100 Best Author Biography Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl

5.0

Man's Search for Meaning has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 psychiatrist Viktor Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the stories of his many patients, Frankl argues that we can

Recommended by Tony Robbins, Dustin Moskovitz, Ev Williams, and 60 others.

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

Another book that I’ve read dozens of times. It taught me that if you change the meaning, you change everything. Meaning equals emotion, and emotion equals life. [source]

Dustin Moskovitz

Co-founder/Facebook and Asana

Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter. [source]

Jimmy Fallon

TV Host

I read it while spending ten days in the ICU of Bellevue hospital trying to reattach my finger from a ring avulsion accident in my kitchen. It talks about the meaning of life, and I believe you come out a better person from reading it. [source]

2

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Yuval Noah Harari

4.7

Preview Summary

100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens.

How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism?

Recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, and 34 others.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

Fact or fiction, the president knows that reading keeps the mind sharp. He also delved into these non-fiction reads. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

Both Melinda and I read this one, and it has sparked lots of great conversations at our dinner table. Harari takes on a daunting challenge: to tell the entire history of the human race in just 400 pages. He also writes about our species today and how artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and other technologies will change us in the future. Although I found things to disagree with—especially Harari’s claim that humans were better off before we started farming—I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species. [source]

Reid Hoffman

CEO/LinkedIn

A grand theory of humanity. [source]

3

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Stephen King

4.7

Preview Summary

Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, Stephen King’s critically lauded, classic bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.

"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealin

Recommended by Mark Manson, James Altucher, Ken Norton, and 8 others.

Mark Manson

Founder/MarkManson.net

I read a bunch of books on writing before I wrote my first book and the two that stuck with me were Stephen King’s book and “On Writing Well” by Zinsser (which is a bit on the technical side). [source]

Alina Varlanuta

My professional path – copywriting – somehow intertwines with my unprofessional (hahaha) path – writing so I would recommend reading literature for both. Somehow reading and writing are two ways of doing the same thing: storytelling (even when you read you tell yourself a story in your own voice, bringing your personal emotion and empathy to the story you’re reading). The only difference is that when I’m reading, panic is far away from me, in a safe place. Nevertheless, the words below helped me rewrite and think twice before adding an exclamation point: On Writing by Stephen King. [source]

Andrew Cowan

Yes. It is a surprise to a lot of people that this book is so widely read on university campuses and so widely recommended by teachers of writing. Students love it. It’s bracing: there’s no nonsense. He says somewhere in the foreword or preface that it is a short book because most books are filled with bullshit and he is determined not to offer bullshit but to tell it like it is. [source]

4

The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls

4.6

Preview Summary

A tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that, despite its profound flaws, gave the author the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Sout

5

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

MALCOLM X

4.6

Preview Summary

With its first great victory in the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the civil rights movement gained the powerful momentum it needed to sweep forward into its crucial decade, the 1960s. As voices of protest and change rose above the din of history and false promises, one voice sounded more urgently, more passionately, than the rest. Malcolm X—once called the mo

Recommended by Casey Neistat, Ryan Holiday, David Coogan, and 2 others.

Casey Neistat

Founder/368 Creative Space

Aside from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Casey's favorite book is The Second World War by John Keegan. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

I forget who said it but I heard someone say that Catcher in the Rye was to young white boys what the Autobiography of Malcolm X was to young black boys. Personally, I prefer that latter over the former. I would much rather read about and emulate a man who is born into adversity and pain, struggles with criminality, does prison time, teaches himself to read through the dictionary, finds religion and then becomes an activist for Civil Rights before being gunned down by his former supporters when he tempers the hate and anger that had long defined parts of his message. [source]

David Coogan

His memoir describes that process of transformation from a common narrative of street hustler and limited opportunities, struggling in a racist society, to this radicalization in part through literacy, in part through literature and religion. [source]

Cover unavailable

6

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Trevor Noah

4.6

Preview Summary

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often ab

Recommended by Bill Gates, Heather Zynczak, Irina Nica, and 3 others.

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

As a longtime fan of The Daily Show, I loved reading this memoir about how its host honed his outsider approach to comedy over a lifetime of never quite fitting in. Born to a black South African mother and a white Swiss father in apartheid South Africa, he entered the world as a biracial child in a country where mixed race relationships were forbidden. Much of Noah’s story of growing up in South Africa is tragic. Yet, as anyone who watches his nightly monologues knows, his moving stories will often leave you laughing. [source]

Heather Zynczak

So excited for our latest speaker announcement for #PSLIVE19! Trevor Noah! I am a huge @TheDailyShow fan! And his book -Born a Crime -and life story are amazing. Can't wait! Join us! https://t.co/N6ykJq7TOy https://t.co/r0dIx5RFVI [source]

Irina Nica

I also pay attention to any book recommendations my friends post on Facebook. I started reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime after I saw Radu Marcusu, CEO of Upswing, recommending it. He swore by it that is was funny -- and it was! Until the last chapter. I remember listening to the audiobook on a train and crying my eyes out. So yeah. That happened. [source]

7

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway

4.5

Preview Summary

Hemingway's memories of his life as an unknown writer living in Paris in the twenties are deeply personal, warmly affectionate, and full of wit. Looking back not only at his own much younger self, but also at the other writers who shared Paris with him - James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald - he recalls the time when, poor, happy, and writing in cafes, he discovered his vocation.

