Biography & Memoir
Uncover stories of lives lived to the fullest by the world’s most celebrated, infamous, and interesting people. Our rich selection of books by and about the household names who’ve shaped art, sports, politics, and music — alongside lesser-known figures with illuminating histories and perspectives — are all included when you subscribe to Everand.
Uncover stories of lives lived to the fullest by the world’s most celebrated, infamous, and interesting people. Our rich selection of books by and about the household names who’ve shaped art, sports, politics, and music — alongside lesser-known figures with illuminating histories and perspectives — are all included when you subscribe to Everand.
Spotlight
“It’s all here: the grade school Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss; the adolescent acid trips; the fondness for Post-it notes and flying saucers; the long tails of Dubuffet and Burroughs; the encounters with Madonna, Warhol, and one game-changer of a subway Johnny Walker Red poster. Brad Gooch takes us deep into Keith Haring’s imagination while somehow managing to fix the aura and energy of the 1980s New York art scene to the page. A keen-eyed, beautifully written biography, atmospheric, exuberant, and as radiant as they come.”—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Revolutionary: Sam Adams A stunning life of the iconic American artist, Keith Haring, by the acclaimed biographer Brad Gooch. In the 1980s, the subways of New York City were covered with art. In the stations, black matte sheets were pasted over outdated ads, and unsigned chalk drawings often popped up on these blank spaces. These temporary chalk drawings numbered in the thousands and became synonymous with a city as diverse as it was at war with itself, beset with poverty and crime but alive with art and creative energy. And every single one of these drawings was done by Keith Haring. Keith Haring was one of the most emblematic artists of the 1980s, a figure described by his contemporaries as “a prophet in his life, his person, and his work.” Part of an iconic cultural crowd that included Andy Warhol, Madonna, and Basquiat, Haring broke down the barriers between high art and popular culture, creating work that was accessible for all and using it as a means to provoke and inspire radical social change. Haring died of AIDS in 1990. To this day, his influence on our culture remains incontrovertible, and his glamorous, tragically short life has a unique aura of mystery and power. Brad Gooch, noted biographer of Flannery O’Connor and Frank O’Hara, was granted access to Haring’s extensive archive. He has written a biography that will become the authoritative work on the artist. Based on interviews with those who knew Haring best and drawing from the rich archival history, Brad Gooch sets out to capture the magic of Keith Haring: a visionary and timeless icon.
Trending titles
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nothing to See Here Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dead Zone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Graveyard Book: Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running with Scissors: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magnolia Story (with Bonus Content) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NOS4A2: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angela's Ashes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shakespeare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kitchen Confidential Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Adams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magnolia Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yes Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Kids Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Discover more in Biography & Memoir
Adventurers & Explorers
Artists and Musicians
Business Biographies
Cultural, Ethnic & Regional Biographi…
Criminals & Outlaws
Entertainers and the Rich & Famous
Historical Biographies
LGBTQIA+ Biographies
Literary Biographies
Medical Biographies
Military Biographies
Personal Memoirs
Political Biographies
Religious Biographies
Royalty Biographies
Sports Biographies
Buzzy new favorites
Elon Musk #1 New York Times bestseller From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter. When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist. His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive. At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,” he said. It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground. For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: You Are a Teen Mom: Instructions The second installment in the series from Everand and Roxane Gay, the beloved bestselling author of Hunger, Bad Feminist, and Opinions. Memoirist, essayist, and novelist Randa Jarrar offers an honest and wholly original user’s manual on how to raise a happy and well-adjusted child with little help and even fewer resources, but a fierce willingness to live out loud. She was a young college student, barely eighteen. As the daughter of overbearing immigrant parents, she reveled in the freedom of being away from home, having fun, spreading her wings. But then she got pregnant. Life as a single mother is a challenge, even in the best of circumstances. If you’re like Randa Jarrar — young, marginalized, yet fiercely determined to get an education and forge a career — it’s seemingly impossible. Yet she did it, and she shares her story in this honest, deeply moving, and profanely funny how-to that parents of any age will find useful not just for raising a happy child but for keeping oneself sane, healthy, and fulfilled. Randa, the author of the acclaimed books A Map of Home; Him, Me and Muhammad Ali; and the memoir Love Is an Ex-Country, came to parenthood with no expectations. As little more than a child herself, with a family who offered criticism but not much else, she more or less made it up as she went. “Raising a child alone and working and going to school is doable,” she writes, “but you will need to do one at a time at first. See: a juggler’s instruction manual.” Jarrar’s own juggling act yielded hard-won lessons you won’t find in other parenting guides. Without a partner or much disposable income, she relied on her wits and common sense to make the best life for herself and her son. As he grew up, so did she, working her way through graduate school, finding community among single moms like herself, and refusing to crumble beneath the societal presumption that, as a brown-skinned woman of limited means, she was doing it all wrong. By holding on to her confidence against all odds, she raised a young man any parent would be proud of while establishing herself as a respected author and professor. But it was far from easy, and Jarrar’s missteps and misadventures offer readers both moments of great wisdom and hilarity. Her moving story, a series of thirty-three short chapters with instructive titles such as “How to Advocate for Your Child” and “How to Explain Easter to Your Muslim Child Who Doesn’t Realize He Is Muslim,” reflects the challenges that come with raising a child on your own. Parenthood, especially single parenthood, is a serious, ridiculous business, and Jarrar shows us there is no one way of doing it right.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice From a Professional Clown “Kenan is a master storyteller with extraordinary stories to tell. