Julian Castro
[isbn]
Julián Castro’s political autobiography, released in anticipation of a presidential run, checks all the required boxes: values instilled in early life, impressive academic success, political coming of age, etc. I want and expect all that from every entrant in the literary presidential primary. I was pleasantly surprised to find that An Unlikely Journey also includes a more rounded view of Castro’s life with numerous unexpected and... (read more)
Recommended by Keith M.
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Keith Negley
[isbn]
This is a great read to combat negative comments such as "man up" or "boys don't cry" and all of that nonsense. The message gets delivered but the illustrations are funny and lighthearted enough to keep the mood elevated while reading. I imagine this would be a great read-aloud to a class of elementary school students. Feel all the feelings!
Recommended by Rin S.
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Kate Allan
[isbn]
I think this is the most adorable self-help book I have ever seen. Cute animals grace every page, letting you know that everything is going to be OK and that you are not alone in your struggles.
Recommended by Deana R.
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Raleigh Briggs
[isbn]
An awesome do-it-yourself guide for simple remedies, medicines, and cleaners! I say simple, but you will acquire a lot of skills if you put any of these methods in practice. If you're interested in relevant homesteading skills in a fast-paced world where there is hardly any time for that, this is totally for you!
Recommended by Rin S.
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Daniel H Pink
[isbn]
Timing isn't everything, but it might be more important than you think. Daniel Pink’s When combines insight from psychology, biology, and economics, along with helpful tips and tricks to help you maximize your day. Pink never fails to educate and entertain.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Ursula K Le Guin
[isbn]
A lively and engrossing collection of blog posts ranging from an encounter with a rattlesnake to a discussion of Homer and Joyce. Whatever the subject, Le Guin’s elegant prose is always a joy to read.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Steven Pinker
[isbn]
Offering hope through evidence, researcher and Harvard professor Pinker shows us that we are not only capable of overturning our base impulses and drive towards societal destruction, we are in fact already collectively striving towards better. His advice for how to consciously hold onto the progress we’ve made is bracing, fortifying, and refreshingly sound.
Recommended by Moses M.
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Pia Mellody
[isbn]
There are many addictive behaviors such as substance abuse, sex addiction, and others, but we hardly ever talk about being addicted to other people. If you are coming out of an abusive relationship, or you're repeating toxic behaviors that you've learned from your elders, this guide is an amazing character study for you or a loved one living with a codependent personality.
Recommended by Rin S.
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Leah Dieterich
[isbn]
Leah Dieterich lays all of her insecurities and uncertainties excruciatingly bare in this excavation of her marriage. Using compelling prose, she peels back the surface of everything, and it is mesmerizing; she digs until she understands what she feels, what she wants, and why she wants it. Exploring open marriage, bisexuality, honesty, and fear, this is an eye-opening dissertation on love, desire, commitment, and human nature — and Dieterich... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Jessie Oliveros, Dana Wulfekotte
[isbn]
Memory loss is such a difficult subject to explain to children, and I’ve never seen it captured in as beautiful a way as Jessie Oliveros presents it in this lovely picture book. James’s grandfather has one balloon for every precious memory he’s lived in his long life; some of these balloons, James also shares. When his grandfather starts losing some balloons, James knows he must find a way to share his grandfather’s balloons with others so his... (read more)
Recommended by Kim T.
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Meaghan O'Connell
[isbn]
And Now We Have Everything is the most honest book about becoming a mom I've read. I don't have kids and don't know that I ever will, but I have a lot of anxieties about parenting and childrearing and Meaghan's writing aligns with them perfectly. This book is really funny in a kick-you-in-the-stomach kind of way, and I found myself laughing and sobbing a lot while reading it. As a childless bookseller, I wholeheartedly believe everyone —... (read more)
Recommended by Emily L.
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Jedidiah Jenkins
[isbn]
Jedidiah Jenkins’s memoir is his story of bicycling 14,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia over the course of 16 months. Readers follow along with Jenkins’s travels, experiencing the people and places he encounters while he reflects honestly on his personal life and struggles.
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Paul Monette
[isbn]
Becoming a Man is one of my life-changing books. Lyrical, brutal prose tells the story of the first half of a gay man's life, from his closeted days in a New England prep school, to how he inched his way out of the closet and found his true love. He tells his story through the shadow of the early days of AIDS and filters it through his many losses. It's both heartbreaking and hopeful, and a book I often press into people's hands and urge... (read more)
Recommended by Deana R.
