2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Memoir Book Lists

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsNight by Elie WieselAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Best Memoir / Biography / Autobiography
5,819 books — 6,347 voters
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeePride and Prejudice by Jane AustenJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Best Woman-Authored Books
8,221 books — 5,218 voters

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankNight by Elie WieselInto Thin Air by Jon KrakauerInto the Wild by Jon KrakauerFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt
Must Read Non-Fiction
5,245 books — 4,417 voters
John Adams by David McCulloughThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer1776 by David McCulloughTeam of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinThe Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman
Best History Books
3,702 books — 3,736 voters

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodThe Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëA Room of One’s Own by Virginia WoolfThe Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Best Feminist Books
2,517 books — 3,521 voters
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya AngelouEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth GilbertPersepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Memoirs by Women
3,015 books — 3,030 voters

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsUnbroken by Laura HillenbrandAll Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
Biography and Memoirs that are BETTER than Fiction
2,435 books — 2,956 voters
Steve Jobs by Walter IsaacsonUnbroken by Laura HillenbrandEinstein by Walter IsaacsonInto the Wild by Jon KrakauerJohn Adams by David McCullough
Best Biographies
1,660 books — 2,942 voters

John Adams by David McCullough1776 by David McCulloughTeam of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Best American History Books
2,123 books — 2,494 voters
Band of Brothers by Stephen E. AmbroseBlack Hawk Down by Mark BowdenUnbroken by Laura HillenbrandWe Were Soldiers Once... and Young by Harold G. MooreLone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
Best Non-fiction War Books
2,124 books — 2,360 voters

The Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathGirl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins GilmanThe Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey EugenidesProzac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Women and Mental Illness (fiction and nonfiction)
1,154 books — 2,271 voters
Freakonomics by Steven D. LevittA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill BrysonSocialism Is Dead! Long Live Socialism! by Todor BombovOutliers by Malcolm GladwellGuns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Interesting and Readable Nonfiction
4,046 books — 2,044 voters

Stiff by Mary RoachThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootThe Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver SacksOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken KeseyThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Medicine and Literature
1,845 books — 2,005 voters
The Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtNight by Elie WieselEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Favorite Memoirs/Autobiographies
2,102 books — 1,950 voters

Unlock Your Deliverance by Kathryn KrickThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankLiving Fearless by Jamie WinshipThe Bait Of Satan by John BevereThe Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
Recommended Nonfiction Books
3,959 books — 1,874 voters
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth GilbertA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonBlood River by Tim ButcherThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferInto the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Best Traveling Vicariously
2,122 books — 1,849 voters

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankNight by Elie WieselI Am Malala by Malala YousafzaiThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsUnbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
100 Biographies & Memoirs to Read in a Lifetime: Readers' Picks
1,872 books — 1,774 voters
Things Fall Apart by Chinua AchebeThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Africa (fiction and nonfiction)
1,757 books — 1,636 voters

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony BourdainThe Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael PollanAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara KingsolverFast Food Nation by Eric SchlosserIn Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Food-Related Non-Fiction
1,226 books — 1,635 voters
The New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderBetween the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi CoatesThe Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm XBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee BrownThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Books White People Need to Read
1,306 books — 1,560 voters

Bossypants by Tina FeyIs Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy KalingYes Please by Amy PoehlerLet's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny LawsonAre You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
Funny Women Memoirs
455 books — 1,550 voters
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerNickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Social Justice: Books on Racism, Sexism, and Class
2,127 books — 1,534 voters

Please Kill Me by Legs McNeilJust Kids by Patti SmithChronicles, Volume One by Bob DylanLife by Keith RichardsOur Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad
Best Non Fiction About Music
1,440 books — 1,342 voters
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisBossypants by Tina FeyDress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David SedarisA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonNaked by David Sedaris
Humorous Memoirs and Non-Fiction
943 books — 1,247 voters

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. SalingerA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty SmithBreakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories by Truman CapoteExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Tales of New York City
1,509 books — 1,219 voters
Fun Home by Alison BechdelTipping the Velvet by Sarah WatersFingersmith by Sarah WatersThe Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. DanforthThe Color Purple by Alice Walker
100 Best Lesbian Fiction & Memoir Books Of All Time
881 books — 1,152 voters

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. TolkienWild by Cheryl StrayedA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth GilbertInto the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Wanderlust
1,058 books — 1,150 voters
Running with Scissors by Augusten BurroughsThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsMe Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisGirl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Best Strange and Twisted Memoirs
703 books — 1,054 voters

The God Delusion by Richard DawkinsGod Is Not Great by Christopher HitchensThe Demon-Haunted World by Carl SaganThe End of Faith by Sam HarrisLetter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
Notable Atheist Books
545 books — 940 voters
Playing Ball by Vernon DavisThe Last Folk Hero by Jeff PearlmanThrough My Eyes by Tim TebowThe League by John EisenbergAmerica's Game by Jerry Rice
Best Memoirs/Autobiography/Travel
1,306 books — 911 voters

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