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It's finally summer, which means holidays and afternoons spent in parks - time when reading material is needed. To inspire your reading list, we have rounded up the best new memoirs to read during the forthcoming warmer months - from the worlds of politics, music, sport, literature and film.
Track the impressive career of Hillary Clinton in Hard Choices ; join director John Waters on his colourful roadtrip across America with Carsick ; or go back to the Seventies with The Slits' Viv Albertine and learn the truth about the rebellion and wildness of punk.
Click on the gallery to see the IndyBest buys
Show all 10 10 best memoirs Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine For a candid insight into the British punk scene, this offering from the former Slits guitarist, who was mates with Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Malcom McLaren et al, is an affecting and honest view of her time in the influential all-girl punk band.
£10.26, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs A Curious Career by Lynn Barber Driven by a self-confessed nosy streak, Lynn Barber has a just reputation for getting fascinating material from her interviewees. Here, she recounts memorable moments including her infamous four-day Salvador Dali interview, and when she was nearly charmed by “lost soul” Pete Doherty.
£11.89, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs Rock Stars Stole My Life! by Mark Ellen The journalist shares anecdotes from his time on pop and rock’s frontline; from getting on the wrong side of Elvis Costello’s entourage to touring with Rihanna and the time Lady Gaga let him see her naked. Less a critical account, more an appreciation of an intoxicating industry.
£17.47, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty by Diane Keaton This offers 68-year-old Keaton’s musings on beauty and ageing in an industry that values youth and marginalises maturity. As well as the expected style advice, she tackles less glamorous issues from female baldness to death.
£15.13, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs Born To Manage by Terry Venables Venables’ entertaining account of his career tells a home-grown success story. It maps his time playing and coaching, including his 23-match tenure managing England when the Three Lions only lost once – and of course that penalty defeat against Germany in Euro 96.
£9, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton Given the former First Lady is a likely 2016 presidential candidate, this was never going to be a candid tell-all. Instead, we learn about Clinton’s character through the passion and gravitas she gives to international affairs.
£6.99, thebookpeople.co.uk
10 best memoirs Carsick by John Waters One day in 2012, the famously eccentric film-maker left his house in Baltimore and hitchhiked to San Francisco, holding a sign that read, “I’m not a pyscho”. This book, detailing his varied travelling companions, is a funny, subversive read.
£16.99, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff When poet Joanna Rakoff joined a publishing company in New York, she was given the job of reading JD Salinger’s fan mail. With the enigmatic Catcher In The Rye author as the trigger, this is Rakoff’s own coming of age story.
£11.89, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs Take This Man by Brando Skyhorse The award-winning author has penned a searingly honest account of his turbulent childhood and his path into writing. Not least, as captured in the title, his mother’s habit of bringing men home and presenting them as a new father figure.
£13.62, amazon.co.uk
10 best memoirs I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Wise Wise, empowering and perennial, this is the first stage in African-American writer Maya Angelou’s six-part memoirs detailing her struggle as a girl to overcome racism and trauma. First published in 1969, now is the time to read or rediscover this gem after the author's death in May.
£7.19, thebookpeople.co.uk
Verdict:
Those looking for a serious read should try Hillary Clinton’s detailed memoir; anyone after unadulterated escapism should look no further than John Waters’ colourful Carsick . Or if you fancy immersing yourself in a time where rebellion and individuality were paramount, Viv Albertine’s candid autobiography is my pick for the summer.
1. Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine, £10.26
2. A Curious Career by Lynn Barber, £11.89
3. Rock Stars Stole My Life! by Mark Ellen, £17.47
4. Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty by Diane Keaton, £15.13
5. Born To Manage by Terry Venables, £9
6. Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton, £6.99
7. Carsick by John Waters, £16.99
8. My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff, £11.89
9. Take This Man by Brando Skyhorse, £13.62
10. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Wise, £7.19
