Best Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs

Description: Our List of the Month for January is devoted to the Best Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs. Each participant may vote on ten titles. Please only downvote titles if they do not fit the theme.
Members: 143 participating members
RBeffa, elahrairah, oregonobsessionz, Michael.Rimmer, tardis, CarltonC, KurtWombat, jeshakespeare, Louanne, cbl_tn, kaixo, Micheller7, nancyjune, bangerlm, JuliaMaria, sturlington, Chanda.Leah, al.vick, miller.max, vwinsloe, Heather39, bookmary2, timspalding, hipdeep, Ravenk, foof2you, Wordslinger1919, slimikin, ManWithAnAgenda, hildretha, susanbooks, hallhope, Tosta, abbottthomas, birder4106, perennialreader, atozgrl, camelama, kaulsu, ptimes, mstrust, Rommert, sundancer, Bretzky1, Joy62, nancykric, dara85, rosalita, BookDoc16, PaperbackPirate, gypsysmom, paulmdh, loulourevisited, languagehat, paradoxosalpha, pitjrw, lulaa, souloftherose, sherryearly, yoyogod, barefootsong, SOShea, raidergirl3, brewergirl, Patchshank, VenusofUrbino, merrystar, bjappleg8, EerierIdyllMeme, dimajazz, AnneSteph, thalassa_thalassa, Cecrow, msemmag, terran, ahef1963, DoomLuz, gbelik, vtlucania, WynneWages, katemcangus, KeithChaffee, anglemark, Aquila, PatsyMurray, peterveen, amanda4242, nicolecervone, Faradaydon, princessgarnet, kristilabrie, noveltea, Julie_in_the_Library, FAMeulstee, lottpoet, ecb06c, dave3pt0, AbigailAdams26, megbmore, stillramona, karenb, ablachly, Fjumonvi, minkscat, CDVicarage, JustJune, sssolstice, megstar111, cathy.lemann, Argenta_Library, MaryleeMacD, harray, dewasus1, thorold, Dilara86, Cansu_Jasmine_Otan, bujeya, KarenFunt, sekinehnasiri, myebooks, EMS_24, cipeciop, otori, rocketjk, hoddybook, Pranesh, kurt.glenie, Ignatius777, Mirabelle, Dannysurtr, levitas, fionaanne, javad114, rtoker, ReecerCreek, dhaxton, infjsarah, davidflem1984, Nikkimf88, Gayle4th, MLShaw, azimrin, timetunnel

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Rank Title Author Added

Educated: A Memoir

by Tara Westover

8,164 members

453 reviews

½ 4.3

23 Members: ablachly, dimajazz, kaulsu, ecb06c, Micheller7, terran, bjappleg8, foof2you, sturlington, katemcangus, vwinsloe, nancykric, bookmary2, ReecerCreek, hallhope, ManWithAnAgenda, Wordslinger1919, cathy.lemann, Louanne, Tosta, WynneWages, javad114, Chanda.Leah,
Explanations: ReecerCreek: Fave in our book group. Bill Gates also posted a great interview

84, Charing Cross Road

by Helene Hanff

5,519 members

333 reviews

4.2

20 Members: rosalita, BookDoc16, gbelik, kaulsu, Faradaydon, ecb06c, VenusofUrbino, mstrust, merrystar, perennialreader, souloftherose, ahef1963, Michael.Rimmer, bookmary2, Ravenk, barefootsong, rtoker, cathy.lemann, Tosta, Gayle4th
Explanations: perennialreader: Feel good book.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

by Trevor Noah

5,166 members

326 reviews

½ 4.4

19 Members: karenb, rosalita, BookDoc16, bangerlm, kaulsu, camelama, bjappleg8, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, souloftherose, vwinsloe, peterveen, megbmore, Patchshank, fionaanne, barefootsong, hallhope, Louanne, Chanda.Leah,bookmary2

All Creatures Great and Small

by James Herriot

7,265 members

125 reviews

½ 4.3

19 Members: Aquila, BookDoc16, camelama, bjappleg8, mstrust, cbl_tn, PaperbackPirate, atozgrl, PatsyMurray, perennialreader, Fjumonvi, miller.max, al.vick, AnneSteph, bookmary2, barefootsong, Joy62, dave3pt0, Chanda.Leah
Explanations: cbl_tn: I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Christopher Timothy!
perennialreader: Loved the whole series!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

13,655 members

730 reviews

4.2

19 Members: BookDoc16, kaulsu, Micheller7, raidergirl3, VenusofUrbino, mstrust, PaperbackPirate, vwinsloe, gypsysmom, msemmag, bookmary2, Ravenk, hallhope, cathy.lemann, Louanne, Tosta, Joy62, WynneWages, Chanda.Leah

