best of 2019: nonfiction

And now for my favorite nonfiction books of 2019!  A few notes first:

• The first book on this list was my favorite, but the rest are in random order.
• Not all of these were first published in 2019, but that's when I read them, hence their inclusion on this list.
• If I read something between now and the end of December that belongs here, I'll update accordingly.
• And, as always, your mileage may vary.

1. Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden:  Growing up in Florida, the author seemed to have it all as the daughter of the man who, along with his brother Steve, cofounded a massively popular shoe empire.  But she was also constantly ridiculed for being biracial, she struggled with her sexuality, and her parents were both addicts.  It sounds like yet another "poor little rich girl" memoir, but I assure you it's not; it's funny and incredibly moving.

2. The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong:  The author grew up in a Chinese-Canadian family plagued by mental illness (aka the "Woo-Woo"), which they blamed on ghosts.  The kind of memoir that makes you laugh one second and then cover your mouth in horror the next.

3. Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow:  When Ronan Farrow began investigating claims of sexual assault against Hollywood bigwig Harvey Weinstein, he didn't expect the huge can of worms he was about to open.  Riveting and enraging, and occasionally even funny (at one point, discussing a seemingly benign Gwen Stefani interview he had to scrap on orders from her publicist, he says "I felt neither hella good nor hella bad").

4. The Light Years by Chris Rush:  After getting his first taste of LSD at the age of 12, the author started selling drugs at school and, after getting expelled, took a road trip to Tucson to get more drugs from his sister's friend.  An excellent coming-of-age memoir that, like the best nonfiction, reads more like a novel.

5. Know My Name by Chanel Miller:  The author became known as "Emily Doe" during the rape trial of Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted her when she was passed out, and this memoir details the aftermath of the crime.  Beautifully written, which shouldn't surprise anyone who read her powerful victim impact statement after it went viral online.  Brock Turner should be forced to listen to someone read this book to him every day for the rest of his miserable fucking life.

6. Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle:  What it says on the tin, though not nearly as stuffy and humorless as the subtitle might lead you to believe.

7. The Killer Across the Table by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker:  A look at four of the FBI profiler's most disturbing cases.

8. American Predator by Maureen Callahan:  A riveting look at a serial killer who, thanks to his unusual meticulousness and some shocking lapses by law enforcement, managed to get away with it for over a decade.  Warning: extremely graphic.

9. The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West:  A collection of essays about our current political climate and feminism that's both incisive and savagely funny.

10. Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession by Rachel Monroe:  A fascinating look at four women whose obsession with true crime manifested itself in both positive and negative ways.  The concluding chapter is a masterpiece.