10 Nonfiction Books I Loved in 2024

Marriage, parenting, Russian spies, and Nazis getting what's coming to them: These are a few of my favorite things.

In any given year, I end up reading about 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction. I don’t try to do this; it’s just what ends up happening. I suspect it’s because I go back and forth between bingeing several fiction books, usually by the same author, and then I find a nonfiction book and read a few books on that topic. Sometimes I’ll read a fiction book based on a time in history, and then I’ll find a nonfiction book on the same topic. Eventually I hope to write about how I choose what books to read, how I find time to read, why I even end up reading so much, and why I think books are so important. But for today, I’m going to share the top 10 nonfiction books I loved in 2024. (Note that this list does not include the 4 nonfiction books that made it onto my top 10 reads of 2024.)

These are in no particular order; I grouped them based on topic. If you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear what you thought!

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

This book has gotten a lot of buzz, at least in our area, because the author is a professor at a nearby college. My two seconds of fame connected to this story is that I went to college with one of the pastors mentioned in the book, Soren. My husband and I have also both seen a counselor mentioned in the book who goes by Jimbo. In any case, this book was incredibly painful for me to read, but it was excellent. I think that the sense of humor of the author and his wife reminded me so much of my husband and I, and at the beginning of the book, it made me wonder if what happens in this book could happen to us. I did push through and it got better. If you are married, then you will find this book compelling.

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

Here’s another book that’s gotten a whole lot of buzz this year. As a mom of two teens with smart phones and two younger ones who have lived their lives around devices through no fault of their own, I wanted to know what the science said. There isn’t necessarily anything surprising in here: social media can be dangerous, especially for teenage girls; teenage boys who are entrenched in video games can struggle with “launching”; the more time kids spend outside, the better. It mostly confirmed what I already had seen to be true in my own kids but also gave me encouragement to keep making counter-cultural choices in how we parent our kids.

The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too by Sissy Goff

I listened to this book while taking walks, and I still remember almost crying a few times because it was such a breath of fresh air. The book begins with telling you that anxious parents are 7 times more likely to produce anxious kids, which doesn’t seem at all encouraging. But Sissy Goff does a wonderful job of providing not only encouragement but practical application to deal with your own anxiety so that you can help your kids. I also recommend her podcast Raising Boys and Girls.

The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It by Warren Farrell

This book somehow ended up on our bookshelf, I think because my husband got it for his own reading. As a mom of three boys (currently 14, 13, and 4), I am always eager to read about the best ways to parent them. I would say 90% of this book is incredible, with lots of real-life examples and applications. Toward the end he starts going into detail about neurotoxins and it got a little weird, so discard anything in this one that isn’t helpful. It was still a five star read for me!

Framed: True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

I’m a huge John Grisham fan, and his fiction books continue to get better and better, in my opinion. I wasn’t familiar with the other author, but he works for an organization that helps prisoners who may have been wrongfully convicted. I’ve read many books in the last few years about the criminal justice system and it’s a topic I gravitate toward, so this book jumped out. It is an outstanding book with true stories of real people who have suffered greatly. Most of them have “happy” endings, but is it really happy if the person finally got out of jail after 20 years? Most of the endings are still heartbreaking. I did choose to read this book during a season in 2024 when I was having a major depressive episode and I’ll be honest—I don’t recommend that pairing.

If you’ve read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, which I read in 2016, or The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton, which I read in 2019, and enjoyed them, you’ll love this one. If you haven’t read either of those, go do it now! Stevenson writes about Hinton in Just Mercy, because he was instrumental in getting Hinton off death row.

True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump by Jeffrey Toobin

I’m sure I have readers across the political spectrum, so please don’t come at me based on your personal leanings. I’ve read all of Jeffrey Toobin’s books and have found them to be well researched. This book is not particularly biased; instead, it provides timelines, explanations, and other facts about the investigation into former (almost current again) President Trump. I found it fascinating.

Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis' Fortress Prison by Ben Macintyre

I just discovered Ben Macintyre this year and am working my way through his books. This was a World War II story I had never heard before, and it was equal parts interesting and hilarious. It tells the story of a prisoner of war camp that was housed in a literal castle. Because of the Geneva Convention, the prisoners were treated relatively well as most of them were American and British soldiers. They went to great lengths to try to escape and while most of their attempts failed, they almost always managed to make the Nazis look incredibly stupid in the process.

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

If you don’t already know this about me, it will not take you long to find out that I have read many books about the Holocaust. It was somewhat of an obsession when I was a child, which probably means something, and I haven’t lost interest after 30 years. However, despite all the reading I’ve done, I had never heard the story of this man who escaped from Auschwitz (which almost no one did and survived). For those who might think nonfiction is boring, this kind of book will hopefully change your mind. It doesn’t feel like nonfiction; it reads like a non-stop adventure story (with lots of heartache given that he’s trying to escape a concentration camp).

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre

Here’s Ben Macintyre again! Two of my other niche interests in addition to the Holocaust are Russian history and espionage. This book tells the story of a top ranking Russian spy who decided to start working for the British. The stakes are high and there are several moments of great suspense that almost made me have to pause the book. Again, this is narrative nonfiction at its finest. You won’t believe you’re reading nonfiction as it almost seems too insane to be true!

When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day by Garrett M. Graff

Several years ago I listened to Graff’s oral history of 9/11, which was tremendous. For either of these books, you must listen to the audiobook. There are huge voice casts for both audiobooks, and listening to it really makes it come alive. (In the September 11th book, there is also real audio footage taken from the airplanes, which was difficult to listen to.) I don’t necessarily love military history, but Graff had a fan in me, so I started this one as soon as it became available. As soon as I was done, I wanted to rewatch Band of Brothers (and there is a character in there who makes many appearances in this book!).

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Did you read any good nonfiction in 2024? I’d love to hear about it.

Additionally, moving forward and thinking about what kinds of content I might offer to paid subscribers only, posts like these are pretty time intensive. I’m curious to know what kinds of book roundups you might be interested in paying $5/month to read, if at all! I appreciate your feedback!