Springfield-Greene County Library District discussion

Hi everyone,

This month's discussion topic is biographies! In the comments, let us know:

What are your favorite biographies? Which are next on your to-read list?

For those looking for a biography suggestion, here are some that our staff have enjoyed:

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (which inspired the hit musical Hamilton!)

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey by Mark Dery

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury and Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews by Sam Weller

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim

Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

DK Life Stories Amelia Earhart by Libby Romero

Educated by Tara Westover

Emma Goldman: Revolution as a Way of Life by Vivian Gornick

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King

House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery by Liz Rosenberg

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge

The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark by Meryl Gordon

Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life by Lucy Worsley

Room to Dream by David Lynch and Kristine McKenna

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
 

I am successfully working my way through Truman by David McCullough. On page 750 of 993 pages. I think I almost have this epic book licked. My next few reads will be brain candy before I start on my read harder challenge

Way to go, Linda! Finishing a book that long is an impressive feat! I've always wanted to learn more about Truman, and I've heard that McCullough is a good writer, so I'm adding that one to my list.

Are you doing the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, or a different one? Did you know that the Library is going to have a winter reading challenge? It's in January and February, and if you read at least five of the 15 categories you will get a Reading Challenge mug. Learn more at thelibrary.org/readingchallenge.

One of my favorite biographies is Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr. I'm a fan of all things related to space, and Ride had a fascinating life. I also enjoyed March: Book One and the rest of the March series by civil rights hero John Lewis. They are in comic format, which was an engaging way to learn about Lewis's life and work. Has anyone read any other graphic memoirs/biographies that they recommend? I'd like to read more!

I'm doing both challenges. The only books that I have ready to go is White Rage, but I have a few days off at Christmas and I will figure out the rest then.

I read the first of John Lewis's books in the March series, as you mentioned reading, Heather. I want to get to the others in that series. Several years ago I read Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel, It is a memoir, also in graphic form. I have here to read Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. It is billed as a memoir, about the author and her parents in their final years of life. I hope to get to it soon. It is another graphic book, and I do enjoy them, but seem to always put off reading them in favor of a more traditional format.

Janice wrote: "I read the first of John Lewis's books in the March series, as you mentioned reading, Heather. I want to get to the others in that series. Several years ago I read [book:Are You My Mother? A Comic ..."

Thank you for the recommendation, Janice! I'll have to put "Are You My Mother?" on hold. I haven't heard of it before, but I just looked at the description and it looks fascinating. I enjoy books that explore dark topics but include humor.

I read "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" a few years ago and really enjoyed it (again, serious topic with some humor). Chast's illustration style is appealing to me. I can't really articulate why I like some styles and not others, but the drawings really make or break it for me with graphic novels/memoirs. I either really love it or can't get into it at all.

Heather wrote: "Janice wrote: "I read the first of John Lewis's books in the March series, as you mentioned reading, Heather. I want to get to the others in that series. Several years ago I read Are You My M..."</i>

Right now I'm reading [book:Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang, another graphic book. I am enjoying it as a light read! I guess including it in a biography list would be a big stretch, though.

I read Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, about James Garfield. It was really good! The author very deftly told the story about Garfield's death while showing all of these aspects of society at that period of time that affected the outcome of the situation. I learned a lot, and it was one of those rare unputdownable nonfiction page-turners that you could recommend to someone who mostly reads fiction.

"Superman Smashes the Klan" looks so good! I have always wanted to read some Superman comics, but there are so many that I get overwhelmed at don't know where to start. I just put that one on hold. Thank you for sharing, Janice!

Okay, Miranda, you totally sold me on that James Garfield book! I know absolutely nothing about him other than that he was assassinated. I love some good narrative nonfiction.

Miranda wrote: "I read Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, about James Garfield. It was really good! The author very deftly told the story about Garf..."
Miranda, that does sound really good. I am going to add it to my to-read list!