Next up as I look back on my best books of 2024 is nonfiction. I have a few topics I gravitate toward (the Kennedys, First Ladies, memoirs, social justice issues) and I continued to read books on those topics as well as a variety of others. I read more nonfiction this year than any recent year, ending with 70+ books I enjoyed in this category.
These twelve are stand-outs, although I can already think of a few I wish I would have included.
1. JFK, Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by Rosemarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil - this book was fantastic. It was interesting to read about the different little details surrounding the time leading up to JFK, Jr's death. But despite knowing the outcome ahead, this was still just so heartbreaking as the friends sharing their memories didn't know what was ahead while they were living it.
2. One Day I'll Grow Up and Be A Beautiful Woman by Abi Maxwell - this mother's story is perhaps a little polarizing as Maxwell's son decides at a young age that she is a girl. Maxwell recounts the various ways this was communicated to both her and her husband, the way they were treated by their small community and the way she advocated for her child. The writing in this one is superb, and agree or not, the topic is thought provoking.
3. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin - I've long been a fan of DKG and love listening to her talk about her various experiences in Washington, D.C., with presidential administrations. She is a wealth of knowledge and in this memoir, she shares her husband's history in Washington, D.C. as well as hers; the two dovetailed together, and as they went through the multitude of boxes of mementos her husband kept she was able to put the important historical events they were a part of down on the page. DKG finished this book alone, as her husband passed away midway through the project.
4. Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Julie Satow - Satow's book reads like a novel, focusing on the impact of three women instrumental in the development of the American department store. These three women: Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller, Dorothy Shaver of Lord and Taylor, and Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel all made a great impact on the fashion industry. While I didn't know anything about these women prior to reading this book, they broke the glass ceiling for their generation helping women in future generations rise even further.
5. The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt - if there is one nonfiction book you decide to read, this is the one. I won't spout statistics (although there are plenty) that Haidt shares about the downfalls of too much technology, but as adults we must all do better for our children. There is too much at stake to blindly allow our children to have access to technology 24/7.
6. Challenger: A True Story of Heroism And Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham - a second oral history for 2024 about a topic I continue to gravitate toward. I was in seventh grade when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just a little over a minute into flight killing Christa McAuliffe and the six astronauts on board. I've read everything I could get my hands on about it ever since. This didn't have a lot of new info for me, but it was still a great book -and for someone who wasn't reading up on this topic a lot, there would be plenty of new and interesting things to learn.
7. The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and A Twenty Year Fight for Justice by Dan Slepian - this one wasn't on my radar at all, and once I heard about it, I ordered it immediately. Slepian was a producer for Dateline and received a tip that two men were serving twenty five years to life sentences for a crime they had not committed. Slepian begins investigating, working to prove the innocence of these two men (along with four others), learning a great deal about the flaws in our justice system. If you liked Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, this is one you can't miss.
8. The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Americans Who Changed the Course of History, From the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon - I've listened to McMahon's podcast and follow her on instagram, so reading this one was a no-brainer. McMahon has a wealth of knowledge that she is able to recall instantly, and the twelve people she writes about are not ones that many readers will be familiar with (I had heard of just one of them prior to reading this book). That's what makes their stories so interesting and McMahon is able to connect their lives to something small they did that had a big impact in history. This book would also be good for a high school social studies curriculum.
9. The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest For Glory by Thomas Fuller- if you need a feel-good book, this is the one. This group of football players all attended a deaf school, and end up having a record-breaking season. This book is about football - but there is also a lot of information regarding deaf culture.
10. Let Your Mind Run: Thinking Your Way to Victory by Deena Kastor - I've started to read running memoirs over the past few years as I've continued to log miles on my treadmill (I don't think of myself as a "real" runner, whether that's valid or not - but I am so interested in the mental aspect of the sport). Kastor was an Olympic medal winner and women's record holder in the half and full marathons, so she knows a little something about success. This book focuses on how she used positive psychology to unlock her true potential. I think coaches should read this one as well as runners - but her practices can be applied to a variety of areas of life - not just athletics.
11. Sociopath: A Memoir by Patrick Gagne, PhD - Gagne is a sociopath. She is well aware of this. She shares how she felt different from other people since childhood, lacking certain feelings - like empathy or guilt. While aware of it, Gagne didn't know how to "fix" it and would try to feel the way others did. Finally when she took a personality test she realized something she had suspected: she is a sociopath. While Gagne acted in ways I couldn't relate to, I can't say that she was unlikeable. And she has done a great deal of work to assimilate into society. She's married and has children. This one was fascinating - and someday I want to hear what her kids think about their mother.
12. I've Tried Being Nice by Ann Leary - I've read everything Leary has written, and enjoyed every single thing. This compilation of essays are personal, and Leary reveals bits of her personal life- parenting, marriage to actor Denis Leary, being in middle age now....there are some cringe-worthy stories that made me laugh and some stories I could definitely relate to (even some cringe-worthy ones). Leary's voice is easy to read and she felt like a friend by book's end.
As I've typed of up a brief synopsis for each book, I have noticed that often with the fiction books I share, I'll have to go back and look up characters' names and details. Although it's been months since I've read some of these nonfiction books, I haven't had to go back and look up a thing (except for the ridiculously long subtitles). These books and the stories within are ones I won't forget. I can't wait for some great nonfiction reads in 2025.
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