Recs if you like Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory...

Niche nonfiction, aka micro-histories!

This list was a winner of the Q2 2026 Community Voting event - if you'd like to participate in the Quest, a link is pinned in the comments.

When the narrator(s) makes the book even better. For new listeners and audiobook elites, here is a range of different genres and narrators that excel at audio perfection.

Death will unfailingly find every person to have ever lived, yet is treated as a taboo topic in some cultures, causing extreme, pervasive anxiety. This nonfiction list aims to broaden understanding of this inevitability, both to hopefully negate some of the anxiety as well as satisfy some of our more morbid curiosities. It also aims to show that death is another, still useful, stage in the life cycle, aiding those that remain by helping to advance medicine, solve crimes, or understand art.

microhistory: the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (such as an event, community, individual or a settlement); it aspires to "ask large questions in small places"

medical nonfiction written like the most engaging action novels that will expand your knowledge without pain let me know if i should add anything here!

Nonfiction books to explore your morbid curiosity. Topics include death, pathogens, the paranormal, and more.

Check out my list horror nonfiction for books about horror media.

Books about death, dying, grief and what remains.

audiobooks where the narrator is the author! any book goes, no matter the genre. there may be multiple versions of the audiobook, but at least one version has the author as narrator. please suggest more in the comments!

Books with weird, strange, absurd, or just hilarious titles Please comment your own suggestions

how we keep them, how they happen, how they taste, how we think about them, and everything else in-between

Books that tackle death and dying.

Nonfiction about strange, outlandish, and/or macabre subjects (books that make you more or less go “wtf?!”)

Nonfiction that makes me think of The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir.

Nonfiction about macabre and taboo subjects

This list will focus on death, dying, and grief in all aspects, as well as the value of human life. Concepts of death education, grief and coping. In addition, cultural and religious perspectives and traditions, plus accounts from moritians and death doulas.

I mean I feel like this one is pretty self explanatory. cannibalism that happened in real life NOT true crime (mostly)

Books about people (particularly women) with a unique job situation. The definition of "unique job situation" is basically vibes. It could be fantastical or surreal, or just a normal job in an unusual situation. Or maybe a job so mundane and specific that the focus on it feels weird. Also books about real people with unique and interesting jobs. (Also I have not read all of these so I'm just going off descriptions for some of them.)

For those who want to learn a thing or two while they're acting out their dark academia dreams.

(read: dark and broody non-fiction that may or may not also be dense and/or academic)