Memoirs and Biographies We Love discussion
What'cha readin'?
Pamela, i don't buy books anymore. Only ebooks for my Kindle.
Chrissie wrote: "Pamela, i don't buy books anymore. Only ebooks for my Kindle."Excellent, I love the idea of the Kindle, but I don't need one yet. But since I travel a lot with only carry ons, maybe I do need one.
Dina wrote: "I plan to read Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman, about her year in the penitentiary in 2004, following conviction for her part in a drug operation. She's a Smith grad who sought adventure (..."Hi Dina,
I just ordered "Orange.." because I recently read "A Glimpse of Grace", about a woman's experience in prison after she mishandled government money in her pharmaceutical business. "Glimpse" was great, and everyone I lent it to thought the same(It's actually Christian.)
I recently finished After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam and a link to my GR spoiler free reviews follows:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
You learn both about the early periods of Islam through the storiess that were told by word of mouth, and you learn of the political tensions that grew as the split arose.
Now I will start The Hare with Amber Eyes A Family's Century of Art and Loss which is about a Japanese netsuke collection, the family that owned it and the history interwoven into their lives. It is about art, history and different cultures.
I'm currently reading Blind: A Memoir by Belo Cipriani. Very touching book- it's tear-jearker and is truly inspirational at the same time. I absolutely love it so far, and would recommend it to anyone interested in touching memoirs.http://blindamemoir.com
I have just begun Death and the Penguin, and I am already laughing. I am reading this book because I wanted to meet Misha, the penguin. I wanted something light having just struggled through The Hare with Amber Eyes A Family's Century of Art and Loss. I have given it three stars b/c the last 100 odd pages were very good, but the first 234 were not! And here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... If you are interested in this book I suggest your read the comments on mine and Amy Hanry's review. In the comments to my review there is a link to her review. You get to see two different points of view.
I just finished Death and the Penguin. I thought the humor was going to be of a different kind, in fact the beginning lines I found a bit deceptive. My spoiler-free GR review explains more:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Many have praised Pope Joan. I have it sitting here on my shelf. Has there been a female Pope? I am not so sure that question will be solved by this book, but it looks like a fun read.
I have completed Pope Joan, and here follows my spoiler-free GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I did not like how this book was written. My criticsm of the book has nothing to do with the author's view that Pope Joan did exist. I found the author's note at the end of the book quite convincing.
I have begun The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. I am so tired of reading short kindalized books! This one is long, interesting and something to sink into, I hope.
I will now start On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood. I bought it. My husband grabbed it first, and he said I would like it. He even confirmed that the historical facts were accurate. :0) So I will tackle the paperback. If it proves to difficult I will switch to a Kindle book. I just finished How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers. I give it my highest recommendations. You do not have to be chronically ill to learn a lot from this book! You need not be a Buddhist, but you might begin to appreciate their beliefs. Before reading this book I thought Buddhism was way to negative for my tastes. The book was a real eye-opener! Here follows my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... . This is a five star book.
Both are in fact memoirs.
I just finished "Lady Blue Eyes" by Barbara Sinatra and I really enjoyed it. Barbara has a nice personality, and I liked learning about that generation. It had some pretty enjoyable ancedotes in the book.
I have now downloaded Gyula Krudy's Sunflower. I read the beginning and was terribly intriqued by the author's prose style. I felt that what I read was dreamy, macabre, and erotic all rolled together, just as the book description describes the writing. And I do like reading a story that takes place in Hungary. I just hope it is as good as others have said! I finished this morning the memoir, On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood. I highly recommend it. Here is my spoiler-free review. Everyone is reading In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin. I have chosen to read this instead. It is all about how the Germans felt about Hitler and WW2, before, during and after, seen through the eyes of the people in one family. That little girl on the cover is the author, and she sat on Hitler's lap when she was three. She and her family lived next door to his retreat in Bavaria. Here is my review of this book: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I gave it four stars.