Recommended by Janine di Giovanni, Mohsin Hamid, and Wai Chee Dimock.

Janine di Giovanni

The fact that Hemingway writes it as an old, rather bitter man trapped in his Idaho home with a bullying wife while he dreams of his youth in Paris with his first wife and child is so touching to me. [source]

Mohsin Hamid

We think of Hemingway as an American writer, but much of his writing is set outside of the United States, just as much of his life was set outside of the United States. [source]

Wai Chee Dimock

This is a memoir by Hemingway about his time in Paris, which includes sketches of people like F Scott Fitzgerald. [source]

8

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

4.5

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in

Recommended by Richard Branson, Bianca Belair, and Julia Enthoven.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Bianca Belair

For #BlackHistoryMonth I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 5th Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings By: Maya Angelou Another autobiography classic that will be hard to not find on any must- read book list! https://t.co/mGRG76lLRn [source]

Julia Enthoven

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is beautifully written, and I really enjoy the voice of the protagonist and think it’s sad and fascinating to read about her time in history. [source]

9

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

J. D. Vance

4.4

Preview Summary

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegratin

Recommended by Bill Gates, Ryan Holiday, Ben Shapiro, and 2 others.

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

The disadvantaged world of poor white Appalachia described in this terrific, heartbreaking book is one that I know only vicariously. Vance was raised largely by his loving but volatile grandparents, who stepped in after his father abandoned him and his mother showed little interest in parenting her son. Against all odds, he survived his chaotic, impoverished childhood only to land at Yale Law School. While the book offers insights into some of the complex cultural and family issues behind poverty, the real magic lies in the story itself and Vance’s bravery in telling it. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

In terms of other surprising memoirs, I found JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy to be another well-written gem. [source]

Ben Shapiro

A very well-written book. … The whole thing is a critique of individual decisions. [source]

10

Walden

Henry David Thoreau

4.4

Preview Summary

At Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau reflected on simpler living in the natural world. By removing himself from the distractions of materialism, Thoreau hoped to not only improve his spiritual life but also gain a better understanding of society through solitary introspection.

In Walden, Thoreau condenses his two-year, two-month, two-day stay into a single year, using the four seasons to symbolize h

Recommended by Emma Watson, Donna Dickenson, Emily Thomas, and 5 others.

Donna Dickenson

He discusses how the original ideals that America was founded on were being compromised, and how massive industrial interests were starting to dominate. [source]

Emily Thomas

The beginning is hard going. Once you get past that, then suddenly you’re into these beautiful and inspiring descriptions of nature. [source]

Joan Boixados

In case you were deceived and expected me to name Walden by Henry David Thoreau, you should read it too if you haven’t, it obviously is the inspiration to Walden Two. :) [source]

11

The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Volume 1

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

4.3

Preview Summary

Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police that haunted Soviet society

Cover unavailable

12

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Humphrey Carpenter and J.R.R. Tolkien

4.3

The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World

13

New Kid

Jerry Craft

4.3

Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft.

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents

Recommended by Bunmi Laditan, Krishna Grady, and Todd Nesloney.

Bunmi Laditan

Best book I’ve read all year. Absolutely wonderful, touching and fun. I bought it for my oldest daughter and ended up reading it, too. 📚 ♥️🌹 https://t.co/IkV115zyJo [source]

Krishna Grady

It’s about a kid, Jordan Banks, who transfers to the Riverdale Academy Day School. He’s in seventh grade and he can’t help seeing privilege everywhere. He’s one of the few African American students in the school. The beauty of the story is that he’s regularly dealing with racism and microaggressions and bullying, but there’s also friendship and learning who you are, which is especially hard in middle school. Craft just created this really intimate and relatable world that invites kids in and holds them there. [source]

Todd Nesloney

I love this book from @JerryCraft and even got to interview him for #TellYourStory!! https://t.co/Hnmx0usD4u [source]

14

Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

4.3

Preview Summary

A celebrated writer's irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life.

Around the time Elizabeth Gilbert turned thirty, she went through an early-onslaught midlife crisis. She had everything an educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want—a husband, a house, a successful career. But instead of feel

Recommended by Chelsea Frank and Gabriel Coarna.

Chelsea Frank

I read everything with an open mind, often challenging myself by choosing books with an odd perspective or religious/spiritual views. These books do not reflect my personal feelings but are books that helped shape my perspective on life, love, and happiness. [source]

Gabriel Coarna

I started reading "Eat, Pray, Love" as soon as I finished watching Elizabeth Gilbert give this talk. [source]

15

The Complete Maus

Art SPIEGELMAN

4.2

Combined for the first time here are Maus I: A Survivor's Tale and Maus II - the complete story of Vladek Spiegelman and his wife, living and surviving in Hitler's Europe. By addressing the horror of the Holocaust through cartoons, the author captures the everyday reality of fear and is able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival - and how the children of survivors ar

Recommended by Susan Bordo.

