Play Book Tag discussion
July 2016: Biography Memoir
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Announcing the July Tag: Share Your Reading Plans and Suggestions
I'm going to stop being a spoilsport and embrace leaping out of my comfort zone! I'm really looking forward to some recommendations as this is not a genre I usually enjoy. I have enjoyed a few -Tell Me I'm Here: One Family's Experience of Schizophrenia
April Fool's Day
I'm thinking of starting with When Breath Becomes Air. What else should I try?
Yay! I was really hoping this would pop up this month as it lines up perfectly with my personal reading goals for the year. I will be tackling the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner: The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe
As this sits at 500+ pages, I'm assuming this will be the only book I get to this month.
For recommendations, I'm going to go with On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft or Half Broke Horses. The former is a fascinating read whether you've ever wanted to write or you are just an avid reader (like we all are).I'm definitely going to read Between the World and Me. If I have time, maybe I will squeeze in Just Kids.
I just finished When Breath Becomes Air. It was good, not great - - however it is an extremely fast read, so if you are just trying to squeeze something in, that might be a great choice. You can read it in a day.
Anita wrote: "For recommendations, I'm going to go with On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft or Half Broke Horses. The former is a fascinating read whether you've ever wanted to write or..."I could go with either or both of your recommendations though Half Broke Horses is considered a novel but I didn't get it read when my f2f read it last month and this would be a good reason to do so.
Kristel wrote: "Anita wrote: "For recommendations, I'm going to go with On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft or Half Broke Horses. The former is a fascinating read whether you've ever want..."So interesting it is a novel . . .it doesn't read like it which is why I guess it was shelved 89 times as biography-memoir, lol! Regardless, it is fast paced and very enjoyable.
Anita wrote: "For recommendations, I'm going to go with On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft or Half Broke Horses. The former is a fascinating read whether you've ever wanted to write or..."I loved Half-Broke Horses but it is considered a novel. However, The Glass Castle by Walls is her memoir and, if you loved Half-Broke Horses, chances are this will fill in some questions about how the book came about.
This is usually out of my comfort zone but I've read a few interesting memoirs lately, so I am looking forward to finding new gems. I will definitely have to sift through all of your recommendations!
Anita wrote: "I'm definitely going to read Between the World and Me. If I have time, maybe I will squeeze in Just Kids.."I, too, am definitely going to read Between the World and Me. And Just Kids is one of the possibles on my list. Others on my list of maybes:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings-Maya Angelou
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
When You Are Engulfed in Flames-David Sedaris
Late, Late at Night-Rick Springfield
I recommend:
Reading Lolita in Tehran
The Complete Maus
All Creatures Great and Small
Also, I really enjoyed reading The Blue Hour: A Life of Jean Rhys just prior to reading Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. The biography really gave the novel by Jean Rhys a lot of background and more meaning, to me. It would add even more if you'd already read Jane Eyre.
I'm really excited! I voted for this one despite it being really out of my comfort zone. I'm excited to push myself to read differently.My top recommendation is:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Other recommendations:
Night
The Complete Persepolis
Reading Lolita in Tehran
I will definitely be attempting the following:
Between the World and Me
It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War
Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music, and Family
I was hoping for essays but this will do.I am leaning towards reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, but I am also going to take a look at the PBT non fiction 100 and see what strikes my fancy. Maybe 84, Charing Cross Road or Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. Between the World and Me is one I own though, so maybe I will go that way.
My number one recommendation is The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I also suggest I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Angela's Ashes.
I just wrote a long post, but it disappeared into Goodreads internet black hole. Not going to redo the whole thing.I recommend:
The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World - A fascinating biography of Mary Anning
From the PBT nonfiction 100:
West with the Night - Beryl Markham's memoir. I highly recommend the audio read by Julie Harris.
