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Biography and Memoir August 2026 |
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| The Double Dutch Fuss by Phill BranchIn his autobiography, director Phill Branch addresses the difficulties of growing up Black, queer, and artistic in an environment where strict codes of masculinity reigned, enforced chiefly by a domineering father whose love was dependent on his son’s conforming to rigid expectations. Branch found some freedom when he moved to Los Angeles after college, stopped hiding his identity, and finally patched things up with his dad. Read-alike: Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man’s Search for Home by Jonathan Capehart. |
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| Fully Baked: A Messy Memoir by Rosebud BakerIn comedian and former SNL writer Rosebud Baker’s Fully Baked, she reflects on an upbringing colored by dysfunction and tragedy, and how the experience taught her the value of laughter in the face of trauma. Baker’s “joke-dense” (Booklist) debut recounts her tumultuous journey to discovering her talent for standup and, eventually, choosing sobriety, marriage, and motherhood -- heavily laced with her trademark sarcasm and dark humor. For fans of: What in the World?! by Leanne Morgan. |
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Three Tenses: A Transmission from the Nineties
by Ed Park
In 1998, Ed Park wrote a memoir and saved it to the vanishing technology of the floppy disk, losing it for more than twenty years. Until one day, emptying out an old, unmarked box in his family's cramped New York City home, he came across a hefty manila folder. Out slid the only remaining copy of Three Tenses. Profound, wily, and beautifully wrought, Three Tenses is a meeting of memory and myth, confession and obfuscation, coalescing to offer a singular picture of creativity in action.
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Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech
by Claire Stapleton
Sharp, witty, and unsparing, Don't Be Evil is an insider's account of how power actually works--and a deeper reckoning with the stories we tell about work, purpose, and ourselves. In a culture that collapses identity into work, and as tech elites blur the line between private authority and public life, it asks: how much can you change from within--and when is it time to walk away?
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| Catching Sight: How a Guide Dog Helped Me See Myself by Deni Elliott with Graham BuckDeni Elliott, a professor of ethics who was born with limited eyesight, co-authors her memoir with Graham Buck, the dog trainer who matched her with guide dogs Alberta and Koala, both of whom are charismatic characters in her story. Elliott narrates their shared adventures with humor and wit, helping readers appreciate both the challenges of vision-impaired disability and the amazing intelligence and sensitivity of her canine helpers. |
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| Push the Wall: My Life, Writing, Drawing, and the Art of Storytelling by Frank MillerLauded comics author and artist Frank Miller (Dark Knight Returns, Sin City) tells his life story with a tone as edgy as his comics oeuvre. His passion for storytelling remains undimmed as he peppers his career highlights with advice for fellow creators, exhorting readers to “push the wall” -- i.e. force creative boundaries outward to make something new. Miller’s book, generously illustrated with his groundbreaking artwork, will appeal to fans of Magic Words: The Extraordinary Life of Alan Moore by Lance Parkin. |
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| Becoming George: The Invention of George Sand by Fiona SampsonAuthor Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin de Francueil (better known by her male pseudonym George Sand) was not just one of the 19th century’s most prolific novelists, she was also a pioneering feminist before such a concept existed. Biographer Fiona Sampson unpacks her literary influence alongside the controversy she constantly courted -- dressing like a man, lesbianism, affairs with famous figures, etc. -- in a detailed tribute to a gender-bending maverick. For fans of: Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade. |
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| When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class by Chris SmallsWhen Chis Smalls, an employee at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, figured out that he was repeatedly passed over for advancement opportunities because he was Black, he staged a walkout and was fired for it. But that was only the beginning. Smalls’ autobiography recounts his founding of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) to combat unfair pay and poor working conditions at the only unionized Amazon warehouse in the country. For other inspiring examples of labor activism, try Get on the Job and Organize by Jaz Brisack. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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