Hi Nick, I read Stoner, after you recommended it several times. I LOVED IT !!! Great rec. I have been a Stephen King fan since I was in high school in the 70's . I've read almost all his books. The Stand is my favorite. I remember getting his new book, reading it in one night and then waiting another year for his next novel. With no PC's to give me new info for his upcoming books, I had to wait !!!
Midnight in Chernobyl is PHENOMENAL! The book and the HBO limited series that was adapted from it. It happened the year I graduated HS and I thought I knew enough about it but I was shocked at the level of detail that was in the book that probably wasn’t common knowledge thanks to the secrecy of the iron curtain.
That sounds like a lively book club! 😄 And that Akira set looks amazing As for recommendations, I'm advocating for The feather thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson, I would love to hear your opinion on it if you ever get to read it (I think the synopsis doesn't do it justice, it's one of my fav non fiction books)
I'm hoping to read more non fics too! Here's what's on my TBR for this year: -The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland. I actually read the first few chapters last year, didn't finish because my library loan expired. Those chapters were SUPER interesting so I definitely want to give it a second shot and hopefully finish the whole book -Why They Can't Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities by John Warner. Another one I started but didn't finish, despite how interesting it was. Someone actually lent me a copy so I want to finish before I have to give it back. -How to Resist Amazon and Why: The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future! by Danny Caine. I'm already a non-amazon-user but I want to learn more about the whole topic. It's a very slim book that was originally a zine, so I might start with this one. -Capitalism: a Horror Story by Jonathan Greenaway. Randomly picked this at an indie bookshop. I don't know much about it but it sounds like something that would be totally up my alley!
Currently reading Midnight in Chernobyl and it is so good! I can feel my brain expanding with every page. Also watched the HBO series a few years ago (it instigated me to get this book) and I find it helpful to have a bit of background understanding. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!
Btw another amazing book and HBO (mini)series combo is I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. I don’t hear it talked about much in the bookosphere but it’s a really nice long one that you can sink into.
Some great non fiction: “Breath” by James Nestor is everything you were not aware you needed to know about our respiratory system, and how breathing controls everything. “The body keeps the score” by Bessel van der Kolk, about trauma and some possible therapies. “Mom & Me & Mom” one of the many volumes of Maya Angelou’s autobiography, it reads like fiction because her life and her relationship with her mom is just surreal. And last but definitely not least is “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. By now you know how beautiful her prose is. This book is about her moving to a farm, and it is written by herself, her husband and her daughter. I have no intention of moving to a farm, but I was fascinated by her description of different kinds of pumpkins and mushrooms, and the cute story about her daughter starting an egg business. It is like “slow reading”, it transported me to another life. And this is a perfect example of why books are sick. 😉
I just ordered BAD BLOOD and getting it today. I live in the Bay Area/California and I am familiar with the case, via the media. I look forward to the book. I need to read more.
Yes! You have to check out the series. Its a mini-series so not that many episodes. It has stayed with me since I saw it a couple of years ago. I feel you might like The expedition by Bea Uusma. It’s about a swedish expedition to the north pole in 1897. It might be the best Non-fiction book I’ve ever read.
so excited for your year of nonfiction! if you are interested in more nature and science based nonfiction, I cannot recommend The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben -- some really interesting insight into trees and their ecosystems, communities, and them as "individuals" that totally changed the way I view them. :) if you are interested in history (a la Patrick Keefe) then The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox is about a pair of WWI detainees in a Turkish prison and how they used con tactics and the ouija board to break out of prison, and The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre which is about cold war spying in the most James Bond-esque fashion ever.
My husband and I are listening to Demon Copperhead right now! We are about 60% through. It is amazing! The author is fantastic, but the narrator of the audiobook is so, so good as well. The combination makes me not want the story to end!
Into thin air is amazing - one of the most gripping non-fiction books I have ever read. I would recommend any biography by Walter Isaacson or anything by Thomas Sowell.
I've never been much of a nonfiction reader. Most recently, I read about half of "From One Cell" by Ben Stanger and it was honestly really good! Great mix of teaching the science vs. telling the history of how we arrived at the science, and a fascinating subject (how multicellular life is able to develop from a single cell into an insanely complex system of cells, and how we discovered that fact). I didn't drop it because it was bad, I just got kind of busy! I might have to return to it at some point.
Having the Akira box set means that you now have a responsibility to fully enjoy it! Reminds me that I’ve noticed your copy of Monsters, by Barry Windsor Smith. It’s a harrowing read, but would love to hear you speak on it someday!
for the longest time, i thought being magnetic was something you either had or didn’t. i used to watch others shine while i felt stuck. then i found Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and it made me realize it’s all about the vibe you give off. chapter 3 especially changed the way i carry myself-it’s such a powerful shift.
