Hey bookworm friends, I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Earlier this month I shared the list of nonfiction books I’ve read and said I’d make a separate list of biographies and memoirs. Well, here we go! I’ve read 17 but I only want to talk about 13. Some are by people I no longer wish to platform, others simply did nothing for me. Let’s just say that if they’re listed here I think they’re 100% worth a read! Without further ado, here are most of the biographies & memoirs I’ve read so far.
Biographies & Memoirs
The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank │Year Published: 1947
Anne Frank’s diary entries record her experiences as she and her family are forced to flee their home and go into hiding during WWII.
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Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World
Scott Harrison│Year Published: 2018
The CEO of the nonprofit charity: water tells the story of how he went from top club promoter in NYC to founding his charity and changing his life.
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Finding Gobi: The True Story of a Little Dog and an Incredible Journey
Dion Leonard │Year Published: 2017
While ultramarathon runner, Dion Leonard, was competing in a race across the Gobi desert he stumbled upon a tiny dog in the desert. As the pup kept pace with him throughout the competition, they became best friends and Leonard’s priorities changed from winning the race to adopting Gobi.
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Frosty: A Raccoon to Remember
Harriet E. Weaver │Year Published: 1973
For twenty years Harriet Weaver was the only female ranger in California’s Big Basin Redwood Park and this is the story of how she adopted a baby raccoon named Frosty.
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Educated
Tara Westover │Year Published: 2018
Tara was born to a family of survivalists deep in the mountains of Idaho. She was raised in isolation and taught to prepare for the end of the world. She was 17 years old when she first set foot in a classroom and began her formal education against her family’s wishes.
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All Boys Aren’t Blue
George M. Johnson │Year Published: 2020
Journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist discusses his experiences growing up Black and queer. His recollections and anecdotes about his childhood, adolescence, and college days cover a variety of themes from gender identity, toxic masculinity, and consent, to Black joy, and family among others.
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Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner │Year Published: 2021
Michelle tells of growing up as the only American-Asian kid in Eugene, Oregon and of losing her mother to cancer. As she learns to cook Korean dishes to keep her culture alive and finds success in the music scene, she also grapples with identity issues following her devastating loss.
Graphic Memoirs & Biographies
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
Kate Beaton │Year Published: 2022
Beaton’s memoir of the time she worked in the male-dominated field of Alberta’s Oil Sands. It deals with heavy topics such as sexual assault, and the destruction of the environment.
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The Complete Maus
Art Spiegelman│Year Published: 1980
Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, the author’s father and a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s atrocities during WWII. The cartoonist weaves two narratives: his father’s experience of living through the Holocaust, and his current fraught relationship with his ageing father and coming to terms with his father’s story.
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The Complete Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi │Year Published: 2007
Satrapi’s graphic memoir is of her childhood and coming of age in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. Her growing years were rife with political upheavals and repression but also full of love, passion, literature and parties. Persepolis deftly paints a picture of the many contradictions between home life and public life.
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Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D
David Kushner, Koren Shadmi (Illustrator) │Year Published: 2017
A loose biography of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (co-creator Dave Arneson and their falling out are also briefly discussed). Although it’s more of a biography of the creation and rise in popularity of the game itself.
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Solutions and Other Problems
Allie Brosh │Year Published: 2020
After “Hyperbole and a Half”, Brosh returns with more autobiographical and illustrated essays about her childhood. Topics range from grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; to the absurdity of modern life. (I’m technically counting both of this author’s works as one for the purposes of this post 🤫.)
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Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story
Sarah Myer │Year Published: 2023
Myer relates the story of growing up as an American-Korean child in rural Maryland with an emphasis on how they used art to combat racist bullying. Through this memoir, Sarah explores their identity through so many intersecting facets: Adopted. Korean. Queer. As an artist. My review.
Let’s chat in the comments!
Do you read a lot of memoirs? Or have you read any of these? If so, I’d love to know your thoughts!
The only one I’ve read of these is Anne Frank’s diary — and that, multiple times. Pretty sure reading a play based on was the first time a book made me emotional and prompted the classic theodicy question. Crying in H-Mart has appeared on a few Top Ten lists the last few months, so it’s on my radar!
I’m not surprised you’ve read it multiple times, it’s a classic. It was assigned reading in grade 7 or 8 for me if I’m not mistaken. I don’t know what theodicy is, well I had to look it up and I’m not sure I’m clear on it.
Yes now that I’ve finished Crying in H Mart I see why it’s on so many lists and I think it certainly deserves it 🙂 !
It looks like you’ve read memoirs & biographies covering quite a range of individuals. Finding Gobi sounds heartwarming (hopefully at least). I really should try reading The Diary Of A Young Girl eventually, although I know that it’ll be a harrowing experience. I’m sure I’ve seen Educated around a bit but had no idea what it was about somehow 🙈 Maus sounds interesting too. I want to try and get into tje graphic novel format first but if I do I’ll definitely have to check it out.
As far as I can remember I’ve read no memoirs or biographies 🙈 the closest I’ve come is The Tattoist Of Auschwitz and The Good Doctor Of Warsaw which are listed as historical fiction but are true stories. So they’re kind of in a similar group I think.
I can’t remember what memoirs I actually have on my TBR though besides a few celebrity ones 😂🙈
Oh yes finding Gobi was super heartwarming, especially since you love dogs too! I’m a sucker for sweet animal stories hehe ♥
& yeah both Diary of a Young Girl and Maus are harrowing reads but very good.
Oh interesting when real life stories get categorized under historical fiction that’s kind of odd but I can see that if it’s simply inspired by the real life stories rather than an actual memoir. But yeah it’s in a similar realm for sure.
Ah okay haha that’s fair. 🙂 I have a couple of celebrity ones on my tbr too but not many.
Aww that’s wonderful to hear. I feel like a lot of books featuring dogs are sad. They tend to have wonderfully heartwarming moments but sad endings (although I am judging that on films based on books I haven’t read 🙈)
Yeah maybe that’s part of it. Although I know the first was based on interviews with the man it focused on. I probably do have a few that aren’t celebrities also but can’t remember them off the top of my head.
I agree, a lot of books that feature dogs I can’t read or don’t want to when I know bad things happen to them. Cujo for example? Not touching with a 12 foot pole😂 Also I hated the Art of Racing in the Rain and that’s from the POV of a dog. Let’s just see finding the right kind of dog book is a fine balance. LOL
Oh I see okay, intriguing :)! Hehe the famous people ones are much easier to remember for sure!
How many interesting titles! I have only read Educated, but I heard some interesting things about Crying in H Mart. I am still undecided, I don’t know if I will ever read it, but I am thinking about it.
And this is the first time I heard about Finding Gobi and Frosty, but they sounds intriguing (and yes, it is because they have cute animals!!) 😉
Thank you! 😄 Crying in H Mart is worth it but I totally understand where you’re coming from, because it’s a heavy read I’d say you have to be in the right head space for it, It took me a while to get through it because I had to take several pauses. And no shame if you’re just never in that head space.
ahah yes that’s the exact reason I picked those up. Cute animals are my kryptonite haha😂 They’re both super cute reads!