Best biography 2022
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20 Best-Selling Biographies & Memoirs | The Most Sought-After Titles by Public Libraries
BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR BEST SELLERS MAY
Rank
1
Spare. [HC] Prince Harry. Random House. ISBN $
2
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times [HC] Michelle Obama. Crown. ISBN $
3
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. [HC] Matthew Perry. Flatiron Books. ISBN $
4
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man. [HC] Paul Newman. Knopf. ISBN $
5
I’m Glad My Mom Died. [HC] Jennette McCurdy. Simon & Schuster. ISBN $
6
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. [HC] Jon Meacham. Random House. ISBN $
7
So Help Me God. [HC] Mike Pence. Simon & Schuster. ISBN $
8
The Revolutionary Samuel Adams. [HC] Stacy Schiff. Little, Brown. ISBN $
9
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. [HC] Bono. Knopf. ISBN $
10
Love, Pamela. [HC] Pamela Anderson. Dey Street Books. ISBN
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Rules & Eligibility
The Goodreads Choice Awards have two rounds of voting open to all registered Goodreads members. Winners will be announced December 08,
Opening Round: Nov 15 - 27
In the first round there are 20 books in each of the 15 categories, and members can vote for one book in each category.
Final Round: Nov 29 - Dec 04
The field narrows to the top 10 books in each category, and members have one last chance to vote!
Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 17, , and November 15, , are eligible for the Goodreads Choice Awards. Books published between November 16, , and November 14, , will be eligible for the awards.
We analyze statistics from the millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads to nominate 20 books in each category. For the Audiobook category, nominations are based on the millions of titles added, rated, and reviewed both on Goodreads and A
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New Biography
Spinoza: Life and Legacy
by Jonathan Israel
Spinoza: Life and Legacy is a new biography of the 17th-century Dutch-Jewish philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, by historian Jonathan Israel. Israel is a leading historian of early modern Europe, and an expert on the Dutch Republic, the tolerant—by 17th-century standards—world in which Spinoza grew up. His parents had fled Portugal because of the Inquisition and, as Israel points out, that "dark Iberian context was a crucial factor in Spinoza's background, early life, and formation and likewise an essential dimension for understanding his thought generally." The book builds on Steven Nadler's biography of Spinoza, and at more than 1, pages is absolutely not for beginners. Rather, it's for those seeking to think deeply—and disagree with Israel at times, no doubt—about Spinoza and his life and thought.
(If you're looking for a more introductory approach to Spinoza, our interview about him is with Steven Nadler)
Read expert rec