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Biography and Memoir February 2026 |
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| Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha AckmannMartha Ackmann’s biography of country music legend Dolly Parton goes beyond the glamour to reveal the grit that propelled her to international stardom. Parton’s phenomenal talent was discovered while she was a teenager. Her business savvy and philanthropic generosity would be discovered later, namely by sexist Nashville executives trying to control her skyrocketing career. For the story of another feminist music star who refused to be put in a box, try Madonna: A Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel. |
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| A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to... by Adam MorganAmerican editor Margaret C. Anderson was a champion of early modernists including Djuna Barnes and James Joyce, giving their experimental works voice in her upstart literary journal The Little Review. Critic Adam Morgan documents her fierce advocacy of the arts, romances with various high-profile women, and independence from the 20th-century status quo. Readers will savor this “enlightening depiction of a[n]…influential figure of both modernism and queer history” (Publishers Weekly). |
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Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World
by Christian Cooper
What it is: an engaging memoir from birder and activist Christian Cooper, whose Central Park encounter with a white dog walker went viral in 2020.
Read it for: Cooper's love for the natural world; insights on how his hobby informs his experiences as a gay Black man; tips for birdwatching.
Try this next: Bird Brother: A Falconer's Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife by Rodney Stotts.
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| Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde by Alexis Pauline GumbsPoet Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ innovative, adventurous biography of Black feminist poet Audre Lorde is a tribute to and legacy of a shared intersectional identity. Gumbs, who, like her subject, is an LGBTQIA+ descendant of Caribbean immigrants, details how Lorde rose from a difficult upbringing to become an inspiring feminist figure whose work never hesitated to call out injustice and oppression in this “scintillating tour de force” (Publishers Weekly). |
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Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones
by Dolly Parton with Holly George-Warren; curated by Rebecca Seaver
Beloved country superstar Dolly Parton shares the stories behind her favorite fashion moments in this charming full-color memoir featuring 450 photographs, never-before-seen images from her personal archives, and insights from her designers and stylists. Read-alike: Supreme Glamour by Mary Wilson.
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Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond
by Henry Winkler
Beloved Emmy Award-winning Happy Days and Barry actor Henry Winkler dishes on his rocky path to stardom in his heartwarming and self-deprecating memoir. Try this next: My Days: Happy and Otherwise by Marion Ross.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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