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”—Leslie Jones When I Was Your Age is a hilarious, heartwarming and surprising ode to growing up, getting older and wiser, and luck, life, and learning from the school of hard knocks, from SNL's longest-serving actor, Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live’s longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as “Black Jeopardy” and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon. He’s also a dad (to two girls) in his mid-40s living in suburbia, and whose universal, relatable, family-friendly humor has created unbelievable appeal and engagement from fans from middle America to coastal elites. Becoming a dad sucked the cool right out of him -- and he's OK with that! When I Was Your Age is packed with hilarious yet poignant essays that are aimed to offer any reader valuable advice on parenting, focusing on positivity, and having fun in life. Kids, new parents, fellow fathers, budding comics, and aunties who want to pinch his cheeks, can all learn from his biggest mistakes and most triumphant victories. There’s something for everybody here!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nazi Hunting: A Love Story: The husband and wife who, for six decades and counting, have made catching war criminals the family business The inspiring, heart-thumping true story of the couple who brought some of the Holocaust’s most notorious Nazis to justice. Almost sixty years later, they’re still at it, and their work is more relevant than ever. It all began on a Paris subway platform in 1960. Beate Künzel, a German au pair, was waiting for the Line 10 train when a bespectacled young man struck up a conversation. They rode into the heart of the city, side-by-side, and by the time he got off at his stop, the man — Serge Klarsfeld — had tucked Künzel’s phone number into his pocket. Before long, they were married, and their partnership proved to be a love affair that not only thrives to this day but literally changed the course of history in post-World War II Europe and beyond. Their marriage was an unlikely one: They had been on opposite sides of a war whose fallout was still rippling through Europe. Serge, a Romanian-born French Jew, had lost his father to the death camps at Auschwitz. Beate’s father had voted for Adolf Hitler and fought for the Germans. Their union — and the unique kind of family business they came to operate — would be the stuff of a Hollywood spy thriller, turning this seemingly unremarkable husband and wife into surprise heroes for justice. The Klarsfelds, motivated by outrage that high-ranking officers from the Third Reich were living freely in France and elsewhere, dedicated themselves to a singular goal: finding Nazi war criminals and bringing them to trial. The list of men they tracked down reads like a who’s who of Hitler henchmen and French collaborators: Klaus Barbie, Kurt Lischka, Herbert Hagen, Alois Brunner, Maurice Papon, and René Bousquet. Together, they were responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. The Klarsfelds became notorious throughout Europe, a vigilante Bonnie and Clyde who staged public protests and even attempted kidnapping one of their targets in their effort to pressure local governments to prosecute these criminals. By 1972, the Klarsfelds had located Barbie — a.k.a. the Butcher of Lyon — who was hiding in Bolivia. The following year, they tracked down Lischka, one of the highest-ranking Nazis in occupied France, responsible for thousands of deaths in the concentration camps. Despite death threats, a car bombing, imprisonment, and more, the Klarsfelds persisted, eventually compiling mountains of evidence that were instrumental in bringing Barbie and others to justice. Part love story, part adventure yarn, the Klarsfelds’ long life together is a reminder that all of us have the capacity to change the world for the better. Their work has been an act of remembering not just the barbaric behavior of criminals who tried to hide from the history books but the courage of the many average people whose stories of bravery and sacrifice might never have been recorded at all. More important, they’re still at it. Now well into their eighties, they continue to uncover and record atrocities and to share the stories of the many who died at the hands of the Nazis. Sadly, perhaps, their relevance hasn’t diminished. In a time when far right-wing politics are becoming increasingly mainstream and the threat of anti-Semitism has once again reared its ugly head in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere, the Klarsfelds’ passion and devotion remain an important bulwark against a rising tide of hate and a testament to the power of moral courage.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond This program is read by the author. "Kindhearted and approachable Winkler shines in his narration of his memoir commemorating 50 years of showbiz work...An engaging and endearing memoir by a genuine Hollywood treasure whose work spans generations."—Library Journal From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole. Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you. Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he’s been revealed as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work. Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, Being Henry is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself. A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Down the Drain A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The hotly anticipated book from “one of the all-time pop-culture greats” (New York magazine) that chronicles her shocking life and unyielding determination to not only survive but achieve her dreams. Julia Fox is famous for many things: her captivating acting, such as her breakout role in the film Uncut Gems; her trendsetting style, including bleached eyebrows, exaggerated eyeshadow, and cutout dresses; her mastery of social media, where she entertains and educates her millions of followers. But all these share the trait for which she is most famous: unabashedly and unapologetically being herself. This commitment to authenticity has never been more on display than in Down the Drain. With writing that is both eloquent and accessible, Fox recounts her turbulent path to cultural supremacy: her parents’ volatile relationship that divided her childhood between Italy and New York City and left her largely raising herself; a possessive and abusive drug-dealing boyfriend whose torment continued even from within Rikers Island; her own trips to jail as well as to a psychiatric hospital; her work as a dominatrix that led to a complicated entanglement with a sugar daddy; a heroin habit that led to New Orleans trap houses and that she would kick only after the fatal overdose of her best friend; her own near-lethal overdoses and the deaths of still more friends from drugs and suicide; an emotionally explosive, tabloid-dominating romance with a figure she dubs “The Artist”; a whirlwind, short-lived marriage and her trials as a single parent striving to support her young son. Yet as extraordinary as her story is, its universality is what makes it so powerful. Fox doesn’t just capture her improbable evolution from grade-school outcast to fashion-world icon, she captures her transition from girlhood to womanhood to motherhood. Family and friendship, sex and death, violence and love, money and power, innocence and experience—it’s all here, in raw, remarkable, and riveting detail. More than a year before the book’s publication, Fox’s description of it as “a masterpiece” in a red carpet interview went viral. As always, she was just being honest. Down the Drain is a true literary achievement, as one-of-a-kind as its author.