Our reader asked: I'm looking for my next great read. I'm a fan of graphic novels that function as memoirs, or even semi-autobiographical fiction that's realistic. I've really enjoyed Persepolis, Marbles, This One Summer, and One Bad Rat. What should I put on my list to read next?

Vietnamerica is really good. It has fantastic art and color themes that switch from story to story. Also, the full panel illustrations that end each chapter are clever and touching. It took me a while to figure out that the author was leading me on the same unveiling of his family story that he went through. His disjointed beginning circles back in to reveal other layers of his family history and by the end was quite well done. Unterzakhn has a punch at the end that makes the whole better than the sum of its parts. Bonus: it takes place in NYC. I Kill Giants does a great job at visualizing the raw emotion that a kid feels as she faces the mortality of a parent. Anger, fear, and ultimately acceptance are all portrayed earnestly.  I would be remiss if I just assumed that everyone has already read Maus, but it's absolutely one of the best graphic novels in existence, so everyone should read it. —Carmen Nigro, Local History and Genealogy

American Widow by Alissa Torres. A memoir in the truest sense. With art and pacing as intimate as the story told, this book offers a rare glimpse into one woman's heartbreaking post-9/11 struggle. Emotional, captivating, and impossible to put down. —Daniel Norton, Mid-Manhattan Library

If you haven't read Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, this is a must read. Loved the humorous take she has on her own struggles with mental illness and the child-like art. And if you missed Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, a dark father-daughter story about family secrets from a few years back, definitely check it out. Glad to see Maus included here! Definitely one everyone should read. —Danita Nichols, Inwood

I picked up Dogs of War for my son but thoroughly enjoyed reading these three tales based on true stories of veterans from WWI, WWII and Vietnam and their faithful service dogs. Short but satisfying. —Maura Muller, Volunteers Office

My Friend Dahmer by Derf is an autobiographical account of growing up with the serial killer (and confirmed cannibal) in a small, wooded suburb of Akron, Ohio. It's a stretch to say that they were friends; Dahmer was the most outcast of all the outcasts at school. But Derf took notice of Jeff's private, inner turmoil and mounting substance abuse. His retelling of late '70s high school life in wavy black ink is an attempt to make sense of the murderer Jeff became, as well as of those who quietly stood by as it happened. —Lauren Lampasone, Web Team

How about Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's "graphic memoir" of the final years of her aging parents, and how she coped with their increasing infirmity and death. —Kathie Coblentz, Cataloging

Palestine is a landmark work of comics-as-journalism. When author Joe Sacco travels to the Occupied Territories in 1991 to document Palestinian's lives, he becomes embroiled in their struggle. Sacco's dense, detailed illustrations sit alongside his conversations with everyday people to create a personal and harrowing book that remains relevant over twenty years later. —Charlie Radin, Inwood

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli is a few years old (2009), but I think it belongs in this list. Also from 2009, Stitches by David Small. For something newer and a younger audience, I'd suggest El Deafo by Cece Bell. —Jenny Baum, Jefferson Market

One of my favorite graphic novel memoirs is Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto, detailing a New York City-based cartoonist who is diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks before her wedding. Another great one is Epileptic by French comic artist David Beauchard. Through stunning, surreal, black-and-white images, he tells the story of his childhood, growing up with his sister and epileptic brother. —Thomas Knowlton, School Outreach

I recommend March: Book One / John Lewis ; co-written by Andrew Aydin ; art by Nate Powell. "March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement." —Back cover flap. NOTE:  Second volume March Book 2 coming out January 2015! —Maira Liriano, Schomburg Center

I humbly add Pyongyang by Guy Delisle. He spent a couple of months in North Korea overseeing cartoon production—it's cheaper for companies to have this work done there than in their own countries sometimes! Pyongyang finds humor in his bewildering experience and the graphic novel format makes you feel like you're watching a documentary. —Leslie Tabor, Yorkville

Alison Bechdel’s predecessor to Fun Home (cited above) Are You My Mother? is also wonderful. I would also like to recommend the original cast recording of Fun Home (music by Jeanine Tesori.) —Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Exhibitions

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is definitely worth checking out!  It's the story of Lucy's experiences growing up with food, from fancy organic dishes to fast food, and the way that her relationship to food connected to her relationship to her family.  It's a memoir that leans towards the positive, so you can cheer yourself up with this one if you've read too many depressing books in a row. —Andrea Lipinski, Kingsbridge

Around the World, by Matt Phelan - Details the real journeys of three daring people (a cyclist, a reporter, and a sailor) who set out to circumnavigate the globe in response to the circumnavigation-fever inspired by Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days. I especially enjoyed the details about bicycle culture of the era (did I mention it was a penny-farthing bicycle?), and this was an awesome introduction to the historical figure Nellie Bly. Phelan's style is elegant and muted, simultaneously evoking the 19th century as a living, current moment and placing it gently in the realm of the past. Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, by Box Brown - By all accounts the kindest and gentlest man, Andre Roussimoff left us too soon. Box Brown tells Andre's life story with simple line drawings and a lot of admiration. Brown brings in the words of real people from Andre's life - talent agents, fellow wrestlers, the cast of The Princess Bride - to craft the narrative. Brown supplies just enough detail about how professional wrestling works to maintain interest for the non-fan. The narrative embraces the scandalous, heartbreaking, and embarrassing aspects of a life as big as Andre's, including some very funny anecdotes about just how much wine it takes to fell a Frenchman of his stature. Andre's size may have made him famous, but Brown shows us it's the size of the giant's heart that leaves us feeling so bereft in his absence. Primates, by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks - Follows three female scientists (Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas) as they defy odds to become experts in the field of primatology. Their lives out in the field, their discoveries, and their conviction are fascinating, and it's all the better because it's true. Maris Wicks's art is as colorful as the jungle, and while the drawings are simple and their stories similar, the scientists' appearances and personalities Ottaviani crafts for them are perfectly distinct. The way their lives and research develop and intertwine keeps the reader engaged, and we come away understanding the magnitude of their contributions to science and perhaps even revising our own concept of humanity. —Leah Larecque, Yorkville

The Impostor's Daughter is about a woman who idolized her father and loved hearing about all the adventures he has had, only to learn that he fabricated it all. —Ronnie Krasnow, Morningside Heights

Calling Dr. Laura by Nicole J. Georges. Georges explores her dysfunctional family, coming to terms with her mother’s lies, and the idea of a father she thought was dead, all while seeking help from a psychic and a radio talk show host, Dr. Laura. —Rabecca Hoffman, Kingsbridge

I'll add that Gabrielle Bell is definitely an author/illustrator to check out. The free-wheeling, unrestrained, and wonderfully odd fiction shorts in When I am Old and Other Stories have an authentic and emotionally satisfying root, while Lucky is a chronicle of everyday, young, underemployed Brooklyn life with appealingly straightforward illustration. —Jill Rothstein, Andrew Heiskell

How about American Splendor by Harvey Pekar? Several in the series have been collected in this anthology. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

How about Smile by Raina Telgemeier. —Susie Heimbach, Mulberry Street