Biography and Memoir
January 2025
Recent Releases
Didion & Babitz
by Lili Anolik

In her well-researched follow-up to Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A., Vanity Fair contributing editor Lili Anolik explores the fraught, decades-spanning friendship between Babitz and her mentor and fellow author Joan Didion. Try this next: Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal by Yuval Taylor.
Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father
by April Balascio

April Balascio adapts her 2019 true crime podcast The Clearing for her suspenseful and unflinching debut, which chronicles the 2009 arrest and subsequent sentencing of her father, serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards, after the author called in a tip to a cold case hotline. Try this next: A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming by Kerri Rawson, the daughter of Dennis Rader.
The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.
by Peter Ames Carlin

Named a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, Peter Ames Carlin's evocative and well-researched biography of Grammy Award-winning alternative rock band R.E.M. features interviews with the group's colleagues and loved ones. Further reading: Cool Town: How Athens, Georgia Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture by Grace Elizabeth Hale.
Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman
by Patrick Hutchison

Disillusioned by his Seattle copywriting job and in search of a new purpose, Patrick Hutchinson purchased a dilapidated cabin in the Cascade Mountains, spending years battling renovations and the elements in his quest for a more fulfilling life. "Henry David Thoreau meets Home Improvement" (Publishers Weekly) in this funny and inspiring debut that will appeal to fans of Erica Bauermeister's House Lessons.
Damn Glad to Meet You
by Tim Matheson

In his "honest and self-effacing" (Library Journal) memoir, director and Emmy-nominated The West Wing actor Tim Matheson dishes on his life and seven-decade showbiz career, mixing personal insights with practical advice for aspiring filmmakers. For fans of: The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron Howard.
 
I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying
by Youngmi Mayer

Standup comedian Youngmi Mayer's witty and incisive debut examines Korean history and culture in the context of her own life as the child of a Korean mother and a white American father, exploring issues of race, gender, sexuality, and colonialism. For fans of: Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong.
Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist
by Richard Munson

Richard Munson's (Tesla: Inventor of the Modern) fast-paced and thought-provoking biography of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin focuses on his scientific pursuits, offering fresh insights that reveal "there's reason yet to revisit the much studied statesman" (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: Benjamin Franklin's Numbers: An Unsung Mathematical Odyssey by Paul C. Pasles.
Growing Up Urkel
by Jaleel White

Actor Jaleel White's candid and nostalgic memoir chronicles his coming of age on the hit 1990s sitcom Family Matters, where he played fan favorite character Steve Urkel. For fans of: Dyn-o-mite!: Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times by Jimmie Walker.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Sonoma County Library
707-545-0831www.sonomalibrary.org