Biography and Memoir

Discover the stories of their lives, in recent biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs.
Updated June 9, 2026
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Book of lives : a memoir of sorts
Atwood, Margaret 1939-
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD * NAMED A NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE WASHINGTON POST * How does the greatest writer of our time tell her own story? "The most spectacular,...
Bread of angels
Smith, Patti
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A radiant new memoir from artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: TIME, NPR, THE NEW YORKER "God whispers through a crease in the...
Kids, wait till you hear this! : my memoir
Minnelli, Liza
Paper Book
"A bombshell, jaw-dropping memoir" --People Magazine  #1 New York Times Bestseller  Global icon Liza Minnelli shares her inspiring story: stepping out from the long ...
Strangers : a memoir of marriage
Burden, Belle
Paper Book
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Burden's searing, probing memoir explores . . . what she learned about intimacy and her own spirit."--People​​ "A beautifully written instant classic. Strangers is gripping and heartbreaking and a must...
Being Thomas Jefferson : an intimate history
Burstein, Andrew
Paper Book
The deepest dive yet into the heart and soul, secret affairs, unexplored alliances, and bitter feuds of a generally worshipped, intermittently reviled American icon. Perhaps no founding father is as mysterious as Thomas Jefferson. The author of the Declaration of Independence...
We did ok, kid : a memoir
Hopkins, Anthony 1937-
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Academy Award-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins delves into his illustrious film and theater career, difficult childhood, and path to sobriety in his honest, moving, and long-awaited memoir. Born and raised in Port...
Young man in a hurry : a memoir of discovery
Newsom, Gavin 1967-
Paper Book
The #1 USA Today Bestseller and Instant New York Times Bestseller From California Governor Gavin Newsom comes an intimate and poignant account of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics "Go slow," his political...
Vagabond : a memoir
Curry, Tim
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A USA TODAY BESTSELLER This memoir is a celebration of Tim Curry's life's work, and a testament to his profound impact on the entertainment industry as we know it today. ...
Phases : a memoir
Brandy 1979-
Paper Book
* INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! * The iconic, multiplatinum, Grammy Award®-winning performer Brandy brings us a raw, intimate portrait of her life, charting her journey from Mississippi churches to Hollywood spotlights ...
North of ordinary how one woman left it all behind for wilderness and wonder in Alaska's frozen frontier
Aikens, Sue
Leaving home : memoir in full colour
Haddon, Mark 1962-
Paper Book
An unflinching, brilliantly written, darkly funny, lavishly illustrated memoir by the acclaimed author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time:  A ringing testament about how one artist sees the world, and how his experiences have shaped his vision "Tender,...
Paper girl : a memoir of home and family in a fractured America
Macy, Beth
Paper Book
An Instant National Bestseller . Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award . One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2025 . Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and Vanity Fair "There couldn't be a timelier book . . . searingly poignant, essential ....
Finding my way : a memoir
Yousafzai, Malala 1997-
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! | A USA TODAY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "A remarkably intimate and insistently human chronicle of a moral authority's coming of age." --The New York Times This is not the story you think you know...
The uncool : a memoir
Crowe, Cameron 1957-
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Cameron has written a book that feels like music, an intimate souvenir, like a song you can't stop listening to." --Stevie Nicks * "A delicious tale of a devotee who worships at the altar of rock and roll....It's a love letter to fandom, sealed with...
Ain't nobody's fool : the life and times of Dolly Parton
Ackmann, Martha
Paper Book
A larger-than-life new biography of country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton. In Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton, Martha Ackmann chronicles the life of an American Original. From her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains...
How to be okay when nothing is okay : tips and tricks that kept me alive, happy, and creative in spite of myself
Lawson, Jenny 1973-
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Warm, insightful, and witty, the first book of advice from New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson--aka the Bloggess Jenny Lawson is full of contradictions. She's a celebrated author but battles self-doubt,...
The mixed marriage project : a memoir of love, race, and family
Roberts, Dorothy E. 1956-
Paper Book
From Dorothy Roberts, author of Killing the Black Body and a writer who "has brilliantly illuminated the Black experience in America for decades" (Bryan Stevenson), comes a spirited and riveting memoir of growing up in an interracial family in 1960s Chicago and a daughter's journey...