Hey Nick, if you're into music biographies (which are non-fiction), here are some recommendations: Getting High: The Adventures of Oasis by Paolo Hewitt Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs by John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon Cash by Johnny Cash (obviously) Keep being your authentic self, you rock!
My wife and I religiously watch your channel. She’s a much bigger reader than I, myself being more of an avid manga reader. My absolute favorites and highest recs are Vinland Saga, Hunter X Hunter and Berserk. I think personally you would love Vinland saga and or Vagabond.
Into Thin Air is excellent. I’m a huge Krakauer fan! It seems there is a bit of controversy over what actually happened. If you are interested there is also a book called The Climb by Anatoli Boukarev that tells the story from a different perspective. I think there is some dislike between the two authors. I’ve read both and it’s neat to hear both sides. Anyways, just thought I’d throw it out there.
Jon Krakauer is the most amazing writer. I was so disappointed when I heard recently that he has decided not to write anymore book! I finished Into thin air sitting in an airport. Nearly missed my flight as I refused to go check in for my flight until I finished the last few pages.
Hey Nick im reading African Samurai by Geoffrey Girard and Thomas Lockley right now, really enjoying it so far. About half way through. I think you would like it. Also just finished Hero of Ages and wow i need more Sanderson in my life lol
A great - short - non fiction recommendation (Actually I'll give two recommendations): On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder, and On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt. On Tyranny (128 pages) is how tyrants rose to power, and different elements which make up a dictator, and a potential dictator. On Bullshit (80 pages) is a philosophical examination of "bullshit" and how it differs from lying. there both really short (I think I made it through On Bullshit in an hour or something when I first read it. Frankfurt also wrote On Truth, but I enjoyed On Bullshit more.
I don’t know if this is a thing in Canada (hopefully it is) but some libraries in the US have a service called Kanopy. It has a lot of criterion movies available on it.
Cool stuff. It's not often here on YT that channels talk about non-fiction; glad to see it. I'm a voracious reader and at least 75% of my reads are non-fiction. As I get older I just can't seem to find good fiction authors... Glad you found the translation you like for Dostoevsky; I actually saw that one in my local Chapters... I can only abide Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translations. I find them easier to read, as they're, as you noted, not altered for the modern ear. I guess it's preference but, I find the contemporary authorial 'voice' to be much too ephemeral and sloppy.
ever feel like you’re the one no one notices, no matter what you do? i’ve been there. i tried all the advice out there, but nothing stuck until i read Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki. the insights in chapter 3 blew my mind-it taught me how to let my energy do the talking before i even say a word.
Non fiction I'm looking forward to that aren't out yet: The Sirens' Call by Chris Hayes, Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, and Lawless: How the Supreme Court Came to Run on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman. I also just picked up Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove and I think that's going to be the first book I start next month.
The Katz translation of the Brothers Karamazov is incredible I just finished it and it was so much better than Pevear and Volokhonsky. I despise P and V and have gotten rid of all their Dostoevsky translations and am currently in the process of replacing them.
Bro, how have you possibly never seen Akira? And if you want to watch it, JUST WATCH IT! What does reading the comics have to do with anything, especially considering the manga was still on its run when the movie was made (the manga would conclude 2 years laer), so the movie is it's own self-contained thing (I don't know how much semblance it has to the comics, I haven't read the manga series, but for all the reason I gave, one can assume movie and comic series can each can be consumed seperately).
I just finished Ministry of Time and it was so disappointing. It was an easy read so I just kept reading it, didn’t DNF, but I kind of wish I had. Just…not good.
I wonder how long it will be before he makes the, " I'm un-hauling a thousand books because I have no self control or space" video. So far he's on track for '26 or when the views decline! Once folks, "do TH-cam fulltime" the decline begins!
i was just like you, wondering why some people effortlessly draw attention while i felt invisible. nothing i tried seemed to work. then i came across Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and it completely shifted my perspective. the way chapter 3 explains energy and presence? it’s like unlocking the secret to being noticed.
been there, feeling like no matter how hard i tried, i just didn’t stand out. then i picked up Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and honestly, it changed everything. chapter 3 opened my eyes to how energy works-it’s not about effort, it’s about alignment. people started noticing me in ways they never had before.
if you’ve ever felt like no one notices you, trust me, i get it. i felt like that for years, trying all the confidence hacks and advice out there. but nothing clicked until i read Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki. there’s something about chapter 3-it’s like the missing puzzle piece i didn’t know i needed.