Susan Bordo

It’s about the Holocaust. It’s also a comic book, in which the various characters are depicted as animals – the Jews as mice, the Nazis as cats. [source]

16

Just Kids

Patti Smith

4.2

In Just Kids, Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies. An honest and moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same unique, lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has t

Recommended by Malcolm Gladwell, Emma Watson, Seth Godin, and 3 others.

Malcolm Gladwell

Writer & Journalist

I finished it in one sitting, then wept. It's that good. [source]

Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

This is the single best audiobook ever recorded by Patti Smith. It is not going to change the way you do business, but it might change the way you live. It's about love and loss and art. [source]

Academic Batgirl

This book helped me to see how my life as an academic is artful and creative, and gave me renewed faith in embracing risks, innovation, and taking on art with love and strength even when it’s frustrating or “success” is not assured. Recommend! 8/end https://t.co/tkWtSVY6b9 [source]

Cover unavailable

17

What Are The Odds? From Crack Addict To CEO

Mike Lindell

4.2

Far more than a "business memoir," What Are the Odds? is a raw, authentic account by a man many thought would never rise above his serial, addiction-fueled failures. Mike's gripping narrative transports readers from his small-town tavern with its colorful cast of "Regulars" to Mexico and a drug deal gone awry. From Las Vegas casinos, where Mike won and lost fortunes as a professional gambler, to a

Recommended by Brian Fraser.

Brian Fraser

This book is amazing. One of the most inspirational books I've ever read. I urge everyone to read this. If anyone you know is suffering from addiction this book could change their lives. https://t.co/Hhr4cIVNH6 [source]

18

Lincoln

David Herbert Donald

4.2

A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, Lincoln is a stunning portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency.

Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating th

19

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Hunter S. Thompson

4.2

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.

Recommended by Bill Earner and Matthew O’Brien.

Bill Earner

My favorites novels are 100 Years of Solitude, All the King's Men, The Last Samurai, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. [source]

Matthew O’Brien

It’s one of my favourite books and probably my favourite Las Vegas-related book. Hunter S Thompson came out here in the early 70s to cover the Mint 400 off-road race for Sports Illustrated. He ended up writing a 10,000-word riff on his visit. In 1971, Jann Wenner ultimately published two long sections of it in Rolling Stone. Those two stories were the foundation for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. [source]

Cover unavailable

20

Broken Crayons Still Color: Based on a True Story

David Weaver

4.2

Multi-platinum rapper Devin has it all. Money, cars, fame, women

21

Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer

4.2

Librarian's Note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

In April, 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himse

Recommended by Holger Seim.

Holger Seim

When it comes to adventure stories, Into the Wild. [source]

22

The Pale-Faced Lie

David Crow

4.2

A violent ex-con forces his son to commit crimes in this riveting new memoir

Growing up on the Navajo Indian Reservation, David Crow and his three siblings idolized their dad. Tall, strong, smart, and brave, the self-taught Cherokee regaled his family with stories of his World War II feats. But as time passed, David discovered the other side of Thurston Crow, the ex-con with his own code of ethi

23

The Case for Trump

Victor Davis Hanson

4.1

This New York Times bestselling Trump biography from a major American intellectual explains how a renegade businessman became one of the most successful -- and necessary -- presidents of all time.

In The Case for Trump, award-winning historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson explains how a celebrity businessman with no political or military experience triumphed over sixteen well-qua

Recommended by Neal Houston.

Neal Houston

@VDHanson on “The Case For Trump” How did blue-collar voters connect with a millionaire from Queens in the 2016 election? Senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson addresses that question and more in his newly released book, The Case for Trump. Very insightful https://t.co/EEL6cjO5WT [source]

24

The Book of Disquiet

Fernando Pessoa, RICHARD Zenith

4.1

Fernando Pessoa was many writers in one. He attributed his prolific writings to a wide range of alternate selves, each of which had a distinct biography, ideology. and horoscope. When he died in 1935, Pessoa left behind a trunk filled with unfinished and unpublished writings, among which were the remarkable pages that make up his posthumous masterpiece, The Book of Disquiet, an astonishing work th

Recommended by Tyler Cowen.

Tyler Cowen

Founder/Marginal Revolution University

This is a book of ideas. It’s not a book about the internet. It was written much earlier, in the 20th century, and written in Portuguese. It’s really a book of meditations. It’s very philosophical. It applies to the internet in that the main point is how much joy you can take in small things and small changes and the true drama of life can be extraordinarily minute in scale, and this, I think, gets at the idea that the internet and the stories we follow are, to a lot of us, extremely important and exciting and meaningful, though really they are just a few changes of characters on a little screen somewhere. [source]

25

The World of Yesterday

Stefan Zweig

4.1

Stefan Zweig's memoir, The World of Yesterday, recalls the golden age of prewar Europe - its seeming permanence, its promise and its devastating fall with the onset of two world wars. Zweig's passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the brink of extinction. It is an unusually humane account of Europe from the closing years of the 19th century thro

Recommended by Will Hobson.

Will Hobson

He celebrates how much more he’s been able to learn from his own life than his parents had been able to in theirs. It’s amazingly graceful and light. [source]

26

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1)

Art Spiegelman

4.1

A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself.

Recommended by James Altucher.

