Illustrated Lives: Biographies and Memoirs in Graphic Novel Form

If you have never read a graphic novel – maybe because you find yourself reluctant to pick one up or assume that they’re all superhero stories or just for kids – perhaps an illustrated biography or memoir might tempt you to give them a try. Illustrated biographies are a very popular genre and there are plenty of them to get into. Perhaps you could give one or two of these suggestions a go?

Johnny Cash : I see a darkness : a graphic novel / Kleist, Reinhard
“Cash was a 17-time Grammy winner who sold more than 90 million albums in his lifetime and became an icon of American music in the 20th century. Graphic novelist Reinhard Kleist depicts Johnny Cash’s eventful life from his early sessions with Elvis Presley (1956), through the concert in Folsom Prison (1968), his spectacular comeback in the 1990s, and the final years before his death on September 12, 2003.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

It’s lonely at the centre of the Earth : an auto-bio-graphic-novel / Thorogood, Zoe
“The 2023 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award winning cartoonist, Zoe Thorogood, records six months of her own life as it falls apart in a desperate attempt to put it back together again in the only way she knows how. It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth is an intimate and meta-narrative look into the life of a selfish artist who must create for her own survival. A poignant and original depiction of a young woman’s struggle with mental health–through the ups and downs of anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome–as she forges a promising career in sequential art and finds herself along the way.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Andre the Giant : closer to heaven / Easton, Brandon M.
“He was called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and became an inspiration for millions of wrestling fans all over the globe. While his in-ring exploits were full of flash and spectacle, the personal life of Andre “The Giant” Roussimoff was complicated by an excess of partying and the devastating physical toll of his deteriorating health. This graphic novel biography explores the bookmarks of Andre’s story.” (Catalogue)

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Making it so: New biographies and memoirs

Have you set a reading goal for 2024?  Are you looking for some inspiration to get you rolling?  Look no further than these amazing new biographies hitting our collection this month.  We’ve got everything from a star of the Star Trek universe, to legendary filmmakers, to our former Prime Minister to pique your interest.  Take a look at this selection…

Making it so : a memoir / Stewart, Patrick
“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.” (Catalogue)

Lies my mirror told me : a frank, funny, fearless memoir / Harmer, Wendy
“Wendy Harmer has had an extraordinary life. From being born with a severe facial deformity, to performing as a stand-up comedian, a national television host and then the highest paid woman in the cut-throat world of Sydney FM radio … Wendy’s tale of overcoming adversity is told with her trademark in-your-face frankness and celebrated wit.  In Lies My Mirror Told Me Wendy reflects on her life – one of the most unlikely success stories you will ever read.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Sure, I’ll join your cult : a memoir of mental illness and the quest to belong anywhere / Bamford, Maria
“Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford’s signature voice, Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult, brings us on a quest to participate in something.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Every man for himself and God against all : a memoir / Herzog, Werner
“Legendary filmmaker and celebrated author Werner Herzog tells in his inimitable voice the story of his epic artistic career in a long-awaited memoir that is as inventive and daring as anything he has done before. Every Man for Himself and God Against All is at once a firsthand personal record of one of the great and self-invented lives of our time, and a singular literary masterpiece that will enthrall fans old and new alike. In a hypnotic swirl of memory, Herzog untangles and relives his most important experiences and inspirations, telling the full story of his life for the first and only time.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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If You Would Have Told Me: New biographies in the collection

Summer is here and that means beach reads, holiday reads, chilling on the deck reads… all those lovely ways to relax and enjoy a good book.  This month we have some cracking good reads in our new biographies, take a look at these that have hit the shelves recently.

If you would have told me : a memoir / Stamos, John
“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. 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.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The stirrings : a memoir in northern time / Taylor, Catherine
“This is a story about one young woman coming of age, and about the place and time that shaped her: the North of England in the 1970s and 80s. About the scorching summer of 1976 – the last Catherine Taylor would spend with both her parents in their home in Sheffield. About the Yorkshire Ripper, the serial killer whose haunting presence in Catherine’s childhood was matched only by the aching absence of her own father. About 1989’s ‘Second Summer of Love’, a time of sexual awakening for Catherine, and the unforeseen consequences that followed it.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Wifedom : Mrs Orwell’s invisible life / Funder, Anna
“Looking for wonder and some reprieve from the everyday, award-winning writer Anna Funder slips into the pages of her hero George Orwell. When she uncovers his forgotten wife, it’s a revelation. Eileen O’Shaughnessy’s literary brilliance shaped Orwell’s work and her practical common sense saved his life. But why-and how-was she written out of the story? Using newly discovered letters from Eileen to her best friend, Funder recreates the Orwells’ marriage, through the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War in London.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Wild Boys and Material Girls: The Pop Idols of the 80’s in Print

Hands up all the Gen X pop tragics out there! Yes, I’m one of those, my pre-teen years were right there from 1980 – 1985, so I have a long history of boy bands, pop idols and pin ups in my past.  The good news is, all of those pop idols, at least those that are still with us, are writing books and being written about.  I’ve chosen a few of my favourites to share with you all here.

