Best Books of 2023: Non-fiction

So after yesterday’s fiction post, today I’m back with the other stuff. And actually I didn’t read a lot of new-new non-fiction this year, so this is a general best non-fiction post, rather than a specific new books one, but hey, I’m all about rule breaking!

So let’s start with the chunkiest book I read this year – Michael Cragg’s Reach for the Stars. My sister and I really enjoyed reading this history of a decade of pop music from the mid 90s. I was a consumer of pop music during this era so it gave me a lot of nostalgia but it also gave me some insights into what I was listening to at the time and the way that the bands involved were covered by the press. One of the bands in this – Girls Aloud – have announced they’re touring again next year, and another (S Club) were touring this autumn so the music and bands are really still out there.

Also in the pop culture sort of space but not new this year is Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick de Semlyen, which I read while I was on holiday this autumn. The Guys in question are the comedians of the early 80s whose careers launched through shows like Saturday Night Live and went on to dominate comedy movies for a decade or more – people like Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Dan Ackroyd and John Candy. I’m too young to to remember this all happening, but some of the movies that they made – Ghostbusters, Uncle Buck and Cool Runnings – were all over my childhood and some of them are still all over movies and streaming now – after all I’ve just binged Only Murders in the Building!

Also in the new to me not new new is Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans. This is a look at women on board the cruise liners during the Golden Age of ocean liner travel. It touches on some of the famous faces who travelled on the ships but mostly focusses on the women who worked on board and the opportunities that shipboard work offered them. I really enjoyed Evans’ Queen Bees a few years back and this is also a really good read.

And that’s the lot I think. I think one of my resolutions for next year is to read more non fiction – and I’ve certainly got a delightful selection to chose from to help me!