Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir Read In 2016
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As this discussion if for books read, would you all mind taking your conversation over to the chit chat thread?
4 stars
I had never heard of Barney until the cover caught my eye. Being a lover of animal stories the title made me want to read it. What an amazing dog and dog owner. Television reporter Dick Wolfsie opens his heart and soul, walking you through his life and adventures with Barney. Barney made such an impact with the TV views and a few non TV views. Highly recommend.
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If you loved those old 70's shows All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude, One Day At A Time and others, this was the guy that created and wrote the scripts for all of those wonderful shows. The only parts of this book that dragged for me were when he talked about shows I had never heard of, but that was not very often. I did not want this book to end. What I loved about this book is that Lear does not simply seem to be name-dropping or bragging. He genuinely seems to be grateful for everything he has experienced in his life.
Robin wrote: "All but about 100 of my books came over - those 100 are next on my list of fix-its. However, those that came over came without any reviews, without any "dates read", and a shelf was created here on..."I so totally feel your pain! Less than a tenth of my books imported. The ratings were there but they had all been changed. No dates. No reviews. I copied and pasted like a freak for weeks and weeks.
I just read a book that is as much biography as it is TC, Poison Tree: A True Story Of Family Terror. It takes you right inside a household run by a complete sphincter, and makes very clear why one of his victims finally did something about it that he couldn't take back.
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Yes, We Treat Aardvarks - Stories From an Extraordinary Veterinary Practice
If you like James Herriot you will like this book. As a matter of fact, Herriot wrote the Introduction. Some of these stories are cute, some are funny and some are sad. The author lives in California and in his day it was legal for residents to keep a wide variety of exotic animals, hence the title. I did enjoy this but my version had a lot of typos. While I find this irritating I was willing to overlook it as the stories were pretty interesting.
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This is the story of a marriage break-up. The author has no clue why her husband wants to end their marriage and she does her best to save it. After a while it came across as being kind of whiny. I felt bad for her but wanted her to pull herself up and be stronger. It really bugs me that she called her friends dog a Burmese Mountain Dog instead of Bernese. I have a Bernese so it was especially aggravating. I hope someone informed her of her mistake.
This is the story of a marriage break-up. The author has no clue wh..."Could that be why he finally called a lawyer?
I thought Jack Of Jumps was a novel when I sent for it, but to my surprise, it's a multiple biography -- the lives of the women killed by Jack the Stripper. Instead of dragging you through each criminal investigation until it dead-ends, they author takes the same approach used in Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery, taking you through each victim's life, explaining how they wound up selling themselves on the street, and following every move they're known to have made until they met their terrible deaths. This is a clever way of telling you what questions the police were asking without making you read a zillion repetitive transcripts word for word. Read this one if you want to read about a serial-murder case that doesn't treat the victims as just a list of dead hookers.
5 stars
Not a easy book to read because of the intense feelings it summons up or to review because of all the reviews already written.
Chester Nez shares some his life stories while living on the Navajo reservation and some of the horror he witness while in boarding school. The stories about how the Code Talkers started and their work were fascinating. Chester Nez also shares a little about his life after the war. The book reads more like a memoir than it does a history book which I find more engaging, is was like peeking into someones diary. Highly recommend.
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5 stars
Not a easy book to read because of the intense feelings it summons up or to re..."
This is an excellent book and I learned a little about history that I had never heard about before.
Jack Of Jumps4 stars
This was originally advertised to me as a novel, but it's the true story of the lives of the victims of the Hammersmith Nudes Murderer, walking us through the circumstances that led 8 women to their terrible deaths. What seemed at first to be a completely random detour into the criminal doings of the Kray twins proved to be a detailed examination of the favorite suspects in the case, clearing some of them, and finally focusing on the one the author thinks is probably the real killer. There is also considerable police corruption, theft, illegal surgeries, racketeering, and many other shenanigans going on in this story. Not to be missed if you are interested in Jack the Stripper, British organized crime, police corruption, or the swinging Sixties.
