Memoirs and Biographies We Love discussion
What'cha readin'?
Jennifer wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I finished Empires of Sand - an exciting, plot-driven adventure story! My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I will now startRules of Civility, an audiobook, a..."
Jennifer wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I finished Empires of Sand - an exciting, plot-driven adventure story!
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I will now startRules of Civility, an audiobook, a..."
Rules of Civility sounds just like my cup of tea. Thanks for the recommendation!
Carolyn, I didn't think I would like it. Never! But I loved it. Towles is a master of metaphor.
Chrissie wrote: "Carolyn, I didn't think I would like it. Never! But I loved it. Towles is a master of metaphor."thanks, I amlooking forward to it. I have to finish my library books first though. I am almost finished with "The Little Red Guard, A Family Memoir", by Wenguang Huang. It is the story of a young man and his family living in central China from the nineteen seventies through the end of the twentieth century. It is a reminder of the terrible negative affect a suppressive and totalitarian government has on the culture, economics, history, as well as the very soul of all of its people. When I'm done with that I will find "Rules of Civility" to read. I'll be in touch!
Just finished a beautiful and heartfelt book - The Truth About Butterflies: A Memoir by Nancy Stephan. You can view my review on the GR book page.http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
Carolyn, please tell me what you think of The Little Red Guard. How is the writing, how is the structure of the plots? What is good? What is bed? Looks interesting. I have added it. Thank you.Leila, I just checked out the book you have read. I am worried that the religious message might be too overpowering for me.
I finished Those Who Save Us(review: What Is Left the Daughter)
and have started What Is Left the Daughter. I am completely drained after the last so I need something lighter in tone. In this one the story begins when a guy's parents both commit suicide on the same night - each jumping off a different bridge in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Yes, it is lighter in tone than the last one!
Finished What Is Left the DaughterReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I still preferred The Bird Artist by this author.
Have started: Between Love and Honor
I have read The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New WorldReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and the very short
The Backwash Of War
Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
which definitely socks a punch!
Both are memoirs.
Thank you Nancy for pushing me to read the first, which had been sitting on my wooden shelves for ages!
And thank you Steelwhisper for recommending the latter. This is to date the best book I have read on WW1. It is short, but it hits home with its message. Caustic in tone and very brutal reading! There is a link on my review to the free copy at Gutenberg.
I will now start Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Another book I purchased ages ago!
Well I did not at all like Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Most everybody likes it but me, but after writing my review people have joined and told me they thought as me! :0) Now I will read a non-fiction book. I need something real to fasten on to. Will start Frida: A Biography of Frida KahloIt's a biography. My favorite genre. I deserve something good after that last book.
I absolutely loved: Between Love and Honor, a book of historical fiction that keeps close to he true events. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I liked this even better than Fanny Stevenson: A Romance of Destiny. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I am still reading Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo which is a biography. It is my paper book. It is a tough read, given the harrowing events of this artist's life! You have to take "breathers" occasionally.
My new audiobook is Let the Great World Spin. It pulls you in immediately, and the narration is excellent. There are several narrators to represent the different characters. This book is composed of different people's stories that are tied together.
I have decided to drop Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. I cannot take it any more. this book is not bad, but it is not for me!My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I will start Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story.
Chrissie wrote: "I have decided to drop Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. I cannot take it any more. this book is not bad, but it is not for me!My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I will sta..."
That swap kind of sounds like out of the frying pan.......
Chrissie wrote: "Carolyn, please tell me what you think of The Little Red Guard. How is the writing, how is the structure of the plots? What is good? What is bed? Looks interesting. I have added it. Thank you.Lei..."I enjoyed The Little Red Guard by Wenguang Huang very much. It is particularly insightful if you are drawn to China's history of political despotism and its people's resolve to retain their history, family, and traditions in spite of it. I found the author's memoir touching, funny, and inspiring. I recommend it> Carolyn
Jennifer wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I have decided to drop Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. I cannot take it any more. this book is not bad, but it is not for me!My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/803..."
Jennifer, yeah, in to the fire! But it isn't really. Frida is very annoying. Sala draws you heart and makes it pound.
I am in fact still reading the book on Frida! I have to know more but I will do it in small portions so I do not explode. My biggest criticism of the book is its insufficient editing. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo
Carolyn wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Carolyn, please tell me what you think of The Little Red Guard. How is the writing, how is the structure of the plots? What is good? What is bed? Looks interesting. I have added it..."Thank you, Carolyn. I have addedThe Little Red Guard.
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I am so happy more people are joining in here and conversations are occurring!
I am reading Growing Up Patton, well, that isn't totally accurate. I picked it up from the library and I am going to start it once I finish Flags of Our Fathers.
