'm highly efficient on that day. I combine something I need to do (work out) with something I love to do (work in a coffee shop).

2. Work in Progress: I have been replacing my phone with a book before going to bed. I have been doing it for a while, and I think it's almost a habit by now. This definitely affected how much I have been reading this year.

101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think

I first started this book as an audiobook, but there was too much content that I couldn't process while listening. I have to highlight thoughts, add post-its, make notes and think about them. I read a few essays every night for weeks, and even now, months after I finished the book, I still have it on my nightstand to reread my favourite essays. Here are five statements and five questions from the book to reflect on (essay in brackets):

Five statements:

• Stress may just be the most dangerous emotion (especially when it's consistent) and yet it goes unaddressed more often than other feelings. (#18)

• Do the most important things immediately in the morning. Give your energy to what matters most, when you have the most of it. It also helps you define what really matters to you. (#20)

• Success is more a product of habit than it is skill. To excel at something, you must be able to do it prolifically. Many people write well. Few people write well and consistently. What separates experts from the rest of us is a blend of profound self-control, disciplined routine, and unwavering dedication. (#23)

• Presence is all we have, yet it often becomes a last priority. (#27)

• Simplicity is difficult because it requires clean thinking. It's the long, hard way to a cleansed perception. (…) And that is what choosing a life rooted in simplicity does: makes the ordinary miraculous. (#70)

Four questions:

• If nobody would know what you did with the rest of your life, what would you do? What would you be interested in doing? What would energize you? (#73)

• What kind of person do you want to be? As opposed to: What titles do you want to have? (#41)

• If I could tell every single person in the world just one thing, one sentence, what would it be? (…) What you think you’d want to say to everyone out there is actually a projection of what you most need to hear. That’s what you most want to tell you.

Life Rebel by Yvonne Eisenring (Only in German)

Life Rebel is written by Swiss author Yvonne Eisenring. It's her story, about her life in six cities and the search for what really counts.

Her journey takes her to Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, New York, and Zurich, each city offering unique lessons. In Paris, we learn about her personal history and the value of time. Berlin challenges ideas of work-life balance. Mexico City highlights the struggles women face and the importance of friendship. Buenos Aires explores the mindset of expats and digital nomads. In Europe and North America, manifestation is the path to personal happiness. However, we often overlook that life circumstances have a big impact on this. In Argentina, economic hardship complicates the pursuit of dreams, despite a positive mindset. In New York, she reflects on bravery, compliments, and celebrating others’ success. The Zurich chapter explores the complexity of individuality and self-reflection.

A key quote from the book:

“It is a privilege to be able to take care of your own happiness. It is by no means always a lack of commitment or optimism. We are not the sole creators of our own destiny and I think it is dangerous and wrong to pretend that we are.”

And to leave you with one final question from the book: Who and what gets our most valuable commodity, our time?

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Have you read a non-fiction book this year that made a lasting impression on you? I'm curious to know your favourites for 2024.