| Sontag: Her Life and Work by Benjamin MoserWhat it is: an admiring biography of "America's last great literary star" and provocative multi-hyphenate intellectual Susan Sontag.
Why you might like it: With insights gleaned from private archival materials and more than 300 interviews, Sontag has been touted as the definitive portrait of a complicated figure.
Topics include: Sontag's struggles with her sexuality and later happiness with long-term partner Annie Leibovitz; her private insecurities in the face of celebrity; her battles with cancer (to which she succumbed in 2004). |
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| And How Are You, Dr. Sacks?: A Biographical Memoir of Oliver Sacks by Lawrence WeschlerThen: In the early 1980s, journalist Lawrence Weschler met with Oliver Sacks to write a New Yorker profile on the renowned neurologist, though the project was eventually scrapped due to the then-closeted Sacks' concerns about his privacy.
Now: In this immersive blend of biography and memoir, Weschler revisits that period and discusses his friendship with Sacks, who in his final years of life urged Weschler to publish the profile. |
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| Alexander the Great: His Life and His Mysterious Death by Anthony EverittWhat it is: a riveting, richly contextualised biography of the Macedonian conqueror's life that de-mythologises history's prior depictions of him.
Chapters include: "First Blood;" "The Empire Strikes Back;" "Show Me the Way to Go Home."
Book buzz: In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews says Alexander the Great is "a story for everyone" that "reads as easily as a novel." |
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| The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina NayeriWhat it's about: In 1988, eight-year-old Dina Nayeri and her family fled Iran, eventually finding asylum in the United States. Now an award-winning novelist, Nayeri grapples with living as an immigrant in a world that often diminishes her humanity.
Don't miss: "Camp," a chapter of eye-opening interviews Nayeri conducted with refugees from Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria at a camp in Greece. |
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| Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy by A.N. WilsonWhat it is: a lively and accessible portrait of Queen Victoria's German-born Prince Consort, published to commemorate his 200th birthday.
Read it for: Albert's successful efforts to define his role and influence in his adopted homeland (such as spearheading the Great Exhibition of 1851), despite facing significant prejudice.
Book buzz: Prince Albert is the companion biography to A.N. Wilson's award-winning Victoria: A Life, the basis for the PBS series Victoria. |
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Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi
What it is: The great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor and the daughter of ardent Marxists describes growing up in Tehran in a country plagued by political upheaval and vast contradictions between public and private life.
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Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? A Memoir
by Roz Chast
What it is: Celebrated cartoonist Roz Chast, best known for her work in The New Yorker, relates her experiences with her ageing parents in this bittersweet memoir, which starts with conversations about getting older and moving to a retirement home. Chast's portrayals of their declining health and the ends of their lives complete the account. She evokes sympathy for her parents and herself in her illustrated narrative that's leavened with deft touches of ironic humor. Adding documents and photographs to her distinctive cartoon style helps to illuminate her parents' personalities and her concern for them.
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Frida : The Story of Her Life
by Vanna Vinci
What it is: This brilliant graphic novel artfully depicts the life and passions of Frida Kahlo, one of the 20th century's most enigmatic artists. The perfect subject for a graphic novel, Frida Kahlo's brief life was dramatic and romantic, tragic and painful. In this illustrated "biography", Vanna Vinci captures the spirit of Kahlo's world in boldly colored, minutely detailed illustrations. Blending facts and history with dreamlike and surreal sequences, Vinci creates an intimate portrayal of an artist who incorporated her life experiences into her art. Burning love and crushing loss, incredible joy and deep despair: these were all part of Kahlo's life and part of the paintings that are some of the most celebrated art of all time. Filled with images that populated Kahlo's work, Vinci imbues her text and drawings with an artist's perception and sensitivity. The result is an evocative, fittingly passionate tribute to a legendary figure.
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Lighter than my shadow
by Katie Green
What it is: Recounts the author's experiences with an eating disorder, stemming from being a picky eater in childhood and devolving into a dangerous disease.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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