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Woman in Me Named a Best Book of the Year by Elle, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, NPR, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, and more! “In Britney Spears’s memoir, she’s stronger than ever.” —The New York Times Over 2 million copies sold of the “moving” (Time), “powerful” (Los Angeles Times), “radiant” (The New York Times), “poignant” (Vogue) #1 New York Times bestseller. The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope. In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history. Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Say Babylon: A Memoir A New York Times Notable Book A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! A Best Book of 2023 by the New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Vulture, Shelf Awareness, Goodreads, Esquire, The Atlantic, NPR, and Barack Obama With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet. Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity, in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience. In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. In place of pants, the women in her family were made to wear long skirts and dresses to cover their arms and legs, head wraps to cover their hair, no make-up, no jewelry, no opinions, no friends. Safiya’s mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life. And as Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father’s beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free. Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence. As Safiya’s voice grows, lyrically and poetically, a collision course is set between them. How to Say Babylon is Sinclair’s reckoning with the culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica. Rich in lyricism and language only a poet could evoke, How to Say Babylon is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we may know how to name, Rastafari, but one we know little about.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up! In See You on the Way Down… Catch You on the Way Back Up!, comedian and #1 New York Times bestselling author Greg Behrendt opens up about his rise to the top and the high-speed rollercoaster of ups and downs that followed. You may know him best as the co-author of He’s Just Not That Into You, but sometimes he wishes you didn’t. During a serendipitous opportunity to serve as a consultant on the hugely successful television series Sex and the City (which was brought about by a lack of straight men in the writers’ room), Behrendt passed along what would become pop culture-defining relationship advice to a colleague: “He’s into you, he’s just not that into you.” What was intended to be a casual conversation soon exploded into a phenomenon for women around the globe and landed Behrendt multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, changing the trajectory of his career. Grateful for the success that the book (and later, movie) brought him, Behrendt did not intend — nor expect — to be a relationship expert. The stark adjustment to this new level of fame led to emotional struggles as Behrendt tried to remain true to himself and advance his other career goals. Stand-up shows at famed comedy clubs would be interrupted by fans of HJNTIY, and interview appearances would focus solely on the popular relationship advice rather than his new stand-up specials. Through it all, Behrendt grappled with getting people to focus on the work he loved most — comedy. As he managed professional hiccups, Behrendt was also battling personal difficulties. In the span of a few years, he would receive not one but two cancer diagnoses and fight to overcome prescription drug addiction, all while grieving the loss of two beloved family members who had struggled with their own addictions. As the stress mounted for himself, so it did for his wife and daughters. Behrendt is the first to admit that he’s made mistakes and that he will — like all humans — make more in the future. See You on the Way Down may not have all the answers, but it shows how resilience, time, and a sense of self can get someone back up after a hard punch… or a few. Humble and hopeful, Behrendt’s story will show you that while the high moments may not last forever, neither do the low ones. All it takes is the right help.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making It So: A Memoir Winner of the 2024 Audie Award for Autobiography/Memoir THE NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER The long-awaited memoir from iconic, beloved actor and living legend Sir Patrick Stewart! From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Counting the Cost INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER For the first time, discover the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting. Jill Duggar and her husband Derick are finally ready to share their story, revealing the secrets, manipulation, and intimidation behind the show that remained hidden from their fans. Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn’t possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family’s way of life. She was the responsible, second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle’s nineteen kids; always with a baby on her hip and happy to wear the modest ankle-length dresses with throat-high necklines. She didn’t protest the strict model of patriarchy that her family followed, which declares that men are superior, that women are expected to be wives and mothers and are discouraged from attaining a higher education, and that parental authority over their children continues well into adulthood, even once they are married. But as Jill got older, married Derick, and they embarked on their own lives, the red flags became too obvious to ignore. For as long as they could, Jill and Derick tried to be obedient family members—they weren’t willing to rock the boat. But now they’re raising a family of their own, and they’re done with the secrets. Thanks to time, tears, therapy, and blessings from God, they have the strength to share their journey. Theirs is a remarkable story of the power of the truth and is a moving example of how to find healing through honesty.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: Built for This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting Introducing Roxane Gay & Everand Originals, a new series from Everand and the beloved bestselling author of Hunger, Bad Feminist, and Opinions. For the series launch, renowned cookbook author Julia Turshen writes with moving honesty about her years of disordered eating and exercising and how she freed herself from the poisonous cultural conversations about weight, discipline, and how women should look. For most of her life, Julia Turshen has been at war with her body. Raised in a family obsessed with counting calories, she measured self-worth by the numbers on her bathroom scale. As the New York Times bestselling author of beloved cookbooks, including Small Victories and Simply Julia, she loved food and celebrated its social and cultural value, yet like so many women, she was convinced her own value would increase if only she lost ten, twenty, or however many pounds she arbitrarily believed kept her from the best version of herself. She worked out obsessively, using exercise as one more way to maintain control over her body and unruly appetites. Julia’s attitude began to shift during the pandemic when she took a break from writing and book