Your 12 Favourite Biographies

[whatausername]

Autobiographies, memoirs, biographies all count. Which are your 12 favourites? I hope to read one a month.

I've already read Matthew Perry's. Someone described it as self-obsessed and it was, but most addicts are and he was a Hollywood actor. I still enjoyed it. I do need to get Agassi's as his is so often recommended.

My favourite autobiography is The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven, not because I was especially interested in the man prior to reading it but because it is such a joy to read. Highly recommend.

I would say I am Malala is also worth reading.

Great idea to add biographies to yuor reading list!

Tim Peake's autobiography was very interesting

Loosely Based on a Made up Story by James Blunt. Absolutely loved it. It's also the only book I have ever managed to get through on audio.

Lily Allen My thoughts exactly
Ferne Brady Strong female character
Michael macintyre a funny life
Kris hallenga how to glitter a turd

Robert Graves: Goodbye to All That (favourite book of all time)
Patrick Fermor: A Time of Gifts (sort of autobiography)
Brian Blessed: Absolute Pandemonium
Michael Caine: What's it all about?
Claire Tomalin: biography of Thomas Hardy
Claire Tomalin biography of Dickens
Peter Ackroyd: biography of Blake
Bertrand Russell: Portraits from Memory and autobiography
Thomas Wright: Oscar's Books (biography of Oscar Wilde that focuses on his favourite books)

Lady Glenconner's autobiography is excellent. She was a Lady in Waiting for Princess Margaret.

I can't remember the name of the book, but i think it's the only book she's written.

Jason Donovan's was a good one. I like someone who has been a bit naughty and can talk about it objectively!

I don’t often read biographies but did really enjoy Dave Grohl’s. He’s lived an interesting life and it’s very much in his own voice. If you are at all interested in yoga I would also recommend Ana Forrest’s book, Fierce Medicine - it is completely bonkers in places but she’s an interesting person.

Fifteen or so....I mainly read biographies.

Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin
A Royal Life - HRH The Duke of Kent - Hugo Vickers
Captain James Cook - A Biography - Richard Hough
Shakespeare:The Biolgraphy - Peter Ackroyd
Brave, Funny, Naughty Maritime cats - Philippa Sandall
Absolutely - Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley: The Biogrphy - Tim Ewbank
The Forest Undergroud: Hope for a Planet in Crisis - Tony Rinaudo
So Anyway - John Cleese
The Many Lives of Barry Humphries - Rowan Dean
Handling Edna:The Unauthorised Biography - Barry Humphries
Elisabeth Murdoch:Two Lives - John Monk
Kidman:The Extraordinary Life of Sir Sidney Kidman - Christo Reid
Fred Hollows: An Autobiography - Fred Hollows and Peter Corris
Common Groud - Malcolm Fraser

I haven't read many but I like Bob Geldofs from years ago

Piers Morgan's were I interesting from years ago where before it all became a huge scandal he admits they were tapping into people BT voicemails. And no one even referred to him admitting it on paper when victims were taking it all to court

Sorry for the spelling mistakes, many, above.

Your mention of Bob Geldof reminded me that I really enjoyed some of Paula Yates's books..

The Fun Starts Here: Practical Guide to Everything You Need to Know from Conception to the First Birthday. - Paula Yates.

She comes across as a devoted mother with a warm sense of humour.

I've just listened to "Waypoints" Sam Heughan's autobiography, he reads it himself. He walks the West Highland Way and alternates chapters between an account of the walk and then linking to accounts of his life. I loved it. I'm very outdoorsy myself but you don't need to be to enjoy it. I liked how he used the walk to link to the challenges and life experiences that made him who is. Recommend.

Angela's Ashes hands down. I've probably read a hundred bios/memoirs, nothing compares to this.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters is excellent. Written by Jung Chang.

Read these a long time ago but

Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx
Kenneth Williams Diaries
Haywire by Brooke Hayward
Noel Coward Diaries
By Myself by Lauren Bacall

I particularly find the bit about people's lives before and after the height of their success fascinating. And the difference between biography and autobiography and how they portray themselves.

The Brooke Hayward is by the daughter of 2 major golden age of Hollywood players and her broken families.

Strong Warning ‼️ : Haywire has a lot about suicide and addiction in it.

There is also some in Kenneth Williams

unmemorableusername I absolutely agree about Angela's Ashes. It's a book I read again and again, it's funny and devastating

I've Always Kept a Unicorn Mick Houghton Sandy Denny
Wifedom Anna Funder Eileen O' Shaughnessy , George Orwell's first wife
Mothers of the Mind Rachel Trethewey mothers of Agatha Christie, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath
Agatha Christie A Very Elusive Lady Lucy Worsley
Many Different Kinds of Love Michael Rosen
Kic Paula Bryne Kathleen Kennedy
The Adventures of Miss Barbra Pym Paula Bryne

George Michael
Andrew Ridgeley
Torvill & Dean

Memoir - Giving Up the Ghost - Hilary Mantel