Best Memoir / Biography / Autobiography
NOTE: This list is for non-fiction only.
1 The Diary of a Young Girl
by
4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 905,017 ratings
2 Night  (The Night Trilogy, #1)
by
4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 322,043 ratings
3 The Glass Castle
by
4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 306,550 ratings
4 Angela's Ashes
by
4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 212,268 ratings
5 Eat, Pray, Love
by
3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 avg rating — 605,491 ratings
6 Running with Scissors
by
3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 172,773 ratings
7 Into Thin Air: A Personal A...
by
3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 182,830 ratings
8 Little House in the Big Woo...
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 78,678 ratings
9 Tuesdays With Morrie
by
3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 261,971 ratings
10 Persepolis: The Story of a ...
by
4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 69,342 ratings
11 Into the Wild
by
3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 309,979 ratings
12 The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by
4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 53,748 ratings
13 A Child Called "It"
by
4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 155,511 ratings
14 I Know Why the Caged Bird S...
by
4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 113,485 ratings
15 John Adams
by
4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 69,225 ratings
16 Marley and Me: Life and Lov...
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 170,167 ratings
17 A Long Way Gone
by
4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 52,443 ratings
18 Three Cups of Tea: One Man'...
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 159,720 ratings
19 The Hiding Place
by
4.42 of 5 stars 4.42 avg rating — 82,941 ratings
20 Maus, Vol. 1: My Father Ble...
by
4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 81,339 ratings
21 Me Talk Pretty One Day
by
3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 346,866 ratings
22 Wild Swans: Three Daughters...
by
4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 29,209 ratings
23 Infidel
by
4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 29,694 ratings
24 The Color of Water: A Black...
by
4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 41,123 ratings
25 Reading Lolita in Tehran
by
3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 64,096 ratings
26 Sliding On The Snow Stone
by
4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 avg rating — 120 ratings
27 Black Like Me
by
4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 24,616 ratings
28 A Heartbreaking Work of Sta...
by
3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 avg rating — 100,192 ratings
29 Escape
by
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 16,669 ratings
30 The Last Lecture
by
4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 117,946 ratings
31 A Million Little Pieces
by
3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 118,424 ratings
32 West with the Night
by
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 8,346 ratings
33 Persepolis
by
4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 29,322 ratings
34 Man's Search for Meaning
by
4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 avg rating — 58,040 ratings
35 Maus
by
4.49 of 5 stars 4.49 avg rating — 29,649 ratings
36 Dreams from My Father: A St...
by
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 53,680 ratings
37 Lucky
by
3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 49,296 ratings
38 Dry
by
3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 44,571 ratings
39 The Story of My Life
by
4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 33,651 ratings
40 All Creatures Great and Small
by
4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 avg rating — 46,840 ratings
41 The Liars' Club
by
3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 24,065 ratings
42 On Writing
by
4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 65,504 ratings
43 Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexi...
by
3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 13,808 ratings
44 The Year of Magical Thinking
by
3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 50,626 ratings
45 The Diving Bell and the But...
by
3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 21,167 ratings
46 Cheaper by the Dozen
by
3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 14,857 ratings
47 A Piece of Cake
by
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 9,341 ratings
48 Just Kids
by
4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 38,826 ratings
49 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs ...
by
3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 22,492 ratings
50 Truman
by
4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 18,611 ratings
51 What Is the What
by
4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 40,476 ratings
52 Narrative of the Life of Fr...
by
3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 24,267 ratings
53 Autobiography of a Face
by
3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 9,512 ratings
54 The Audacity of Hope: Thoug...
by
3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 53,229 ratings
55 The Pianist
by
4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 14,023 ratings
55 Look Me in the Eye: My Life...
by
3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 24,978 ratings
57 Mountains Beyond Mountains:...
by
4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 29,052 ratings
58 Princess: A True Story of L...
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 10,679 ratings
59 'Tis
by
3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 avg rating — 28,128 ratings
60 Surviving The Fourth Cycle
by
4.79 of 5 stars 4.79 avg rating — 39 ratings
61 Truth and Beauty
by
3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 14,833 ratings
62 Speak, Memory
by
4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 5,079 ratings
63 Midnight in the Garden of G...
by
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 88,775 ratings
64 Team of Rivals: The Politic...
by
4.4 of 5 stars 4.40 avg rating — 32,710 ratings
65 First They Killed My Father...
by
4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 7,097 ratings
66 Kitchen Confidential: Adven...
by
3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 77,897 ratings
67 Infamous Lady
by
4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 avg rating — 92 ratings
68 Black Boy
by
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 19,997 ratings
69 Born Standing Up: A Comic's...
by
3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 25,552 ratings
70 Sybil: The Classic True Sto...
by
3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 38,873 ratings
71 The Private Letters of Coun...
by
4.61 of 5 stars 4.61 avg rating — 46 ratings
72 Teacher Man
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 16,270 ratings
73 The Life of Elizabeth I
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 9,497 ratings
74 A Girl Named Zippy
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 18,102 ratings
75 Girl, Interrupted
by
3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 68,647 ratings
76 Naked
by
4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 124,421 ratings
77 Survival in Auschwitz
by
4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 13,553 ratings
78 Magical Thinking: True Stories
by
3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 29,007 ratings
79 The Spirit Catches You and ...
by
4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 22,974 ratings
80 The Bookseller of Kabul
by
3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 18,478 ratings
81 Surely You're Joking, Mr. F...
by
4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 33,143 ratings
82 My Family and Other Animals...
by
4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 9,421 ratings
83 Fun Home
by
4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 26,067 ratings
84 The Autobiography of Benjam...
by
3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 14,905 ratings
85 Georgiana: Duchess of Devon...
by
3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 7,299 ratings
86 Personal History
by
4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 6,765 ratings
87 Down and Out in Paris and L...
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 17,279 ratings
88 Musical Chairs
by
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 214 ratings
89 Jarhead: A Marine's Chronic...
by
3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 avg rating — 4,658 ratings
90 Me: Stories of My Life
by
3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 5,566 ratings
91 Alive: The Story of the And...
by
4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 19,606 ratings
92 My Lobotomy
by
3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 avg rating — 5,404 ratings
93 The Tender Bar
by
3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 14,053 ratings
94 Please Stop Laughing at Me....
by
3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 5,047 ratings
95 Farmer Boy (Little House, #3)
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 21,888 ratings
96 Lucky Man: A Memoir
by
4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 9,193 ratings
97 The Autobiography of Mark T...
by
4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 1,113 ratings
97 Zelda
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 2,972 ratings
99 The Invisible Wall: A Love ...
by
4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 5,800 ratings
100 Cash
by
4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 7,420 ratings
1,804 books · 1,743 voters · list created July 13th, 2008 by Heather (votes) .
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Heather
Heather
623 books
125 friends
Kate
Kate
2241 books
799 friends
Leaving
Leaving
6421 books
134 friends
Russellino
Russellino
261 books
2 friends
Chriss
Chriss
186 books
324 friends
Jennifer
Jennifer
667 books
9 friends
Tracy
Tracy
288 books
20 friends
Asli
Asli
286 books
9 friends

