Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion
What Are You Reading Now (anything goes) 2017
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Do most american cars run on ethanol gasoline now? I think over here we still get gasoline (or we call i..."
Oh yes, sweet corn is wonderful!
Selina wrote: "**ontopic**I really liked the memoir Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works"
I enjoyed that book also. Interesting read on organic farming and living on a organic farm.
I just finished "Leonard" by Wm. Shatner. It was an 'as expected' bio about Leonard Nimoy who is most famous for his role on Star Trek (original-1966) as Spock. Now I'm reading "I Am Spock" by Leonard Nimoy himself (published 1995). Although Shatner did a good job in his book (Published 2016), Nimoy adds more details from his own perspective. My question: Was the information for Shatner's book gleaned from Nimoy's book? Or did he use it merely to remind him of the instances he wrote about?
E.M. wrote: "I just finished "Leonard" by Wm. Shatner. It was an 'as expected' bio about Leonard Nimoy who is most famous for his role on Star Trek (original-1966) as Spock. Now I'm reading "I Am Spock" by Leon..."I read George Takei's book about his experience on the TV show and it was a great read but Shatner did not hang out with the rest of the crew during their time on the show. I wonder how close the Nimoy and Shatner really were??
The Lie TreeFrances Hardinge
4/5 stars
Faith Sunderly's life has been upturned. Her father, a minister, naturalist and geologist has died after uprooting his family to Australia due to a scandal. The villagers think he killed himself but Faith knows something is wrong and decides to investigate her father's death in a time period where girls were to stay at home and mind their place. Award winning YA book.
I'm reading "They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan" I've been taken with the idea that our stories are powerful ways for both personal healing and for engendering compassion - want to help refugees tell their stories. This one is just such a story. It was moving to read that one of the very first thing these three young men did upon arriving in the US was to buy a composition book to write down their stories. Thank you to Judy Bernstein a volunteer with the IRC who helped their stories reach a large audience. Such a good read
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4 stars
The story of a woman marrying a man for his prestige and money has been done so many times. This one is written better than most. First of all, this gal is doing something all the time so you want to keep on reading just to see what she is going to do next. Some of what she does is hard to read. What she did to her step-son is very hard to read and comprehend. Your heart just goes out to this boy. This book was well-written because it is not repetitive and the court room drama is very nicely condensed. Interesting from beginning to end.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
Christopher Healy
3/5 stars
This is a fun children's book about the unsung heroes of fairy tales, the princes, who are often unnamed or just go by Prince Charming. The bards of the area have all been kidnapped and the princes gather together to rescue them while fighting witches, dragons and more. This is the first in a series of books about the League of Princes. Loved the illustrations.
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3 stars
This is a True Crime book with a twist. The gal grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and marries a rich guy. Then her boyfriend gets killed by her other boyfriend. This is not a spoiler because it tells us all this on the back cover. Too bad. I would have liked that part to be a surprise. The beginning is interesting but the middle gets a little bogged down as not a whole lot happens. There is a twist at the end but I wont tell you what it is. You will have to read to find out.
Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True HealingJust finished this one. What a wonderful and inspiring book! A woman is on the brink of death, in a coma, but aware of everything. When she re-awakens from the coma her stage 4 cancer is gone and she has a renewed lease on life, bringing back the message to Live Fearlessly! Her story catches the attention of famous oncologists, who have no explanation for her recovery. Wayne Dyer hears her story and offers to write the forward.
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Did not finish this. I remember vaguely remember Dorothy Kilgallen from the old What's My Line show. It was interesting up until she gets killed, then it is mostly repetitive and no concrete evidence of what happened to her. Glad it was a library book.
The Sound Of Murder, Percy Hoskins4 stars!
This is Percy Hoskins' memoir of being a London crime-beat reporter for nearly 50 years, putting together his personal Hit Parade of cases. He apparently chose these, not because they were especially notorious or gruesome, but because he was in on the investigations to some extent and he felt that each one underlines the careful, patient police work that solved cases even before today's fancy forensic analyses. From an investigative standpoint, these are definitely fascinating to read about. Well written. Hard to put down.
Just started Escape from Evil: Married at 17 to a Serial Killer, She's One Victim Who Escaped. It's TOTALLY up your alley, Koren, if you haven't read this one yet.
Fishface wrote: "Just started Escape from Evil: Married at 17 to a Serial Killer, She's One Victim Who Escaped. It's TOTALLY up your alley, Koren, if you haven't read this one yet."I haven't read this but it has a great title.
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Thanks Fishface. Will look for it.
Koren you might like 'That's Life' magazine it always has true weird stories like that 'My husband killed my children' or 'My mother was my brothers lover' etc. And then, a column of pictures of pets esp cats looking cute.
Koren wrote: "Thanks Fishface. Will look for it. "I can easily send it to you when I'm done.
O Pioneers!
Willa Cather
4/5 stars
Cather follows the lives of Alexandra Bergson, an immigrant, her family and friends who lived in Nebraska working the land as farmers and dealing with the ups and downs of pioneer life, some succeeding, some not. Beautifully written and compelling. Love Cather's writing. Though not biographical, Cather grew up in Nebraska for a period of time and was surely influenced by her time there.
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I can easily send it to you when I'm done."
Thank you. That would be nice.
The Hundred-Year House
Rebecca Makkai
3.5/5 stars
Set in Illinois at the Laurelfield estate, the author takes us through the history and drama of the happenings at the estate including housing an art colony, a suicide and a mystery. Told backwards, the author slowly unravels the fascinating story of the lives that inhabited the mansion. If I had more time, I would love to re-read this- I think more would be revealed.
