This Week in Nonfiction: The Class of 6.17.25
New nonfiction just dropped. One showed up in designer threads. Another’s wearing a Medal of Honor. A few are here to rock your playlist—and one brought a salmon cannon. Wait, what?!
It’s another Pub Day—meet the class of 6.17.25:
New nonfiction just dropped—fresh, fierce, and full of surprises.
This week’s lineup includes a fashion rebel, a Vietnam War hero, a friendship memoir that’ll tug at your heart, and something called The Salmon Cannon (best title of the week). We’ve got women kicking ass, important ideas about fairness and recovery, and a few books that’ll make you want to look up your favorite band’s weirdest live setlist.
Before we throw confetti at the full graduating class, I’ve got my eye on a few standouts. I was lucky enough to get advance copies of The Gift of Not Belonging and Wildfire Days: one’s a deep dive into what it means to be an “otrovert” (you’ll want to look that up), and the other is an adrenaline-filled memoir about breaking into the boys’ club of wildland firefighting. I’m also a sucker for a good microhistory, so Threads of Empire—told through twelve global carpets—sounds right up my alley. And lastly: Unplug feels timely. I’m ready to break up with my phone… again.
A few of these grads are also Substack writers (noted with ^). Let’s cheer them on and read what they’re putting out into the world.
Women’s Stories
Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark Into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age by Shannon Watts ^
Lift: How Women Can Reclaim Their Physical Power and Transform Their Lives by Anne Marie Chaker ^
Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West by
^We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade by Elyce Arons
Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free by Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson
Health & Self
Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses by Ilene Sue Ruhoy
Unplug: How to Break Up with Your Phone and Reclaim Your Life by Richard Simon
The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners by Rami Kaminski
The World Around Us
Just Earth: How a Fairer World Will Save the Planet by Tony Juniper
The Equity Edge: How Addressing Bias in Recruiting and Retention Drives Success by Jenn Tardy
Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets by Dorothy Armstrong
Music, Meaning & Messages
Loud and Clear: The Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound and the Quest for Audio Perfection by Brian Anderson
The Story of Abba: Melancholy Undercover by Jan Gradvall
The Book of Signs: 150 Symbols and Their Spiritual Messages from the Other Side by
Curiosity & Discovery
The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog: And Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science by Carly Anne York
The Möbius Book by
^
One to Honor
Every Weapon I Had: A Vietnam Vet's Long Road to the Medal of Honor by Paris Davis
There’s plenty to dig into this week—whether you’re chasing inspiration, curious about quirky science (hello, levitating frog), or just here for a good story.
☀️ While you’re here, don’t forget to vote in the Summer Reading Check-In poll—what kind of nonfiction is making it into your beach bag?
Missed a week? You can find all the past Pub Day posts right here.
Happy Reading!
Jaymi
P.S: Still smiling over 1,000 subscribers—thank you! You keep showing up, and I’ll keep bringing the books.
Let’s keep the graduation party going! Click below to browse over 600 NEW 2025 Nonfiction picks, complete with summaries and links. Shopping via Bookshop.org gives indie bookstores a well-deserved round of applause (and you can even pick your favorite one). I might earn a small commission if you make a purchase, but no pressure—use it as your personal cheat sheet for deciding which of these grads make your summer reading guest list.
Ooh, two books stood out: The Equity Edge and The Gift of not belonging
Thank you!!!! This is so exciting.