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Biography and Memoir July 2026 |
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| True Crime by Patricia CornwellKay Scarpetta series author Patricia Cornwell’s autobiography reads like a gritty, dramatic backstory for one of her characters. She talks plainly but captivatingly about her dysfunctional childhood, the multiple incidents of sexual violence she endured, her early journalism career, and the real-life female medical examiner who served as inspiration for Scarpetta. This chatty, candid memoir has “more action and drama than many novels” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, & Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground by Zayd Ayers DohrnPlaywright Zayd Ayers Dohrn is the oldest son of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, leftist radicals belonging to the 1970s terrorist organization the Weather Underground. Dohrn describes what it was like growing up off the grid as his family honed tactics for evading federal agents, and how both of his parents struggled to balance their love for their children with commitment to the cause. Try this next: The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s by Jason Burke. |
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| The Sane One: A Memoir by the Co-Creator of Pen15 by Anna KonkleActor and television writer Anna Konkle’s debut memoir explores her adolescent years with the same awkward, cringey humor that characterizes Pen15, the Hulu series that she co-created with Maya Erskine. But Konkle also shows her somber side by candidly addressing her extremely strained relationship with her divorced father (thankfully mended by the time the latter passed away from cancer). For another funny yet moving life story, try Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer. |
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| Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben MezrichIn September 2022, 19-year-old chess competitor Hans Niemann toppled grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a face-to-face match, stunning the chess world. Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating shortly afterwards, and author Ben Mezrich (Breaking Twitter) revisits the resulting scandal. The back-and-forth recriminations, intensified by the involvement of the popular gaming site Chess.com, would turn this high-drama feud into the stuff of legends. Try this next: Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster by Susan Polgar. |
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| Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith & Belonging by Timothy Schraeder RodriguezAfter an awkward, teenaged Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez experienced rejection from members of his Evangelical youth group who discovered he was gay, he willingly enrolled in a church-organized therapy program meant to “cure” his queerness with repression exercises. The author, now out, is still healing from the psychic harm this therapy caused, and has co-founded Church Clarity, an organization that helps queer Christians connect with accepting congregations. For readers who were inspired by Devout by David Archuleta. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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