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Alison Bechdel

7,488 members

349 reviews

4.2

15 Members: Aquila, ablachly, lulaa, EerierIdyllMeme, mstrust, Heather39, sturlington, Dilara86, nancykric, Ravenk, hallhope, ManWithAnAgenda, KurtWombat, Tosta, SOShea

The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank

27,154 members

497 reviews

4.1

17 Members: timspalding, kaulsu, camelama, bjappleg8, mstrust, sundancer, merrystar, atozgrl, perennialreader, susanbooks, Patchshank, hallhope, Tosta, Nikkimf88, DoomLuz, Joy62, WynneWages
Explanations: perennialreader: Read this book when I was her age. It has haunted me ever since.

Night

by Elie Wiesel

25,585 members

553 reviews

½ 4.3

16 Members: timspalding, rosalita, BookDoc16, kaulsu, Cecrow, mstrust, PaperbackPirate, Bretzky1, harray, Patchshank, hallhope, ManWithAnAgenda, Louanne, Tosta, Joy62, WynneWages,bookmary2

My Family and Other Animals

by Gerald Durrell

4,924 members

143 reviews

4.2

14 Members: tardis, camelama, mstrust, CarltonC, azimrin, miller.max, ahef1963, Michael.Rimmer, bookmary2, Ravenk, barefootsong, Louanne, myebooks, megstar111
Explanations: ahef1963: Have enjoyed everything written by Durrell!

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President

by Candice Millard

2,707 members

147 reviews

½ 4.3

13 Members: brewergirl, rosalita, bangerlm, oregonobsessionz, foof2you, RBeffa, noveltea, Patchshank, bookmary2, bujeya, Tosta, KeithChaffee, Chanda.Leah

Washington: A Life

by Ron Chernow

2,771 members

81 reviews

½ 4.4

12 Members: gbelik, oregonobsessionz, kaulsu, camelama, atozgrl, AbigailAdams26, harray, bookmary2, Wordslinger1919, Joy62, WynneWages, Chanda.Leah
Explanations: AbigailAdams26: One of the best biographies I have read, over the last ten years. The kick-off title of my Presidential Biography Book Club.

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

6,939 members

339 reviews

½ 4.4

10 Members: stillramona, rosalita, sturlington, nancykric, kristilabrie, Patchshank, msemmag, Ravenk, hallhope, Chanda.Leah

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

13,669 members

211 reviews

10 Members: jeshakespeare, camelama, PaperbackPirate, perennialreader, nancykric, Patchshank, hallhope, KurtWombat, dave3pt0, megstar111
Explanations: perennialreader: Wonderful writing.

The Complete Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi

6,263 members

242 reviews

½ 4.3

10 Members: Aquila, stillramona, EerierIdyllMeme, bjappleg8, nancykric, Patchshank, hallhope, KurtWombat, Tosta, DoomLuz

Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass

by Karen Blixen

2,000 members

19 reviews

8 Members: gbelik, camelama, merrystar, RBeffa, perennialreader, peterveen, loulourevisited, Chanda.Leah
Explanations: perennialreader: Beautifully written.

Angela's Ashes

by Frank McCourt

21,058 members

332 reviews

10 Members: oregonobsessionz, ecb06c, raidergirl3, terran, foof2you, PaperbackPirate, RBeffa, nancykric, AnneSteph, SOShea

Homage to Catalonia

by George Orwell

6,198 members

103 reviews

4.1

9 Members: gbelik, pitjrw, FAMeulstee, amanda4242, CarltonC, miller.max, nancykric, Ravenk, elahrairah

John Adams

by David McCullough

12,865 members

188 reviews

½ 4.3

9 Members: brewergirl, oregonobsessionz, kaulsu, camelama, Bretzky1, noveltea, AbigailAdams26, davidflem1984, Joy62
Explanations: AbigailAdams26: As someone named for Abigail Adams, I have been given biographies of various Adams family members many times. This was one of my last Christmas gifts from my father.

The Hiding Place

by Corrie Ten Boom

9,108 members

132 reviews

½ 4.4

9 Members: sherryearly, raidergirl3, sundancer, cbl_tn, atozgrl, AnneSteph, slimikin, Joy62, WynneWages

Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited

by Vladimir Nabokov

3,433 members

42 reviews

4.2

7 Members: timspalding, languagehat, lulaa, pitjrw, ecb06c, peterveen, nancykric

James Tiptree Jr: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon

by Julie Phillips

716 members

32 reviews

½ 4.4

7 Members: Aquila, anglemark, RBeffa, vwinsloe, noveltea, KeithChaffee, Chanda.Leah

West with the Night

by Beryl Markham

3,403 members

121 reviews

4.1

8 Members: gbelik, camelama, PatsyMurray, perennialreader, msemmag, bookmary2, loulourevisited, Joy62
Explanations: perennialreader: Amazing woman.