Finished: Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust StoryReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Starting:Farewell Shanghai
Finished: Farewell ShanghaiReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
This is fiction but based on real people and events.
Starting: The Dark Side of Love
WOW, I just finished Let the Great World Spin. You must either read or listen to this book - now, or very,,very soon! At least if you appreciate books with excellent writing. Books that get you thinking. This is un-rhymed poetry at its best. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I must immediately read another by this author so I have chosen Zoli
I am still reading The Dark Side of Love. It is dauntingly mammoth with 853 pages! But it is definitely good! Takes places in Damascus, Syria. I will start Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, about children growing up in the South Bronx, the poorest congressional district of the US. It is non-fiction. When I read two books at the same time they have to be completely different. This is an audiobook.
And I just finished: Zoli
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I had trouble with this in the beginning - due to my own inability to not concentrate on historical details and just let myself listen and enjoy the story. I have given it four stars. I gave Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin five stars. This author can really, really write, but you cannot demand that you understand everything as you read. By the end you do understand.
I need to know, is this group totally dead? If so I will stop trying to get people to talk about biographies and other interesting books about people.
I don't think it's dead. But like most groups that specialize in a niche of books (I belong to several, like one focusing on fashion books, cozy mysteries with a food theme, British literature and a few others), it tends to have less traffic because most people don't read inside this niche all, or even most, of the time. Certainly true of me. I post in here when I read a book germane to the group but that may only be a half dozen or a dozen books a year, out of a couple hundred. I like the group, though!!!
Jennifer, that is definitely logical what you say. I just want to talk with people about the books we're reading. Biographies and memoirs are my favorite genre. Zoli is about a real Polish Romani woman called Papsuza, but it is also fiction. I don't mind reading books that are partially fiction if they are about a real person. Sometimes you get into an individual's head if one has free rein with the imagination. What do you think?
Chrissie wrote: "Jennifer, that is definitely logical what you say. I just want to talk with people about the books we're reading. Biographies and memoirs are my favorite genre. Zoli is about a real Polish Romani w..."I agree. History may be written in the events, but it LIVES in the reactions of the people it happens to. At least for me.
I am dumping The Dark Side of Love. Don't waste your time on this terrible book.Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I hope I will like Storming Heaven. I really loved the author's Saints and Villains. Really, do read this if it might interest you!
I have been busy - with books. I finished three:Storming Heaven is a MUST read!!!!
Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A great love story and real historical events.
Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation
Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A book that should be obligatory for all.
Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery: A Novel
Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
For those who enjoy novellas.
There are all short reviews. I promise!
Now I have begun the audiobook: Comedy in a Minor Key
and the paper book: The Distant Land of My Father I soooo hope it will be a better evocation of Shanghai during WW2; Farewell Shanghai really disappointed.
Many think Comedy in a Minor Key is special. Well, they can explain that to me! I beg to differ.My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I have begun True Grit, a good old Western! I am attracted to the vitality of Mattie Ross. This is supposed to be a really good story.
Both are audiobooks.
Chrissie wrote: "I absolutely loved Rules of Civility!My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I will now start the audiobook Those Who Save Us and open The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Fa..."
I just finished Rules of Civility. It was a good read. I loved that the main character was a bibliophile and that it was set in Manhattan. I was reading it as the superstorm Sandy was destroying so much of that remarkable city. I'm from New York and have been to so many of the places cited in the book. I just found it very emotional. The writing for me was just alright. I didn't always believe his characters' actions or words, but overall, a good novel.
Right now I m reading some mystery novels by a Scottish author, Josephine Tey, a pseudonym for Elizabeth MacKintosh. She wrote several mystery books during the 1940's and 50's under this pen name. I am really enjoying them. They are so well written and plotted. Although I just recently found her, she certainly deserves a place of honor along other giants of her genre such as Daphne du Maurier and Agatha Christie. I recommend her to any mystery book lover.
Carolyn, in some way we reacted the same, but the author's use of metaphors did not blow you over! After reading this book, I felt I had to see another side of the same city. That is one reason I also read Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, to kind of get a balance.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Distant Land of My FatherMy review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Will start tomorrow Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood, another book about life under Japanese occupation, but this time in Korea. Biographical.
I finished Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean BoyhoodReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I would classify this as a young adult book.
I will start: The Gypsies
Why? Because it is about a Belgian boy of 12 who left his family to live with gypsies for 10 years. He must have something to say about gypsy life! And since I live here in Belgium I should read this book.
I have finished True GritMy review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I cannot think of anybody who would fail to enjoy this book. I promise you, you will laugh and keep laughing until it is over.
