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Biography and Memoir January 2026 |
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| Lucy & Desi: The Love Letters by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; Lucie Arnaz, compilerLucie Arnaz, daughter of America’s premier midcentury TV couple, has curated a selection of her parents’ letters to each other during the blossoming years of their relationship. The young lovers’ missives, many written during Arnaz's military service, intimately reveal their longing and affection while occasionally giving a glimpse of their quarrels and jealousies. For more candid couples' communication, try Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood by Kirk and Anne Douglas. |
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To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower
by Bret Baier
There has never been a president like Theodore Roosevelt.
An iconoclast shaped by fervent ideals, his early life seems ripped from the pages of an adventure novel: abandoning his place in the New York aristocracy, he was drawn to the thrill of the West, becoming an honorary cowboy who won the respect of the rough men of the plains, adopting their code of authenticity and courage. As a New York state legislator, he fought corruption and patronage.
As New York City police commissioner, he walked the beat at night to hold his men accountable, and as New York governor, he butted heads with the old guard to bring fresh air to a state mired in political corruption. He was also an obsessive naturalist, conservationist, and hunter who collected hundreds of specimens of birds and animals throughout his life.
He was a soldier and commander who led a regiment of 'Rough Riders' to victory in the Spanish-American War, a show of leadership and bravery that put him on the national map. As president, he brought energy, laughter, and bold ideas to the White House, pursuing a vigorous agenda that established America as a leader on the world stage--
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| Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much by Cynthia ErivoTheater, music, and film star Cynthia Erivo reflects on how far she has come while encouraging her readers to consider their own unrealized potential. Confident from an early age that she had a lot to offer the world, Erivo nevertheless had her share of detractors and setbacks, and she inspires readers to persist in their dreams, seek balance, and keep moving forward. For another stirring memoir of succeeding through struggle, try Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones. |
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| Joan Crawford: A Woman's Face by Scott EymanFilm historian Scott Eyman unveils a comprehensive and evenhanded biography of Joan Crawford, an original “femme fatale” of Hollywood’s golden age. Noted for her unfaltering work ethic over a five-decade career, Crawford was closely guarded about her private life. Eyman unearths sources that highlight her impoverished upbringing, multiple marriages, and the allegations of abuse of her adopted children in this “juicy Hollywood saga” (Library Journal). |
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Detours: Hope & Growth After Life's Hardest Turns
by Elizabeth Smart
In this powerful memoir of survival and healing, Elizabeth Smart empowers readers to navigate life's detours, embrace resilience, and find healing and purpose after adversity. In Detours, Elizabeth Smart explores how trauma can derail one's path in life and shares her struggles with captivity, reintegration, and resilience. Using the metaphor of life as a road, Smart introduces four key Rest Stops for navigating life's detours--grieving lost paths, embracing change, seeking connections, and redefining destinations. Through themes of hope, community, and self-discovery, she inspires readers to find strength in their own journeys toward healing.
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| Grit, Spit, and Never Quit: A Marine's Guide to Comedy and Life by Rob RiggleComedian, actor, and Marine Corps veteran Rob Riggle debuts with a funny and energetic take on comedy, military life, and a career in showbiz. Sure, his path may have been unconventional – Riggle cut his teeth on the New York stand-up stage between deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan – but he entertains by drawing surprising parallels between the two jobs. This is a great choice for readers who liked You’re on an Airplane: A Self-Mythologizing Memoir by Parker Posey. |
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Wartime Letters: London and Moscow 1941-1945
by Kathleen Harriman
The extraordinary story of Kathleen Harriman, daughter of the US ambassador to the USSR, told through her wartime letters.
Kathleen Harriman was the daughter of American businessman W. Averell Harriman. A journalist by background, she accompanied her father on his wartime postings to London and Moscow, where he served as FDR's envoy and later as US ambassador to the Soviet Union.
In more than two hundred letters, Harriman wrote all about these trips, people, and experiences. Deeply personal as well as highly political, her correspondence provides a fresh insight into the machinations of Second World War politics and diplomacy. In this fascinating account, Geoffrey Roberts brings together Harriman's letters to tell the full story of her wartime life for the first time.
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| Bread of Angels by Patti SmithPoet, musician, author, and all-around artist Patti Smith impresses with a life-spanning memoir. Smith’s writing is always lyrical, dreamlike, and filled with literary references, but here she uses it to reveal snippets of her restless, sickly childhood and intimate fragments of her marriage to the late Fred “Sonic” Smith. Somewhat of a return to form from her recent work, Bread of Angels is highly recommended for fans of Smith’s National Book Award-winning autobiography Just Kids. |
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| Queens at War by Alison WeirBritish historian and novelist Alison Weir makes the final volume of her England’s Medieval Queens series about the last five Plantagenet consorts: Joan of Navarre, Catherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, and Anne Neville. These women ruled against the bloody backdrop of the Hundred Years’ War and the War of the Roses, and were thus witnesses to (and sometimes participants in) the intrigue, betrayal, and violence of the age. For further stories about the women of the English royal court, try The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens by Nicola Clark. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Carrollton Public Library 1700 Keller Springs Road, Carrollton Texas 75006 4220 North Josey Lane, Carrollton Texas 75010 |
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