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Candy Freak by Steve Almond4 stars
A memoir of the author's love for candy. He eats candy every day. He is obsessed with candy. He describes candy in loving terms. He investigates the history of candy. This is a humerous memoir and laugh out loud funny at times. Worth the read.
Candy Freak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
Just read Deadly Seduction by Wensley Clarkson. It's a 3-star book but I gave it 4 stars because I enjoyed it so much. Wow, what a story! This is one you need to read carefully -- don't skim -- because every word is important. Strange tale of a woman who tries to get away from her white-trash roots, only to discover she is a trash-dispensing force far beyond the control of anyone who might try to stop her. The things this woman got away with astound me. This story will stay with me for a long time.Oh, and I just started The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. The writing is wonderful.
Koren wrote: "Gifted Hands by Ben Carson. Yes, the same Ben Carson that is running for president. He came from a poor background to rise to the level of neurosurgeon through faith in God and hard work. An inspir..."Finished reading this one. Inspiring. I am going to watch a dvd documentary on this book, also, I heard a film was made of his life.
He's now pulled out of the running for presidency.
It would be nice to see a fellow Detroiter win the presidency, once. maybe it could lead to some real attention going to the state's needs...
I am completely absorbed in The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. I bought it as a TC read, and it is one -- the title character & his boss were murdered and the book encompasses a variety of other crimes related to the case and/or going on at the same time, including the main character's interactions with Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. The Jonestown massacre went down just 9 days before Harvey Milk and George Moscone were murdered. But this is really more of a biography in many ways, talking about how Harvey Milk got to be Harvey Milk. He's a fascinating character who, if he had lived, might well have been president by now.
Fishface wrote: "I am completely absorbed in The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. I bought it as a TC read, and it is one -- the title character & his boss were murdered and ..."This is a book I just can't read. I was born and raised here in the SF Bay Area and lived through this. Depending on the POV of the various authors who have written about this each player is either a villain or a saint. The fact of the matter is, none of them were great men but Dan White and his Twinkie Defense were a complete mockery of our judicial system. There are two events from my youth/college years I cannot choose for entertainment in any form - this and the Vietnam War. Too many scars.
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3 stars
This book was recommended to me by a friend who knew I liked True Crime and her dad's first cousin wrote the book. This is a somewhat local author for me as the crime took place about 2 hours from me and I am familiar with some of the towns mentioned in the book. My son lives in one of the towns mentioned. This took place in the 70's. 4 teenagers were senselessly gunned down and a fifth one raped and then let go when they were camping in a state park. Why the fifth one was allowed to survive is never known. The story is told from her point of view so as a True Crime book it is more of a memoir than the actual examination of the crime. I did like it as a memoir but as a True Crime it is sadly lacking on development of the crime with little investigation and no court room drama. The author was a boyhood friend of one of the boys who was killed and thus his interest in the case.
The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts5 stars and has just been moved to my Favorites shelf.
All these years I have wondered why the media have described the double assassination of 1978 as THE MURDER OF HARVEY MILK (oh, and the mayor of San Francisco too). This book explains why. We learn all about Harvey Milk and what a big personality he had, what a terrific advocate he was -- not just for gay rights, but for all the rights of anyone within range -- and what a gifted grassroots politician he was. Shilts also paints a wonderful portrait of the many, many changes going on in San Francisco at the time, some of them quite ominous. I got a totally new perspective on Dianne Feinstein, among many other characters in this story. This makes a great companion piece for Talbot's SEASON OF THE WITCH, as well as Shilts's own AND THE BAND PLAYED ON. Beautifully written in Randy Shilts's crystal-clear style. Don't miss it.
Judy Garland: The Woman Behind the Myth3 stars.
My version was called 'the other side of the rainbow' But its probably a title that has been used so much with Ms Garland that it's lost all meaning.
This book, one of the many published on Ms Garland's tumultuous life, is one of the latest and mines peoples recollections of the Judy they knew. That Judy was complicated was an understatement. Judy was really two people, Frances Gumm/Baby and another- the showbiz creation, Judy Garland. Eventually the showbiz creation took over and morphed into something else, transformed by addictions to pills and liquor.
