“Just the facts, ma’am.” That’s what Sgt. Joe Friday* wanted from the people he was questioning on Dragnet – but it’s not necessarily what readers of great nonfiction are looking for.  

We all know to visit the nonfiction section for cookbooks and financial planning tips, gardening advice and crafting manuals. But not everyone realizes that lurking in those stacks are a slew of notable selections as fascinating, absorbing, and compulsively readable as anything you’ll find in fiction.  

Nonfiction doesn’t have to be dry. Literary nonfiction may have been growing in popularity over the last couple of decades, but nonfiction as a whole has always offered a unique window to the world. In addition to telling us what happened in the world or how to do a certain task, great nonfiction authors can also offer us new ways to think about the planet, our place in it, and how we – and others – can approach our time on Earth. 

Whether you’re already a nonfiction aficionado or you’ve never even looked at a Dewey Decimal number, the list below is a great place to start (organized by call numbers for pure nerdery and ease of access): 

• 248.86 LUC: Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear, by Max Lucado. The world sometimes seems to pile on more fear, anxiety, and doubt every day. In Fearless, Pastor Max Lucado invites readers to imagine a life where faith replaces fear.
• 333.3 WIN: Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World, by Simon Winchester. Winchester takes a look at who actually owns the planet’s land, what they do with it, and how it defines us. (Also keep an eye out for The Professor and the Madman, the amazing true story of how a murderer wrote much of the Oxford English Dictionary from a lunatic asylum).
• 364.15 FOX: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer. A thorough account of the nearly two decades the Sherlock Holmes author spent seeking justice for Oscar Slater.
• 500 BRY: A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. What more could you want? Also look for A Walk in the Woods, In a Sunburned Country, and At Home.
• 611 ROA: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. A science writer with a knack for distilling life’s most curious topics into simple, fascinating chapters. Also keep an eye you for Bonk, Gulp, and Fuzz.
• 616.85 HIG: Fall Down 7 Times, Get up 8: A Young Man’s Voice from the Silence of Autism, by Naoki Higashida. A peek inside the mind of a non-verbal autistic man, offering his perspective on navigating life and relationships.
• 796.357 GOO: 100 Things Cardinals Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, by Derrick Goold. There’s more things to know and do every years, so might as well get started now!
• 818.603 HOD: Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms, by John Hodgman. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a little bit famous — and a lot funny, kind, and knowledgeable — this is the book for you. 

• BIO Gadsby GAD: 10 Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation, by Hannah Gadsby. The Australian comedian shares an intimate look at her childhood in Tasmania and her life in the years leading to her Grammy-winning comedy special.
• BIO Reichl REI: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir, by Ruth Reichl. A veteran food writer shares a quarter-century of writing for Gourmet magazine, as well as her observations of how American food culture changed over the years.

*In fact, Sgt. Friday never actually said this phrase; according to Snopes.com, he generally preferred “All we want are the facts, ma’am.” But much like “Let them eat cake” or “Play it again, Sam”, the incorrect version has made its way into popular consciousness so thoroughly that it has acquired a truth of its own.