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Lin Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun
[isbn]
Lin-Manuel Miranda, author and creator of Hamilton, also writes the loveliest, most genuine, and life-affirming tweets. Collected here with adorable illustrations by Jonny Sun, author of Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, Gmorning, Gnight! is an utterly charming collection that will light up everyone's holiday season.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Brené Brown
[isbn]
Brené Brown is back with an exploration of what leadership means in turbulent, uncertain times. Drawing from the skills and traits she's explored in her earlier work, Dare to Lead is a human, engrossing look at how we can encourage bravery and strength in ourselves and in our larger world.
Recommended by Moses M.
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Anne Lamott
[isbn]
Wise, frank, and infused with generous humor, Anne Lamott’s latest offering discusses our relationship to hope, and ways of giving it a home within us. Whatever your spiritual or religious affiliation may be, Almost Everything is a tonic for the soul, and a welcome antidote to the troubling times we face.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Joshua Hunt
[isbn]
I did my undergrad at UO and, full disclaimer, couldn't stand the culture built around football and the Ducks or anything else related to the revoltingly dubbed "Uncle Phil" and his Nike empire. Luckily, I ran in activist and academic circles that had long whispered about his dirty dealings with our administration — including, but not even remotely limited to, his successful attempts at shutting down student protests over Nike's financial... (read more)
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Chelsea Martin
[isbn]
What a gem! Reading this collection feels like finding a friend who fully accepts all of your weirdness and insanity, free of judgement. Martin is a writer you won't want to miss!
Recommended by Haley B.
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Anne Frank, David Polonsky, Ari Folman
[isbn]
Why risk marring the view of heroine Anne Frank with a graphic novel depiction of her two-year ordeal hiding from the Nazis? It's a gamble; the subject is so serious, and she is so beloved. But this is what graphic novels can do now: give visual life to a story in a way that's never been imagined. Illustrator David Polonsky does a stellar job of depicting the oppressive, claustrophobic tension in the tiny space occupied by the Frank Family and... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Justin McElroy and Sydnee McElroy
[isbn]
Justin and Dr. Sydnee McElroy’s first book is as funny, educational, and fascinatingly horrifying as the podcast on which it’s based. Brilliantly illuminated by Teylor Smirl’s fantastic artwork, this is the perfect read for anyone who enjoys strange history, medical facts, or just having a good laugh at human “ingenuity” (with due celebration for the folks who’ve actually gotten things right). Remember: don’t drill a hole in your head!
Recommended by Madeline S.
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Blythe Roberson
[isbn]
Lately, it's been increasingly necessary to remind myself that I don't actually hate men. I hate the system that awards white, cis/hetero men a disproportionate amount of power, enables them to do whatever they want, and shields them from any and every consequence. So this delightful book was like a balm to my perpetually chapped soul. Blythe Roberson channels her well-honed wit (seriously, Google her), her relatable experiences, and her... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Jim Bouton
[isbn]
I couldn't tell you who won last year's World Series, because I don't follow baseball. But this sports book has earned a sterling reputation as a classic that transcends the game.
Author/knuckleball pitcher Jim Bouton has the humorist's eye for telling, pithy detail, and the memoirist's courage in sharing honest and sometimes unflattering anecdotes about himself and his teammates. In short, from its opening pitch to the final out, Ball Four... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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Caitlin Doughty
[isbn]
The delightful second book by death-positive revolutionary (and American hero) Caitlin Doughty, From Here to Eternity is a heartfelt travelogue through ancient funerary practices and cutting-edge modern deathcare.
Recommended by Hayley H.
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Timothy Egan
[isbn]
This is the story of the biggest forest fire in US history. Three million acres burned across three states, aided by the flammable gas that boiled out of pine sap during the conflagration!
Recommended by Jennifer K.
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Esme Weijun Wang
[isbn]
Although I do not share Esmé Weijun Wang's diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, I too have wondered how to separate my brain from my true self — is there even any distance at all? In this riveting collection of essays, she documents the realities of living with a stigmatized diagnosis and explores the elusive nature of identity. Translated literally, "schizophrenia" means split mind and Wang struggles to reconcile the sum of her parts into a... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Casey Gerald
[isbn]
I was gripped from page one by Gerald’s magnetic, painterly writing. But it was his story — that of a poor black kid from Dallas whose intellect and athletic ability propelled him to increasing levels of success, and the humbling lessons he learned along the way — that blew me away. An extraordinary read.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Beth Evans
[isbn]
As someone who has had varying degrees of anxiety, it's nice to have a book that validates that and says it's okay to have anxiety, in whatever form that may look like. Beth Evans's book is the accessible foray into self-care, and acceptance of the fact that we're not perfect, that we all need to be reminded of once in a while.