I am going to read:
Not My Father's Son - Alan Cumming's memoir
I also plan to read:
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - It is tagged memoir and biography possibly because Alex Haley is listed as an author with Malcolm X; its also on the PBT 100 nonfiction
Kimber wrote: I, too, am definitely going to read Between the World and Me I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X quite a long time ago but long after he was newsworthy. I found it quite fascinating. I also would second your recommendation of The Complete Maus which I read just recently. Bonus, it fulfills the graphic novel for Shelfagories!
My top recommendation has to be Growing Up a delightful book about life for a child during The Depression. It has stayed with me for many, many years. Others I would recommend would be The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music, and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption which I read within this past year.As for me, I've had these on my list for a while:
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
And a brand new addition: Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmothers
I have to admit to some tempting recommendations made above that might cut into this list. I'm not likely to really read more than 3 or 4 if I'm lucky!
YAY! This is the one I was hoping for. Heading out for lunch soon, so won't come back with my list of possibilities until later...
Anita wrote: "For recommendations, I'm going to go with On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft or Half Broke Horses. The former is a fascinating read whether you've ever wanted to write or..."I agree with On Writing. I don't write, but it was still a really interesting book.
Ladyslott wrote: "I just wrote a long post, but it disappeared into Goodreads internet black hole. Not going to redo the whole thing.I recommend:
[book:The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose..."
Thanks for highlighting the PBT 100 selections . . .the Malcolm X one interests me as well.
Jen wrote: "I'm really excited! I voted for this one despite it being really out of my comfort zone. I'm excited to push myself to read differently. Great recommendation of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - - also a five star read for me!
Ok, I have a bit of time and couldn't wait to look things up. I have LOTS of biographies and memoirs on my favourites shelf. Let me see what to recommend here...My #1 recommendation:
- Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda / Romeo Dallaire
Memoir, and I recommend this as often as I can. Obviously, you'd need to be ok with reading about the genocide in Rwanda.
Also:
- Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster / Jon Krakauer (memoir)
- Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History / Erik Larson
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks / Rebecca Skloot (if there is anyone who hasn't yet read this)
- Escape / Carolyn Jessop
- Homer's Odyssey / Gwen Cooper (for anyone who wants to read an animal/cat biography)
- Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process / Irene Pepperberg (a different animal/parrot memoir/biography)
I think I took out the repeats. I love biographies!
Ok, this is going to take some time to figure out what to read in July. It looks like I have 150+ biographies/memoirs on my tbr! I'd love to put one I'd hoped to get to from my Trim list:
Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light
But, I know it's really long and I'm already hoping to read the next Outlander book, so I think it's best not to have to really fat books in one month. We'll see.
Ok, looking at possibilities for other challenges in July, these are more likely:- Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds / Olivia Gentile
- Jaguar: Struggle and Triumph in the Jungles of Belize / Alan Rabinowitz
- The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus / Joshua Kendall
Phew! My 10 votes were not in vain (as they were the first time, lol).I am going to read Rocket Boys which I realized, after the second vote, I have at home from the library after enjoying his fictionalized novel account of something he parents did and turned into rather tall tales.
RECOMMENDED memoirs:
My Extraordinary Ordinary Life on audiobook (might be good in print, but she is such a fabulous audiobook reader that it's almost a shame to read it lol).
There are others I've liked, but it's summer, so I"m always in a hurry on the computer :).
I strongly agree with so many of the suggestions above, that it seems impossible to recommend just one. I decided to go with a book that is less well-known, in the hope that others might discover it: Overcome: Burned, Blinded, and Blessed, by Carmen Blandin Tarleton. It is an exceptional story by an exceptional - and exceptionally honest - person, one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. She had one of the first (maybe the first, or the first in America, I don't remember exactly) full-face transplants ever, after an incredibly horrific experience. Her attitude towards the whole thing is just amazing, and yet clearly sincere. And don't be scared away by the "blessed" in the title, it isn't a religious book. She isn't even a particularly religious person, although her experiences did bring her a deeper sense of spirituality.As for what I'm going to read, I hope to get to When Breath Becomes Air but don't know if I will get it in time from the library. There is a waiting list of people ahead of me for it.