Lab Girl

by Hope Jahren

2,368 members

136 reviews

4.1

7 Members: brewergirl, bangerlm, raidergirl3, terran, lottpoet, nancykric, hallhope

The Complete Maus

by Art Spiegelman

7,860 members

235 reviews

½ 4.5

8 Members: languagehat, BookDoc16, ecb06c, thalassa_thalassa, msemmag, bujeya, KurtWombat, elahrairah
Explanations: elahrairah: How not to survive the unsurvivable.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

by Malcolm X

9,094 members

112 reviews

½ 4.3

7 Members: brewergirl, stillramona, kaulsu, foof2you, Patchshank, KurtWombat, Wordslinger1919

March: Book One

by John Lewis

2,651 members

156 reviews

½ 4.5

6 Members: hipdeep, raidergirl3, lottpoet, megbmore, slimikin, SOShea
Explanations: hipdeep: Volume 1 standing in for the whole series.

When Breath Becomes Air

by Paul Kalanithi

4,840 members

292 reviews

4.2

5 Members: stillramona, gbelik, nicolecervone, katemcangus, Louanne

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

by Bill Bryson

6,296 members

230 reviews

3.9

7 Members: rosalita, BookDoc16, lulaa, Faradaydon, terran, mstrust, bookmary2

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

by Allie Brosh

4,647 members

275 reviews

½ 4.3

7 Members: camelama, Heather39, sturlington, Patchshank, Ravenk, elahrairah, SOShea

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

11,263 members

573 reviews

½ 4.4

6 Members: BookDoc16, bangerlm, terran, bjappleg8, vwinsloe, Joy62

Alexander Hamilton

by Ron Chernow

7,167 members

149 reviews

½ 4.3

6 Members: sherryearly, oregonobsessionz, atozgrl, al.vick, Wordslinger1919, SOShea

Walden

by Henry David Thoreau

13,153 members

169 reviews

3.8

6 Members: kaulsu, PatsyMurray, Heather39, nancykric, kristilabrie, bookmary2

Where You Come From

by Saša Stanišić

247 members

12 reviews

4 Members: thorold, birder4106, Dilara86, Cansu_Jasmine_Otan

A Moveable Feast

by Ernest Hemingway

8,571 members

176 reviews

5 Members: hipdeep, pitjrw, PatsyMurray, RBeffa, Louanne

Just Kids

by Patti Smith

5,031 members

225 reviews

4.1

4 Members: lulaa, minkscat, MLShaw, megstar111

One Writer's Beginnings

by Eudora Welty

1,653 members

23 reviews

4 Members: dimajazz, katemcangus, AnneSteph, JustJune

The Words

by Jean-Paul Sartre

2,198 members

18 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: kaixo, KarenFunt, JuliaMaria, sekinehnasiri

The Road from Coorain

by Jill Ker Conway

1,712 members

31 reviews

3.9

5 Members: brewergirl, BookDoc16, PaperbackPirate, merrystar, Fjumonvi

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

by Tom Reiss

1,540 members

111 reviews

4 Members: EerierIdyllMeme, souloftherose, noveltea, KurtWombat

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

by Nelson Mandela

4,561 members

59 reviews

½ 4.3

4 Members: oregonobsessionz, PaperbackPirate, ahef1963, SOShea

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness

by Edward Abbey

3,702 members

84 reviews

4.2

4 Members: oregonobsessionz, gypsysmom, miller.max, JustJune

How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

by Sarah Bakewell

1,826 members

81 reviews

4.1

3 Members: kaixo, JuliaMaria, miller.max

Life and Death in Shanghai

by Nien Cheng

1,395 members

20 reviews

4.2

3 Members: sherryearly, sssolstice, Louanne

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

by T. E. Lawrence

4,522 members

53 reviews

3 Members: pitjrw, amanda4242, sekinehnasiri

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

by Harriet A. Jacobs

3,971 members

75 reviews

3 Members: rocketjk, susanbooks, Cansu_Jasmine_Otan

Man's Search for Meaning

by Viktor E. Frankl

14,128 members

294 reviews

4.2

4 Members: bjappleg8, sundancer, msemmag, elahrairah
Explanations: elahrairah: How to survive the unsurvivable.

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir

by Michelle Zauner

1,554 members

65 reviews

3 Members: ablachly, kaixo, DoomLuz

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

by Bryan Stevenson

4,017 members

232 reviews

½ 4.6

4 Members: hipdeep, barefootsong, Tosta, SOShea

The Life of Samuel Johnson

by James Boswell

3,679 members

39 reviews

4.2

3 Members: sherryearly, PatsyMurray, JuliaMaria

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance

by Edmund de Waal

3,413 members

151 reviews

3 Members: anglemark, gbelik, Ravenk

The World of Yesterday

by Stefan Zweig

2,322 members

74 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: FAMeulstee, Ravenk, cipeciop