Recommended by Maya M.
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Jenny Lawson
[isbn]
Furiously Happy is a book I turn to time and again. Both heartbreaking and hilarious, Jenny writes with painful honesty about living with chronic mental and physical illnesses. In the final essay of the book, she recounts a conversation with her husband, in which she states, "Your life would be so much better without me." He replies, "It may have been easier, but it would never have been better," and this has always stuck with me. I... (read more)
Recommended by Deana R.
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Sonya Patel Ellis
[isbn]
Botanical Bible is an amazing book! A big fat book that could live on your coffee table for a couple of years and you’d still find interest in it. Filled with botanical history, art, recipes, and just a whole lot of beauty, this is a gardener’s dream book. I don’t often rave about books that are so cross-topic, but Botanical Bible really hits the sweet spot in being curated perfectly. My hat is off to author Sonya Patel Ellis... (read more)
Recommended by Tracey T.
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Stephen Hawking
[isbn]
Stephen Hawking's final book presents some of the biggest questions and most important issues before us today: Will the human race survive? Is there a God? His brief answers will challenge your thinking and bring you out of your bubble.
Recommended by Kim S.
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Nicole Chung
[isbn]
The openness and honesty with which Nicole Chung writes about her life is captivating. This is an intensely personal book, but handled with a precision that keeps it from feeling voyeuristic. If you only read one memoir this year, read All You Can Ever Know.
Recommended by Ashleigh B.
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Shaun Bythell
[isbn]
You may be wondering if a Powell's reviewer can really be objective with regard to this this witty, irascible, big-hearted book. After all, of course I'd think that a wry diary by a Scottish bookseller would be a terrific read, right? However, in this case, you can trust me — I was reading and enjoying Shaun Bythell's hilarious bookshop Twitter feed long before I began at Powell's. So when this book arrived, I got it instantly and... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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Tao Lin
[isbn]
Trip by Tao Lin is a fascinating and well-researched book. Part Terence McKenna illuminations, part Tao's drug-taking diary. Full of interesting facts.
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Brian Lies
[isbn]
What should I tell you about this wonderful, funny, touching picture book? That it's perfect for anyone who loves animals and/or just has a big heart? That it made me cry halfway through, or that I was smiling through my tears by the end? So many questions! I guess the best thing I can do is suggest you take a look at Rough Patch yourself, because it's absolutely lovely.
Recommended by Bart K.
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Lisa Brennan Jobs
[isbn]
You will be shocked by what you read about Steve Jobs in this beautifully rendered literary memoir by his daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs. You will be equally stunned by the author’s insight and honesty. I’m recommending Small Fry to everyone I know. Vivid, compelling, ambitious — it’s the full package.
Recommended by Renee P.
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Angela Duckworth
[isbn]
What motivates us, allows us to push through obstacles, and to stay committed to fulfilling our dreams? It turns out it's less about intellect and more about tenacity, according to Angela Duckworth's Grit. Through experiments, studies, and interviews, she demonstrates that it's never too late to learn how to start living your best life.
Recommended by Matt K.
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Amy Fusselman
[isbn]
Toward the end of Fusselman's luminous new lyric essay creation, Idiophone, she writes, "To see it all at once like in a mirror, to be in one world and to multiply..." — and that comes pretty close to the overall mood of this weird, playful, and sometimes gloomy book. It feels sharply focused and almost suffocating at times, while there are other moments that feel scattershot and a little off the rails — like the narrator is trying to... (read more)
Recommended by Kevin S.
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William O. Douglas
[isbn]
This is a personal story of place by Pacific Northwesterner William O. Douglas, who was a Supreme Court justice from 1939 to 1975 and advocated for the environment from the bench. Not only did he write A Wilderness Bill of Rights in 1965, he helped quash a proposed highway through Olympic National Park.
Recommended by Jennifer K.
