Now Read This!
FEBRUARY 2026
 
Our Now Read This! newsletters offer suggestions for your next favorite read, from hidden gems to the latest hot pick. In this issue, you will find a featured book of the month, a special event worth checking out, a curated selection of newly acquired and upcoming biographies and memoirs, and booklists for further reading. Whether you prefer reading about the lives of historical figures or the rich and famous, your friendly BPL Reader Services Librarians have recommendations for every reader.
 
Want more suggestions? Need fewer emails? 
Manage what newsletters you get in the future.
 
Book of the Month
The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life by Amy Bowers Cordalis
The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life
by Amy Bowers Cordalis

A multigenerational memoir of Indigenous resistance, environmental justice, and a Yurok family's fight to protect their legacy and the Klamath River. 
Event Spotlight
Author Talk: Dr. Bettye Kearse — The Other Madisons
Thursday, February 22, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Hyde Park Branch/Zoom
 
Drawing on eight generations of family oral history, Dr. Bettye Kearse—a writer and retired pediatrician who practiced in Dorchester for 31 years—traces her lineage to an enslaved cook and her enslaver, President James Madison.
 
New and Upcoming Titles
Dilf: Did I Leave Feminism? by Jude Doyle
The Royal We by Roddy Bottum
Coyote: The Dramatic Lives of Sam Shepard by Robert M. Dowling
DILF: Did I Leave Feminism?
Jude Ellison S. Doyle
 
“Doyle shares his transmasc experience after having a public career writing about feminism in books and magazines when he began his transition.” 
 
The Royal We: A Memoir
Roddy Bottum
 
 
“Bottum, a founder of the iconic band Faith No More, shares his coming-of-age and out-of-the-closet story in pre-tech boom San Francisco.” 
 
Coyote: The Dramatic Lives of Sam Shepard
Robert M. Dowling
 
“Dowling dives into the psyche, imagination, and soul of Sam Shepard, a film and theater icon, for a comprehensive account of his work and life.” 
 
Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart by Billy Hart
Mounted: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation by Bitter Kalli
A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power by Abby Phillip
Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart
Billy Hart 
 
“In conversation with his pianist Ethan Iverson, Hart reveals unforgettable stories and intimate technical secrets from his time in legendary bands.” 
 
Mounted: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation
Bitter Kalli
 
 
“As a former urban equestrian, Black queer person, and child of immigrants, Kalli contends that the horse should be a source of power and identity in Black life.”
 
A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power
Abby Phillip
 
“Focusing on his presidential runs in 1984 and 1988, Phillip highlights how Jackson built a coalition that showed how Black political power could be consolidated.” 
 
Ozzy & Me: Life Lessons, Wild Stories, and Unexpected Epiphanies from Forty Years of Friendship with the Prince of Darkness by Stephen Rea
The True Happiness Company: A Memoir by Veena Dinavahi
In the Name of Freedom: A Political Dissident's Fight for Human Rights in the NBA and Around the World by Enes Kanter Freedom
Ozzy & Me: Life Lessons, Wild Stories, and Unexpected Epiphanies from Forty Years of Friendship with the Prince of Darkness
Stephen Rea
 
“A behind-the-scenes memoir that proves the life-affirming, soul-nourishing power of music — and disproves the notion that you should never meet your heroes.” 
 
The True Happiness Company: How a Girl Like Me Falls for a Cult Like That
Veena Dinavahi
 
 
 
“Dinavahi explores losing and reclaiming your identity, rethinking mental illness, and learning to trust your intuition in a world determined to annihilate it.” 
 
In the Name of Freedom: A Political Dissident's Fight for Human Rights in the NBA and Around the World
Enes Kanter Freedom
 
 
“A boy with a dream in Turkey became Enes Freedom: American citizen, NBA star, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and a fierce advocate for human rights.” 
 
Find Your Next Great Read
Memoirs Around the World: 12 Recommendations for Winter Reading
Our Winter Reading Challenge encourages you to read one book by an author from each of six geographic regions: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, & Oceania. This list is all about memoirs and includes two from each of these regions. Borrow one today and get your challenge on!

For More Suggestions...
Women of Science: 16 Biographies and Memoirs
 
 
 
   

Support the BPL 
    Boston Public Library
    700 Boylston St.
      Boston, MA 02116 | 617.536.5400
      www.bpl.org/ | Shelf Service | BPL Newsletters