best of 2020: nonfiction

UPDATE 12/26:  Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, from Someone Who's Been There by Tara Schuster was replaced with Let's Never Talk About This Again by Sara Faith Alterman.

A few notes before I begin:

• These are in random order, although I did make note of my absolute favorite.
• All women again!
• I didn't have enough excellent nonfiction books to make a list of ten, so you get a list of five.
• 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. Let's Never Talk About This Again by Sara Faith Alterman:  When the author was a preteen, she discovered that her prudish father, who wouldn't even let his kids say "butt" or "fart", secretly published X-rated joke books and erotica collections.  It was kept a family secret for decades, but when her father developed Alzheimer's, he decided he wanted to revive his writing career again with Sara's help.  It's really funny, except when it's absolutely devastating.

2. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby:  The latest collection of essays from one of the funniest people alive. 

3. Stray by Stephanie Danler:  After selling her first novel (Sweetbitter), the author wanted to celebrate, but after her alcoholic mother's debilitating brain aneurysm, she found herself struggling to understand her miserable relationship with her parents.  A heavy read, but excellent. 

4. Shit, Actually by Lindy West:  The author wrote a famous post on Jezebel absolutely ripping on Love Actually (which, full disclosure, I really enjoyed that movie but it did have some major problems), and in this book, she rates other movies on a scale of zero to 10 DVDs of The Fugitive (which she considers a perfect movie in terms of enjoyment).  By far the funniest book I've read this year; I usually read on my Kindle in bed after G goes to sleep, but I couldn't read this one because I was laughing so hard.  Shit, Actually is gold, actually, and my favorite nonfiction book of the year.

5. Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford:  When the author was 15, she was sexually assaulted by two fellow students at their elite boarding school.  Decades later, when the school came under federal investigation for sweeping other incidents under the rug, she decided to come forward.  Powerful and beautifully written, but difficult to read at times due to the subject matter.