Cover unavailable

27

Cry Like a Man: Fighting for Freedom from Emotional Incarceration

Jason Wilson

4.1

As a leader in teaching, training, and transforming boys in Detroit, Jason Wilson shares his own story of discovering what it means to “be a man” in this life-changing memoir.

His grandfather’s lynching in the deep South, the murders of his two older brothers, and his verbally harsh and absent father all worked together to form Jason Wilson’s childhood. But it was his decision to acknowledge his e

28

Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It

Charlamagne Tha God

4.1

Charlamagne Tha God—the self-proclaimed “Prince of Pissing People Off,” co-host of Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, and “hip-hop’s Howard Stern”—shares his unlikely success story as well as how embracing one’s truths is a fundamental key to success and happiness.

In his new book, Charlamagne Tha God presents his comic, often controversial, and always brutally honest insights on how living an authe

Recommended by Ryan Holiday.

Ryan Holiday

Author

I also loved Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It by Charlamagne Tha God, and I wish more celebrity memoirs bothered to do what he did with this book: You know, actually teach people stuff in the form of concrete lessons instead of just talking about their lives. [source]

29

What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love

Carole Radziwill

4.1

"What Remains" is a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill, one of a long line of Polish royals and nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Carole Radziwill's story is part fairy tale, part tragedy. She tells both with great candor and wit.Carole grew up in a small suburb with a large, e

30

The White Album: Essays

Joan Didion

4.1

First published in 1979, The White Album is a mosaic of the late sixties and seventies. It includes, among other bizarre artifacts and personalities, the dark journeys and impulses of the Manson family, a Black Panther Party press conference, the story of John Paul Getty's museum, the romance of water in an arid landscape, and the swirl and confusion of the sixties. With commanding sureness of moo

Recommended by Dan Richards and Steven Amsterdam.

Dan Richards

I feel Joan Didion is the patron saint of a maelstrom of culture and environment of a particular time. She is the great American road-trip writer, to my mind. She has that great widescreen filmic quality to her work. [source]

Steven Amsterdam

With her gaze on California of the late 60s and early 70s, Didion gives us the Black Panthers, Janis Joplin, Nancy Reagan, and the Manson follower Linda Kasabian. [source]

31

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

Issa Rae

4.1

In the bestselling tradition of Sloan Crosley’s I Was Told There’d Be Cake and Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, a collection of humorous essays on what it’s like to be unabashedly awkward in a world that regards introverts as hapless misfits, and black as cool.

My name is “J” and I’m awkward—and black. Someone once told me those were the two worst things anyone could be. That som

Cover unavailable

32

Ordinary Grace

William Kent Krueger

4.1

From "New York Times "bestselling author William Kent Krueger comes a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were at the ready at Halderson's Drug Store soda counter, and "Hot Stuff "comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time o

Recommended by Carl Bass.

Carl Bass

CEO/Autodesk

Winner of the 2014 Edgar Award for the best novel, William Kent Krueger's "Ordinary Grace" is the story of a young teenager, Frank Drum. Set in the summer of 1961, the novel recounts, from the perspective of Frank looking back 40 years later, how he was suddenly and rudely ushered into an adult world filled with a labyrinth of secrets, betrayal and murder. Krueger unfolds a classically poignant coming-of-age story whose themes are the high price of wisdom and the continuing grace of God. Bass has revealed in interviews that he is a man who reflects on spiritual matters and who recalls moments in his own life when he was called upon to grow up and accept responsibilities that he hadn't foreseen. [source]

33

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

4.1

First U.S. Publication

A major literary event--the complete, uncensored journals of Sylvia Plath, published in their entirety for the first time.

Sylvia Plath's journals were originally published in 1982 in a heavily abridged version authorized by Plath's husband, Ted Hughes. This new edition is an exact and complete transcription of the diaries Plath kept during the last twelve years of her life. S

Recommended by Tim Kendall.

Tim Kendall

The Journals are, in their unabridged state, an astonishing body of work. We talk about how poets are born, not made, but what I always take away from every page of the Journals—and it’s a serious slab of a book—is the extent to which Plath was both born and self-made. [source]

Cover unavailable

34

Anne Sexton: A Biography

Diane Middlebrook

4.1

Anne Sexton began writing poetry at the age of twenty-nine to keep from killing herself. She held on to language for dear life and somehow -- in spite of alcoholism and the mental illness that ultimately led her to suicide -- managed to create a body of work that won a Pulitzer Prize and that still sings to thousands of readers. This exemplary biography, which was nominated for the National Book A

Cover unavailable

35

The Paris Review Interviews, I: 16 Celebrated Interviews

The Paris Review The Paris Review

4.1

How do great writers do it? From James M. Cain's hard-nosed observation that "writing a novel is like working on foreign policy. There are problems to be solved. It's not all inspirational," to Joan Didion's account of how she composes a book--"I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm"--The Paris Review has elicited

36

Education of a Wandering Man

Louis L'Amour, Daniel J. Boorstin

4.1

Shortly before his death in June 1988, Louis L’Amour completed writing his most unique adventure story: a personal reflection on his lifelong love affair with learning. Now Bantam Books proudly presents this special Centennial Edition of Education of a Wandering Man, in which L’Amour vividly recalls many of the books he read, the places he visited, and the people he met that catalyzed his evolutio

Recommended by Marvin Liao.

