10 of the Best New Nonfiction Books To Read in March 2024
March comes in like a lion, spring on its heels. While every season is reading season here at Book Riot, spring unleashes a whole new opportunity to carve out more reading time. The days grow longer, and the sun feels warmer. It’s the perfect time for curling up with a book in a bright window, reading on a park bench on a lunch break, or taking longer to walk the dog while you listen to an audiobook.
As a mood reader, I’m always flitting from one type of story to another, never sure of where to go next. But in the spring, I’m almost always looking for personal narratives. Whether it’s a memoir of an author investigating their mysterious family history or the story of a disability rights advocate sticking it to hateful trolls, I love a person-driven narrative. This is the power of books, to give us a glimpse into someone else’s life.
In celebration of true stories, I’ve collected ten of some of the hottest nonfiction titles hitting shelves in March. You might be new to nonfiction or a true stories pro, but whatever the case, there’s sure to be something on this list that catches your eye.
All publication dates are subject to change.
Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability by Melissa Blake (March 5)
When an ableist troll said that Melissa Blake should be banned from posting photos of herself, Blake posted three photos of herself smiling. In her new memoir, Blake writes about her life as a disability rights activist and social media influencer, calling for the nondisabled to take action and become better disability allies.
Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls (March 5)
Feeding Ghosts is a memoir that follows three generations of women, beginning with Hulls’s grandmother, Sun Yi, who flees China with her young daughter, Rose. Sun Yi experiences a mental breakdown, and when Rose moves to the U.S., she eventually brings Sun Yi to live with her.
The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul (March 5)
RuPaul is one of pop culture’s biggest icons. Supermodel, mogul, television producer — RuPaul has done it all. But with his new memoir, he peels back the layers of his life, revealing the experiences from his early life that made him who he is today.
Devout: A Memoir of Doubt by Anna Gazmarian (March 12)
When Anna Gazmarian is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she realizes that her conservative evangelical community will not accept it. She spends the next decade reframing what her community calls a “heart problem” to better understand mental illness and how it impacts her life.
You Get What You Pay For: Essays by Morgan Parker (March 12)
Literary powerhouse Morgan Parker is out with a new collection of essays that examine Parker’s feelings of alienation in just about every part of her life. She describes living with depression and a deep sense of loneliness. She expands from ideas of the personal, giving her readers a bigger picture of Black life in America.
Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson (March 12)
Literary icon Marilynne Robinson is blessing us with a new work of nonfiction where she examines the creation story in Genesis. Robinson walks us through the creation story, including the original King James Version in her text. Robinson emphasizes God’s never-ending love for humanity and His eternal faith in Creation.
How to Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone: A Memoir by Cameron Russell (March 19)
Cameron Russell shares her life as a model, a job she didn’t necessarily even want in the first place. It was an opportunity, and she took it. But it led to years of surviving a sexist, image-obsessed industry that forever warped how she saw her body and understood her sense of self. How to Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone begs us to examine the question, what does it mean to be seen as an object of beauty meant to be enjoyed by others?
The Observable Universe: An Investigation by Heather McCalden (March 19)
When she was a young girl, McCalden lost both her parents to AIDS. She was raised by her grandmother in Los Angeles, a city particularly ravaged by the disease. Later in life, McCalden begins researching HIV/AIDS and realizes that the internet and AIDS developed at the same time in history. The Observable Universe braids together ideas around the internet and HIV/AIDS, giving readers a unique portrait of late 20th-century America.
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib (March 26)
Poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib grew up in Columbus, Ohio, during the 1990s. He watches basketball stars like LeBron James rise from places he could recognize. In There’s Always This Year, he discusses ideas around who we think deserves success and what society decides is exceptional.
dear elia: Letters from the Asian American Abyss by Mimi Khúc (March 26)
In this series of letters, Mimi Khúc examines ideas around mental health and wellness. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, society’s understanding of illness has changed. Khúc argues that we can no longer have Asian American studies without an intersectional understanding of Asian American wellness.
There are so many good books — I don’t know where to start! If you’re looking for even more nonfiction book recommendations, check out 10 New Nonfiction Book Releases of February and 9 New Nonfiction Releases to Read in January.
As always, you can find a full list of new releases in the magical New Release Index, carefully curated by your favorite Book Riot editors, organized by genre and release date.