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Beth Macy
[isbn]
Macy blends investigative journalism with a hard-hitting narrative to illustrate how the opioid crisis began, and how dealers, drug companies, first responders, and families are woven together in a tapestry of heartbreak and devastation.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
[isbn]
This incredible memoir is a masterful example of what the graphic novel format can accomplish. The emotive art and engaging storytelling work hand-in-hand to immerse the reader in Congressman John Lewis’s early life and activism, and the frame narrative of President Obama’s 2009 inauguration pulls the struggles, efforts, and hopes of the civil rights movement into the modern day. March is an essential reminder that this history is far... (read more)
Recommended by Madeline S.
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Randy Frost, Gail Steketee
[isbn]
Who knew stuff was so important? My God, read this book and you will never look at your own stuff the same way again. It's really very chilling to see how life can become so complicated by something so seemingly innocuous. Frost and Steketee do an excellent job of peeling away the layers of pathology and leaving the core problems exposed. A riveting read!
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Roz Chast
[isbn]
Roz Chast's moving graphic novel chronicles her parents' lives and final years. You'll recognize her illustrations from cartoons in The New Yorker and other places. She writes with humor, but is also unafraid to talk about the unpleasant: the all-too-serious hardships we face in witnessing our parents getting old.
Recommended by Maya M.
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Sophie Lucido Johnson
[isbn]
Many Love is a memoir about author Sophie Lucido Johnson and her relationships, but it's also a road map for decentering our societal concepts about love as it relates to the nuclear family. Building on the queer theory that came before her, Johnson demonstrates how love doesn't have to be a box where a single romantic partner is the only person you can ever really love. You can love friends more than a sexual partner, you can give... (read more)
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Tom Drury
[isbn]
This comic masterpiece crept up on me; I made it to page 25 before I realized what a thing of beauty Tom Drury's understated dry humor is. But while the irony may be subtle, there is no cynicism here. Instead, enjoy a novel with great heart and genuine empathy for its Midwestern characters. Highly, highly recommended!
Recommended by Bart K.
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Michael Pollan
[isbn]
Michael Pollan’s earnest examination of modern eating habits made waves upon its release in 2006 and is largely responsible for pushing the local food movement into the mainstream. The Omnivore’s Dilemma uses the seemingly straightforward question of “What should we have for dinner?” as an impetus to explore how ridiculously complex our food system has become. What Pollan reveals through his adventures, as he explores three food chains... (read more)
Recommended by Renee P.
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Andrew Solomon
[isbn]
Far From the Tree is the kind of book that fundamentally alters the way you see the world and your place in it. Each chapter is centered around a different horizontal identity, such as dwarfism, autism, and deafness. Solomon interviewed hundreds of people, assembling a staggering amount of information and narrative, but it is his ability to synthesize and summarize that elevates Far From the Tree into something extraordinary.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Mychal Denzel Smith
[isbn]
The debut book from Knobler Fellow and Nation writer Mychal Denzel Smith, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching, is a personal and political coming-of-age that melds candid detail with trenchant analysis. Taking its title from a Mos Def lyric, Smith's book shares a revealing and self-aware recap of his development as a young black millennial and budding wordsmith. Confronting his own assumptions (about a variety of... (read more)
Recommended by Jeremy G.
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Perre Coleman Magness
[isbn]
Southern Sympathy Food is at once a primer on being a civilized and proper Southerner and a cookbook of excellent potluck recipes. The South is a land where deviled eggs are called stuffed eggs, because bringing the devil to a funeral doesn’t sound nice. You may want to try Pimento Cheese Macaroni Salad — with bacon! You may want to give Southern-Style Baked Kibbeh a try (the South has welcomed many a Lebanese immigrant into their... (read more)
Recommended by Tracey T.
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Kelly Sundberg
[isbn]
It's a brave thing to tell the story of an abusive marriage. It's an even braver thing to tell the story of loving the man who harms you, of protecting the man who beats you, of the moments of a marriage that were loving and sweet along with the times anger and rage crossed the line into violence. Kelly Sundberg's memoir is an essential read, not only for survivors of abuse seeking a book to help them heal, but also for those who try to... (read more)
Recommended by Mo D.