I'll definitely read Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Carrot Quinn, as I already own a copy. I read another one of her books (all are memoirs) and was blown away by her very unusual life story, her natural gift for writing, and her ability to put the reader right on the spot. Although this book is little-known among the general public, it is well-known in the long-distance hiking community, where the consensus is that it is much better than Wild, and some say, the best long-distance hiking memoir ever. So I'm really looking forward to reading it!
YES! I have tons on my TBR Mountain but I going to be real with myself and just give myself the goal of getting to three of them. Life is a bit crazy right now. 
'Tis by Frank McCourt 
Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika OufkirOK looking over my goals for all of my groups and found my year goal list. I guess I need to pick off this list. LOL So much to keep up with.
1.North by Northwestern by Sig Hansen-----Read Jan
2.Reuben Snake by Jay C Fikes
3.Wired by Bob Woodward
4.Mercury by Lesley Ann Jones
5.A Widow's Walk by Marian Fontana
6.That Mean Old Yesterday by Stacey Patton
7.All His Jazz by Martin Gottfried
8.Mourning Dove by Mourning Dove
9.Lost In The Funhouse by Bill Zehme
10.Possessed by Donald Spoto
11.The Hypocrisy of Disco by Clane Hayward--READ March
12. A Lotus Grows in the Mud by Goldie Hawn
Sara wrote: "I am leaning towards reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, but I am also going to take a look at the PBT non fiction 100..."I'm with you Sara! Though 800+ pages is daunting, I've been wanting to read Chernow's Hamilton. But I am definitely planning on crossing off something on the PBT non-fiction 100 too.
I'm recommending Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain. It's his story of how he became a chef and his impressions on the cooking world. I think he's funny, he's very blunt and often inappropriate. I thought it was an entertaining and insightful read for people interested in the food world.
Ghost of a Rose wrote: "I'll definitely read Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Carrot Quinn, as I already own a copy. I read another one of her books (all are memoirs) and was blown away by her very unusual life story, her natural gift for writing, and her ability to put the reader right on the spot. Although this book is little-known among the general public, it is well-known in the long-distance hiking community, where the consensus is that it is much better than Wild, and some say, the best long-distance hiking memoir ever. So I'm really looking forward to reading it!"Thanks for this recommendation. I have a strong desire to do a long hike, though I think I'm unlikely to ever thru hike the PCT. I would love to do the John Muir Trail someday, and that seems a more realistic goal. I enjoyed reading about specific places I've been in Wild, I think I would like this one. I also just like learning about the logistics of doing something as intricate and complicated as this.
Some great recommendations above!I'd say my #1 recommendation would be
A couple that were quite good / entertaining and would fit:
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
The Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams
Life of the Party by Pamela Harriman
As for me I'm reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman for my F2F book club, so that's fits perfectly.
I may try to squeeze in 84, Charing Cross Road or Not My Father's Son as well.
Book Concierge wrote: "Some great recommendations above!I'd say my #1 recommendation would be
A couple that were quite good / entertaining and would fit:
[book:A Girl Named ..."
Spirit catches you is a great book!
This is finally one I KNOW I can get to since it's about all I read! I don't even know where to start on this one! Happy Leah!
SouthWestZippy wrote: "..."Stolen Lives was very good. It's been years since I read it, so no review or rating or anything, but I remember it being very good.
Ghost of a Rose wrote: "I strongly agree with so many of the suggestions above, that it seems impossible to recommend just one. I decided to go with a book that is less well-known, in the hope that others might discover i..."Your suggestion of the thru hiking book has me totally intrigued. My TBR is going to be a real problem this month. I can tell already.
Book Concierge wrote: "I may try to squeeze in 84, Charing Cross Road ..."If you are into "squeezing" then you can defintely fit in 84, Charing Cross Road. It is short and a complete delight IMHO and I never liked epistolary books!