Having dumped Sunflower, I have now started Far to Go by Alison Pick. I have read several books about Czechoslovakia during the war. This has as a central theme the Kindertransport and the life of a family of secular Jews. It is historical fiction, but based on the author's grandparents' lives. My review explains why I didn't like Sunflower: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I just finished Far to Go. It was worth 4 stars. This is a perfect example of how historical fiction can best be put to use. You fill in the missing parts when you only know some of the facts! Here is my spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... I had a hard time putting it down. It is based on the authors' grandparents' lives. I will now start W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz. Just as Far to Go was about a child who left Czechoslovakia via Kindertransport to Britain, this book too has the same theme. It too is about our need to remember, understand and not forget the past. It will be intereting to compare the two. I hope I like the style of writing. The book description put me off a bit, but I have the book, so I will give it a try. This is pure fiction, I believe.
I have completed Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. Here follows my spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... This is an excellent book filled with the science of weather, the politics behind the Weather Bureau and the dramatic recounting of one terrible hurricane in Galveston, Septimber 1900. This is a non-fiction memoir. I will now start Swedish Tango: A Novel. I am drawn to read this because the characters come from different cultures: Chilean, French and Finnish . They live in Sweden as foreign exiles, so Swedish customs will alos be part of the picture. The status of foreign exiles in Sweden is sure to be an interesting subject. Furthermore it concerns the overthrow of Allende in Chile, and Pinochet's subsequent rule. Finally, I simply very much liked that style of writing found in the sample.
Swedish Tango: A Novel sounds interesting. I'll put it on my to-read list. Thanks. You've steered me to several interesting books that I wouldn't have read otherwise.
Lisa, I have finished it and have given it four stars. I will soon add the review, but I have tons of emails to answer first.
Hi Chrissy, I have enjoyed several of the recommendations that you gave. They were books that I wouldn't have read otherwise. You seem to read an awful lot. Where do you find the time?
I really enjoyed Swedish Tango: A Novel. It is primarily about relationships, but please see my review which explains all the other themes it touches on: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I gave it four stars; it is that good! For those interested!Now I am reading The Big Rock Candy Mountain. Stegner really has an ability to depict his characters! I am almost done.
Lisa, I find them from my griends at GR :0) and Kirkus and NPR among others. Kirkus is however foing down the drain.
I have begun Blessed by Thunder: Memoir of a Cuban Girlhood. I was hooked when I read a bit of the text at Barnes & Noble! I loved Allende's The House of the Spirits, and I think that perhaps there really will be similarities between the two books. It is a memoir about a girl's childhood growing up under the guidance of her grandmothers and the mystical stories that were an integral part of her experiences. History too - as Cuba falls to Castro's regime. Having read about 40 pages, I am thoroughly enjoying myself. I am being given Cuban vernacular, customs and "mystical" beliefs all rolled up into a personal story. I just finished The Big Rock Candy Mountain. I wanted to taste Wallace Stegner, that everyone says is such a fabulous writer. I am glad I read it but it was just too depressing for my tastes. Yes, the author does magnificently depict his characters. My spoiler-free review explains my views: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... .
Hi. I'm a new member. This looks like a great group!My favorite memoir is "Without a Map" by Meredith Hall. I really felt like I was walking inside the landscape of the author's mind and seeing the world through her eyes as I was reading. It's a terrific story of falling into the abyss, the dark night of the soul, and finding a way out.
Katherine Mayfield
Author of The Box of Daughter: Overcoming a Legacy of Emotional Abuse
Dutch, some historical fiction stays very close to the facts. They must count! The trilogy I named for you about Josephine Bonaparte is historical fiction.
I just finished reading Dreams of Joy by Lisa See. It's historical fiction and must have been very thoroughy researched to provide so many details about the early years of Communism in China and the Great Leap Forward. It's well worth reading but it's a sequel and if you're interested in the story line of the main characters, it helps to have read Shanghai Girls first. That one focuses on discrimination against Chinese trying to immigrate to the USA in the 1920's.
