These Are the Memoirs You Should Be Reading Right Now

Kendra Winchester, a Contributing Editor for Book Riot focusing on audiobooks and disability literature, is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, celebrating Appalachian literature. Previously, she co-founded and was the Executive Director of Reading Women, an internationally popular podcast. In her free time, she writes on her Substack, Winchester Ave, and shares photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.

For avid memoir readers, the constant influx of new memoirs and personal essay collections can overwhelm your to-be-read list. To help narrow it down, here are some recent must-reads:

– “Sucker Punch: Essays” by Scaachi Koul delves into her divorce with humor and honesty.
– “Sweet Nothings: Confessions of a Candy Lover” by Sarah Perry is a delightful exploration of her love for candy.
– “Bibliophobia: A Memoir” by Sarah Chihaya reveals the impact of books on the author’s life and mental health.
– “Stories I Lived to Tell: An Appalachian Memoir” by Gary Carden, Edited by Neal Hutcheson, offers glimpses into Carden’s life in the Appalachian Mountains.

This week, the Editorial Desk highlights the best new poetry collections of 2025 so far, featuring diverse voices and perspectives. These collections, written before the previous year’s presidential election, offer timely and insightful reflections on the world today.

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