promotion to work on a small local farm in upstate New York. Months spent outdoors, harvesting vegetables and carrying heavy bushels of produce, transformed her body, making it bigger yet stronger. To her surprise, Turshen reveled in her new physique; she reveled in the emotional freedom physical labor gave her to eat without harsh restrictions or self-recrimination. Finally, she was breaking free of the tyranny of unrealistic body image and disordered eating. But when the farm job ended, Julia felt herself slipping back into destructive thought patterns. Determined not to resume her relentless internal battles, she looked for activities that might replicate the joy and strength building farm work gave her. And that is how she discovered powerlifting. Through powerlifting — the precise and careful art of hoisting increasingly heavy weights — Turshen learned to listen to her body and what it needed, be it rest, water, another plate on the barbell, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And she found a community of people, women especially, who embraced the unadultered joy of being physically strong. “I lift for my younger self and wear my singlet now to make up for all the times I wore a T-shirt over a swimsuit,” she writes, “I lift to show people what it looks like to opt out of trying to erase oneself. I lift to show that to myself.” Both a critique of society’s obsession with weight and a beguiling memoir of self-acceptance, Built for This is a timely reminder that all bodies are powerful and deserve celebration.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Effin' Life The long-awaited memoir from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass. Includes two new songs by Geddy Lee, available exclusively in the My Effin’ Life audiobook. Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band. Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather murdered in the Holocaust. As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II. He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school. He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time. He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart’s recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond. This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoir.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If You Would Have Told Me: A Memoir This program is read by the author. “...I love him, and I respect him, and I need him. We all do.” —from the foreword, written and read by Jamie Lee Curtis If you would have told a young John Stamos flipping burgers at his dad’s fast-food joint that one day he’d be a household name and that, at the height of his success, he’d be living alone, divorced, with no kids, high on a cocktail of forgetting, he might’ve asked, “You want fries with that?” John burst onto the scene in General Hospital, propelling him into the teen idol stratosphere, a place that’s often a point of no return. But Stamos beat the odds and over the past four decades has proved himself to be one of his generation’s most successful and beloved actors. Whether showing off his comedic chops on Full House or his dramatic skills on ER, pushing the boundaries on Broadway or living out his youthful dreams as an honorary Beach Boy, John has surprised everyone, most of all himself. A universal story about friendship, love, loss, and the courage to embrace love once more, John Stamos’s memoir is filled with some of the most memorable names in Hollywood, both old and new. Funny, deeply poignant, and brutally honest, If You Would Have Told Me is a portrait of a boy who went from believing in Disney magic to a man who learns that we have to create our own magical moments in life. A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI The moving memoir of a scientist coming of age as an immigrant in America who finds her calling at the forefront of the AI revolution. Wired called Dr. Fei-Fei Li “one of a tiny group of scientists—a group perhaps small enough to fit around a kitchen table—who are responsible for AI’s recent remarkable advances.” Known to the world as the creator of ImageNet, a key catalyst of modern artificial intelligence, Dr. Li has spent more than two decades at the forefront of the field. But her career in science was improbable from the start. As immigrants, her family faced a difficult transition from China’s middle class to American poverty. And their lives were made all the harder as they struggled to care for her ailing mother, who was working tirelessly to help them all gain a foothold in their new land. Fei-Fei’s adolescent knack for physics endured, however, and positioned her to make a crucial contribution to the breakthrough we now call AI, placing her at the center of a global transformation. Over the last decades, her work has brought her face-to-face with the extraordinary possibilities—and the extraordinary dangers—of the technology she loves. The Worlds I See is a story of science in the first person, documenting one of the century’s defining moments from the inside. It provides a riveting story of a scientist at work and a thrillingly clear explanation of what artificial intelligence actually is—and how it came to be. Emotionally raw and intellectually uncompromising, this audiobook is a testament not only to the passion required for even the most technical scholarship but also to the curiosity forever at its heart. A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Walk Through Fire: A memoir of love, loss, and triumph The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life. From humble beginnings as a schoolgirl and young violinist in Maywood, Illinois, Sheila Johnson rose to become one of the most accomplished businesswomen in America. A cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, she became an entrepreneur and philanthropist at the highest levels. But that success came at a painful personal cost. Sheila grew up in a middle-class family that encouraged her love of the arts and music. But her idyllic childhood ended at age sixteen when her beloved father announced he was leaving for another woman, an act that shattered her mother and destroyed Sheila’s trust. She vowed she’d never be in her mother’s position—dependent on a man for her sense of self-worth and for financial security. Yet when she was barely out of her teens, Sheila married a man who would take her right down that same unfortunate path. Filled with sharply drawn, emotionally powerful scenes, Walk Through Fire traces the hardships Sheila faced in her marriage and her professional life. Despite her skills as a violinist and music teacher, as well as her obvious entrepreneurial talent, she had to fight to overcome self-doubt and fears of failure. Sheila vividly details her struggles, including battling institutional racism, losing a child, suffering emotional abuse in her thirty-three-year marriage, and plunging into a deep depression with her divorce. And yet, out of that pain came renewed purpose and meaning. In the third act of her life, Sheila Johnson has not only made her mark as the founder of Salamander Hotels & Resorts and the only Black female co-owner of three professional sports teams, she has also, finally, found true love. Walk Through Fire is a uniquely American success story. And it is the deeply personal portrait of one woman who, despite heartache and obstacles, finally found herself and her place in the world.