Welcome to April, and the fourth reading prompt for our 2024 Read With MLC reading challenge: read a celebrity memoir. Is there anything more delicious than escaping your own life to peer into the intricacies of someone else's? Affairs, addiction, divorce, abuse... seeing how others deal with adversity somehow makes our own more manageable. Add in the shiny gloss of reading a tell-all book about someone famous? You can see why celebrity memoirs are a booming business.
If you look at the past five years, the top US sales slots go to famous people from a variety of backgrounds. In 2020, Barack Obama's A Promised Land sold 17 million copies. He was closely followed by Prince Harry's Spare, with 16 million copies, Michelle Obama's Becoming, with 14 million copies, and Britney Spears's The Woman in Me, with 11 million copies. And these are figures for just the first week of sales! If you're wondering which memoirs your local librarian liked as opposed to national sales figures, you need look no further than below this graphic!
Here are some of MLC staff's favorite celebrity memoirs (and biographies!):
- Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
When I am feeling down and out, when I feel like I can’t, I find that phrases David Goggins uses come to mind -- AKA Gogginisms -- and I push just a little bit harder.
-Kristina Kelly, Public Relations Coordinator
- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
In my opinion, Steve Jobs is the greatest developer of personal computers. This 2011 authorized biography is a comprehensive look at Jobs’s life, from his childhood, to co-founding Apple, to being ousted from the company, and, finally, to his eventual return and resurgence. It talks about his personality, his innovative spirit, and his impact on technology, business, and culture. There are numerous interviews with Jobs himself, as well as his family, friends, colleagues, and competitors. His passing (eleven days before the book was published) was a significant loss to the technology industry and beyond. His impact extends past the realm of tech, influencing popular culture and society at large.
-Terrie Elbatnigi, Administrative Services Assistant
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
I just read I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy and I also like Samantha Irby’s essays. Oh! I loved My Own Two Feet by Beverly Cleary and The Woman In Me by Britney Spears. I might like a memoir...
-Alex Brower, Information Services Director
- Inside Out: A Memoir by Demi Moore
I really enjoyed the memoir from Demi Moore Inside Out: A Memoir that is part of MLC's hoopla access. She reads the audiobook and besides being very interesting, her smokey voice makes it a great audio read!
-Lacy Ellinwood, Lead Library Consultant
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
This memoir is so so good and taught me so much about South Africa and the dynamics of crime, as well as being incredibly well-written and funny in a lot of places!
-Riley Houston, Talking Book Services Patron Access Librarian Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
I’ve read Born A Crime by Trevor Noah twice now and it was even more amazing the second time. The author narrates the audiobook. Jeanette McCurdy narrates the audiobook for her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. I didn’t even know who this person was when I started it—but the title caught my attention. It’s a great tale of survival and triumph. I loved both of these.
-Shellie Zeigler, Library Consultant- The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul
RuPaul Charles is one of my favorite people to have ever lived. He is exceedingly more than just the creator and star of his reality television show. RuPaul maintains an air of mystery despite being an instantly recognizable figure and is one of the only people I know who can be charismatic yet maintain a real sense of self, all while starring in one of the highest-rated television reality series ever. I have yet to meet RuPaul, but it's a dream of mine to share just five minutes of conversation with him to get a snippet of the genius behind my favorite series. For now, I will have to settle for reading and rereading his newest memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings.
-Kristen Hillman, MAGNOLIA Outreach Coordinator
- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
If Natasha Trethewey, National Poet Laureate, State Poet Laureate, and Pulitzer-Prize winner, isn't considered a celebrity, I don't know who makes the grade. Her jump from poetry to memoir in this volume that examines her life with and without her mother is lyrical, pensive, and devastating.
-Elisabeth Scott, Reference Librarian
Are you ready to try a celebrity memoir? Check your local public library and the Mississippi Library Commission for your favorite stars. Not sure where to begin? Check out MLC's BookMatch service for a list of books curated especially for you.
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