Best Nonfiction of 2023

2023 has produced so many quality books. Last week, I selected my favorites in various fiction genres, and this week I am focusing on nonfiction. I read less nonfiction than in years past, but still enjoyed a number of books in the genre. Here are the standouts from 2023:

Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond by Henry Winkler – Henry Winkler’s first big role in Hollywood, as The Fonz in Happy Days, defined him for decades after the show went off the air. His incredible story starts earlier with a troubled home life and undiagnosed dyslexia and follows him through his role as The Fonz and into the acting roles he has subsequently played and children’s books he has written. Fans of Happy Days will enjoy the details he divulges about the show, including the origin of the term “jumping the shark” and how he was treated significantly better than the rest of the cast and the tension that created. I listened to this one; Winkler and his wife Stacy narrate, and I felt that they were personally telling me their tales. This will make a great gift for the holidays.

But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of The ’60s Girl Groups by Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz – To create a comprehensive history of the many girl groups (such as The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas) creating music in the 1960s as part of this movement, the authors interviewed over 100 people for this book, including Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Joel, Johnny Mathis, Neil Sedaka, Paul Shaffer, Otis Williams, Darlene Love, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, and other members of the girl groups. Told in an interview format and based on over 300 hours of conversations with the singers and songwriters, their agents, managers, and sound engineers as well as present-day celebrities, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow? provides a glimpse behind the scenes of the ascendancy and height of the 1960s girl groups as well as the subsequent forces that led to their collapse. I loved learning more about each group and how they contributed to the movement. 

If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos – Who doesn’t recognize John Stamos? The star of Full House, ER, General Hospital, and two Broadway shows is a very recognizable individual, and in his new memoir, he regales us with fabulous insider stories about his time touring with the Beach Boys (they are personal friends of his), working on Full House and ER, and starring in two Broadway shows. He also chronicles his close relationship with his parents and the role they played in his success as well as his struggles with addiction. He seems much more down to earth than I would have imagined, and I thoroughly enjoyed his stories about pursuing fame, Hollywood, his friendship with Bob Saget, and fatherhood. The audiobook is a delight: Stamos narrates it, and Jamie Lee Curtis reads her touching Foreword to the book. This will make a great gift at the holidays.

There Will Be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History by Rory Carroll (narrative nonfiction) – In the midst of The Troubles, the IRA launched a daring plan to assassinate Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet members on the last day of the 1984 Conservative Party Conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. While the attempt failed, the near-miss ordeal shaped how Thatcher viewed and addressed The Troubles going forward. Carroll focuses the first half of the book on a quick history of The Troubles and its origins as well as the events leading up to the bombing. The second half depicts how the police quickly mounted an exhaustive search to find and capture the bomber. This narrative nonfiction book reads like a thriller filled with intrigue and political history as well as true crime, structured around a tense countdown to the bombing. I truly could not put this one down once I started it; so much of what Carroll depicts weaves into current events such as Brexit as well as raising the question of what would have happened if the IRA succeeded.

I would love to hear your favorite nonfiction reads of 2023. You can drop them in the comments below.

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram. Find upcoming Conversations from a Page events here.