Nonfiction November: How to Actually Do It

What Is Nonfiction November?

Nonfiction November is a free, month-long reading event. From November 1 to 30, readers read nonfiction and post about it in response to four weekly prompts. There's no sign-up, and no required book count.

• Dates: November 1–30, with a new prompt every Monday.
• 2026 prompts: My Year in Nonfiction, Nonfiction Journeys, Nonfiction Pairings, and What I've Added to My TBR.
• Hosts: Four book bloggers, one per week: Heather (Based on a True Story), Frances (Volatile Rune), Liz (Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home), and Deb (Readerbuzz).
• Hashtag: #NonFicNov26
• Origin: Book bloggers Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) and Lu (Regular Rumination) started it in 2013.

This page is about joining the fun: a proposed stack, the week-by-week breakdown, and the math behind it. How to read nonfiction without it feeling like homework is a different question, answered in How to Read More Nonfiction.

Pick Four Books That Won't Stall You

The stack you pick determines whether a challenge month succeeds or fails. Choose yours along these lines:

• At least two books that read like stories. Momentum carries a nonfiction month. Two page-turners buy you patience for a slower book.
• No more than one dense book. Two in the same month is usually too many. If you want to make a point by picking a dense one, read How to Read a Difficult Book first.
• One short book, read first. An easy, early finish in the first week sets you up for success.
• Write down a one-line reason for each choice before the 1st. It takes only thirty seconds each. (Set Your Reading Intentions explains how.)

The usual mistake is picking four important-sounding books while you're still feeling ambitious, only to realize a week later that you don't want to open any of them.

So here are four on-ramps as inspiration. They're chosen because they're hard to put down.

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A letter from Coates to his teenage son about living in a Black body in America.

Est. read: 2h 40 min

Get your reading estimate

The short one, for week one. You can finish the 152 pages in a weekend, giving you an early win. Short doesn't necessarily mean easy, though (be warned).

Bad Blood

by John Carreyrou

The Wall Street Journal investigation of Theranos, a blood-testing startup valued at $9 billion whose machines didn't work.

Est. read: 5h 56 min

Get your reading estimate

The thriller, for week two. Whistleblowers, legal threats, and a cover-up make its 339 pages read like a thriller. If you think nonfiction is slow, this book might change your mind.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

In 1951, doctors took Henrietta Lacks's cells without her consent (they're still alive in labs today), and her family only found out more than 20 years later.

Est. read: 6h 28 min

Get your reading estimate

The slow one, for week three. 369 pages of cell biology and medical ethics, with the Lacks family's story underneath. It's the slowest of the four. Read this one if you want to learn something and still be told a story.

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage

by Belle Burden

A stranger's message early in the pandemic reveals her husband's affair, and Burden goes back through their marriage to find what she missed.

Est. read: 4h 29 min

Get your reading estimate

The memoir, for week four. Published in January 2026, it debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. Its 256 pages read like a novel, which may be what the last week needs: a book that pulls you to the finish (great for anyone who usually reads only novels).

The Month, Week by Week

Give each of the four weeks one job:

Week three is the turning point of the month: the novelty is gone, and the finish is still more than a week away. A protected block of time can rescue it more reliably than discipline can (Commit to a Long Read shows how). If a book isn't working for you, swap it ruthlessly (How to DNF a Book Without Guilt). In week two, start marking things up (How to Annotate Nonfiction Books goes over the how-to).

Four books is ambitious. Nonfiction reads slower than fiction: Brysbaert's 2019 review of 190 studies puts the average adult at 238 words per minute for nonfiction and 260 for fiction. The four books above add up to 1,116 pages, or about 37 pages a day for 30 days. At 238 words per minute (about 0.95 pages a minute), that's 39 minutes a day. A slower reader (like me) needs closer to an hour. If you could use a plan with buffer days, check out How to Make a Reading Schedule.

Or give the two-book version a shot. It's two books read with notes taken alongside. That beats four skimmed books just to get a higher count for the month. Between the World and Me and Bad Blood add up to 491 pages, or 16 pages a day (about 17 minutes). For a first Nonfiction November, that's a great place to start.

Start on the 1st

Nobody is scoring your Nonfiction November. The challenge does its job if you finish even just one nonfiction book.

Pick a short first book for the month and get started right away on the 1st.

I read mostly nonfiction anyway, so I'll be reading my own stack alongside you. I'll share my November monthly recap in December to show you how my Nonfiction November went.