Open Books Challenge 2025: A Diary Style Book or Memoir

Updated September 10, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Open Books Challenge 2025: A Diary Style Book or Memoir

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The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian
Alexie, Sherman
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller--over one million copies sold!   A National Book Award winner A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Bestselling and award winning author Sherman Alexie tells the hearbreaking yet funny story about a boy...
Swan song : an odyssey : a novel
Alther, Lisa
Paper Book
A new novel, funny, wise, moving, true, as only Lisa Alther can write ("she had me laughing at 4 in the morning" --Doris Lessing), set on a cruise ship, about a woman, a doctor in charge of the ship's clinic, recovering from the loss of her longtime female lover, a much-admired writer, and coping...
0101816980409
ANO
Paper Book
A teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale. January 24th After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs... It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within...
Devolution : a firsthand account of the Rainier Sasquatch massacre
Brooks, Max.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The #1 New York Times bestselling author of World War Z is back with "the Bigfoot thriller you didn't know you needed in your life, and one of the greatest horror novels I've ever read" (Blake Crouch, author of Dark Matter and ...
Parable of the sower
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
From a celebrated, award-winning author, a modern classic about a young girl fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin and Margaret Atwood. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and...
The quarantine princess diaries
Cabot, Meg
Paper Book
Mia Thermopolis knows just what to do in a crisis: Rule. During the Covid-19 pandemic, a section of the diary of Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia fell into the hands of Meg Cabot, the Princess's royal biographer. As reported in media outlets such as Entertainment...
The perks of being a wallflower
Chbosky, Stephen.
Paper Book
"A timeless story for every young person who needs to understand that they are not alone." --Judy Blume "Once in a while, a novel comes along that becomes a generational touchstone. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those books." --R. J. Palacio, #1 New York...
Cher: The Memoir, Part One
Cher.
Paper Book
Part One of a Two Part Memoir from the Iconic Artist and Actor 'A rock 'n' roll memoir like no other' Daily Mail 'A gutsy account of tenacity and perseverance...Cher's voice reverberates with the grit and depth that made her famous' The New York Times THERE IS...
Ash before oak
Cooper, Jeremy
Paper Book
Ash before Oak is a novel in the form of a fictional journal written by a solitary man on a secluded Somerset estate. Written in prose that is as precise as it is beautiful, winner of the 2018 Fitzcarraldo Editions Novel Prize, Jeremy Cooper's first novel in over a decade is a stunning...
A noob's diary of an 8-bit warrior
Rivière, Laura
Paper Book
The second volume in the unofficial Minecraft warrior adventure series follows Runt and Blurp on their quest into the Nether to face the impossible task of defeating an Ender Dragon.  "A Minecraft Movie leveled up at the box office, collecting a blockbuster $157...
The lost diary of Venice : a novel
DeRoux, Margaux
Paper Book
The dog walker's diary
Donahue, Kathryn
Paper Book
When jaded and overworked Los Angeles literary agent Daniel Ashe hires Annie Doherty, an Irish dog walker, he's simply looking for someone to care for his dogs so he can focus on landing a dream client and save his career. He certainly doesn't expect to come home each night to find Annie has left...
Pirate invasion
Emerson, Marcus
Paper Book
Continuing the havoc-meets-hilarious adventures of Chase Cooper, who is recruited by a secret society of ninjas at his new school.
Walking on water
Evans, Richard Paul.
Paper Book
In this fifth entry in the New York Times bestselling Walk series, Richard Paul Evans’s hero Alan Christoffersen must say some painful goodbyes and learn some important lessons as he comes to the end of his cross-country walk to Key West.
The vengeance of mothers : the journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill
Fergus, Jim
Paper Book
The stunning sequel to the award-winning novelOne Thousand White Women:A Novel. "Clever and satisfying...Fergus is a superb writer [and] the characters are as real as any pioneer women who braved the rigors of westering." --The Denver Post ...
Bridget Jones : the edge of reason
Fielding, Helen
Paper Book
SEQUEL TO THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLER BRIDGET JONES'S DIARYThe Wilderness Years are over. But not for long. At the end of Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget hiccuped off into the sunset with man-of-her-dreams Mark Darcy. Now, in The Edge of Reason, she discovers what it is like when you have the...
Be ready when the luck happens : a memoir
Garten, Ina
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten--aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon--shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table....
Diary of a film
Govinden, Niven
Paper Book
'Niven Govinden's Diary of a Film, his sixth novel, is also his best yet. Smart, sexy and cinematic (in many senses), it is a love letter to Italy and to film' Observer 'Immersive . . . This is a wise and skilfully controlled novel that can be read in an...
The postscript murders
Griffiths, Elly
Paper Book
Hitch-22 : a memoir
Hitchens, Christopher.