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Comments (showing 1-28 of 28) (28 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by Raelle (new)

Raelle Koota PATRON SAINT OF USED CARS AND SECOND CHANCES
by MARK MILLHONE

Beautiful, honest memoir that appeals to both men and women which is so rare. It is very funny, but have your kleenex near by and the phone numbers of family members handy to tell them you love them and value them


message 2: by Ryann (last edited Oct 02, 2009 01:06pm) (new)

Ryann FYI: "What is the What" is not a memoir. Nor is "Sarah's Key." Both are great books, but they're fiction.


message 3: by Fiona (new)

Fiona Ryann wrote: "FYI: "What is the What" is not a memoir. Nor is "Sarah's Key." Both are great books, but they're fiction. "

Neither is memoirs of a geisha!!! Come on people, figure it out...


message 4: by Julie (new)

Julie add:Time To Be In Earnest: A Fragment Of Autobiography|3831], P. D. James

This is fabulous. six stars


message 5: by Pia (new)

Pia Never forget Anne Frank.


message 6: by Jaliyah (new)

Jaliyah this was a good book..going to read more like this !


message 7: by Kelsey (new)

Kelsey The Lovely Bones isn't a memoir or biography.


message 8: by Xenophon (new)

Xenophon Hendrix Hannibal by Thomas Harris and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are both fiction, and I removed them.


message 9: by Sue T (new)

Sue T Wow, I'm seeing a lot of fiction on this list.


message 10: by Linda (new)

Linda Sue T wrote: "Wow, I'm seeing a lot of fiction on this list."

Can we get them removed? One of the reasons I came to look at this list was to find good biographies to add to my TBR list, so I want to be sure I'm not reading a book I think is a biography then discover it was fiction.


message 11: by Sarah (new)

Sarah Linda wrote: "Sue T wrote: "Wow, I'm seeing a lot of fiction on this list."

Can we get them removed? One of the reasons I came to look at this list was to find good biographies to add to my TBR list, so I want ..."


Please don't remove them - even those are fiction-biography books, this list is still gorgeous.


message 12: by Elle (new)


message 13: by Darbi (new)

Darbi Simmons Thank you so much for creating this list Heather! I have been looking for 'Oh the Glory of it all." for years but I couldn't remember the name, thought I knew I would recognize the cover. I found it on your list and now I can read it again! Your awesome!


message 14: by Janet (new)

Janet "Good Grief" is fiction.


message 15: by Janet (new)

Janet "The Friday Night Knitting Club" is fiction. Why do people put fiction titles on non-fiction lists??


message 16: by Guy (new)

Guy Here's a real fun wild and crazy memoir about the movie biz and about finding true love...please vote for this cover - Kiss Me Quick Before I Shoot :)


message 17: by John (new)

John Scott Khaled Hosseini's Books (Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns) are Fiction.


message 18: by Sadi (new)

Sadi Without moving from the first page there are at least three fiction novels on this.


message 19: by Jessica (new)

Jessica "Eat, Pray, Love" ranks higher up than "First they killed my father"?

The world is ending...


message 20: by Atticus (new)

Atticus No one even mentioned A Playboy Virgin's Manifesto by Atticus Rockefellar. Oh, the humanity!

http://www.amazon.com/Playboy-Virgins...


message 21: by Ben (last edited Sep 14, 2012 12:25pm) (new)

Ben The following are fiction:

#113 A Thousand Splendid Suns
#128 Memoirs of a Geisha

Shall I delete? Any others that need to go?


message 22: by Ben (new)

Ben I added a list description:

NOTE: This list is for non-fiction only.

Hopefully, this will stop the tide of fiction.


message 23: by Jean (new)

Jean Perry The Agony and the Ecstacy is fiction.


message 24: by Julie (new)

Julie Too bad one can only have 100 books on a list. I've read so many more great ones than are on my list.


message 25: by Julie (new)

Julie Not really sure if I'd classify Torey Hayden's books as memoirs but they all are great.


message 26: by William (new)

William Pfefferkorn how can i print out a list of just the title and author


message 27: by I-love-reading (new)

I-love-reading A million little pieces was later proved to be fiction


message 28: by Dorothy (new)

Dorothy A number of the books on the list are fiction, for example, Winds of War


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