**Not That Kind of Girl – Lena Dunham **
It feels like there has been quite enough written about Ms Dunham this week already, but it’s worth noting that she has managed to create an epic popular-culture ruckus with the simplest of items: an autobiography. Yes, a book of stories about her life that is so dazzling in its candour and so razor-sharp with its language that a global media storm has been the result. We always knew it would be big, and we had no doubt that people would feel engaged, but Not That Sort Of Girl has proved not just to be the biggest autobiography of the year, but one whose impact will be felt for generations.
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All The Moon’s A Balloon – David Niven
One of the all time classic memoirs, this has sold well over five million copies worldwide, largely because of cinematic icon Niven’s apparently effortless charm. He writes about his childhood, his expulsion from school and his serving in the forces in WW2, but he does it with the kind of old school humour that creates the literary equivalent of buttered toast in front of an open fire. He’s classy about Hollywood, but he doesn’t hold back either. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is an old duffer blethering on – it’s the industry standard by which many autobiographies are (and should!) be measured.
Ayoade On Ayoade - Richard Ayoade
There’s very little in the way of actual autobiography as the entire book is a 300 page in-joke, but there are nuggets of golden lolz in here, too. A spoof of the Faber Directors on Directors series, this sees Ayoade ‘tell the story of his craft’ through a series of interviews with himself. He is deliberately unrevealing, preferring to dwell on parodying the pomposity of the art house end of film industry, but his perceptive eye and the construction of some of his jokes are largely bang on. You have to be a bit of a fan first, but it’s hard not to love this.
Yes Please – Amy Poehler
Moments of memoir that lift your heart to your throat, truly, delightfully daft photographs of the author, blatant filler such as lists and emails, an impassioned essay on how much she shouldn’t be writing a book and some exquisite ‘Plastic Surgery Haikus’ are all ingredients of Poehler’s debut book. It’s not as classic a format as Tina Fey’s Bossypants, but it’s as instantly likeable and tangibly wise as Amy is (despite the blatant filler). It also feels like an extension of her fantastic work with her Smart Girls charity. Basically, this is essential reading for every teenager, and every woman on day 27.
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The Woman I Wanted To Be – Diane von Furstenberg
There is simply no pissing around with DvF. She grew up daughter to a mother who had survived a concentration camp, she married a prince and she built a frankly fabulous business empire in the notoriously hostile fashion industry. And she’s still on fire at 67, with her original facial features still identifiable. Indeed, she is clear with her women readers in the book: ‘Do not become an object.’ There’s something delightfully lofty about her tone here – she knows she has an amazing story, she knows she has great anecdotes in here, and she knows we’ll lap it up adoringly. She’s right.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.