Now I will start I am Forbidden
Who wrote "Gypsies"? I'd be interested to read it. About 10 years ago, my husband and I took a trip to Spain and I saw Gypsies for the first time. I was astounded to see that they really exist and that they dress the way we imagined them. Up until then, I always thought that someone was making it up. I was surprised at how badly they seem to be treated all over Europe. They actually seem to be the N.... of Europe in terms of their status and how they are regarded.
Lisa, I have several books related to gypsies on this shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...I have heard that Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey is quite good. Zoli, I mentioned before.
Thanks,Chrissie. I'll definitely try reading one of them.
I'm reading "Contents May Have Shifted" by Pam Houston- she classifies it as a novel, but for anyone who has read Pam Houston it seems highly autobiographical (down to the name of the protaganist) and I'm enjoying the short segment method of presentation. I think there are 144 short segments...and exploring this as a possible way to address a second memoir I'm considering on experience in the military.
Elizabeth wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I finished 920 O'Farrell Street: A Jewish Girlhood in Old San Francisco by Harriet Levy and am starting Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot by Elisabeth E..."loved Three Cups of Tea- read it on our honeymoon! But wow, lots of controversy about the truthfulness of it...find the essay by Krakauer. Ouch.
Tom wrote: "I've been meaning to buy Reynolds' Whitman bio for some time now. On a smaller scale, I have read The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in the Civil War, by Roy Morris, a particulary moving and insightfu..."wow- this sounds fascinating. WIll look for it!
I finished The GypsiesMy review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Now starting: The Phantom of the Opera
The musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber was fantastic, so I have to read the book!
Finished Butterfly's ShadowMy review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I do recommend this book. Good historical fiction about life during the Depression and being Japanese in the US during the war. You learn interesting things about the Japanese language too.
Now I will start The Book of Ebenezer le Page. I want to know more about life on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands.
I really, really did enjoy listening to The Book of Ebenezer le Page. If you cannot listen to it, then I guess you must read it instead. If you have never listened to audiobooks this is a great one to start with. I adored the lines and the humor and the people I met. It was perfect until the very last chapter. Two things were not quite right with that very last chapter, so the book went from a five to a four star book.My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Have started The Bluest Eye. It will be quite hard for Toni Morrison to come up to the narrative ability of Roy Dotrice, speaking for Ebenezer! The tone is so dramatically different.
I just finished The Bluest Eye. This is a difficult book to get through, but I am glad I tackled it.Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
My next audiobook will be The English Patient. I have seen the movie ages ago and now I want to listen to every word of the book.
I am also reading The Visible World, but the beginning isn't so great. I have heard it does improve.
I have completed The Visible World and the audiobook The English Patient. These are my reviews: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... and
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
On the back cover of "The Visible World" the author's writing is compared to Ondaatje's. I don't agree.
I have started I, Mona Lisa. It grabs you right away! I will start Matterhorn tomorrow.
Finished the audiobook Matterhorn, fantastically narrated by Jeff Harding!My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
This started very slowly for me, but then it picked up speed and engaged me. I very highly recommend it.
Will now start Painter of Silencenarrated by Siân Thomas.
I am so glad I am done with I, Mona Lisa!
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
This one started great but went rapidly down-hill. At least in my opinion. I didn't learn anything about Mona Lisa. This is a murder mystery. You do learn about Renaissance Florence, ie the end of the 1400s.
And now I will start Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.
Wow, I was impressed by Painter of Silence. I have to read/listen to another by this author. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I will start Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Love Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed
I finished: The Calligrapher's DaughterMy review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and before that
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Neither were bad, but now I want a really, really remarkable book. Something super.....
Japanese Inn. Oliver Statleruses stories from the history of an ancient Japanese inn called the Minaguchi-ya to illustrate the colorful history of Japan from 1569 through 1957, similar to the technique employed by Ivo Andrićn in his great book: The Bridge on the Drina. I did love that one!
I have completed The Gods of GothamMy review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and am now listening to the memoir: Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story about growing up in Kenya, elephants and the Mau Mau Rebellion is included too!
I finished Japanese Inn. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Although similar in lay out, offering stories about a particular place, the writing does NOT have the flair of The Bridge on the Drina. Now that IS a wonderful book, where the city itself has a presence. Beautiful writing. I hate it when one book is compared to another and does live up to the comparison. One being flat and the other beautiful. Here is why I loved Ivo Andrić!s book: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I gave the Japanese book two stars and the Bosnian one 5 stars; it is all in the writing!
Now I have started, hesitantly, The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. In fact it is interesting. I thought I would love the Japanese Inn, and I didn't. The Great Mortality I have been putting off for ages, and hey it may be really good!!!
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)
More...
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)
More...
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I will now start the audiobook Those Who Save Us and open The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World. I never started it because I could not stop listening to "Rules of Civility"! Remember? I thought it wouldn't work for me. Boy, was that erroneous.