Please please tell me now : the Duran Duran story / Davis, Stephen
“In ‘Please Please Tell Me Now’, bestselling rock biographer Stephen Davis tells the story of Duran Duran, the quintessential band of the 1980s. Featuring exclusive interviews with the band and never-before-published photos from personal archives, this book offers a definitive account of one of the last untold sagas in rock and roll history – a treat for diehard fans, new admirers, and music lovers of any age.” (Catalogue)

Wham! : George & me / Ridgeley, Andrew
“Wham! were the band that never underestimated the power of pop, nor the healing powers it possessed. In 1981, what started out as a boyhood friendship, catapulted two suburban adolescents to worldwide pop domination, becoming icons of their era.” (Catalogue)

 

 

This thing called life : Prince, race, sex, religion, and music / Vogel, Joseph
“What were Prince’s politics? What did he believe about God? And did he really forsake the subject- sex- that once made him the most subversive superstar of the Reagan era? In this illuminating, thematic biography, Joseph Vogel explores the issues that made Prince one of the late 20th century’s most unique, controversial, and fascinating artists.” (Catalogue) Continue reading “Wild Boys and Material Girls: The Pop Idols of the 80’s in Print”

Wandering Through Life: New Biographies and Memoirs in the Collection

Reading about extraordinary lives is often inspirational, intriguing, fascinating, shocking or outrageous.  Every biography or memoir has the potential to take you on a real adventure in it’s pages.  We have another month of new titles that have arrived in the collection, and have selected some for you below to try.

Wandering through life : a memoir / Leon, Donna
“From a childhood in the company of her New Jersey family, with frequent visits to her grandfather’s farm and its beloved animals and summers spent selling homegrown tomatoes by the roadside, Donna Leon has long been open to adventure. In 1976, she made the spontaneous decision to teach English in Iran, before finding herself swept up in the early days of the 1979 Revolution. After teaching stints in China and Saudi Arabia, she finally landed in Venice. Having recently celebrated her eightieth birthday, Leon now confronts the dual challenges and pleasures of aging. Wandering through life offers Donna Leon at her most personal.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Berserker / Edmondson, Adrian
“Ade Edmondson smashed onto the comedy circuit in the 1980s, stormed The Comedy Store and, alongside Rik Mayall, brought anarchy to stage and screen. How did a child brought up in a strict Methodist household – and who spent his formative years incarcerated in repressive boarding schools – end up joining the revolution? Well, he is part Norse. Could it be his berserker heritage? With wisdom, nostalgia and uniquely observed humour, Ade traces his journey through life and comedy: starting out on the alternative scene, getting arrested in Soho, creating his outrageously violent characters and learning more about his curious (possibly Scandinavian) heritage. With star-studded anecdotes and set to a soundtrack of pop hits which transport the reader through time, it’s a memoir like no other.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Astor : the rise and fall of an American fortune / Cooper, Anderson
“The story of the Astors is an extraordinary but true tale of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention–and of cunning, determination, hard work, hubris, infighting, and greed. One of the wealthiest men to have ever lived, John Jacob Astor first arrived in New York in 1783 and built a fortune through a ruthless expansion of his beaver trapping business, which he grew into an empire through real estate that enriched him at the expense of Manhattan’s poorest residents.  In this unconventional, page-turning historical biography, featuring black-and-white and color photographs, Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe chronicle the lives of the Astors and offer a window onto the making of America itself.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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The life of New Zealand’s extraordinary scientists

Read stories of New Zealand’s own prominent scientists who changed our lives, from diet to DNA, and from environment patriot to expert witness. Some of their contributions we have taken for granted today, but were revolutionary at the time.

The unconventional career of Dr Muriel Bell / Brown, Diana
“Appointed New Zealand’s first state nutritionist in 1940, Muriel Bell was behind ground-breaking public health schemes such as milk in schools, iodised salt, and water fluoridation. The first woman in New Zealand to be awarded the research degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1926, her pioneer research on vitamins and minerals helped to prevent deficiency diseases. Her early research into fats and cholesterol tackled the complexity of nutrition-related aspects of coronary heart disease. (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Peter Snell : from Olympian to scientist / Snell, Peter
“Peter Snell has won three gold medals and was named New Zealand Sportsman of the year in 1960 and 1964, and New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, and became Sir Peter Snell in 2009. He then moved to US and pursued a successful career in exercise physiology. This biography is the full account of Peter Snell’s life as sensational athlete and respected scientist and academic. It picks up the story from Peter’s first biography No Bugles, No Drums, which was published in 1965.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

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