Sad, compelling, and unputdownable. Diehard Judy fans may not like it, but whatever Judy had just couldn't be ignored when she was high as a kite or in the depths of despair. The woman was an emotional nutcase but she knew it an exploited it to the hilt. The interesting thing was through her marriages (five of 'em) only Sid Luft could be called a real husband to her. I think its because he was as ambitious and charming as she was. Though he knew a meal ticket when he saw one, and gambled all their money away, Judy didn't live on food like ordinary people. She fed on applause and adoration.
Even when it killed her, she knew without it, she could not survive.
Judy Garland: The Woman Behind the Myth3 stars.
My version was called 'the other side of the rainbow' But its probably a title that has been used so much with Ms Garland that it's lost all meaning.
This book, one of the many published on Ms Garland's tumultuous life, is one of the latest and mines peoples recollections of the Judy they knew. That Judy was complicated was an understatement. Judy was really two people, Frances Gumm/Baby and another- the showbiz creation, Judy Garland. Eventually the showbiz creation took over and morphed into something else, transformed by addictions to pills and liquor.
Sad, compelling, and unputdownable. Diehard Judy fans may not like it, but whatever Judy had just couldn't be ignored when she was high as a kite or in the depths of despair. The woman was an emotional nutcase but she knew it an exploited it to the hilt. The interesting thing was through her marriages (five of 'em) only Sid Luft could be called a real husband to her. I think its because he was as ambitious and charming as she was. Though he knew a meal ticket when he saw one, and gambled all their money away, Judy didn't live on food like ordinary people. She fed on applause and adoration.
Even when it killed her, she knew without it, she could not survive.
1 star
I stopped reading on page 75.
SouthWestZippy wrote: "1 star
I stopped reading on page 75."
wow
Reading The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins which is a mix of biography and true crime.It is a biography of the Kray Twins, who were famous criminals in England, in fact my Scottish bartender, when I asked him if he knew who they were said: Yes of course, everybody knew who they were.
Koren wrote: "Candy Freak by Steve Almond4 stars
A memoir of the author's love for candy. He eats candy every day. He is o..."
I have added this to my TBR list. Sounds like a kindred spirit!
Robin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Candy Freak by Steve Almond4 stars
A memoir of the author's love for candy. He eats candy ever..."
I feel very close to Steve having read his book 3x...
SouthWestZippy wrote: "1 star
I stopped reading on page 75."
Good for you! Why waste your time on something you're obviously not enjoying? The best thing I ever did was give myself permission to stop reading a book I didn't like - no matter how much others loved it!
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1 star
I stopped reading on page 75."
Good for you! Why waste your time on something you're obviously not enjoying? The best thing..."
Usually if I'm not into a book by 50 pages I quit. I have too many books to waste time on one I dont like. I dont usually post a review, I just delete it from my shelf.
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To See You Again: A True Story Of Love And War by Betty Schimmel4 stars
The author was a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust. She was separated from her boyfriend and spent most of the rest of her life pining away for him, even after marrying and having children. Will she find him and leave her home and family for him? There may be a spoiler in my review so dont scroll down if you dont want to know.
I really liked this book and couldnt put it down waiting to find out if she found her childhood love. The way she found him seemed a little far-fetched. I didnt like how she treated her poor husband at all. I felt sorry for him. This book was published in 1999 so I googled to see if she was still alive. She died in 2010 and strangely enough her son was killed in an accident just a few months after she died.
Robin wrote: "SouthWestZippy wrote: "1 star
I stopped reading on page 75."
Good for you! Why waste your time on something you're obviously not enjoying? The best thing..."
Robin I had to give myself permission to not finish a book awhile back. It was killing me to make myself read something that I just could not get into or hated or did not understand.