Lisa, have I told you about On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family. This is written by the same author but is autobiographical. It is my favorite by her. Far above her fiction books, although it is as easy to read as those.
Hi, just joined. I enjoy reading memoirs particularly of favorite actors/actresses. I'll post some of my favorites later, right now have to get dinner going, just wanted to say Hi!
A few of my favorite memoirs:Honeymoon with My Brother: A Memoir by Franz Wisner
A Lotus Grows in the Mud by Goldie Hawn
Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back by Claire Fontaine
American Prince: A Memoir by Tony Curtis
Those are the ones that come first to my mind.
I just finished The Observations. It is a light, entertaining mystery. Even I liked it, and I usually cannot read mysteries! Please remember that for me three stars IS a good book to read! Here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I also recently finished Blessed by Thunder: Memoir of a Cuban GirlhoodBlessed by Thunder: Memoir of a Cuban Girlhood which I could not complete, but wish I could have. This I gave four stars to! My spoiler free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Now I will read The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year. I will next year attempt to read 52 books from 52 different countries. I have too many "must read" books for the Russian Federation, so I will take one from the list now. Doesn't it look interesting?!
Hi Chrissie, Who wrote Swedish Tango? I couldn't find it at my library.
Lisa, the author of Swedish Tango: A Novel Is Alyson Richman. I want to read more of her books. It is great that the topics of them are so different! The question is which to read next.
Thank you Chrissie. I will try again at the library.
Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris is a nonfiction book I just completed. It is set in France and is concerned with the Petiot murders that occurred in Occupied Paris during WW2. The qutestions are many. Who exactly did Petiot murder? Why? How?I appreciated that fact and speculation are differentiated. That was the goal of the author, and I think he did it very well. The research is thorough. The epilogue ties all the strands together and expresses what the author speculates to the questions that remain unanswered.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I gave it four stars rather than five because sometimes I stumbled among the facts. I could not keep absolutely every event and person straight, Although I think that is more my failure than the book's.
I will now start The Last Van Gogh. Why? Well, because i enjoyed the author's book Swedish Tango: A Novel and I enjoy getting inside the heads of artists. Sunflowers wasn't bad either. Will this be better?
I adored Arrogance, but that is about Schiele. All of these artist books are historical fiction. Check out The Painted Kiss too. I am only mentioning these because so few people seem to know of them and I really liked them. You will find my reviews. If you don't and you want them, just ask me.
I just joined. Looks like a good group. Lately I've been reading bios of US presidents. Currently,Lincoln by David Herbert Donald.
Lately, I've read
Eleanor & Franklin by Joseph P. Lash
T. R.: The Last Romantic by H. W. Brands
Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller
I do like historical fiction as well.
I have just begun A Guide to the Birds of East Africa. Do not make the error I made! I actually thought this was an ornithological guide, so I never looked inside! It is a story about a group of bird watchers in Nairobi, Kenya. It teaches about Kenya. It is humorous. And it is about how people relate to each other. If you have ever taken part in such weekly "bird walks", as I have, you will understand the humor to be found in observing each other. Every week the same troop arrives. Every week Mr. X arrives late. Every week some come with their dogs! Here I am the guilty one! Are dogs welcome at a walk where everyone talks in shispers and crouches down and stares into the leaves, rapidly setting up their tripods zooming in ing on the "finds". So this book attracts me,and I was told that I would learn about Kenya too. Well, that is just perfect. Humor and information all rolled into one. It is not a biography or memoir!I just completed The Last Van Gogh. Unfortunately, this was a total disappointment! The subject matter is not Van Gogh and the author did not create a moving, captivating tale. You might like it fi you like soppyromance novels. Perhaps sone of the female characters had to be weak, because that is how they were in real ife. In any case, something went wrong in the telling.
The epilogue, which explains who the book was really about, was totally fascinating! My spoiler -free review explains the true contentt: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I have several books on my shelves by this author. I DID enjoy Swedish Tango. The Mask Carver's Son and The Lost Wife were both on my TBR shelf. Now I do not know whether I should read them.
