Giftable Biographies & Memoirs for the Avid Reader

Phoebe Robinson is back with a hilarious and thoughtful essay collection. Each story feels like talking with your best friend, if that friend is insanely funny, acutely wise, and brutally honest.

When seven-year-old Qian and her family arrived in New York City, it wasn’t the beautiful country she had envisioned. She and her family are “illegal” and while her parents were professors in China, they must now work in a sweatshop and live in constant fear of being discovered. But Qian also finds simple joys—the library, bites of greasy pizza—that fuel her hope for the future. A fantastic coming-of-age memoir from a powerful new writer.

Told within the backdrop of modern Chinese history, artist Ai Weiwei tells the story of his remarkable life and career, juxtaposed with his own father’s journey as one of China’s most celebrated poets. It is a remarkable look inside the mind of one of the greatest living artists, his process, and how he learned to create art in a place where creativity is routinely snuffed out.

Billie Jean King’s autobiography serves up an honest and incredibly vulnerable look at a legendary athlete. The book not only tells the story of King’s achievements on the court, but of her wins as she fought for what she believed in.

From the actor, writer, producer, and director Seth Rogen comes a hilarious collection of essays about his grandparents, Jewish summer camp, weird interactions with famous people, and at least a few stories about doing drugs. It is a laugh-out-loud look at his career, from his mom driving him to stand-up comedy gigs to starring in Superbad and Pineapple Express.

When, activist and poet, Ian Manuel was fourteen years old he was sentenced to life without parole, spending eighteen of those years in solitary confinement. He managed to survive by writing poetry until he was freed through the Equal Justice Initiative, with help from his victim who advocated for his freedom. Manuel’s story is an in-depth look at our criminal justice system, a redemption story, and a powerful look at the resiliency of the human spirit.

Spoken word poet Jasmine Mans has created a touching meditation on belonging and journeying into adulthood as a young, queer Black woman. Each poem in this collection comes alive on the page, filled with power and tenderness that will keep you coming back for multiple readings.

Tacky is an unrepentant and laugh-out-loud look at the joy we feel in mundane things. Rax King expertly digs up the cultural artifacts we thought we buried in the past and gives them new meaning. Here lies nostalgia for the Cheesecake Factory menu, America’s Next Top Model, toe rings, and Guy Fieri—how it shaped us personally and generationally, and why we’re better off because of it.

Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo and the first woman of color and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company, opens up about her life and career. She also goes into detail about the difficulties she faced and sacrifices she made as she juggled being a leader and a mother. The book is a clarion call and blueprint for businesses to support young family builders, because only then can we reach our economy’s full potential.

From the rockstar of the band Japanese Breakfast, comes an honest and powerful memoir about family and finding your own identity. Growing up, Michelle Zauner felt distanced from her Korean background. But, when her mother is diagnosed with cancer, it is this identity that gives her the most comfort as she explores the foods, language, and history that her mother gave to her.

Celebrated Christian writer, Philip Yancey, dives into his family origins and recalls how he was able to pivot from a strict fundamentalist upbringing to ultimately live a life with grace and compassion. His family narrative is an in-depth look at one man’s faith, as well as a nation’s, and reminds us that sometimes the hardest thing we can ask for and grant to others is forgiveness.

Alyssa Milano holds nothing back in this earnest memoir about her life, career, and humanitarian work. She believes every person has the capacity to create positive, lasting change in the world, and this book is a call to action to invest in what matters most.

Following the success of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood, Truman Capote was ushered into the upper echelons of New York society but also suffered from a severe case of writer’s block. He decided to turn his friendships with society’s elite women—their lives and scandals—into what he considered to be his masterpiece, the never-published Answered Prayers. Here is the scandalous story and ultimate betrayal as never told before.

There are Marvel Comics fans…and then there is Douglas Wolk. Wolk took it upon himself to read all 27,000+ comics that make up the Marvel Universe (over half a million pages to date) and distilled it into an entertaining and revelatory look at American culture.

Will Smith has gained astonishing success as one of the biggest rap stars of his era and one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. On the outside he appeared to have it all, but on the inside, he realized that success will only get you so far. Here he opens up, along with the author Mark Manson, about his journey toward mastering his own emotions and self-acceptance. An incredibly entertaining read from an unparalleled voice.