Koren, I sometime just tag the book did not finish and put the page I stopped reading. Sometimes I write a short review as to why I stopped reading. I do this to keep track,so I will not repeat buy/swap/pick up at library that book ever again. I am getting old and it is getting hard to keep all that stuff in the little o pea brain. LOL
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1 star
I stopped reading on page 75."
Good for you! Why waste your time on something you're obviously not enjoying? ..."
Well, it would be cheaper that way, if you could just keep reading the same book over and over and its new every time.
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4 stars
To See You Again: A True Story Of Love And War by Betty Schimmel
4 stars
The author was a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust. She was separated from her boyfriend and spent most of the rest of her life pining away for him, even after marrying and having children. Will she find him and leave her home and family for him? There may be a spoiler in my review so dont scroll down if you dont want to know.
I really liked this book and couldnt put it down waiting to find out if she found her childhood love. The way she found him seemed a little far-fetched. I didnt like how she treated her poor husband at all. I felt sorry for him. This book was published in 1999 so I googled to see if she was still alive. She died in 2010 and strangely enough her son was killed in an accident just a few months after she died.
My book group has chosen The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra.
Have any of you read this book? How many stars would you give it?
Katherine Mansfield, the story teller by Kathleen Jones. Sorry I couldn't find the link to it, even though its on here.This is one fat book. I had read a bio on Katherine Mansfield before, called 'A secret Life' but this one was more recent. KM was a famous NZ short story writer, who was part of the 'bloomsbury writers' circle.
She left NZ to live the bohemian artist lifestyle, but paid a huge price for it. She suffered the cold damp English air and eventually died of TB, but it was her reckless lifestyle that did her in.
Her most famous stories were remembering her childhood in NZ ironically, the life she wanted desperately to leave to be sophisticated and european.
Reading this bio which was VERY detailed, made me wonder did she just write everyday and did the biographer have access to every single letter and journal entry she wrote, plus all of her friends? It even says she burned a lot of letters from different periods of her life. Piecing it all together plus deciphering her handwriting made a hard task after her premature death.
The gist of it was, KM was not cut out to be the conventional wife and mother her middle class upbringing destined her to be. She defied conventions and was actually quite masculine, some people speculated she could be bisexual, she slept around an awful lot and people were charmed by her many false selves, often created out of fear and insecurity. The tragedy of her life was she would never be a mother, after miscarrying a baby at the age of 19 to a boy who she had pretty much seduced. She then married her music teacher to cover up the shame of being an unwed mother but after the miscarriage that marriage in name only wasn't consummated. And then after that...well theres numerous other liasions. All very complicated. she dreamed of being married to John Middleton Murray who became her partner and eventually did but he wasn't much of a husband to her esp she became ill with TB.
After she died he edited all her papers and she became quite famous for her brilliant short stories. I think it was exhausted reading her peipertatic lifestyle in which she moved and stayed in all these different places, and had all these terribly violent relationships.
But I'm glad I read it because I was curious about her and found out things I didn't know, seeing she's such a reknowned author in nz literature, and I have been to visit one of her childhood homes in Wellington where I saw the Dollhouse mentioned in one of her stories.
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3 stars
There is a short bio of Hamner at the beginning of the book, otherwise the rest of the book is about his accomplishments. I was interested in The Walton's, otherwise I skipped most of the rest of the book. If its a bio you want, this is not the book you want. If you are interested in his works, then this is the book for you. At the end there are endless people telling us how wonderful he is. (Ho Hum).
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3 stars
The author is an undertaker and also a poet, which I think gives it a unique aspect in that the writing seems to flow, almost a stream of consciousness. More introspective than a book that tells us about the industry, there were moments that were yawners and then moments that made me raise my eyebrows and think 'wow, that was an interesting way to look at that'.
Koren wrote: "The Undertaking: Life Studies From The Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch3 stars
The author is an undertaker and also a poet, which I think gives it a unique aspect in that the writing seems to flow, a..."
I liked his other book better, Bodies in Motion and at Rest: On Metaphor and Mortality. His funeral parlor in Milford is just a few miles from where I'm sitting, and he is opening a branch office a few blocks from my place....