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Courtenay Hameister
[isbn]
Writer, producer, and professional worrier Courtenay Hameister spent a year doing stuff that scares her. Like an MRI, a sensory deprivation tank, and professional cuddling. A Brazilian. The result is a collection of surprising, sometimes brutal, sometimes blushworthy, sometimes heartbreaking, always hilarious experiments told with honesty, insight, and ferocious wit.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Phil Knight
[isbn]
Phil Knight chronicles his journey from selling shoes out of the trunk of his Plymouth to becoming one of the wealthiest people in the world. Entertaining, touching, and crammed with insight, Shoe Dog is the story of how a band of eccentric misfits built one of the biggest athletic apparel companies in the world.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Sallie Tisdale
[isbn]
Years of experience as a palliative care nurse and a Buddhist practitioner have given Sallie Tisdale a unique perspective on death and dying. Redolent with sound advice and wise counsel for both the living and the dying.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Michael Chabon
[isbn]
From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon comes Pops, a personal, intimate collection of essays on fatherhood. With his trademark gorgeous prose and insightful, tender observations, Chabon muses, often humorously, upon individuality and weirdness, feminism, teenage coolness, and more.
Recommended by Jeremy G.
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Michael Pollan
[isbn]
As captivating and wholly engaging as each of his previous books, Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind explores the intriguing history of psychedelics and the remarkable promise they currently show in treating a variety of medical and psychological maladies, including PTSD and depression.
Recommended by Jeremy G.
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Irene Smit, Astrid Van Der Hulst, Illustrators from Flow
[isbn]
Creative art journaling is really hot right now. Unfortunately, for many of us, knowing where and how to start the creative art process is the largest obstacle in moving forward. Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst guide us in our discovery with simple tutorials in painting, line drawing, style, and most importantly, finding creative joy and beauty in the day-to-day life that surrounds us.
Recommended by Corie KB
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Roxane Gay
[isbn]
This moving collection of essays, edited by feminist powerhouse Roxane Gay, operates on the simple principle that any level of sexual harassment or assault is, in fact, that bad. Sure, someone else may have had it objectively “worse," but that doesn’t make what we’ve been through okay.
Recommended by Madeline S.
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Gabriela Wiener, Jennifer Adcock, Lucy Greaves
[isbn]
Thank god Gabriela Wiener wrote this book, so that I don't have to do any of the things in it! I don't have to spend a weekend with a sex guru and his seven wives, I don't have to visit an upscale swinger's club with my husband, I don't have to be a pants-less prop in a revered dominatrix's demonstration. But more than that, I don't have to face my deepest fears and insecurities. I don't have to look inside myself and record what I find for all... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Caitlin Doughty
[isbn]
The delightful second book by death-positive revolutionary (and American hero) Caitlin Doughty, From Here to Eternity is a heartfelt travelogue through ancient funerary practices and cutting-edge modern deathcare.
Recommended by Hayley H.
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Samantha Irby
[isbn]
Samantha Irby's first book of essays has been buffed and polished, with new material and fresh hilarity. Her writing is intimate, warm, painfully funny, and I guarantee you'll love her blend of candor and comedy. Buy one copy for yourself and another for your best friend!
Recommended by McKenzie W.
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Leslie Jamison
[isbn]
Leslie Jamison, author of the extraordinary essay collection (and surprise bestseller), The Empathy Exams, returns with a very different but equally captivating book. The Recovering intertwines Jamison's story of her journey to sobriety with her thoughts about other addicted writers, their work, and their struggles with dependency; it's an incredibly self-aware, unusual, and engrossing memoir. At the beginning of the book,... (read more)
Recommended by Jill O.
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Marina Abramovic
[isbn]
Marina Abramovic, of The Artist Is Present fame, is one of the most fascinating artists working today. Her memoir is as surprising, raw, gripping, and forceful as you would expect, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Lisa Feldman Barrett
[isbn]
Lisa Feldman Barrett is a leading expert on the psychology of emotion, and in How Emotions Are Made, she lays out her revolutionary ideas about our seemingly innate human reactions in accessible and truly compelling chapters. The theories in this book have far-reaching implications, but there are also immediate takeaways for anyone who has struggled to make sense of their emotions.
Recommended by Renee P.
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Barbara Ehrenreich
[isbn]
An articulate refutation of Americans’ obsession with living forever (aka, our collective fear of death and the healthcare industry that feeds it), Natural Causes is eye-opening, well-researched, and thanks to Ehrenreich’s cranky wit, really funny. Doctors may not want this feisty author in their offices, but every patient should have her on their bookshelf.
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Patrisse Khan Cullors, asha bandele
[isbn]
Patrisse Khan-Cullors's compassionate memoir is, among many things, an imperative to seek connection and build community as a countermeasure to injustice and dehumanization.