Babe wake up, Nick from Booksaresick uploaded
Thank you for inspiring me to read again! I had 19 books read in 2024 and already read 4 in 2025!
Into Thin Air is AMAZING. Think you will totally dig it. Endurance is amazing too. I hope you keep adding non-fiction here and there!
I also found this to be a great read!
You're the only channel i'll hit the like button before I watch the video.
The book club battle is what convinced me to sign up for your Patreon (my first ever!), that was truly hilarious!
Your videos are honestly a highlight and brighten my day 😊
After a years long reading slump, I'm 3 books in on the new year. I owe part of that to you for sure Nick. Thanks so much for just being you man!
Hi Nick, I read Stoner, after you recommended it several times. I LOVED IT !!! Great rec. I have been a Stephen King fan since I was in high school in the 70's . I've read almost all his books. The Stand is my favorite. I remember getting his new book, reading it in one night and then waiting another year for his next novel. With no PC's to give me new info for his upcoming books, I had to wait !!!
Midnight in Chernobyl is PHENOMENAL! The book and the HBO limited series that was adapted from it. It happened the year I graduated HS and I thought I knew enough about it but I was shocked at the level of detail that was in the book that probably wasn’t common knowledge thanks to the secrecy of the iron curtain.
The power of reading wins above all I love it!!
I'm currently in the middle of Endurance based on your recommendation. Brilliant book. I may have to try Into Thin Air.
The battle kept me up way past my bedtime!
That sounds like a lively book club! 😄 And that Akira set looks amazing
As for recommendations, I'm advocating for The feather thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson, I would love to hear your opinion on it if you ever get to read it (I think the synopsis doesn't do it justice, it's one of my fav non fiction books)
I'm hoping to read more non fics too! Here's what's on my TBR for this year:
-The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland. I actually read the first few chapters last year, didn't finish because my library loan expired. Those chapters were SUPER interesting so I definitely want to give it a second shot and hopefully finish the whole book
-Why They Can't Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities by John Warner. Another one I started but didn't finish, despite how interesting it was. Someone actually lent me a copy so I want to finish before I have to give it back.
-How to Resist Amazon and Why: The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future! by Danny Caine. I'm already a non-amazon-user but I want to learn more about the whole topic. It's a very slim book that was originally a zine, so I might start with this one.
-Capitalism: a Horror Story by Jonathan Greenaway. Randomly picked this at an indie bookshop. I don't know much about it but it sounds like something that would be totally up my alley!
Currently reading Midnight in Chernobyl and it is so good! I can feel my brain expanding with every page. Also watched the HBO series a few years ago (it instigated me to get this book) and I find it helpful to have a bit of background understanding. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!
Btw another amazing book and HBO (mini)series combo is I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. I don’t hear it talked about much in the bookosphere but it’s a really nice long one that you can sink into.
Yea! Keep a tally please 😊
Following you from TikTok
Some great non fiction: “Breath” by James Nestor is everything you were not aware you needed to know about our respiratory system, and how breathing controls everything. “The body keeps the score” by Bessel van der Kolk, about trauma and some possible therapies. “Mom & Me & Mom” one of the many volumes of Maya Angelou’s autobiography, it reads like fiction because her life and her relationship with her mom is just surreal. And last but definitely not least is “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. By now you know how beautiful her prose is. This book is about her moving to a farm, and it is written by herself, her husband and her daughter. I have no intention of moving to a farm, but I was fascinated by her description of different kinds of pumpkins and mushrooms, and the cute story about her daughter starting an egg business. It is like “slow reading”, it transported me to another life. And this is a perfect example of why books are sick. 😉
I just ordered BAD BLOOD and getting it today. I live in the Bay Area/California and I am familiar with the case, via the media. I look forward to the book. I need to read more.
Yes! You have to check out the series. Its a mini-series so not that many episodes. It has stayed with me since I saw it a couple of years ago.
I feel you might like The expedition by Bea Uusma. It’s about a swedish expedition to the north pole in 1897. It might be the best Non-fiction book I’ve ever read.
The Criterion Channel is awesome!
This book club drama has me on my toes 😂
Mate, been enjoying your take on things for a while now. Into Thin Air is an absolute page-turner. You'll finish it in a day!
so excited for your year of nonfiction! if you are interested in more nature and science based nonfiction, I cannot recommend The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben -- some really interesting insight into trees and their ecosystems, communities, and them as "individuals" that totally changed the way I view them. :) if you are interested in history (a la Patrick Keefe) then The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox is about a pair of WWI detainees in a Turkish prison and how they used con tactics and the ouija board to break out of prison, and The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre which is about cold war spying in the most James Bond-esque fashion ever.