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

I'd say it was back during my teenage years at High School, feeling very down when my grandfather passed away & overall just feeling VERY lost direction wise in life. I retreated to my books & the ones that still stick with me are Louis L’Amour's "The Education of a Wandering Man" & his Medieval adventure "The Walking Drum". They entranced me & helped me to get my spirits back up. [source]

Cover unavailable

37

The Coalwood Way: A Memoir (Coalwood, #2)

Homer Hickam

4.1

From the #1 bestselling author of October Sky comes this rich, unforgettable tale. With the same dazzling storytelling that distinguished his first memoir, Homer Hickam takes us deeper into the soul of his West Virginia hometown at a moment when its unique way of life is buffeted by forces of time and change.

It is fall 1959. Homer “Sonny” Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boys are in their senior year

38

Reasons to Stay Alive

Matt Haig

4.1

Matt Haig’s accessible and life-affirming memoir of his struggle with depression, and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live.

"Destined to become a modern classic." —Entertainment Weekly

Like nearly one in five people, Matt Haig suffers from depression. Reasons to Stay Alive is Matt’s inspiring account of how, minute by minute and day by day, he overcame the disease with the help of re

Recommended by Bryony Gordon and Ella Botting.

Bryony Gordon

You know how they have the bible in all hotel room drawers? Well they should have Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive. [source]

Ella Botting

Books have helped me with just about every decision I’ve ever made. One that sticks out to me was reading How to Stay Alive by Matt Haig. There’s a moment in the book where Matt talks about wanting to kill himself but not having the gusto to go through with it. And I’ve been there before, in pretty much the exact circumstances he describes. I thankfully got help and I’m all good now, but it felt reassuring to read that experience and almost share it with him and know that he and maybe other people get it. It’s hard to explain but sometimes when you feel suicidal having people worry makes you feel annoyed, but being able to almost joke about it, in the way Matt does, feels quite cathartic. Although I’m certainly not saying anything about suicide is funny! [source]

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39

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

A. Scott Berg

4.1

Winner of the National Book Award
and a National Bestseller...

MAX PERKINS: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg took the literary world by storm upon its publication in 1978, garnering rave reviews and winning the National Book Award. A meticulously-researched and engaging portrait of the man who introduced the public to the greatest writers of this century, Berg's biography stands as one of the fin

40

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

Masaji Ishikawa

4.1

The harrowing true story of one man’s life in—and subsequent escape from—North Korea, one of the world’s most brutal totalitarian regimes.

Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittingly became members of the

41

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion

4.1

'An act of consummate literary bravery, a writer known for her clarity allowing us to watch her mind as it becomes clouded with grief.'

From one of America's iconic writers, a stunning book of electric honesty and passion. Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage–and a life, in good times and bad–that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a hus

Recommended by Catalina Penciu.

Catalina Penciu

I can't forget The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. [source]

42

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

C. S. Lewis

4.1

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is a partial autobiography describing Lewis' conversion to Christianity. The book overall contains less detail concerning specific events than typical autobiographies. This is because his purpose in writing wasn't primarily historical. His aim was to identify & describe the events surrounding his accidental discovery of & consequent search for the pheno

Recommended by Yiyun Li.

Yiyun Li

This book is more about thoughts than about straight experience – it’s about a man tracing back his mind [source]

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43

James Joyce

Richard Ellmann

4.1

Although several biographers have thrown themselves into the breach since this magisterial book first appeared in 1959, none have come close to matching the late Richard Ellmann's achievement. To be fair, Ellmann does have some distinct advantages. For starters, there's his deep mastery of the Irish milieu--demonstrated not only in this volume but in his books on Yeats and Wilde. He's also an admi

44

James Baldwin: A Biography

David Leeming

4.1

“The most revealing and subjectively penetrating assessment of Baldwin’s life yet published.” —The New York Times Book Review. “The first Baldwin biography in which one can recognize the human features of this brilliant, troubled, principled, supremely courageous man.” —Boston Globe

James Baldwin was one of the great writers of the last century. In works that have become part of the American canon—

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45

Dust Tracks on a Road

Zora Neale Hurston

4.1

"Told in gutsy language...her story is an encouraging and enjoyable one for any member of the human race." — N.Y. Review of Books.

First published in 1942 at the height of her popularity, Dust Tracks on a Road is Zora Neale Hurston's candid, funny, bold and poignant autobiography, an imaginative and exuberant account of her rise from childhood poverty in the rural South to a prominent place among t

46

These Precious Days: Essays

Ann Patchett

4.1

47

The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told: A True Tale of Three Gamblers, The Kentucky Derby, and the Mexican Cartel

Mark Paul

4.1

The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told is an inspiring personal narrative about a filly who broke through the male-dominated world of horseracing and inspired crowds of men and women alike, along with a trio of gamblers who embark on an unforgettable adventure that's as epic as the history victory of Winning Colors. It's Seabiscuit meets Narcos, and the best true-life gambling story ever told.