Selina wrote: "Katherine Mansfield, the story teller by Kathleen Jones. Sorry I couldn't find the link to it, even though its on here...."
If you click the add book/author link just above the comment box ... and type in "Katherine mansfield the story teller" ... it comes up immediately. If you type in only "Katherine Mansfield" you have to go to the next page to find it. If this is not the specific edition you want, click OTHER EDITIONS (just under the ADD button) and all the editions of this work will appear. Then click on the edition you want to add.
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3 stars
The author is an undertaker and also a poet, which I think gives it a unique aspect in that the writing se..."
Interesting. Have you met him?
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3 stars
I thought the history of Chippendale's was very interesting. Once it got into the murder it kind of dragged for me and I ended up skimming. It was far too detailed for me.
Book Concierge wrote: "Selina wrote: "Katherine Mansfield, the story teller by Kathleen Jones. Sorry I couldn't find the link to it, even though its on here...."..."Ok thanks for the tip..
anyway just want to say, if anyone is interested in KM that would be a good biography to read. You'll find out a lot about her, but be prepared for a long read as its quite thick.
100 Christian Women Who Changed the 20th CenturyI'm reading this one at the moment. Good so far. Some I knew and many I don't. Each biography is a couple of pages, the most interesting and inspiring for me was Corrie Ten Boom's story.
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4 stars
***Review could contain spoilers***
I'm not a huge Tom Jones fan but I enjoyed this book for the most part. I liked how the writing seemed to flow at a fast pace and it never gets bogged down. It was interesting to read that he is still married to his teenage sweetheart. They were married at a young age and if we are to believe this book they are still happily married with no major bumps along the way and never so much as a look at any other women, even though women throw themselves (and their panties) at him at every show. Hmmm, not sure if I believe it but will give him the benefit of the doubt. Also he has never gotten into any drugs. Alcohol is ok because that is a man's thing, I was a little annoyed that he had such a hard time when his career was in a downward spiral. After all, few singers and musicians can stay at the top forever, but then maybe that drive is what gives someone a lifelong career. Worth reading, especially if you lived through the era of the 60's and 70's it is a nice walk down memory lane.
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3 stars
This book is tagged as memoir/humor. Not sure how accurate it is as a memoir but it is funny. She has a sarcastic wit and if political incorrectness and vulgar language are not your thing then you should probably skip it.
Koren wrote: "Fishface wrote: "Koren wrote: "The Undertaking: Life Studies From The Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch3 stars
The author is an undertaker and also a poet, which I think gives it a unique aspect in th..."
No, but a friend of mine has. We were talking about my having read some of his books, and the friend said, "Have you met that guy?" And he shuddered! Nothing makes that guy shudder, he's a cop!
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3 stars
The author is an undertaker and also a poet, which I think gives it a uniqu..."
Oh wow! Now I'm curious. What was it that made him shudder?
He didn't say. He rapidly changed the subject. Not in character for him at all.
Tooth & Nail: The Story of the Rabbit in Australia by Brian Coman turns out to be a bit of a memoir. The author, an Australian rabbit-management specialist, talks about his own experiences rabbiting and about the history of the practice. After nearly 300 pages discussing what a disaster it was that the repeated attempts to introduce rabbits to the continent finally succeeded, and the rabbit wars that have gone on ever since, he does a last-minute about-face and talks about how sad it would be if his grandchildren couldn't enjoy hunting for rabbits the way he did when he was a boy. Moments like this give the story some zing, but there are not enough of those in here -- a lot of it is dull as dishwater, I'm afraid.Two stars.
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
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Hidden Figures (other topics)
Hidden Figures (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Roseanne Montillo (other topics)Anne Chambers (other topics)
Anne Chambers (other topics)
Anne Chambers (other topics)
Jane Ridley (other topics)
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I don't look at it and don't know if they came over with any reviews.
I think my books did get transferred but I don't know if they all came complete. When is Shelfari closing, did they give a cut off date?