My husband and I are listening to Demon Copperhead right now! We are about 60% through. It is amazing! The author is fantastic, but the narrator of the audiobook is so, so good as well. The combination makes me not want the story to end!
Into thin air is amazing - one of the most gripping non-fiction books I have ever read. I would recommend any biography by Walter Isaacson or anything by Thomas Sowell.
I've never been much of a nonfiction reader. Most recently, I read about half of "From One Cell" by Ben Stanger and it was honestly really good! Great mix of teaching the science vs. telling the history of how we arrived at the science, and a fascinating subject (how multicellular life is able to develop from a single cell into an insanely complex system of cells, and how we discovered that fact). I didn't drop it because it was bad, I just got kind of busy! I might have to return to it at some point.
That box set is so beautiful!!
Love your channel!
“Ministry of time” is tied to “Endurance” in a great way.
I’m about to join your patreon so I can vote for Wuthering Heights!!
The book club drama is the Game of Thrones of our time
I read Endurance last year. It's absolutely incredible, one of my favourite reads. Into Thin Air is on my list as well.
Having the Akira box set means that you now have a responsibility to fully enjoy it! Reminds me that I’ve noticed your copy of Monsters, by Barry Windsor Smith. It’s a harrowing read, but would love to hear you speak on it someday!
Into the Wild was a great non fiction book. I know you’ve read it. I also enjoyed Friday Night Lights
for the longest time, i thought being magnetic was something you either had or didn’t. i used to watch others shine while i felt stuck. then i found Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and it made me realize it’s all about the vibe you give off. chapter 3 especially changed the way i carry myself-it’s such a powerful shift.
Please read Into Thin Air next. Read it years ago and finished it in one night. What an amazing book. Can't wait to hear what you think of it.
I've been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, I casted my vote but I gotta say I'm loving this haha 😂
"My thing fell out"
-Nick 2025
Hey Nick, if you're into music biographies (which are non-fiction), here are some recommendations:
Getting High: The Adventures of Oasis
by Paolo Hewitt
Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
by John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon
Cash
by Johnny Cash (obviously)
Keep being your authentic self, you rock!
Omg Love In The Time of Cholera ❤❤❤ sooo good
Michael Finkel
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
Fascinating non-fiction
Yes, really good! 😁👍🏻
My favorite non fiction that seems totally up your alley is Helter Skelter by Bugliosi
My wife and I religiously watch your channel. She’s a much bigger reader than I, myself being more of an avid manga reader.
My absolute favorites and highest recs are Vinland Saga, Hunter X Hunter and Berserk. I think personally you would love Vinland saga and or Vagabond.
Into Thin Air is excellent. I’m a huge Krakauer fan! It seems there is a bit of controversy over what actually happened. If you are interested there is also a book called The Climb by Anatoli Boukarev that tells the story from a different perspective. I think there is some dislike between the two authors. I’ve read both and it’s neat to hear both sides. Anyways, just thought I’d throw it out there.
I saw City and The City on Ottawa got an INSANE Stephen King hardcover lot out, thought of you.
The HBO Chernobyl show was great. I just finished East of Eden, thank you for the recommendation, it was fantatic.
I read endurance in 2024 and it was easily my favorite nonfiction read of the year - knowing how much you love ships you will love it!
Also - I recommend Devil in the White City which was a close second
Jon Krakauer is the most amazing writer. I was so disappointed when I heard recently that he has decided not to write anymore book! I finished Into thin air sitting in an airport. Nearly missed my flight as I refused to go check in for my flight until I finished the last few pages.
I loved into thin air one of my favorite books ever
Hey Nick im reading African Samurai by Geoffrey Girard and Thomas Lockley right now, really enjoying it so far. About half way through. I think you would like it. Also just finished Hero of Ages and wow i need more Sanderson in my life lol
Evicted is a great read -not fun but very good.
As follow-ups, you might like “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer and “Voices from Chernobyl” by Svetlana Alexievich.
A great - short - non fiction recommendation (Actually I'll give two recommendations): On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder, and On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt. On Tyranny (128 pages) is how tyrants rose to power, and different elements which make up a dictator, and a potential dictator. On Bullshit (80 pages) is a philosophical examination of "bullshit" and how it differs from lying. there both really short (I think I made it through On Bullshit in an hour or something when I first read it. Frankfurt also wrote On Truth, but I enjoyed On Bullshit more.
