Are you a reader of biographies? Then check out the longlist for the 2023 Plutarch Award. This is the 10th annual award given by the Biographers International Organization (BIO). "Named after the famous ancient Greek biographer, the Plutarch is awarded to the best biography of the year by a committee of five distinguished biographers from nominations received by BIO members and publishers."
This book requires a certain mindset and I caution readers to prepare themselves for a memoir of alcoholism and addiction that is stunning in several ways. First, it's hard to believe that Matthew Perry, one of the stars of the television sitcom Friends, is still alive after everything his body has been through. Second, his candid sharing of stories about himself and others surprised me, and probably surprised those he spilled the beans about.
A brutally moving work of art--widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever written--Maus recounts the chilling experiences of the author's father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats. (Contains both volumes, I, My Father Bleeds History and II, And Here My Troubles Began)
It’s no secret that it takes extraordinary effort and preternatural talent to achieve coveted, competitive positions at top universities, internships, or sports leagues. (Who you know and how much money you have certainly doesn’t hurt either.) Now consider a job that makes the task of getting into Harvard, or the NFL draft, or an internship at Vogue seem like a walk in the park. Give up? Try winning a seat as a professional tuba player in one of America’s full-time or part-time professional orchestras.
Maia's intensely cathartic autobiographal graphic novel charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.
Do you like reading other people's stories? Then check out Booklist's latest top 10 list of biographies.They includes singers, artists, scientists, playwrights, and activists. Are there any biographies that you would add to the list?
When Madeline Uraneck said hello to the Tibetan woman cleaning her office cubicle, she never imagined the moment would change her life. After learning that Tenzin Kalsang had left her husband and four children behind in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India to try to forge a better life for them, Madeline took on the task of helping her apply for US visas. When the family reunited in their new Midwestern home, Madeline became swept up in their lives, from homework and soccer games to family dinners and shared holiday traditions.
Are you looking for a new biography to read? Then check out the longlist below for the 2021 Plutarch Award--an award for best biography published in English chosen by fellow biographers.
The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.