If you want a book of historical fiction more focused on Van Gogh, I would suggest Sunflowers. It is a good book. Here is my short review of that:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81...
I have just begun 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan. It was recommended to me by my GR friend, Gaeta, who lived in Japan for a while. On her recommendation I read the sample and was attracted by the thoughts presented in the small bit I had read. I always have seen Japan as a country where beauty is valued, but in the beginning of this book the author points out that in fact there is ugliness too. The modern cement building and flashing lights and electric wires all over the place are a part of present day Japan too. However, there is beauty too, you must just look for it. I did not have any trouble spotting it on my three week stay there. The spots of beauty are so startling that that is all you remember. The author writes the book in the hope that her distance to the Japanese people and culture will give her a clear perspective. This thought was voiced by Hokusai. The title of the book refers back to Hokusai's painting of Mt. Fuji. Have you see his print depicting a Japanese drinking a cup of tea, where the mountain is only seen as a reflection in the tea cup? So I am reading this book b/c I believe I will enjoy and learn from the author's years spent living in Japan.
I just finished A Guide to the Birds of East Africa. It is not an ornithologial guide, as I so erroneously thought every time I saw it here at GR. No, it is about a group of bird interested people living in Kenya. It is humorous and delightful. It helps to be interested in birds. It is clearly a comfort read. Here is my spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I'm currently reading (among other things) A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice by Malalai Joya. I am about 60% of the way through and it is excellent. Malalai Joya is a pseudonym that she uses not just for writing, but for much of her activities due to threats on her life.
She is a young Afghan woman who tells her story about her life in Afghanistan. Her father was educated and educated his daughters as well as his sons. Consequently, she ends up being politically active. The story is well written. I've read several books about Afghanistan, both fiction, The Kite Runner, but also non-fiction, Descent into Chaos: The United States & the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan & Central Asia among others. Her facts line up with others I've read, but this book gives a first hand account of an Afghan woman living through a very turbulent time in her country.
So far it's excellent.
I have just finished 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan. I t is about Japanese culture. You get to know these people on a personal level. It also deals with how you determine where you fit in if you feel at home in several countries, since you have lived in each of them for many years. Here is my spoiler free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I will now start From the Land of the Moon. Why? Because it takes place in Sardinia, I often enjoy books set in Italy and the story looks interesting. I do not think it will be too romantic for me. I don't mind a good love story if the author just keeps away from the fluff.
Preventative Maintanence for Flu Season:(Don't give pharmaceutical companies all your money!)
Start eating super-foods now(spinach, collard greens, kale, carrots, etc). Get them from your garden or from the local market...not supermarkets.
Wash all fruits and veggies in a bowl of vinegar-water (1 to 6 ratio). Salmanela and other bacterias are running rampant.
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Get plenty of sleep. 8hrs should allow the body to recover from the previous day and rejuvenate for the upcoming day.
Lower your stress/anxiety levels. It's proven that stress negatively affects the immune system. Simplify your life...eliminate activities/socializing which are not absolutely necessary.
Wash hands, wash hands, wash hands...and, oh yes, wash hands.
I just cracked open "I know why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou and I already loved it. Her style of writing is so pure. I can't wait to review it!
Having completed From the Land of the Moon (spoiler free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) in just one day, I have moved on to Mosaic: A Chronicle of Five Generations. I wanted to read this book for ages, and then it was kindlized :0). It is about a Jewish Polish family. It is not fiction. There is a map and two family trees, but, as usual, these are impossible to read on Kindles. I will make my own family trees and uses Wikipedia for maps. Best of all, I will be reading with my dear friend Lynne. Our views very often overlap! She will be listening to an audio. I wonder how the two will compare?!
