By Katrina RoeFriday 9 Sep 2022Hope Book ClubCultureReading Time: 2 minutes
Wondering what to read next? The latest episode of the Hope Book Club podcast has you covered.
Our reviewers have picked up some brilliant biographies – all by people who have overcome enormous challenges.
Katrina Clifford has been reading Trevor Noah’s biography, Born a Crime. The host of The Daily Show shares his story of growing up in South Africa during the final days of apartheid. While the book includes some traumatic content, he somehow keeps the tone light.
“He approaches it with his characteristic sense of humour and a huge amount of intelligence,” Katrina Clifford said.
“But you can see how he grows through it, how he learns about the world, how he learns who he is and tries to work out what his place is going to be in this disjointed world in which he doesn’t quite fit anywhere.”
The book is also a tribute to his devout Christian mother.
“Because she is this strong, determined woman that really shapes him, shapes the way that he sees the world, but also just gives him this huge amount of respect for her and I think for women more generally.”
Katrina Roe has been laughing her way through Michael McIntryre’s autobiography, A Funny Life. Find out how a slightly pudgy, insecure, debt-laden, struggling middle-aged comic became the biggest selling comedian in the world.
And, Ellanda from The Little Lost Bookshop was captivated by The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw. At age 75, she now lives a peaceful life in a picturesque part of New Zealand, but most of Ruth’s life has been anything but peaceful.
That’s all in our Brilliant Biographies episode of the Hope Book Club – because life’s just better with a book.