Recommended by Hayley H.
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T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong
[isbn]
A chilling, in-depth story revealing the psychology of rape from multiple angles. The intertwining accounts and outcomes are both shocking and insightful, providing answers at a time when taking a closer look at why sexual assault happens, and what we can do about it, is vital to society’s way forward.
Recommended by Aubrey W.
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Tara Westover
[isbn]
I don't know how to talk about this book yet. I've tried to explain how moved I was while reading it. How proud I am of Tara's journey so far. How haunted I feel by what she went through, and by the echoes of her experiences in my own life. I can't keep the tears out of my eyes and I can't praise Educated highly enough.
Recommended by McKenzie W.
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Dawn Davies
[isbn]
Dawn Davies drew me in with all of the honesty required of a memoir — she reveals everything, without soliciting approval for it. Her awakened understanding that strength comes from the recoveries after the falls, not in avoiding mistakes, is absolute gold.
Recommended by Aubrey W.
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Amy Cuddy
[isbn]
In her TED talk, Amy Cuddy showed us how effective altering your body posture can be on your mindset. In Presence, she explains the "why" behind the "what" in our behaviors, reminding us of just how dynamic, responsive, and regenerative humans really are.
Recommended by Moses M.
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Jessica Valenti
[isbn]
Lets face it — virginity is made up. Not all women are born with a hymen, so any kind of physical "virginity test" it total bullcrap. Everyone has a slightly different opinion on what counts as sex, anyway. So why is so much pressure placed on girls to maintain their "purity"? Hint — it's the patriarchy. I read this in a college women's studies class, and very much wished I had read it in my 8th grade sex-ed class instead. This well-researched... (read more)
Recommended by Anna M.
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Daniel H. Pink
[isbn]
Timing isn't everything, but it might be more important than you think. Daniel Pink’s When combines insight from psychology, biology, and economics, along with helpful tips and tricks to help you maximize your day. Pink never fails to educate and entertain.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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David Giffels
[isbn]
Giffels’s stellar memoir caught my eye due to its rather morbid subject matter (constructing one’s own coffin), but it was the author’s hearty style and spirited drive to create in the face of destruction that won me over. I won’t soon forget this lighthearted book about the heaviest of subjects.
Recommended by Moses M.
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Niki Brantmark
[isbn]
A delightful companion to the Danish Little Book of Hygge, Lagom elaborates on the Swedish philosophy of nurturing a balanced lifestyle. It’s the perfect book to take in on a quiet day when you want to slow down and reflect on how you’re spending your time and energy.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Jeannie Vanasco
[isbn]
The Glass Eye was a surprise. Instead of being a simple story about a daughter who loses her father, it takes on a life on its own. Vanasco's grief isn't simple. Instead, you're left sitting there with tears in your eyes and a sob in your throat, because you realize just how much her father’s death affected her, even when the subject switches to her mental illness or relationships with her mother and others. Read this book. It will... (read more)
Recommended by Katherine M.
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Bill Hayes
[isbn]
Insomniac City is a compelling rumination on love, loss, and community. New to New York City, Hayes presents his encounters with fellow New Yorkers in an astonishing series of essays, vignettes, and beautiful photographs. The book centers on Hayes’s relationship with the luminous genius Oliver Sacks. Despite Sacks’s diagnosis and decline from cancer, their love story is of the kind too rarely depicted between gay men: deep, mature, and... (read more)
Recommended by Keith M.
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Eddie Izzard
[isbn]
Believe Me is a riveting adventure into the hows, whys, and hilarious life of Eddie Izzard. While he relates the story of his success, Izzard, in his own beautiful way, also inspires anyone who reads this story to achieve their own dreams. Plus, in times like these, the relief of a good laugh is priceless!
Recommended by Shell H.
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Gary Younge
[isbn]
This is one of the most important books I've ever read. Each chapter profiles the life of a child killed by gun violence on the same randomly selected day in America, 11/23/13. Younge is quick to point out that this isn't a book about gun control; instead, it's a book about what happens when gun control is nonexistent in a country where poverty, racism, and segregation are endemic. Younge's 10 subjects are kids whose deaths would have gone... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Kim Gordon
[isbn]
Unapologetic. Fearless. Candid, with a hint of underlying rage. Kim Gordon is one of our most prolific and necessary rock 'n' roll feminists. Girl in a Band is a must-read for music lovers, fashion lovers, history buffs, the she, the he, the they, the them, and everyone in between.