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

by Dani Shapiro

844 members

51 reviews

3.9

3 Members: Micheller7, Ravenk, Julie_in_the_Library

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World

by Andrea Wulf

2,043 members

75 reviews

4.2

3 Members: sssolstice, peterveen, msemmag

I'm Glad My Mom Died

by Jennette McCurdy

1,220 members

41 reviews

½ 4.4

3 Members: nicolecervone, megbmore, Wordslinger1919

Finding Me: A Memoir

by Viola Davis

309 members

19 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: gypsysmom, DoomLuz, WynneWages

Gender Queer: A Memoir

by Maia Kobabe

780 members

62 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: EerierIdyllMeme, Heather39, Michael.Rimmer

Marie Antoinette: The Journey

by Antonia Fraser

3,168 members

56 reviews

3.9

3 Members: princessgarnet, mstrust, peterveen

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

by Cheryl Strayed

7,930 members

496 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaperbackPirate, sturlington, katemcangus

Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood

by J. Michael Straczynski

188 members

13 reviews

½ 4.6

3 Members: tardis, yoyogod, RBeffa

Permanent Record

by Edward Snowden

1,153 members

46 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: terran, timetunnel, Wordslinger1919

The Moon's a Balloon

by David Niven

855 members

16 reviews

3.8

3 Members: abbottthomas, dewasus1, atozgrl

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

by Hunter S. Thompson

13,688 members

182 reviews

4.1

3 Members: BookDoc16, Dannysurtr, msemmag

Leonardo da Vinci

by Walter Isaacson

2,587 members

68 reviews

4.2

3 Members: dimajazz, Fjumonvi, Wordslinger1919

Love's Work

by Gillian Rose

355 members

4 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: KarenFunt, thalassa_thalassa, loulourevisited

My Life in France

by Julia Child

4,929 members

197 reviews

4.2

3 Members: VenusofUrbino, PatsyMurray, miller.max

The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood, Youth, Dependency

by Tove Ditlevsen

315 members

9 reviews

4.2

3 Members: kaixo, FAMeulstee, JuliaMaria

Stitches: A Memoir

by David Small

1,894 members

171 reviews

4.1

3 Members: kaixo, ManWithAnAgenda, slimikin

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

by Candice Millard

3,235 members

131 reviews

4.2

3 Members: bangerlm, oregonobsessionz, sssolstice

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

1,171 members

86 reviews

4.1

3 Members: Faradaydon, Heather39, perennialreader
Explanations: perennialreader: About a woman who is bedridden for a year or so and how she manages.

Rat Girl: A Memoir

by Kristin Hersh

363 members

32 reviews

4.1

3 Members: karenb, susanbooks, ManWithAnAgenda

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

by Jeanette Winterson

1,960 members

100 reviews

4.1

3 Members: nicolecervone, elahrairah, SOShea
Explanations: elahrairah: Funny and sad.

Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb

by William Poundstone

912 members

11 reviews

3.9

2 Members: levitas, dhaxton

Jim Henson: The Biography

by Brian Jay Jones

727 members

64 reviews

4.2

2 Members: jeshakespeare, Mirabelle

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

by C. S. Lewis

6,333 members

52 reviews

3.9

3 Members: timspalding, atozgrl, AnneSteph

A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

by Norman Maclean

2,972 members

60 reviews

4.2

3 Members: EerierIdyllMeme, perennialreader, KurtWombat
Explanations: perennialreader: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

by Jeannette Walls

19,273 members

773 reviews

4.2

3 Members: vwinsloe, AnneSteph, Louanne

The Year of Magical Thinking

by Joan Didion

9,862 members

272 reviews

3.8

2 Members: katemcangus, KurtWombat

Come, Tell Me How You Live

by Agatha Christie

817 members

20 reviews

2 Members: CarltonC, souloftherose
Explanations: CarltonC: Not so much an archaeological memoir, as a memoir about a time (1930's) and places (Orient Express, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq) that I imagine have changed beyond recognition. This memoir and travelogue clearly shows the author's happiness at that time, which she conveys so wonderfully in this brief book, so full of love and humour. There is little about archaeology, it is about the sights, sounds, smells and above all the people that she encountered. I was enchanted.