--- description: Find out why "Spare" by Prince Harry is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Spare' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21e793a24fb5bc7/698a41fc0116824ba19839bd/Spare.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2023 # Spare by Prince Harry by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  The titillating details threaten to overshadow the lyrical prose in Prince Harry’s buzzy memoir, which made [countless headlines](https://time.com/6245103/prince-harry-spare-memoir-revelations/ "undefined") when it was published in January. But _Spare_ is the rare tell-all that finds balance. Sure, the book features an insider’s perspective on wedding-related squabbles between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, a moment when Prince William [physically attacks](https://time.com/6244729/prince-harry-william-altercation-spare-book/ "undefined") Harry, and an anecdote about Harry’s frostbitten penis. But the talented ghostwriter [J.R. Moehringer](https://time.com/6246029/prince-harry-spare-review/ "undefined") (who has pulled off this trick before in Andre Agassi’s memoir _Open_ and Phil Knight’s _Shoedog_) finds literary heft in Harry’s life in a gilded cage. Never before has a celebrity memoir pulled off comparisons between its subject and another dithering prince: Hamlet. Even the story of Harry’s icy appendage segues into a moment of reflection on how the press scrutinized every intimate detail of his life since he was a child—including whether he had been circumcised. Come for the drama, stay for the writing. —_Eliana Dockterman_ **Buy Now:** _Spare_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780593593806 "undefined") | [Amazon ](https://amzn.to/474s3Vm "undefined") --- **Looking for more book recommendations? Sign up for** [**_Worth Your Time_**](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=worth-your-time "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6331005/spare/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6331005/spare/"},"headline":"Spare","datePublished":"2023-11-14T12:30:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:24:58.075Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6331005/spare/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21e793a24fb5bc7/698a41fc0116824ba19839bd/Spare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21e793a24fb5bc7/698a41fc0116824ba19839bd/Spare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6331005/spare/","name":"Spare"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2023","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WppeqCEz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-11-13T19:20:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WppeqCEz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6331005/spare/","duration":"PT1M28S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6331005/spare/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```