As the new year dawns, it seemed like the perfect time to share my favorite books of 2014.  Though I read roughly the same number of books in 2014 as 2013 , 94 to last year’s 90, I read the largest number of pages yet!

Over the month of January I will share my favorite books across four categories: short stories, fiction, memoirs & real history and young adult fiction. Check out my short story post. Today I’m talking about popular nonfiction. 

2014 Popular Nonfiction Books

My nonfiction tastes range from the macabre to the beautiful so two favorites should come as no surprise. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a full list of the nonfiction titles I read this year.

Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes

The ultimate beauty and lifestyle guide by The Guardian’s Sali Hughes. Pretty Honest covers everything from “morning after” makeup to how to choose the right hair color for your skin tone. Hughes is the knowledgeable older sister you never had and this guide answers all the questions you never knew you had. It’s only available in ebook format here in the States but might be worth splurging for international shipping since the hardcover is so beautiful. (Check out her youtube channel for a taste!)

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes : and other lessons from the crematory by Caitlin Doughty

Strange? Yes. Surprisingly not morbid? Absolutely.Caitlin Doughty gives us a glimpse inside the funeral industry in the same way that Mary Roach told us about dead bodies in Stiff. One part memoir, one part history less, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is easily the best narrative nonfiction I read this year.

• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
• The Penguin Book of Witches by Katherine Howe
• Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes
• Own It!  by Tabatha Coffey
• Lean In for Graduates by Sheryl Sandberg
• It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartig
• Survival of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem
• People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jenn Mann