In t

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48

One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder for the Spiritual and Nonspiritual Alike

Brian Doyle

4.1

A playful, deeply moving book of spiritual essays-for the spiritual and non-spiritual alike-that excavate the rich seams of examined life and point to the miracles that surround us.

When Brian Doyle died of brain cancer at the age of sixty, he left behind dozens of books -- fiction and nonfiction, as well as hundreds of essays -- and a cult-like following who regarded his writing on spirituality

49

84, Charing Cross Road

Helene Hanff

4.1

This charming classic, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Their relationship, captured so

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50

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things

Paula Byrne

4.1

Acclaimed literary biographer Paula Byrne takes a highly original approach in this landmark biography, providing the most intimate and revealing portrait yet of the distinguished and beloved novelist-a Jane Austen for the twenty-first century.

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things offers a startlingly original look at the revered writer through a variety of key moments, scenes, and objects i

51

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Caroline Fraser

4.1

The first comprehensive historical biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the beloved author of the Little House on the Prairie books

One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of the Year

Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls—the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobio

Recommended by Sarah Taber.

Sarah Taber

I will not be taking questions on this. If you have some, Prairie Fires is a fantastic book. [source]

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52

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters

John Steinbeck

4.1

Each working day from January 29 to November 1, 1951, John Steinbeck warmed up to the work of writing East of Eden and a letter to the late Pascal Covici, his friend and editor of the Viking Press. It was his way, he said, of "getting my mental arm in shape to pitch a good game."

Steinbeck's letters were written on the left-handed pages of a notebook in which the facing pages would be filled with t

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53

Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own

Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

4.0

James Baldwin grew disillusioned by the failure of the civil rights movement to force America to confront its lies about race. In the era of Trump, what can we learn from his struggle?

"Searing, provocative, and ultimately hopeful . . . Begin Again challenges, illuminates, and points us toward if not a more perfect union then at least a more just one."--Jon Meacham

We live, according to Eddie S. Gla

Recommended by Joe Scarborough.

Joe Scarborough

Here’s the James Baldwin quote @esglaude and I were talking about this morning from his great new book “Begin Again”: “To accept one’s past—one’s history—is not the same as drowning it it.” [source]

54

Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different

Chuck Palahniuk

4.0

Renowned, bestselling novelist Chuck Palahniuk takes us behind the scenes of the writing life, with postcards from decades on the road and incredible examination of the power of fiction and the art of storytelling.

In this spellbinding blend of memoir and insight, bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk shares stories and generous advice on what makes writing powerful and what makes for powerful writing

Recommended by James Altucher.

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

@MArbones_Areste New book on writing: read @chuckpalahniuk's "Consider This". What an honest book from a great writer. [source]

55

Girl, Interrupted

Susanna Kaysen

4.0

In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele--Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles--as for its progressive methods of treating those who could

Recommended by Rae Earl.

Rae Earl

In this book and in her use of language she explores how the brain tumbles [source]

56

West with the Night

Beryl Markham

4.0

West with the Night is the story of Beryl Markham--aviator, racehorse trainer, beauty--and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and '30s.

Recommended by Cal Fussman and David Maraniss.

Cal Fussman

"I note: Tim Ferriss asked Cal, "If you were a billionaire and could give 2 to 3 books to every graduating high school senior in the country this year, what would they be?" His answer (updated since the podcast) is: "For everyone: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. For females: West with the Night by Beryl Markham. For males: The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. That's a good start for a journey". [source]

David Maraniss

She’s always been attracted to flying and space, she grew up near O’Hare Airport. [source]

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57

A. Lincoln

Ronald C. White Jr.

4.0

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Washington Post • The Philadelphia Inquirer • The Christian Science Monitor • St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER AWARD

Everyone wants to define the man who signed his name “A. Lincoln.” In his lifetime and ever since, friend and foe have taken it upon themselves to characterize Lincoln according to their own labe

58

Chronicles: Volume One

Bob Dylan

4.0

"I'd come from a long ways off and had started a long ways down. But now destiny was about to manifest itself. I felt like it was looking right at me and nobody else." So writes Bob Dylan in Chronicles: Volume One, his remarkable book exploring critical junctures in his life and career.

Through Dylan's eyes and open mind, we see Greenwich Village, circa 1961, when he first arrives in Manhattan. Dy

Recommended by Bill Gurley and Greil Marcus.

Greil Marcus

Dylan has had a career of extraordinary richness and variety. Yet here he is writing a memoir that completely ignores everything which made him a world figure. It ignores all of his most famous songs, it ignores all the periods in which he was a great star. It’s all about times when he was trying to learn, when he was confused and lost but absolutely alive with the thrill of discovering new ideas, new singers, new information. [source]

59

The Liars' Club

Mary Karr

4.0

When it was published in 1995, Mary Karr's The Liars Club took the world by storm and raised the art of the memoir to an entirely new level, as well as bringing about a dramatic revival of the form. Karr's comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as darkly hilarious as any of J. D. Salinger's—a hard-drinking daddy, a sister who can talk down the sheriff at twelve, and an oft-

Recommended by Adam Savage, Attica Locke, and Calvin Trillin.