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! This program is read by the authors (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker), Laura Orrico and Joe Praino, with special appearances by an all-star cast of comedy giants, including the film's stars, Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays, as well as Beau Bridges, Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, Peter Farrelly, Bill Hader, Jimmy Kimmel, John Landis, Patton Oswalt, Trey Parker, Molly Shannon, Sarah Silverman, Matt Stone, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Lee Bryant, Joyce Bulifant, Dick Chudnow, Ken Collins, Jon Davison, Marcy Goldman, Ross Harris, Hunt Lowry, Rich Markey, James Murray, Tom Parry, Lorna Patterson, Pat Proft, Arne Schmidt, Lloyd Schwartz, and Bob Weiss. "Sprinkled throughout are anecdotes from some of our most successful comedians today, like Weird Al, Bill Hader, and Jimmy Kimmel, telling the stories of what a comedy gamechanger this movie was. A funny and enjoyable listen about a cult classic. Certainly recommended for comedy fans, but also for those with an interest in Hollywood and movie making." —Booklist Surely You Can't Be Serious is an in-depth and hysterical look at the making of 1980s comedy classic Airplane! by the legendary writers and directors of the hit film. Airplane! premiered on July 2nd, 1980. With a budget of $3.5 million it went on to make nearly $200 million in sales and has influenced a multitude of comedians on both sides of the camera. Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy. With anecdotes, behind the scenes trivia, and never-before-revealed factoids, these titans of comedy filmmaking unpack everything from how they persuaded Peter Graves to be in the movie after he thought the script was a piece of garbage, how Lorna Patterson auditioned for the stewardess role in the back seat of Jerry’s Volvo, and how Leslie Nielsen’s pranks got the entire crew into trouble, to who really wrote the jive talk. It also features testimonials and personal anecdotes from well-known faces in the film, television, and comedy sphere, proving how influential Airplane! has been from day one. Four decades after its release, Airplane! continues to make new generations laugh. Its many one-liners and visual gags have worked their way into the mainstream culture. This fully organic expansion of the ZAZ trio’s fan-base, prompted solely by word-of-mouth, comes as no surprise to longtime fans. When all around us is in flux, laughter is priceless. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Worthy **Time magazine most anticipated books of 2023** **Parade magazine must-read books by celebrities 2023** "I went through so many emotions reading this book. Reconnecting to one's ancestors and truly feeling, not only hearing, their stories are fertile ground for true ecstatic embodiment of the self. We have to know where we've been to see where we're going." -Willow Smith "[Smith] is candid and honest... For the first time she reveals the truth behind [the] happy images. An incredible read." -Hoda Kotb, The Today Show A gripping, at times painfully honest, and ultimately inspirational memoir from global superstar and creator of the Red Table Talk series Jada Pinkett Smith. Jada Pinkett Smith was living what many would view as a fairy-tale of Hollywood success. But appearances can be deceiving, and as she felt more and more separated from her sense of self, emotional turmoil took hold. Sparing no detail, Worthy chronicles her life—from a rebellious youth running the Baltimore streets as an observer and participant in the drug trade, to the deep bond she shared with Tupac Shakur from the moment they met, to her move to Los Angeles and the successful career she built on her own terms, to becoming the wife of superstar Will Smith and mother to Jaden, Willow and bonus-mom to Trey . A rollercoaster from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of self-acceptance and spiritual healing, Worthy is a woman’s journey to finding herself again. In a media driven landscape that crafts narratives for our celebrities, Smith shares herself in an intimate conversation with readers. She answers questions about her difficult childhood, her marriage, her parenting style, her career choices, and the intense scrutiny that followed “the slap.” An impactful and rare memoir that engages and educates, Worthy shows why adhering to the status quo has never been the plan for Jada Pinkett Smith and why labels and stories crafted by others strip women of their authenticity. Worthy teaches us who Jada is, and how to embrace our most lovable qualities. Complete with thought-provoking writing prompts and meditations on how to discover who we really are and nourish our self-worth.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dad at Peace Chris Gethard has accomplished the thing that dreams are made of: a successful career as an artist. He’s appeared on television and in films, traveled the world to perform comedy onstage in front of adoring fans, and experienced the seemingly limitless freedom that comes with such a lifestyle. So why is Gethard making thought-provoking decisions to change all of that? Decisions that ultimately trade his not-so-daily routine of flexibility for a life of stability while somehow giving him the most peace he’s ever felt? If you’ve read his previous Originals, Dad on Pills and The Lonely Dad Conversations, you’ve probably already figured out the reason. In Dad at Peace, Gethard reflects on the impact of career disappointments and health scares. He also takes pause on memories with his own parents — and even more importantly, the daily moments with his son — all leading him to dive deeply and openly into what lies ahead towards something that neither he nor those around him ever expected. Dad, husband, storyteller, podcast host of Beautiful/Anonymous, and so much more (including what he considers to be “chief among them”: boring), Gethard is turning the page to a new chapter. As he begins to find peace in — and acceptance for — what’s to come, Gethard embarks on a journey that’s not just about gratitude and appreciation for the past but one that leads to a world full of colorful animals, rock adventures, and a new dream for the future: spending more time at home with his feet firmly planted on the ground.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 from: LA Times * Boston Globe * The Millions * LitHub * Shondaland By the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning AFTERPARTIES comes a collection like none other: sharply funny, emotionally expansive essays and linked short fiction exploring family, queer desire, pop culture, and race The late Anthony Veasna So’s debut story collection, Afterparties, was a landmark publication, hailed as a “bittersweet triumph for a fresh voice silenced too soon” (Fresh Air). And he was equally known for his comic, soulful essays, published in n+1, The New Yorker, and The Millions. Songs on Endless Repeat gathers those essays together, along with previously unpublished fiction. Written with razor-sharp wit and an unflinching eye, the essays examine his youth in California, the lives of his refugee parents, his intimate friendships, loss, pop culture, and more. And in linked fiction following three Cambodian American cousins who stand to inherit their late aunt’s illegitimate loan-sharking business, So explores community, grief, and longing with inimitable humor and depth. Following “one of the most exciting contributions to Asian American literature in recent years” (Vulture), Songs on Endless Repeat is an astonishing final expression by a writer of “extraordinary achievement and immense promise” (The New Yorker).