Small town girls : a writer's memoir
Phillips, Jayne Anne 1952-
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE * OPRAH'S #1 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 * A luminous memoir in essays from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, who reflects on her origins and the mysteries of memory. "A brilliant, wide-ranging book, nostalgic and tough-minded...
Lost : Amelia Earhart's three mysterious deaths and one extraordinary life
Hartigan, Rachel
Paper Book
Unravel one of history's greatest mysteries in this spellbinding narrative, filled with compelling images, that explores the three leading theories of Amelia Earhart's tragic disappearance. When Amelia Earhart's plane disappeared in 1937, the clues poured in, attracting wild...
100 rules for living to 100 : an optimist's guide to a happy life
Van Dyke, Dick
Paper Book
On the eve of his 100th birthday, national treasure Dick Van Dyke brings us this autobiographical collection of stories, reflections, and life advice on how he's maintained a zest for life. Dick Van Dyke danced his way into our hearts with iconic roles in ...
You with the sad eyes : a memoir
Applegate, Christina 1971-
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Funny, furious, and profane." --The New York Times "Not your typical celebrity memoir." --Jimmy Kimmel Unflinchingly honest and darkly funny, You...
Joyful, anyway
Bowler, Kate
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A profound, funny, and deeply human case for joy that doesn't depend on everything getting better, from the beloved author of Everything Happens for a Reason and No Cure for Being Human "Joyful, Anyway is colorful and layered, unafraid of the...
Cave Mountain : a disappearance and a reckoning in the Ozarks
Hale, Benjamin
Paper Book
"The damnedest mixing of true crime, memoir, and maybe (?) ghost story I've ever read. The original Harper's article gave me the shivers, and this deeper dive is going to have me looking over my shoulder on every hike. Unputdownable." -- Patton Oswalt With the immediacy...
Homesick nomad : settling into an untethered life
Madia, Brianna
Paper Book
"Madia's adventurous tales transcend their rugged terrain, telling, at the crux of it all, very human stories"--The Source New York Times bestselling author of Nowhere for Very Long and Never Leave the Dogs Behind Brianna Madia considers putting down...
Unread : a memoir of learning (and loving) to read on TikTok
James, Oliver (Motivational speaker)
Paper Book
As a result of childhood learning disabilities and educational neglect, Oliver James graduated from high school and became one of approximately 45 million functionally illiterate Americans. However, at age 32, with big dreams and few tools to actualize them, he dedicated himself to learning the key...
Winter : the story of a season
McDermid, Val
Paper Book
"The perfect little book to get you through winter's doldrums . . . a warm look at a dark time."--Washington Post In this radiant work of creative nonfiction, internationally beloved novelist Val McDermid delivers a dazzling ode to a lost world, ruminating on a single...
Stripped down : unfiltered and unapologetic
Bunnie Xo 1980-
Paper Book
***The INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!*** From the trailer parks of Vegas to the mansions of Nashville, Bunnie Xo has lived a lot of lives and seen the darkest sides of humanity. Her memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, is cold, clear evidence that no...
Arsenio : a memoir
Hall, Arsenio
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Arsenio Hall, America's beloved late-night TV host, reveals the ups and downs of his remarkable career as a trailblazing pioneer with this "vivid, outrageous" (The New York Times) behind-the-scenes, star-studded, no...
That's a great question, I'd love to tell you
Myers, Elyse
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller! Writer, comedian, and content creator Elyse Myers gets real about life's awkward moments in her bold, funny, and unfiltered debut book Elyse Myers is known to her twelve million followers as "The Internet's Best Friend," sharing...
The last kings of Hollywood : Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg and the battle for the soul of American cinema
Fischer, Paul (Documentary film producer)
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Riveting, grade A smack for cinema junkies...Fischer's writing pulsates." --Steven Soderbergh, filmmaker The untold, intimate story of how three young visionaries--Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg...
The look
Obama, Michelle 1964-
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD * Beautifully illustrated with more than 200 photographs, including never-before-seen images, The Look is a stunning journey through Michelle Obama's style evolution, in her own words for the first time. ...

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