17 Nonfiction Books For My Nonfiction People

Am I a nonfiction person?

White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port by Kate Storey

I live exactly two miles from the Kennedy compound. In fact, my favorite walk takes me right past its gates. Is it my favorite walk because of this? Probably? Maybe? Look, the houses are beautiful there! I loved reading about the glory days of the Kennedys. About the family dynamics and the restaurants and the Taylor Swift of it all. I started a note in my phone called “Kennedy Tour” following this book. I’m ready to take you past the Shrivers’ old place! Who’s coming to visit?

Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier by Marisa Meltzer

I am of the #GirlBoss era. I read Man Repeller and watched The Hills and am currently wearing Boy Brow. I am beyond the target audience for this book.

How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harrison Scott Key

A shockingly personal memoir about marriage and forgiveness and love. You’ll laugh, I promise.

Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley

Sofia Coppola made me do it.

Heirloom Rooms: Soulful Stories of Home by Erin Napier

A cozy read about making a home and what important and transformative work that is.

Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television by Thea Glassman

I listened to each essay separately, like a long podcast series about one of my favorite topics. Oh, I do love teen TV. 

Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby

Sam Irby is an automatic read for me, especially as we both dive deeper into our grumpy middle age. (Audiobook this one!)

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

A delightful record of the letters exchanged between a New York bibliophile and her used-book dealer in England. A reminder of the ways we impact others, even if we never meet in real life.

The Talk by Darrin Bell

A superbly done graphic novel memoir about race and coming of age.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Pair this one with Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and prepare to get really, intensely angry at the Sackler family, the awful people behind OxyContin.

My thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen

Forever a Lily Allen apologist. (The audio is excellent.)

In love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom

If you want to start a potentially controversial book group discussion, here you go! This memoir follows Amy as her husband chooses to die with dignity in Switzerland following an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. So many moral questions. So much love.

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K.C. Davis

I will read just about any book that promises to help me clean my house. My main takeaway from this one was low dopamine tasks are hard! I’ve been a little better about cleaning this past year, and I do think this book was part of it.

How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

Jenny Odell is smart and an artist and just really seems to have figured out the whole looking at the world through a smart artist’s lens. I think about it often.

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney

A memoir about losing a child, so be warned! Read only when you can handle the emotional turmoil! I made the mistake of finishing the audiobook at the gym, crying on the water massage bed at Planet Fitness!

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

I’ve foisted this book on just about everyone I know. I recently even brought it to my sister’s birthday party book exchange. It’s changed everything for me. When Rob’s Gram passed I printed out her favorite recipe for everyone to take home from her celebration of life. That wouldn’t have happened without this book. (The recipe is here, if you’d like it.)

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

A memoir that tells us very little about the writer’s personal life, and a whole lot about what it’s like to work as a doctor in the UK…and somehow I loved it? And somehow it’s funny?

Have you read any great nonfiction lately?

PS: My favorite nonfiction reads of 2020