Oh! Hey! That’s my name! Haha anyways vote MOT
I don’t know if this is a thing in Canada (hopefully it is) but some libraries in the US have a service called Kanopy. It has a lot of criterion movies available on it.
Have you read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls? Its worth a read.
Cool stuff. It's not often here on YT that channels talk about non-fiction; glad to see it. I'm a voracious reader and at least 75% of my reads are non-fiction. As I get older I just can't seem to find good fiction authors... Glad you found the translation you like for Dostoevsky; I actually saw that one in my local Chapters... I can only abide Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translations. I find them easier to read, as they're, as you noted, not altered for the modern ear. I guess it's preference but, I find the contemporary authorial 'voice' to be much too ephemeral and sloppy.
ever feel like you’re the one no one notices, no matter what you do? i’ve been there. i tried all the advice out there, but nothing stuck until i read Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki. the insights in chapter 3 blew my mind-it taught me how to let my energy do the talking before i even say a word.
I am not even in the book club anymore but I will forever remember Connor Lewis 🤣
You should do a 2nd Chance theme for the club one month and have the options be a lot of books that almost won but didn't quite make the cut.
Yes keep saying weeks lfg!
Into Thin Air is so good.
Have you read Determined by Sapolsky?
Come and See is so good and so harrowing
I really enjoyed Into Thin Air, Bad Blood, and Midnight in Chernobyl. Empire of Pain, if you haven’t read it yet, is excellent.
Id say get to week 100. It would be pretty cool
Into Thin Air and Chernobyl are both great! Chernobyl was such an eye opener.
What camera do you use?
Non fiction I'm looking forward to that aren't out yet: The Sirens' Call by Chris Hayes, Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, and Lawless: How the Supreme Court Came to Run on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman. I also just picked up Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove and I think that's going to be the first book I start next month.
I hadn't heard about some of these, thank you for your recommendations!
The book is fantastic, and the HBO show is incredible!!
The Katz translation of the Brothers Karamazov is incredible I just finished it and it was so much better than Pevear and Volokhonsky. I despise P and V and have gotten rid of all their Dostoevsky translations and am currently in the process of replacing them.
Pour one out for Nicks’s hamster 🥃
@@DonCovin 😆
Bro, how have you possibly never seen Akira? And if you want to watch it, JUST WATCH IT!
What does reading the comics have to do with anything, especially considering the manga was still on its run when the movie was made (the manga would conclude 2 years laer), so the movie is it's own self-contained thing (I don't know how much semblance it has to the comics, I haven't read the manga series, but for all the reason I gave, one can assume movie and comic series can each can be consumed seperately).
Not a book, but have you seen the movie They Came Together? Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd.
Read The Wager!
I truly hated Ministry of Time, but I also understand that I am the minority. If it wins, I cannot wait to hear your opinion.
Lost in Yaba by Walt Gleeson is an interesting read if you're looking for non-fiction.
You said "community chat" but I think you meant "texting group"?
@@mandilitton8453 I did mean texting group. My apologies.
Awkward ending score: 3.5/5 ⭐
Why dont you just switch to (Episode 53) instead of week. Give the people what they want. Helps settle your mind? lol
also lets you make more than 1 a week....?
He didn't say the whole line...what happened to "-I am Nick"???
I’m not in the book club, but happy to hear ya’ll don’t have to read the hot garbage that is Normal People.
I just finished Ministry of Time and it was so disappointing. It was an easy read so I just kept reading it, didn’t DNF, but I kind of wish I had. Just…not good.
Come and See is from the 80's, dude. A war movie, from 1985. C'mon, man.
I wonder how long it will be before he makes the, " I'm un-hauling a thousand books because I have no self control or space" video. So far he's on track for '26 or when the views decline! Once folks, "do TH-cam fulltime" the decline begins!
i was just like you, wondering why some people effortlessly draw attention while i felt invisible. nothing i tried seemed to work. then i came across Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and it completely shifted my perspective. the way chapter 3 explains energy and presence? it’s like unlocking the secret to being noticed.
where did you find a copy,
Don’t fall for this bs
been there, feeling like no matter how hard i tried, i just didn’t stand out. then i picked up Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and honestly, it changed everything. chapter 3 opened my eyes to how energy works-it’s not about effort, it’s about alignment. people started noticing me in ways they never had before.
if you’ve ever felt like no one notices you, trust me, i get it. i felt like that for years, trying all the confidence hacks and advice out there. but nothing clicked until i read Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki. there’s something about chapter 3-it’s like the missing puzzle piece i didn’t know i needed.
I can’t seem to find this book. I see “change your aura, change your life” by Barbara Y Martin. Is there a a place I can buy this. Thanks