Adam Savage

The author's first memoir. [source]

Attica Locke

The book starts with Mary Karr’s recollection of her mother, this tall striking woman who seemed out of place in this small, stinky, chemical-waste town. Her husband worked in a refinery. She was an artist who dreamed of a different life but was locked down by whatever was expected of her at that time in our nation’s history and in this region. There’s a lot of rage, alcohol and guns in this book. I cannot say enough about the power of Mary Carr’s voice. It’s the kind of book you almost want to read out loud. And it’s just so Texas, so specific East Texas. It’s like I grew up down the street and went to high school with her. Liars’ Club makes the reader feel like they’re sitting at a bar with somebody who is telling them about their crazy fucking life over cocktails. It’s fantastic. [source]

Calvin Trillin

It’s one of my favourite memoirs. [source]

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60

100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History

Chrisanne Beckner

4.0

Teeming with interesting nuggets of fact and information, 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History includes such legendary men and women as Benjamin Banneker, Dred Scott, Mary Church Terrell, George Washington Carver and Bessie Smith. Also included are Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall and many, many more. Organized chronologically and meticulously researched, this bo

61

Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris

4.0

David Sedaris' move to Paris from New York inspired these hilarious pieces, including the title essay, about his attempts to learn French from a sadistic teacher who declares that every day spent with you is like having a caesarean section. His family is another inspiration. You Can't Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother, who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no

Recommended by Ev Williams.

62

The Seven Storey Mountain

Thomas Merton

4.0

One of the most famous books ever written about a man’s search for faith and peace.

The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man, who at the age of twenty-six, takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks. At the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the

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63

Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl

Donald Sturrock

4.0

Now in paperback—Donald Sturrock’s Storyteller is “a major literary biography…packed with intimate details, sharply intelligent commentary, and surprising revelations” (The Washington Post) of one of the greatest writers in the twentieth century, whose work still delights millions around the world today.

A single-minded adventurer and an eternal child who gave us the iconic Willy Wonka and Matilda

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64

The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury

Sam Weller

4.0

Accomplished journalist Sam Weller met the author Ray Bradbury while writing a cover story for the Chicago Tribune Magazine and spent hundreds of hours interviewing Bradbury, his editors, family members, and longtime friends. With unprecedented access to private archives, he uncovered never–before–published letters, documents, and photographs that help tell the story of this literary genius and hi

65

Travels with Charley: In Search of America

John Steinbeck

4.0

To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light— these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years.

Recommended by Richard Branson.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

I wanted to include an older book that has been on my bookshelves for decades, and is a less obvious example of reading to lead. John Steinbeck took a road trip with his dog Charley for company across the length and breadth of the US, and recorded what he saw, who he met and what he learned. With his inimitable charm, it opens your eyes to the small pleasures of life, and the great wonders of humanity in the little moments that matter. Less a direction on how to lead, you could see it as a subtle guide on how to live. [source]

66

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

Neal Gabler

4.0

The definitive portrait of one of the most important cultural figures in American history.

Walt Disney was a true visionary whose desire for escape, iron determination and obsessive perfectionism transformed animation from a novelty to an art form, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films–most notably Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In his superb biography, Neal Gabler shows us how

Recommended by Brian Chesky, Marc Andreessen, and DJ Vlad.

Brian Chesky

Co-Founder & CEO/AirBnb

Walt Disney … was a hero, he left behind an unbelievable legacy. You kinda hold him regard as the iconic successful founder. He was brilliant. The thing that's amazing is Walt bet everything over and over, was always on the brink of bankruptcy, and almost should never have been successful. [source]

Marc Andreessen

Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Both Marc and Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, have read and recommended Neal Gabler's biography of Walt Disney. [source]

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67

Rimbaud: A Biography

Graham Robb

4.0

Unknown beyond the avant-garde at the time of his death, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) has been one of the most destructive and liberating influences on twentieth-century culture. During his lifetime he was a bourgeois-baiting visionary, and the list of his known crimes is longer than the list of his published poems. But his posthumous career is even more astonishing: saint to symbolists and surreali

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68

The Silent Wife

Kerry Fisher

4.0

A heart-wrenching, emotionally gripping read for fans of Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain

Lara's life looks perfect on the surface---gorgeous doting husband, Massimo; sweet little son, Sandro; and the perfect home. But Lara knows something about Massimo. Something she can't tell anyone else, or everything he has worked so hard for will be destroyed: his job, their reputation, their son. This

Audrey Russo

Manchild in The Promised Land absolutely unhinged me. It was as if my whole world turned upside down and made me understand the narrow thinking and bubble I was living in. [source]

85

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

David Foster Wallace

4.0

In this exuberantly praised book - a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner - David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted re

Recommended by Coleen Baik.

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86

West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915 (Little House #11)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

4.0

In 1915, Laura Ingalls Wilder traveled by train from her home in Missouri to San Francisco. Laura's westward journey to visit her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, coincided with a spectacular event taking place in that city-the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
This was a great world's fair celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal, and Laura was amazed by the attractions that had been gat

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87

Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life

Carol Sklenicka

4.0

The first biography of America’s best-known short story writer of the late twentieth century.

The London Times called Raymond Carver "the American Chekhov." The beloved, mischievous, but more modest short-story writer and poet thought of himself as "a lucky man" whose renunciation of alcohol allowed him to live "ten years longer than I or anyone expected."