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades This program features a bonus conversation between the author and Officer Jeff Babauta (who led the undercover investigation known as Operation Alligator Thief) and an introduction read by the author. "John Pirhalla offers a first-rate narration. His facility with accents gives atmosphere to this true-crime work. He varies his tone, pitch, and cadence to good effect, and effectively handles both its hard-boiled police procedural aspects and the author's loving passages about the ecosystem at the center of the story."—AudioFile David Grann meets Susan Orlean in this page-turning true story of an underground operation into the mysterious world of alligator poaching and its larger than life Floridian characters To catch a Florida Man, you have to become one, and that’s what Officer Jeff Babauta did. As his ponytailed, whiskey-soaked alter ego, he established Sunshine Alligator Farm. His goal? Infiltrate the shady world of illegal poachers in the Florida Everglades in order to protect the natural world. A head-spinning adventure soon unfolds. Jeff deals with glow-in-the-dark alligators and high-speed airboat rides, but quickly learns that not all poachers are villains. They’re simply people trying to survive, fighting against the poverty and greed holding them down. Jeff wants to solve the mystery of alligator poachers, and in doing so he must venture deeper into a strange ecosystem where right is wrong, and justice comes at the cost of those who’ve welcomed him into their world. Gator Country is the twisting true story of the impossible choices individuals must make to stay afloat in this world. Through its wholly unique blend of reporting, nature writing, and personal narrative, this book transports listeners to vibrant and dangerous Florida landscapes and offers intimate portraits of those who call the region home. Broad in scope and vivid in detail, Gator Country is a fast paced tale of the risks people will take to survive in one of the world's most beautiful yet formidable landscapes and the undercover investigation that threatens to topple the whole scheme. A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Weight of Beautiful Jackie Goldschneider, star of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, bravely chronicles her decades-long battle with anorexia and public journey to recovery in this unflinching, moving, and ultimately inspiring self-written memoir. All Jackie Goldschneider ever wanted was to be thin. As a child, she’d stand in front of the mirror, sucking in her stomach and arching her back to feel her ribs, praying to see a model-like figure looking back. As an obese teen, lonely and tormented by her weight, her doctor encouraged her to start dieting, ultimately leading to a prolonged battle with anorexia that nearly took her life. After decades of hiding her eating disorder from friends, family, and the world, Jackie is ready to expose the realities of her devastating struggle with anorexia, including the harrowing day-to-day tactics she employed to count calories and restrict meals, her struggles with fertility and pregnancy, the effects her eating disorder had on her relationships with her husband and children, and ultimately how, in a twist of fate, becoming a reality TV star saved her life. The Weight of Beautiful is Jackie’s personal story, but within it are also the stories of millions like her, striving to lead healthy, happy lives despite their eating disorders. In the vein of Unbearable Lightness, Hiding from Reality, and What Remains, The Weight of Beautiful is a moving testament of strength, honesty, and recovery.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Class: A Memoir NATIONAL BESTSELLER A Good Morning America Book Club Pick A New York Times Most Anticipated Books of Fall From the New York Times bestselling author who inspired the hit Netflix series about a struggling mother barely making ends meet as a housecleaner, a “raw and inspiring” (People) memoir about college, motherhood, poverty, and life after Maid. When Stephanie Land set out to write her memoir Maid, she never could have imagined what was to come. Handpicked by President Barack Obama as one of the best books of 2019, he called it an “unflinching look at America’s class divide…and a reminder of the dignity of all work.” Later, it was adapted into the hit Netflix series Maid, which was viewed by sixty-seven million households and was Netflix’s fourth most-watched show in 2021, garnering three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Stephanie’s escape out of poverty and abuse in search of a better life inspired millions. Maid was a story about a housecleaner, but it was also a story about a woman with a dream. In Class, Land takes us with her as she finishes college and pursues her writing career. Facing barriers at every turn including a byzantine loan system, food insecurity, the judgments of professors and fellow students who didn’t understand the demands of attending college while under the poverty line—Land finds a way to survive once again, finally graduating in her mid-thirties. Class paints an intimate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood as it converges and often conflicts with personal desire and professional ambition. Who has the right to create art? Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture? In clear, candid, and moving prose, Class grapples with these questions, offering a searing indictment of America’s educational system and an inspiring testimony of a mother’s triumph against all odds.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everywhere An Oink Oink: An Embittered, Dyspeptic, and Accurate Report of Forty Years In Hollywood Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director David Mamet shares scandalous and laugh-out-loud tales from his four decades in Hollywood where he worked with some of the biggest names in movies. David Mamet went to Hollywood on top—a super successful playwright summoned west in 1980 to write a vehicle for Jack Nicholson. He arrived just in time to meet the luminaries of old Hollywood and revel in the friendship of giants like Paul Newman, Mike Nichols, Bob Evans, and Sue Mengers. Over the next forty years, Mamet wrote dozens of scripts, was fired off dozens of movies, and directed eleven himself. In Everywhere an Oink Oink, he revels of the taut and gag-filled professionalism of the film set. He depicts the ever-fickle studios and producers who piece by piece eat the artist alive. And he ponders the art of filmmaking and the genius of those who made our finest movies. With the bravado and flair of Mamet’s best theatrical work, this memoir describes a world gone by, some of our most beloved film stars with their hair down, and how it all got washed away by digital media and the woke brigade. The book is illustrated throughout with three-dozen of Mamet’s pungent cartoons and caricatures.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (And How I Got Out) An explosive, first-person account chronicling the rise of the MAGA movement from acclaimed political journalist Tina Nguyen, who began her career—and her education—on the ground levels of the conservative recruiting machine. Her very first job was working for a little-known journalist named Tucker Carlson. She’s chugged Mountain Dews with the first Breitbart writers, poured over conspiracy theories from COVID-19 deniers, and visited the apocalyptic Patriot Church deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. The right is now a MAGA cult. And Tina Nguyen knows because she was raised by it, back when it wasn’t one. In 2008, in the weeks leading up to the election of Barack Obama, Nguyen was a history-loving, politics-obsessed college student at Claremont McKenna College, drawn there by a boyfriend—and a research institute called the Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom. Swept up by pro-America rhetoric and promises of a career in journalism, Nguyen was drawn into the world of right-wing student activism, and the early days of the movement now known as MAGA. In The MAGA Diaries, she tells not only her story of loving and leaving the conservative movement (well before Trump), but the history of the right-wing, painting a shocking picture of how they recruit, train, and indoctrinate generations of young people in search of opportunity—think dinners with Peter Thiel, conventions that rival Coachella, and the ever-elusive promise of future job security—and shape them into the influential leaders and supporting cast of tomorrow’s Republican party. They are ruthless in building robust networks of power, even if it means demolishing entire civic institutions, from women’s rights to fair elections—and staging a coup when it doesn’t work out. In The MAGA Diaries, Nguyen pulls back the curtain on the conservative machine for the first time, shining a light on the systematized on-ramp for young Republicans. These are the new leaders of the right, and it’s urgent we start paying attention.