Recommended by Ronnie C.
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Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius
[isbn]
"We are what we think." — Gautama Buddha
Discover the neuroscience and psychology behind the principles used in Buddhism to achieve peace of mind. By offering practical methods and applications to change the way you think, this book can change your life. Like the muscles in the body, with the correct exercise and maintenance, the mind can change its constitution over time. Mindfulness, contemplation, and meditation are just a few... (read more)
Recommended by Alex K.
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Caitlin Doughty
[isbn]
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is not only a candid memoir with a healthy dose of black humor, but an insightful conversation on the art of dying and an earnest call for a death positive revolution.
Recommended by Hayley H.
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Carrie Fisher
[isbn]
Carrie Fisher isn't just Princess Leia. In The Princess Diarist, though, she takes us back to her Star Wars days with a look at her diaries during filming. They're replete with her signature humor, but they also provide a fascinating look at life behind one of our most iconic films.
Recommended by Ashleigh B.
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Brené Brown
[isbn]
Brené Brown's wisdom is a salve for this violently divided age. Full of funny, relatable life stories, the power of Braving the Wilderness lies in its reminder that we are all human, and we all deserve humanity.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Claire Dederer
[isbn]
I loved this inventive and rollicking memoir. So fun, sexy, wise, open, and fierce.
Recommended by Kevin S.
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Oliver Sacks
[isbn]
This collection is one of two books Sacks was working on when he passed away, and with probing essays on time, memory, creativity, and consciousness, it’s a fitting send-off. As usual, his inquiries reveal a dedication to intellectual rigor matched by an extraordinary generosity of spirit.
Recommended by Renee P.
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Atul Gawande
[isbn]
A compassionate look at how the medical industry currently handles aging, terminal illness, and end-of-life issues. Often medical professionals ignore quality of life, or a person's overall well-being, in favor of more treatments. There are no easy answers, but our reluctance to address these issues has not helped us to make more informed choices.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Lidia Yuknavitch
[isbn]
Brilliant writer Lidia Yuknavitch brings us a powerful field guide to living the life of the misfit — proudly. Based on her wildly popular 2016 TED talk, The Misfit’s Manifesto is searingly frank, funny, and intensely inspiring. A potent call to arms for misfits everywhere.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Kate Carroll De Gutes
[isbn]
Kate Carroll de Gutes's slim memoir is so very much bigger than it appears. Recounting the deaths of her father, mother, mentor, and friend, she is struck by the duality of her life: grief, sorrow, panic, and exhaustion in her real life, yet her Facebook life is full of posts that are wry and humorous. Out of this discordance comes The Authenticity Experiment. She decides to be as authentic as possible — and wow, can she be. Excavating... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Anonymous
[isbn]
The title is both a description and a warning, for the author is unflinching in her descriptions of the abuse she endured; her twinned feelings of shame and desire; the toxic dynamic of a family poisoned by incest; and the endless reverberations of all of this in her life. It's not an easy book to read, but it's impossible to put down — I got lost in the gap between the brutality of the story and the beauty of the writing.
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Mary Karr
[isbn]
First published in 1995, The Liars' Club is Mary Karr’s account of growing up in an East Texas oil town with an alcoholic father prone to gambling and a mother who had several psychotic episodes. Her childhood was more than slightly dysfunctional, but Karr offers the reader a plethora of darkly comic episodes that help to balance the narrative. Funny and heartbreaking, what truly sets this book apart is Karr’s exquisite and precise prose... (read more)
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Hilary Mantel
[isbn]
Hilary Mantel's Giving Up the Ghost is one of the most unusual memoirs I've ever read. In addition to being an extraordinary writer (she is the first woman to have been awarded the Booker Prize twice), she has had an extraordinary life, strewn with loss, pain, and the supernatural. Mantel moved to Botswana and Saudi Arabia with her husband, whom she divorced, then later remarried. She suffered much of her life with an extremely painful... (read more)
Recommended by Jill O.
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Joan Didion
[isbn]
In 2003, Joan Didion suddenly lost her husband of 40 years, while their daughter lay unconscious in a nearby hospital. The Year of Magical Thinking is a powerful and eloquent account of surviving such a profound loss. Didion is especially effective at describing the emotional landscape of grief, its sudden depth charges and vortexes, as she calls those unexpected moments when loss sweeps in from yet another angle.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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William Styron
[isbn]
In his slim but by no means slight memoir, William Styron stresses: “The disease of depression remains a great mystery.” What is striking about Darkness Visible is how clearly and eloquently Styron is able to describe such a perplexing disease. Likening the illness to “a veritable howling tempest in the brain,” he chronicles his descent into the abyss of depression with a nakedness that is hard to look away from. Anyone who has grappled... (read more)
Recommended by Renee P.
