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Biography and Memoir October 2020
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| A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom by Brittany K. BarnettWhat it is: lawyer and Buried Alive Project co-founder Brittany K. Barnett's impassioned memoir of the cases that helped define her career as a criminal justice reform advocate.
Read it for: an intimate and galvanizing narrative exploring racial bias in the American criminal justice system.
For fans of: Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy. |
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Burke's Law : A Life in Hockey
by Brian Burke
Who is Brian Burke: One of the biggest personalities in the media landscape. Most famous for advocating "pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence" Burke has been a player, an agent, a league executive, a scout, a Stanley Cup-winning GM, an Olympic GM, and a media analyst. He has worked with Pat Quinn, Gary Bettman, and an array of future Hall of Fame players. No one knows the game better, and no one commands more attention when they open up about it.
But wait! There's more: Burke is also a graduate of Harvard Law School, and an accomplished businessman with hard-earned lessons that comefrom highly scrutinized decisions made at the helm of multi-million-dollar companies.
What you'll read: An unforgettable account of old beefs and old friendships, scores settled and differences forgiven, and many lessons learned the hard way.
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| Eat a Peach by David ChangWhat it's about: chef, Momofuku restaurateur, and Ugly Delicious host David Chang's path to culinary stardom.
Topics include: Chang's upbringing in a religious Korean American family; his battles with bipolar disorder and suicidal ideation; career triumphs and missteps; his friendship with the late Anthony Bourdain.
Don't miss: the author's self-deprecating sense of humor, which he reveals in playful prose, cheeky footnotes, and rules for becoming a chef. |
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This Thing Called Life : Prince's Odyssey, on and Off the Record
by Neal Karlen
What it is: An in-depth portrait of the iconic late music artist by his long-time friend and two-time Rolling Stone interviewer includes coverage of Prince’s childhood in 1970s Minneapolis, his private loneliness and his complicated relationship with his father.
What you'll read: Readers will drive around Minneapolis with Prince in a convertible, talk about movies and music and life, and watch as he tries not to curse, instead dishing a healthy dose of “mamma jammas."
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Sex and the City of God : A Memoir of Love and Longing
by Carolyn Weber
What it's about: After studying at Oxford University and finding God, Carolyn Weber grappled with a new invitation: to think bigger about love. Through Weber's personal story of courtship, marriage, and parenthood, as well as spiritual, theological, and literary reflection, this memoir explores what life looks like when we choose to love God first.
Also by Carolyn Weber: Surprised by Oxford
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| Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez CastilloWhat it's about: the author's traumatic coming of age as an undocumented immigrant, which was compounded by frequent ICE raids, his father's deportation back to Mexico, and the rigidity of the U.S. immigration system.
Want a taste? "We were still trying to cross, still moving in maddening helplessness, a revolving door without an exit."
Awards buzz: Children of the Land is a 2020 International Latino Book Award finalist. |
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| I'm Telling the Truth, But I'm Lying: Essays by Bassey IkpiWhat it is: a candid memoir in essays by spoken word poet Bassey Ikpi (HBO's Def Poetry Jam) that chronicles the author's battles with depression and anxiety.
Did you know? Ikpi is the creator of #NoShameDay, which advocates for the destigmatization of mental illness in the Black community.
Try this next: For another lyrical memoir by a poet of Nigerian descent tackling mental health issues, check out Yrsa Daley-Ward's The Terrible. |
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| Priestdaddy by Patricia LockwoodWhat it's about: When lapsed Catholic and prize-winning poet Patricia Lockwood and her husband fell on hard times, they moved back into the Kansas City rectory where Patricia grew up.
Featuring: Patricia's gun-toting, married priest father, content to live life wearing only his boxers; and her sweet but scatterbrained mother, whose devotion to the church doesn't keep her from making lewd jokes.
Is it for you? Lockwood's irreverent memoir of religion, family, and identity offers racy humor and eloquent reflections in equal measure. |
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| The Argonauts by Maggie NelsonWhat it is: a 2015 New York Times Notable Book that offers a thought-provoking exploration of gender, sexuality, and parenthood.
What sets it apart: Poet Maggie Nelson's genre-defying, fourth-wall breaking memoir unfolds in fragments and incorporates poetry and quotes from noted gender theorists, philosophers, and psychologists.
Reviewers say: "A book that will challenge readers as much as the author has challenged herself" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father by Kao Kalia YangWhat it is: author Kao Kalia Yang's tribute to her father, Bee Yang, a Hmong song poet who passed on the traditions and culture of his Laotian homeland to his children through his kwv txhiaj (storytelling songs).
Why you might like it: the first half of Yang's moving memoir is written in the voice of her father; the second is told from her own perspective.
Author alert: Yang chronicled her family's immigration to America in her debut memoir The Latehomecomer. |
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