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative Named a Most Anticipated Title by: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post! A groundbreaking study of the first Black female novelist and her life as an enslaved woman, from the biographer who solved the mystery of her identity, with a forward by Henry Louis Gates Jr. In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and fled to a farm in New York. In hiding, she worked on a manuscript that would make her famous long after her death. The novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, was first published in 2002 to great acclaim, but the author’s identity remained unknown. Over a decade later, Professor Gregg Hecimovich unraveled the mystery of the author’s name and, in The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts, he finally tells her story. In this remarkable biography, Hecimovich identifies the novelist as Hannah Bond “Crafts.” She was not only the first known Black woman to compose a novel but also an extraordinarily gifted artist who honed her literary skills in direct opposition to a system designed to deny her every measure of humanity. After escaping to New York, the author forged a new identity—as Hannah Crafts—to make sense of a life fractured by slavery. Hecimovich establishes the case for authorship of The Bondwoman’s Narrative by examining the lives of Hannah Crafts’s friends and contemporaries, including the five enslaved women whose experiences form part of her narrative. By drawing on the lives of those she knew in slavery, Crafts summoned into her fiction people otherwise stolen from history. At once a detective story, a literary chase, and a cultural history, The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts discovers a tale of love, friendship, betrayal, and violence set against the backdrop of America’s slide into Civil War.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South Finalist, Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Finalist A “compelling portrait” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author) of the controversial Confederate general who later embraced Reconstruction and became an outcast in the South. It was the most remarkable political about-face in American history. During the Civil War, General James Longstreet fought tenaciously for the Confederacy. He was alongside Lee at Gettysburg (and counseled him not to order the ill-fated attacks on entrenched Union forces there). He won a major Confederate victory at Chickamauga and was seriously wounded during a later battle. After the war, Longstreet moved to New Orleans, where he dramatically changed course. He supported Black voting and joined the newly elected, integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, did battle against former Confederates. His defiance ignited a firestorm of controversy, as white Southerners branded him a race traitor and blamed him retroactively for the South’s defeat in the Civil War. Although he was one of the highest-ranking Confederate generals, Longstreet has never been commemorated with statues or other memorials in the South because of his postwar actions in rejecting the Lost Cause mythology and urging racial reconciliation. He is being discovered in the new age of racial reckoning as “one of the most enduringly relevant voices in American history” (The Wall Street Journal). This is the first authoritative biography in decades and the first that “brilliantly creates the wider context for Longstreet’s career” (The New York Times).
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER | USA TODAY BESTSELLER READ BY THE AUTHOR The best things in life are really not that fancy. This audiobook featuring all-things-Reba invites you to get back to the basics of life: fun, food, friends, and family. In her first book in over two decades, actress and country music legend Reba McEntire takes you behind the scenes and shares the stories, recipes, and Oklahoma-style truths that guide her life. The perfect gift for anyone who loves down-home recipes, the western lifestyle, heartwarming stories, and a good laugh from the Queen of Country! Read by Reba herself, the audiobook includes exclusive, behind-the-scenes conversations with Reba and her family and friends! These interviews are available only to audio listeners. You’ll hear from: Dolly Parton Ronnie Dunn Kix Brooks Carrie Underwood Lauren Daigle Vince Gill Luke Bryan Kristin Chenoweth Reba’s siblings Carly Pearce Tony Brown Terri Clark Hillary Scott FROM REBA: "To me, there's nothing better than sitting on the back porch looking out at the land that goes on for miles. A beautiful sunset and then me, just sipping on a glass of iced tea (or whiskey and Sprite) with my friends and family. I don't know what heaven's going to look like, but I hope it feels like Oklahoma. Throw in some beans and cornbread, and I'm all set. "Okies know that the secret to a good life is to keep things simple and be thankful for what the good Lord's given you. That's what I want to get back to. Simple fun, hard work, good food, and laughing with those you love. Everything I'm doing in my life from here on out—personal or professional, doesn't matter—I'm going to have fun. "That’s what I'm sharing in this book—some simple, not-that-fancy truths I live by and a bunch of good stories, photos, and recipes that go along with them. So if you're looking to slow down, get back to basics, and have a heckuva lot of fun, I think we're going to have a good time together. Come on in, kick off your boots (or leave them on, I don’t care), and learn how to bring a little bit of my downhome-inspired life into your own." FROM THE PUBLISHER: Not That Fancy includes: Never-before-told stories from rodeoing with her family to pranks with Brooks & Dunn to falling in love over a plate of tater tots Behind-the-scenes anecdotes from her music and acting career, with inspiration on how to follow your passion, trust your gut, and take a chance on yourself Lighthearted lifestyle tips on how to achieve Reba's signature hairstyle, plan a down-to-earth date night, throw an effortless dinner party, and more An audiobook companion PDF download that includes nearly 200 photographs from Reba's childhood, career, and personal life—many of which are straight from Reba's phone—and more than 60 recipes for appetizers, mains, sides, desserts, and cocktails from Reba's personal kitchen, from friends and family, and from her restaurant, Reba's Place Not That Fancy is ideal for Reba fans, country music lovers, or anyone who enjoys an easygoing western lifestyle.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend This program features an author's note and epilogue read by the author. The unauthorized, unvarnished story of famed Wall Street hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio. Ray Dalio does not want you to listen to this audiobook. Late last year, when the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet, announced that he was stepping down from the company he started out of his apartment nearly 50 years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio cultivated an aura of international admiration and fame thanks to his company’s eye-popping success, coupled with a mystique he encouraged with frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles. In The Fund, award-winning New York Times journalist Rob Copeland punctures this carefully-constructed narrative of the benevolent business titan, exposing his much-promoted “principles” as one of the great feats of hubris in modern memory—in practice, they encouraged a toxic culture of paranoia and backstabbing. The Fund is a thrilling, stranger-than-fiction journey into a rarefied world of wealth and power. It offers an unflinching look at the pain so often caused by the “radical transparency” Dalio has described as a core tenet of his recipe for business success and a meaningful life. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with those inside and around the firm, Copeland takes readers into the room as former FBI director Jim Comey kisses Dalio's ring, recent Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick drinks the Kool-Aid, and a rotating cast of memorable characters grapple with their personal psychological and moral limits—all under the watchful eye of their charismatic leader. This is a cautionary tale for anyone convinced that the ability to make lots of money has anything at all to do with unlocking the principles of human nature. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy Set against the extraordinary events of January 6, 2021, Aquilino Gonell’s inspirational memoir is rooted in the joys and struggles of the immigrant experience that have long defined the American experiment Aquilino Gonell came to the United States from the Dominican Republic as a young boy. Although he spoke no English, he dedicated himself to his adopted land, striving for the American dream. Determined to be a success story, he joined the army to pay for college. He saw action in Iraq and returned home with PTSD. Believing in the promise of our government, he focused on healing himself and supporting his family. His hard work paid off when he landed a coveted position with the United States Capitol Police and rose to the rank of sergeant. January 6, 2021, changed everything. When insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, Gonell bravely faced down the mob attempting to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. The brutal injuries he sustained that day would end his career in law enforcement. But when some of the very people he put his life on the line to protect downplayed or denied the truth of that day, he chose to speak out against the injustice done to him and the country. Chronicling what it means to live a life of conviction, one that adheres to the best ideas of our democracy, American Shield is a bold testament to the power of truth, justice, and accountability from a highly decorated officer and immigrant who exemplifies the greatest aspirations of a grateful nation.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Expert recommendations
Spotlighting TIME’s Women of the Year View 11 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Spotlighting TIME’s Women of the Year
TIME Magazine’s Women of the Year for 2024 include Ada Limón, Greta Gerwig, Taraji P. Henson, and more. Hear more from these incredible figures with this list of books, podcasts, and articles.
Roxane Gay’s favorite books View 34 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Roxane Gay’s favorite books
Gay — an author, opinion writer, and active Goodreads user — always champions the books she loves.
Books by Muslim authors View 28 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Books by Muslim authors
Notable books in honor of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and reflection.
Uplifting books that celebrate Black joy View 24 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Uplifting books that celebrate Black joy
Stories of love, hope, family, and resilience within Black communities to inspire you and spark joy.
The best books and audiobooks of 2023 View 44 titlesCurated by Lanie Pemberton
The best books and audiobooks of 2023
Read the most notable fiction and nonfiction titles of the year.
Exclusively from Everand: Biography & Memoir View 36 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Exclusively from Everand: Biography & Memoir
Lauded biographies and memoirs from our very own publishing imprints.
Editors’ Picks: Biography & Memoir View 18 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Editors’ Picks: Biography & Memoir
Works that delve into the lives of people our editors find utterly fascinating.
Current New York Times bestsellers View 51 titlesCurated by Everand Editors
Current New York Times bestsellers
These books are topping the charts right now.
Everything About Biography & Memoir
See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Believe IT Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Lies Between Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love, Lucy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Five Years: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counting the Cost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All That Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Burn Book: A Tech Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Psychopath: A True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With God in Russia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grief Is for People Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of Spies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Side of the River: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I Did a New Thing: 30 Days to Living Free Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elon Musk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Recently Added
Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParis: The Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVivienne Westwood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Born Free Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sky Was Falling: A Young Surgeon's Story of Bravery, Survival, and Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seven Storey Mountain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tales from a Free-Range Childhood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “the Apocalypse” Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hiking Your Feelings: Blazing a Trail to Self-Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Very Private School: A Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Manicurist's Daughter: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Captain Cook's Final Voyage: The Untold Story from the Journals of James Burney and Henry Roberts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoy Friends: 'Astonishingly compelling' STEPHEN FRY Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Astonishing Grace: Eight Stories of God’s Faithfulness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParanormal: My Life in Pursuit of the Afterlife Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Young Man's Guide to Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeorge Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jennifer Dulos Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHolly's Hell: Seven Years in a Thai Prison Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of the Straight Line: My Tai Chi Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Flags and Windmills: Hope, Anarchy and the Common Ground Collective Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Belonging: A Daughter's Search for Identity Through Loss and Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sportsman's Life: How I Built Orvis by Mixing Business and Sport Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Intertwined: A Mother's Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod the Bestseller: How One Editor Transformed American Religion a Book at a Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIsaac I. Stevens: Young Man in a Hurry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Song of the Sparrow: A Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
There’s more to discover in Biography & Memoir
Read what you want, how you want
Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.