In that last decade, Carver became the lea

88

Black Pioneers of Science and Invention

Louis Haber

4.0

A readable, perceptive account of the lives of fourteen gifted innovators who have played important roles in scientific and industrial progress. The achievements of Benjamin Banneker, Granville T. Woods, George Washington Carver, and others have made jobs easier, saved countless lives, and in many cases, altered the course of history.
Includes a bibliography and an index.

89

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Charles Seife

4.0

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshipped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. For centuries, the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. Zero follows this number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe and its apotheosis as the mystery of t

Recommended by Alex Bellos and Bryan Johnson.

Alex Bellos

Unlike Ifrah, Charles Seife is a brilliant popular science writer who has here written the ‘biography’ of zero. And even though he doesn’t talk that much about India, it works well as a handbook to Ifrah’s sections on India. Because Seife talks about how zero is mathematically very close to the idea of infinity, which is another mathematical idea that the Indians thought about differently. Seife gives you the context and it explains why, really, without zero, you can’t do anything. The difficulty of understanding zero is similar to the difficulty of understanding infinity. The Greeks had no zero, Roman numerals have no zero, and they had no infinity. He plays with this idea that we were afraid of infinity and then gradually we learnt not to be afraid of it. [source]

Bryan Johnson

Chronicles how hard it was for humanity to come up with and hold onto the concept of zero. No zero, no math. No zero, no engineering. No zero, no modern world as we know it... [source]

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90

Coffee, Tea and Rock 'n' Roll: Memoirs of a Stewardess Flying the World's Greatest Bands

Linda Laidlaw

4.0

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91

Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald

Matthew J. Bruccoli, Scottie Fitzgerald Smith

4.0

The standard work on Fitzgerald, revised, enlarged, and updated; Since its first publication in 1981, Some Sort of Epic Grandeur has stood apart from other biographies of F. Scott Fitzgerald for its thoroughness and volume of information. It is regarded today as the basic work on Fitzgerald and the preeminent source for the study of the novelist. In this second revised edition, Matthew J. Bruccoli

92

Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography

David Michaelis

4.0

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93

Piecing Me Together

RenÃ©e Watso

4.0

A timely and powerful story about a teen girl from a poor neighborhood striving for success, from acclaimed author Renée Watson.

Jade believes she must get out of her neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother says she has to take every opportunity. She has. She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportuni

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94

Sold on a Monday

Kristina McMorris

4.0

2 CHILDREN FOR SALE

The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the country in 1931. It’s an era of breadlines, bank runs, and impossible choices.

For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family’s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when the image leads to hi

95

HAPPYSAD: Getting Over the One That Got Away

Brendan Donovan

4.0

At twenty—seven, Brendan Donovan, a special educator from Boston with a sharp wit and a deep fear of getting hurt, falls hard for a Jersey girl who loves him in a way he never thought possible. Within a year, they’re engaged.But just as Brendan’s life is peaking, he spirals into depression and addiction.In an attempt to spare the love of his life from who he fears he’s becoming, he tells her a lie

96

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

Roxane Gay

4.0

From the New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist: a searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself.

“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, som

Recommended by Brene Brown.

Brene Brown

This book will take your breath away with its truth-telling. A searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself. [source]

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97

The Heart of a Woman

Maya Angelou

4.0

In The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou leaves California with her son, Guy, to move to New York. There she enters the society and world of black artists and writers, reads her work at the Harlem Writers Guild, and begins to take part in the struggle of black Americans for their rightful place in the world. In the meantime, her personal life takes an unexpected turn. She leaves the bail bondsman she

Recommended by Bianca Belair.

Bianca Belair

For #BHM I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 16th Book: The Heart of a Woman 17th Book: Mom & Me & Mom By: Maya Angelou I just love Maya Angelou. Check out these books and her poetry. It will be everything you want and need. 🖤 https://t.co/nUsvD3DJSu [source]

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98

A Girl Named Misty: The True Story of Misty Copeland (American Girl: A Girl Named)

Kelly Starling Lyons and Melissa Manwill

4.0

The A Girl Named series tells the stories of how ordinary American girls grew up to be extraordinary American women. Misty Copeland became the first African American Female Principal Dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, but how did she get there? A Girl Named Misty describes the defining moments that made up her childhood and adolescence with full-color illustrations throughout. In addition to

99

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (37 plays, 160 sonnets and 5 Poetry Books With Active Table of Contents)

William Shakespeare

4.0

This collection gathers together the works by William Shakespeare in a single, convenient, high quality, and extremely low priced Kindle volume!

The Comedies of William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Love’s Labour ’s Lost
Measure for Measure
Much Ado About Nothing
The Comedy of Errors
The Merchant of Venice
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Taming of the Shrew
The

100

Jane Austen at Home

Lucy Worsley

4.0

Recent cover edition here
On the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death, historian Lucy Worsley leads us into the rooms from which our best-loved novelist quietly changed the world.

This new telling of the story of Jane's life shows us how and why she lived as she did, examining the places and spaces that mattered to her. It wasn't all country houses and ballrooms, but a life that was often a pain