Best of 2019: Biography

We’re rounding up the Best Books of 2019 across all genres and categories – scroll down to see our favourites in memoir and biography!

Three Women

by Lisa Taddeo

This book started more arguments amongst my friends than any other book I read this year. Although this is non-fiction it reads like fiction, telling the story of three ordinary women and their experiences of desire. There’s nothing necessarily universal about these women’s stories, but virtually everyone I know who read it felt it cut close to the bone for one reason or another.

Buy it here

Your Own Kind of Girl

by Clare Bowditch

The bestselling memoir by singer and actress Clare Bowditch transcends the musician-memoir genre that has dominated the bestseller charts this year. Bowditch’s story is specific to her, but contains nuggets of universal truth that, judging by the sales of this book alone, are appealing to a lot of readers. By turns hilarious, heart wrenching and joyous, this is well worth a read if you haven’t yet had the pleasure.

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Yellow Notebook

by Helen Garner

Full of Helen Garner’s trademark acerbic wit and razor-sharp observations, this is the sort of book you can either read in parts or let it wash over you all at once. Told in fragments as parts of Garner’s diaries, this is a perfect entry into Garner World and should keep die hard fans and new readers alike very happy indeed.

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Me

by Elton John

Elton John’s autobiography is the prototypical celebrity memoir. It’s fast, fun and spills all of the tea. Elton’s voice comes at you through this book at full force, telling all of the wild stories he’s built up over the years. You won’t regret reading this!

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The Erratics

by Vicki Laveau-Harvie

Winner of the 2019 Stella Prize, this hilarious and shocking memoir tells the fascinating story of a dysfunctional family. Although the family is strange, there is something here for everyone, whether it’s a reflection on ageing parents or the peculiar loneliness of living as an ex-pat. Highly recommended.

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Growing Up Queer in Australia

Edited by Benjamin Law

The latest Growing Up anthology to hit the shelves was a roaring success, full of contributions from some of the biggest luminaries of Australian letters and culture. Featuring stories from David Marr, Nayuka Gorrie, Holly Throsby, Sally Rugg, Tony Ayres, Kerryn Phelps and many more, this will fill you with pride and make you laugh (and probably make you cry too).

Buy it here

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Joel Naoum

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