Yay! I was hoping for this tag, as there's a book I've been wanting to read and now I have a good excuse. LOL! I have a few recommendations:Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography
A Child Called "It"
At the top of my to read list is:
Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography
Also on my list are:
Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison
Enter Pirates: Vintage Legends 1991-1999
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
I'll probably only read one title for this month, Between the World and Me but, if the urge strikes, I'm very interested in reading All Over But the Shoutin' and Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.I haven't read many books in this genre and the ones I have read were many years ago so don't particularly have any that I could heartily recommend.
Nicole wrote: II will be tackling the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner: The Pope and Mussolini.A most excellent book! Looks like John Wayne and I have a week long date. John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth
I just came across Brain on Fire. Sounds like an interesting read so I think I'll add it to my books for July.Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
Kim, maybe instead of reading an unauthorized bio of Jolie, read her own journal from her first trip to Africa. The one that changed her.
Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and EcuadorSad to say, I bought it but never read it. Need to fix that next month myself.
I'm surprised no one has mention either of Jenny Lawson's hysterical memoirs.
Ghost of a Rose, Thanks for reminding me about Carrot Quinn. I adored her
hobo train riding memoir.I bought but haven't read the hiking one yet. Must put that on list.
Excited to see a lot of people will be reading Between the World and Me so I will have company!! And people to discuss it with.
I think I will order Between The World and Me, just to give it a check out. But I need a "lighter" summer. I was sort of thinking along the lines of Eligible and the Nest. I think my monthly tag read, which has been on my TBR and seems summer light and inspirational, is going to be Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert. I think it fits and may be just the light ticket I need. Enjoy all, Amy
Anita wrote: "Excited to see a lot of people will be reading Between the World and Me so I will have company!! And people to discuss it with."Just added it to my planned july tag reads
Maybe we could have a group discussion about it?
I'm planning on reading it too, and would love to be involved in a group discussion.
I love humorous memoirs, particularly by women and often by bloggers-turned-novelists.To that end, I recommend Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster. I laughed so hard I cried. Multiple times.
I am not 100% sure what I am going to read, but some options are:
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day
I will likely listen to whichever book I choose on audio, and I believe they are all narrated by the author.
I ordered Between the World and Me at the Library, so I guess I'm in too. I was also interested in the funny ones too, so curious how Nicole finds them. Best to all, Amy
Between the World and Me, I've had his on my TBR for awhile, so I also will try reading this with everyone. I put a hold on it at overdrive. So I have two books now to read for this month's tag. I would second the recommendation for The Year of Magical Thinking as it is one of my all time favorite books, well written story of grief. I also have another memoir besides that I will try to get to; The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific. So really, lots of choices for me.
Another Funny memoir by a woman:
Made a wait in the ER go by very fast. (Not for me)
So I went to the library this morning and already finished half of 84, Charing Cross Road. It will be done before the end of the month. If you just want something short, humorous, and light I suggest this one. Bonus that it is on our PBT non-fiction list. To all of those who have alredy read it, why have you been holding out on me? I adore this book already. I plan to buy a hardback copy to add to my permenant collection.Since I will be done before July, I am glad I also picked up Ann Patchett's This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I will read both it and Between the World and Me for sure. And start the behemoth Hamilton.
Sara wrote: "So I went to the library this morning and already finished half of 84, Charing Cross Road. It will be done before the end of the month. If you just want something short, humorous, and..."I also want to read Hamilton but I jus don't see it happening in July. I am, however, going to finish Mists of Avalon even if it kills me.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Innocents Abroad, Or, the New Pilgrims' Progress (other topics)Life on the Mississippi (other topics)
Alexander Hamilton (other topics)
Alexander Hamilton (other topics)
84, Charing Cross Road (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Queen Noor (other topics)Mineko Iwasaki (other topics)
Jen Lancaster (other topics)
biography-memoir
Please share your reading plans and recommendations below!
Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as biography-memoir on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.
To find books to read for this tag, please visit:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Really looking forward to see what everyone will suggest for this one!