|
|
|
|
Biography and Memoir January 2026 |
|
|
|
| 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. |
|
| In the Arena: Theodore Roosevelt in War, Peace, and Revolution by David S. BrownIn the Arena is a detailed study of President Theodore Roosevelt that is sharply focused on his years in office in the first decade of the 20th century. Roosevelt’s energy and charisma characterized the country’s burgeoning influence and power, but biographer David S. Brown doesn’t gloss over the president’s blind spots regarding aggressive militarism and the treatment of African and Indigenous Americans. Another evocative study of a president and an era can be found in The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s by William I. Hitchcock. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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). |
|
| The Insider: Malcolm Cowley and the Triumph of American Literature by Gerald HowardEditor Gerald Howard pens a fast-paced look at the life of writer, editor, and literary critic Malcolm Cowley, a 20th-century giant of American letters whose orbit intersected with those of William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, and many others. For fans of: Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece "The Sun Also Rises" by Lesley M. M. Blume. |
|
| 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. |
|
| Insomnia by Robbie RobertsonIn a posthumous autobiography, musician and songwriter Robbie Robertson relates a rapid-fire, impressionistic collection of anecdotes surrounding an extended lost weekend in 1970s Los Angeles with film director Martin Scorsese. Exiled from their family home by his wife for bad behavior, Robertson moved in with Scorsese, dove into a pile of cocaine, and partied with the stars while the pair assembled the raw footage of The Last Waltz concert film. This is perfect for fans of high-octane music memoirs like Under a Rock by Blondie’s Chris Stein. |
|
| The Six Loves of James I by Gareth RussellHistorian Gareth Russell’s well-researched biography of England’s James I is a gossipy exposé of the first Stuart king. By detailing James’ loving relationships with both women (his wife Anna of Denmark) and men (royal favorite Lord George Villiers), Russell’s book normalizes the subject of homosexuality among British royalty while providing a riveting read. For more about the Stuart monarchs, check out Don Jordan and Michael Walsh’s The King’s Bed: Ambition and Intimacy in the Court of Charles II. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|