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Sarah Manguso
[isbn]
This slim volume contains poetic multitudes about time, mortality, motherhood, and writing. (Though very different, it's an interesting intellectual companion to Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts.) Sarah Manguso kept a diary for 25 years, which had swollen to an almost monstrous 800,000 words, as an act against a kind of terror of forgetting. After she had a son, she "began to inhabit time differently," and the result is this jewel of a... (read more)
Recommended by Jill O.
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Marjane Satrapi
[isbn]
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is a true-life account of childhood against the backdrop of radicalizing Iran. Satrapi doesn't shy away from depicting the brutal, stark truths of the Islamic Revolution and the ensuing Iran-Iraq War, but just as powerful are the moments of a young girl growing: the warm touches on her life by her family, her embattled relationship with the faith she's grown up with, the terrible recklessness of asserting her... (read more)
Recommended by Miranda G.
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Jeanette Winterson
[isbn]
This is the funniest sad book I have ever read. Winterson’s mother — always referred to as Mrs. Winterson — was an abusive, cigarette-smoking, Pentecostal giantess who never let her adopted daughter forget that she was taken from “the wrong crib.” Despite a childhood filled with apocalyptic pronouncements and terrifying mistreatment, Winterson emerges as a writer of startling self-awareness, humor, and empathy for the unhappy woman who made her... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Tracy K. Smith
[isbn]
In Ordinary Light, Tracy K. Smith (our country’s new Poet Laureate and the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Life on Mars) investigates her struggles with devotion — to family, to religion, to history — on her path to adulthood. The youngest of five siblings, Smith was a model child — sweet-tempered, ambitious in school, and eager to please her devoutly religious mother. But as she grew older, she found herself consumed by doubts... (read more)
Recommended by Renee P.
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Lucy Grealy
[isbn]
Autobiography of a Face is the beautiful, heartbreaking, harrowing memoir of Lucy Grealy, an incredibly insightful, articulate woman who, at age nine, lost part of her jaw to cancer. Through diagnosis, treatment, surgery, struggles with her disfigurement, alienation, and numerous agonizing, less-than-successful reconstructive surgeries, Grealy details her experience without sentimentality or self-pity. It’s a book about pain and... (read more)
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Chris Offutt
[isbn]
Chris Offutt’s My Father, the Pornographer is a father-son memoir that finds its author searching for clarity and insight following the 2013 loss of his dad, Andrew J. Offutt — noted science fiction/fantasy/porn/erotica author. Raised in rural Kentucky, Chris was forever seeking the attention, affection, and approval of his father, all the while fearing the former insurance salesman who left his business behind to stake his claim to... (read more)
Recommended by Jeremy G.
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Marie Kondo
[isbn]
I was clowning on this when I first saw it, but my interest was piqued just enough to give it a shot. If it isn't just the cutest! It's as camp as it is earnest (totally what you expect from someone who sincerely thanks her belongings before giving them away), and a very digestible guide to the KonMari method. Pro-tip: the manga has step-by-step drawings of Marie Kondo's folding technique that beats the written description in The... (read more)
Recommended by Britney T.
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Roxane Gay
[isbn]
Wow. Hunger was one of my most anticipated books of 2017, and it lived up to all my hopes and more. Roxane Gay's memoir is deeply, deeply personal, and yet I found myself nodding in recognition through whole chapters. Gay's honesty, empathy, and thoughtfulness struck a nerve (or several), and have inspired me to be kinder and more patient, with myself and with others. Thank you, Roxane Gay!
Recommended by Melia C
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May Abraham Fridel
[isbn]
What a welcome entry into the diabetes cookbook library! Eating out can be so limiting for diabetics, and often, ethnic restaurants are struck from our lists of safe places to eat. Indian Cuisine Diabetes Cookbook offers full-flavored, modified Indian fare that helps to skirt around food issues. Even rice dishes and flatbread are revised into recipes that are diabetic-friendly.This cookbook is definitely a keeper for the specialty diets... (read more)
Recommended by Tracey T.
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