Finally got back to Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. I got a slow start on it, but it has picked up. I'm about half way through and Lincoln has just been elected to the presidency, the lower southern states have seceded, but he hasn't taken office yet. Now that I've gotten into it the prose is flowing nicely.
I just finished an absolutely fabulous book: Mosaic: A Chronicle of Five Generations. This must be read by anyone who thinks they might be interested in following one Jewish Polish family's life through the 1900s. The author begins her search into the lives of her Jewish paternal grandparents. They had eleven children...... So there are lots of people. Don't be discouraged, You will come to truly know these people. They will feel ike family to you. Some you will like, some less so, but for all of them you will feel understanding. You learn about the holocaust through one family. You learn about what it is to be Jewish, to feel part of a larger family of people, the Jewish people. It is an amazing book so it gets five stars. Here is my spoiler free review, which provides excerpts: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... So now I will start The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel. Fun! Do you love Hokusai's prints? This is historical fiction about him and his daugther. His prints of Mt. Fuji in Japan are famous and utterly stunning. He had a philosophical message too. I have received this from NetGalley. If I am pleased I will read other books by this author. She has written another about Audubon's painting expeditions in Canada: Creation.
I have just finished The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel. I t has been given rave reviews. I highly recommend it for its depiction of life in Edo during the first half of the 20th Century and for those wishing to know more about Hokusai's artwork. In my view the dialogue passages could have been improved, while the depiction of landscapes and sights were exceptionally good. Here is my spoiler free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I felt I was living there in the pleasure district of Edo. I learned very much about Hokusai and his daughter, their relationship and their lives. It is a work of fiction, but the research behind it is excellent, and there is a detailed and noted Afterword.
Nevertheless, I gave it three stars. In my view certain aspects could have been improved. Please see the review if you are interested. Please remember, a three star book is worth reading. It means I liked it.
I will now start The Raven's Bride. I am curious to know more about Poe and his marriage to his cousin Sissy.
OK, so while in France on vacation I did a lot of reading. Four books - well, one short on on the way home sitting in the car. I can recommend reading all of them - except the last one which I thought was simply TERRIBLE!!!!All of the reviews are spoiler free.
The Raven's Bride
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Well and the Mine
http://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/...
Doc: A Novel
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Blind Owl
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
This is considered an Iranian masterpiece. I disliked it and thus only gave it one star.
And now I have begun Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. I absolutley love this author, Robert K. Massie, and I find Catherine the Great a very interesting person. I do not want fictional elements thrown in. I am sure Massie will stick to the truth and keep the tale engaging. His biographies are never dry. That is what I discovered when I read Nicholas and Alexandra and absolutely loved it.
I am currently reading the Biography of Steve Jobs......boy was this guy a piece of work! Don't get me wrong, I think he was a brilliant guy but also incredibly manipulative and nasty.
I can't decide if I want to read it, Renee .. for that very reason. I'm sure I will end up reading it, but I've heard so many negative things...
Kaliki wrote: "I can't decide if I want to read it, Renee .. for that very reason. I'm sure I will end up reading it, but I've heard so many negative things..."Kaliki.....Don't make the mistake I did. I actually bought it and regret that I spent my money on it. If you do end up reading it, try to borrow it from the library.
I won't tell you not to read it, but know that the man that everyone seems to have made out to be some sort of god was actually just a nasty person who lived in his own manipulative world. (And I use the word manipulative very strongly here!) He had serious issues with virtually everyone he came in contact with.
That's the impression I get. I'm sure I'll probably read it sometime, but thanks for the heads up - I'll save my money and borrow it.
Memoirs and Biographies We Love
Books mentioned in this topic
Farmer Boy (other topics)The Girl Who Ran Away (other topics)
Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times (other topics)
The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain (other topics)
James Dean: Little Boy Lost - An Intimate Biography (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
H. Alan Day (other topics)Mark Twain (other topics)
Michael Ondaatje (other topics)
Wendell Berry (other topics)
Edmund Morris (other topics)
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I heard he got caught for gathering money from the public for his cause, but it was a scam.