Category: Memoirs

Award/Honor Books, Memoirs

In The Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guererro

Michelle

Ages 18+
in_the_country_we_love-_my_family_divided-p2016
From Diane Guererro comes a memoir everyone should read. In it, she discusses her melancholy adolescence when her loving parents and brother were taken away from her by immigration while she was at school one day. It also speaks to the strong woman she became because of it. Best known for her role as Maritza Ramos in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, Guererro shines in this debut memoir. Latinos and non-Latinos alike will appreciate the honesty and poignancy that this book brings, especially shedding light on the system that fails immigrants and their children on a daily basis.

In The Country We Love: My Family Divided is a 2017 Alex Award winner.

 

Animals, Memoirs

A Street Cat Named Bob & How He Saved My Life by James Bowen

Michelle
Ages 16+
 bob
James Bowen was just a busker, playing his guitar on the streets of London to make ends meet. Enter Bob, an injured street cat who James nursed back to health and sent him on  way, never to be seen again. Or so he thought. Bob quickly became James’s companion, who sat by his side, day by day, while James made his living. People stopped by to give James some spare change, but it was Bob who stole their hearts. Read this poignant memoir to learn about all of James and Bob’s adventures in A Street Cat Named Bob & How He Saved My Life.
Humor, Memoirs

Funny In Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

Michelle

farsiAges 18+

From author Firoozeh Dumas comes a heartfelt, hilarious memoir of her life as an Iranian immigrant in America. The year is 1972, and seven-year-old Dumas has no knowledge of America other than what her father tells her from his graduate school years in the U.S. The book describes each of her quirky family members: her fashionable mother who never cared to master the English language, her uncle who curses the fast food industry of America, and  her father who became rich in Vegas only to lose his job afterward. Each story seems to be funnier than the last. I recommend this to anyone who loves learning about other cultures and appreciates a good laugh while doing so.

Graphic, Memoirs

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Michelle

Ages 18+

persepolis 2

From Marjane Satrapi comes the sequel to Persepolis, which, in my opinion, is better than the first. This graphic memoir is about the author’s adolescence. She spends some time in Austria and she is exploring new things like interesting haircuts, drugs and sex for the first time. She goes back to Iran after having experienced life as a “Westerner” and has to deal with life back home. This book is very entertaining and educational as well.

Humor, Memoirs

Ruminations on College Life by Aaron Karo

Michelle

Ages 18+ruminations

I loved this book! I read it while I was at the tail end of my college career and just thought that it was so on point with the stuff we have to deal with when going to college. I wasn’t a drinker, so I didn’t relate to those stories as much, but I thought they were hilarious nonetheless. Aaron Karo had an email column from 1997-2012 where he wrote many of these stories for his friends and followers. They are now on his website. I am so glad he made that column into a book that everyone can read. While Karo’s experiences will not be the same for all kids, I recommend this to every college student!

Humor, Memoirs

I Heart My Little A-Holes by Karen Alpert

Michelle

Ages 18+book cover

This may be, quite honestly, the funniest book I’ve ever read. This book was written by a mother who has young children and loves them very much. However, she uses this book to complain about her kids and highlight all the stuff that sucks about being a parent. I’m not a parent myself, but I thought this book was hilarious! It’s definitely on the raunchy side, please be warned, but if you don’t mind the f-bomb sprinkled here and there, I totally recommend it! Oh, and by the way, the book was born from a blog called Baby Sideburns so feel free to check it out!

Memoirs

Happy Wives Club by Fawn Weaver

Michelle

Ages 18+

wives

Fawn Weaver is a woman on a mission. In this memoir, she sets out to travel around the world in order to find women like herself; women who live in happy marriages. She comes to the realization that not all marriages end in divorce, and decides to get some answers. She gets in contact with people on six continents in twelve countries, and interviews them in order to come up with a list of “secrets to a great marriage.” Weaver meets friends all over the globe, and readers get an insight into what makes marriages last.