Best nonfiction of 2023
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books of the past 12 months. Here are the nonfiction books of the year, as voted by Readings' staff, and displayed in alphabetical order by author.
Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin
Who are Art Monsters? Lauren Elkin characterises them as women who break the social norms of behaviour and appearance. They are women who redefine the truth of their own bodies, not by how they are perceived through the traditional male lens.
Examining pioneering female artists from Vanessa Bell to Carolee Schneemann, Elkin explains the ways in which feminist artists have expressed the truths of women’s stories, bodies and art not only as a reaction to patriarchy but to invent a new aesthetic. This engaging and thought-provoking book will appeal not only to fans of Susan Sontag and Maggie Nelson but to anyone with an interest in art and feminism.
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
'Such is life' is the haunting refrain that echoes throughout Question 7. Flanagan's skill as a writer allows him to effortlessly weave together seemingly disconnected narrative threads: the atom bomb dropping on Hiroshima, a love affair between Rebecca West and Orson Welles, and Flanagan's near death experience on the Franklin river. The result is a unique and profound work of memoir and narrative nonfiction. Cleverly dismantling the partition between reality and fiction, Question 7 interrogates the intersection of history and personal journey; the butterfly effect of our lived experience is inescapable, with the act of living proving an exercise in relative invention.
With poignant reflections on life, love and the very nature of storytelling, this timely and insightful work is a must read. This is a book to be experienced as it simply eludes accurate summary! Such is life.
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Too many biographies about great male writers fail to acknowledge the invisible work of the women who made it possible for them to exist: Nabokov’s wife Vera was his typist, proofreader, editor, agent, business manager, and chauffeur; Tolstoy’s wife Sophia edited and rewrote War and Peace eight times – by hand – whilst also raising their 13 children and managing the household finances.
It is Eileen O’Shaughnessy – who published a dystopian poem titled 'End of the Century, 1984' a year before she met her husband George Orwell – whose brief but remarkable life is the focus of Anna Funder’s captivating memoir, Wifedom. Funder deconstructs the idea of the ‘male genius’, pulling back the curtain to reveal the vivid woman whose achievements and contributions have been largely forgotten. Rousing, nuanced and exquisitely well-written, Wifedom is a compelling window into an uneven marriage, the brilliant minds within it, and the way structural misongyny continues to affect women today.
Law: The Way of the Ancestors (First Knowledges) by Marcia Langton & Aaron Corn
The latest edition to the celebrated First Knowledges series, Law: The Way of the Ancestors both explains aspects of Indigenous law and explores how it can be applied to the present day more broadly. This compact compendium speaks to the enduring expertise of First Nations peoples, as it proposes new ways of moving forward in our current global crises through the application of ingenuity that dates back over 65,000 years. Comprehensively explaining traditional law, this book is a highly thought-provoking read.
Killing for Country: A Family Story by David Marr
Four years ago while researching his family ancestry, acclaimed Australian journalist David Marr discovered that he was descended from a member of the brutally violent Native Police, who were responsible for the murders of over 41,000 First Nations people between 1859 and 1897. In Killing for Country, Marr attempts to reckon with this bloody history, drawing an unflinching portrait of colonial-era Australia and the violent process of white settlement on Indigenous lands.
Rather than painting this cruel history in broad and distant strokes, Marr’s decision to place his own ancestors at the heart of the story makes Killing for Country both intimate and immediate. Impeccably researched, Marr has written a richly detailed and deeply personal account of colonialism and family truth-telling. It is urgent and essential reading for all.
Did I Ever Tell You This? A Memoir by Sam Neill
From My Brilliant Career and Jurassic Park to The Dish, Peaky Blinders and beyond, Sam Neill has appeared in nearly 100 films throughout his illustrious career so far. In this open-hearted and entertaining memoir he reveals his fascinating story.
Born in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand with his parents at the age of seven and while at school he stumbled upon acting. After university he made documentary films and performed in amateur productions before appearing in his first feature film, Sleeping Dogs, from which he’s never looked back. Sam Neill is a fabulous raconteur giving the reader a privileged glimpse into his life both in- and outside the film industry.
Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page
In a year of hotly anticipated celebrity memoirs and biography, Pageboy stands out for its care and understated candour.
Launched to stardom through indie overachiever Juno, Elliot Page’s journey takes you from his formative years during the outwardly homophobic 2000s to the insidious political climate of today. Page untangles troubling threads of his childhood, interrogates the nature of his desire, and – of course – discusses what was really going on in his life and behind the scenes. His story is one of queerness and transness, set against the switching backdrops of a remote Nova Scotian childhood and the overhyped parties of Hollywood.
Page’s words are an open excavation of the self, yet more philosophical than a tell-all, and in this he offers readers something greater than just what happened.
Underground Lovers by Alison Pouliot
Alison Pouliot, natural historian, environmental photographer and fungi enthusiast, explores grasslands, glaciers, deserts, forest floors and below bringing to vivid life a mostly unseen but vital part of the world’s ecosystem: fungi.
As she travels far and wide Pouliot observes fellow devotees, investigates the role of fungi in history and digs deeply into its complex habitat, revealing how critical fungi are to the health of our environment and beyond. Pouliot is a gifted storyteller turning fungi into a wondrous and fascinating lifeform whilst also ensuring we understand the need to look after it for our planet to survive.
I'd Rather Not by Robert Skinner
Local bookseller Robert Skinner has captured a slice of the Melbourne literary scene in this hilarious collection of essays. From love affairs, share houses, cats and camels to the launch of The Canary Press, ‘Australia’s greatest (and possibly only) short story magazine’, Skinner will have you splitting your sides with laughter. Just when you think it can’t get worse for him, he takes you down to another level in the most charming way.
A firm favourite amongst Readings staff members, for obvious reasons, I'd Rather Not, has kept us giggling all year. It is a book for anyone who has had a vision, but not the Gannt chart and five-point plan to back it up.
Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking by Tyson Yunkaporta
Known to many from his revelatory debut Sand Talk, the latest work from Tyson Yunkaporta, is an explorative through line that returns to the question of what can be learned through the lens of Indigenous thinking. In Right Story, Wrong Story, Yunkaporta takes readers further by tracing a path to understanding the very nature of storytelling as well as its repercussions.
First and foremost, this work is a conversation; between Yunkaporta and the many voices consulted for the work, between author and reader, and between readers and their own internalised narratives that this work so eloquently disrupts. Packed with cultural theory and delivered with charm and accessibility, this is a disarming and salient work that rewards those readers willing to let their mind wander. A wonderfully wise book to turn to right now.