Recs if you like Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism...

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.

Non-fiction books that should make you: Re-contextualize your place in the world. Reassess the framework of your life. Strive to be radically kind. Pursue positive change. Become an anarchist, anit-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-racist, etc. || My list is very North American centric and I would love global recommendations ||

Books where cults are a significant part of the narrative. Some fiction, some non-fiction.

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"

These are some of my favorites and books I want to read--nonfiction that reads like fiction or is otherwise compelling. If you're intimidated by books on history, science, memoir, or other subgenres in nonfiction, start here.

Accessible non-fiction titles that are a good intro to the genre—suggestions always welcome! As an added bonus, most of the audiobooks are also great 🎧

For when you want something more ominous, macabre, or mysterious in taste that also centers on a deeply specific subject. Ranging from the occult to the supernatural to just plain weird and interesting. Expand your knowledge by reading these narrow glimpses into the past.

Alternatively, these are books I’d recommend to each Dropout cast member if given the opportunity to do so! I’ll be including a legend in the comments to clarify which book goes with each person. I know I’m missing people, so if you have a good suggestion for a book recommendation that goes with someone I haven’t already mentioned, please share!

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

... or pop culture leaning.

Niche nonfiction books that dads are still likely to enjoy that either 1) are not military history at all or 2) a niche area of a war that is not military history

NonFiction about & by people who were homeschooled or in nontraditional schooling, causing educational neglect & abuse, for some or all of their childhood & adolescence. These books feature, examine &/or deconstruct the systems and instances of harm that frequently occur in insular, high control educational environments.

🚨⚠️⚠️⚠️🚨 Huge & Varied Content Warnings ♡ Take care with your bodyminds ♡

Pending additions in the twinned shelf Suggestions welcome!

I’ll exvangelize away here 🧐
A pile of non-fiction and memoirs helpful on the personal journey of deconstruction with all feels as well as critical reflections about (evangelical) fundamentalism, high control religion, Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS), Purity Culture, etc Deconstruction can be such a lonely journey, so I hope you’ll feel comforted by similar experiences! You’re not alone!

If you've ever thought that non-fiction was boring, dense or just "not made for me" this list is, in fact, made for you.

Nonfiction to read when you’re deconstructing your faith or seeking to understand why others have left religion. For novels exploring the topic, check out my list “Fiction with Themes of Religious Trauma”

Nonfiction on a single, weirdly specific topic

Nonfiction about macabre and taboo subjects

Books that feature religious trauma, cults, or high control groups that I've read or are on my tbr

These works (like Conspirituality and Doppelganger) show how high-control ideologies have moved out of the dark corners of the internet and into the mainstream by adopting the aesthetics of wellness, fitness, and motherhood. They teach us to recognize when the language of "liberation" is being used to build a new cage. This shit is insidious. The more you know