Paper Book
"If Hitchens didn't exist, we wouldn't be able to invent him." ―Ian McEwan   A stylish new paperback edition of HITCH-22, the incendiary memoir of a brilliant contrarian and one of Hitchens' most wry and provocative works.
Diary of a worm : Nat the gnat
Houran, Lori Haskins
Paper Book
Worm is thrilled when it's his turn to take care of the class pet, Nat the Gnat. But everything goes wrong when he leaves the lid of Nat's tank open. Can Worm make sure the class pet returns safe and sound before Mrs. Mulch finds out This all-new, original I Can Read story captures...
The last days of Ellis Island
Josse, Gaëlle
Paper Book
Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature "Josse powerfully evokes the spirit of the 'huddled masses' who landed on America's shores while creating a memorable portrait of a man torn between his commitment to his difficult job and the longings of his heart. Duty and desire...
Flowers for Algernon
Keyes, Daniel.
Paper Book
 Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the powerful, classic story about a man who receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.   Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually...
What is home, Mum?
Khan, Sabba
Paper Book
One of the top ten graphic novels for Spring 2022, as chosen by Publishers Weekly "Khan debuts with a deeply introspective, elegantly rendered graphic memoir about her experiences, faith, and family in the South Asian diaspora community of East London. . . . It's a...
Becoming who we are : real stories about growing up trans
Lisel, Sammy
Paper Book
Becoming who you are is a journey, and all journeys start somewhere.
Freedom : memoirs 1954-2021
Merkel, Angela
Paper Book
'A great accomplishment . . . A wonderful reflection of an extraordinary sweep of history' Barack Obama Timely, intimate and important, the long-awaited memoirs from one of the most influential leaders of our times For 16 years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor...
Isabel : jewel of Castilla
Meyer, Carolyn
Paper Book
Segovia -- 12th of April 1466 After Mass this morning, I climbed the narrow, winding stone steps to a window high in one of the castle turrets. I often come up here to see what lies beyond my prison. Segovia is surrounded by four thick walls, each with a heavy wooden gate. The aqueduct built by...
Sherlock Holmes and the telegram from Hell / Nicholas Meyer [large print]
Paper Book
" Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson cross the Atlantic at the height of World War I in pursuit of a mysterious coded telegram in this new mystery from the author of The Return of the Pharaoh. June, 1916. With a world war raging on the continent, exhausted...
Country girl
O'Brien, Edna.
Paper Book
I thought of life's many bounties, to have known the extremities of joy and sorrow, love, crossed love and unrequited love, success and failure, fame and slaughter, to have read in the newspapers that as a writer I was past my sell-by date, yet regardless, to go on writing and reading, to be...
Dreams from my father : a story of race and inheritance
Obama, Barack
Paper Book
Dork diaries : tales from a not-so-fabulous life
Russell, Rachel Renée
Paper Book
Nikki Maxwell is starting eighth grade at a new school--and her very first diary is packed with hilarious stories and art in this SUPER SQUEE updated edition of the first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series! Nikki confesses all in her first diary...
Push : a novel
Sapphire
Paper Book
An electrifying first novel that shocks by its language, its circumstances, and its brutal honesty, Push recounts a young black street-girl's horrendous and redemptive journey through a Harlem inferno. For Precious Jones, 16 and pregnant with her father's child, miraculous hope appears and the world...
Katie and the cupcake cure
Simon, Coco.
Paper Book
Katie gets inspired to found a club in this first book in the Cupcake Diaries series! Katie Brown is miserable when her best friend is invited to join the Popular Girls Club and Katie is left out. Is there an Unpopular Girls Club she can join? Luckily, Katie finds her way with a...
Dracula
Stoker, Bram
Paper Book
Introduction and Notes by Dr David Rogers, Kingston University. 'There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey, the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was...
Music from another world
Talley, Robin
Paper Book
It's summer 1977 and closeted lesbian Tammy Larson can't be herself anywhere. Not at her strict Christian high school, not at her conservative Orange County church and certainly not at home, where her ultrareligious aunt relentlessly organises anti-gay political campaigns. Tammy's...
The year of the end : a memoir
Theroux, Anne
Paper Book
'A moving and absorbing account' Adam Buxton 'Scorching ... a brave book' Helen Brown, Telegraph 'A wise and vivid memoir of a disintegrating marriage and a study of the role of the spouse in the life of a literary giant' Fiona Sturges, i Paper...
Reckoning
V
Paper Book
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Memoir of the Season The work of a lifetime from the Tony Award-winning, bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues-political, personal, profound, and more than forty years in the making. The newest book from V...
Diary of a void : a novel
Yagi, Emi
Paper Book
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker · NPR · WBEZ's Nerdette · The New York Public Library · Literary Hub A New York Times Editors' Choice "One of the most passionate cases I've ever read for female interiority, for women's creative pulse...
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/359.4407/list/4980

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