Koren wrote: "Fishface wrote: "Koren wrote: "Thanks Fishface. Will look for it. "I can easily send it to you when I'm done."
Thank you. That would be nice."
Will do!
Artichoke Tales
Megan Kelso
2/5 stars
This graphic novel about opposing clans whose heads are artichoke like came highly recommended but I really had a hard time following the story lines. Adult content not for kids.
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I really liked the memoir Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works"
Selina, I really think if you liked Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works you would like
Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm.
Just started The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts.
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5 stars
A rare jaunt into nonfiction for this well-known author. Could fall into the category of 'lifestyles of the rich and famous'. The main character thinks he can have whatever he wants, including young, underage girls. I wont give away what happened to him but it will make your jaw drop. Worth the read to read about some famous people connected with this guy, including one former president and one current one, and one English prince. I liked how the book was laid out and moved along quickly with short chapters, which works out good for busy people who like to get to the end of a chapter before they put the book down. A quick read, I read about 20 pages before I went to bed and finished it the next day
Koren wrote: "Filthy Rich by James Patterson5 stars
A rare jaunt into nonfiction for this well-known author. Could fall into the category of 'lifestyles of the rich and famous'. The main charac..."
Sounds really interesting!
Koren wrote: "Filthy Rich by James Patterson5 stars
A rare jaunt into nonfiction for this well-known author. Could fall into the category of 'lifestyles of the rich and famous'."
Sounds very interesting. After I read this, I went in and put a hold on the book at my local public library. Judging by the waiting list, I guess there has been other good "word of mouth" about this book.
Thanks for the suggestion Koren.
Julie wrote: "Just started The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts."Surely the title alone is worth the price of the book!
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Surely the title alone is worth the price of the book!"
Yes. The title refers to more than just money. There is some graphic sex if you are sensitive to that buts its not all that much.
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
4/5 stars
This is the story of Abdel Kader Haidara, a historical archivist from Timbuktu and his fellow patriots who saved the centuries old, rare manuscripts of Mali twice. Abdel's initial project was to find and store books from his countrymen and build libraries to showcase them in the 1980's. Unfortunately, he would have to do it a second time when Al Qaeda came to Mali and attempted to destroy their books and heritage. I found this a fast and amazing story which also covers the takeover of Mali by Al Qaeda. Hard to put down.
hmm attention grabbing title but--- archivists are a slightly different kind of librarian. I suppose bad-ass archivists or bad-ass museum workers doesn't have the same ring to it. I have worked in archives but my work wasn't saving heritage pieces I was put to work saving council documents of meeting minutes which are the most boring things ever. I had to work in a windowless vault, and I did have to package and preserve some civic gifts that people had given the council that were quite useless.
But elsewhere there's special collections at the public library that are like Shakespeare early editions and nz literature. And then aside from that top secret UN papers that I'm not allowed to tell anyone we have, but, I'm letting you guys in on it.
If Al Queda came here they wouldn't bomb our library cos I think some librarians make a point to also have copies of the Koran there too.
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4 stars
A true crime story of a father who had total control over his son. This guy could get his son to do anything, and I mean anything. The book raises the question: Is the son as guilty as the father when he was merely doing what he was told. There is a surprise ending that I did not see coming. Just a word of warning- there is a lot of graphic sex in this book so if you are squeamish about that I would skip it. The book held my interest until about half way when there was quite a bit of word for word testimony that was basically what we had been told already so for that reason I am deducting one star and only giving it a 4 star rating.
The Bookman’s Tale
Charlie Lovett
4/5 stars
Peter Byerly is a mess. After the death of his beloved wife, he moves to England to mourn his wife and to continue in his job collecting and restoring rare books. Upon finding a painting inside a old book that looked like his wife, he tries to find out who painted the picture and who the woman in the picture was which lead him further into the mystery of who really wrote the plays that are attributed to Shakespeare. Hard to put down!
St patricks day tomorrowAm in middle of reading The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy.
I always wondered why the Irish run away from their own country.
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5 stars
This is exactly the way I like my True Crime books. The research is incredible. He doesnt just tell us what happened with these two teenages who had a baby and then threw it in a dumpster. He gets into their background and the background of the whole town to let us get into the minds of all the players. He also gives us a history of what has happened to other similar cases. Did these two teenagers get a break because of their upbringing? Should they be charged with murder?
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2 stars
Two guys book passage on a charter boat, murder the 4 people on board and try to make it look like a pirate abduction. That's about it.
This book is mostly about the trial. There is very little background information on the victims or the criminals. There isn't really even a lot of information about how the crime happened. It was a very boring read.
Koren wrote: "Murder on the High Seas: The True Story of the Joe Cool's Tragic Final Voyage by Carol Soret Cope 2 stars
Two guys book passage on a charter boat, murder the 4 people on board and..."
I'm surprised the trial didn't show how the crime went down. It seems like an awfully big piece to leave out.
I am reading Wounds of Honour by Anthony Riches, only 70 pages in, I am finding it well written and quite engrossing. I'm a fan of CJ Sansom, who has health issues and isn't writing so much, and Conn Iggulden, who has just finished his War of the Roses series, I was looking for someone new to read.
Laughed myself to sleep last night reading The New New Rules: A Funny Look At How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass. The one with the photo of President Obama sipping daintily at a beer was so funny I read it 5x, and it made me laugh harder every time.
Fishface wrote: "Laughed myself to sleep last night reading The New New Rules: A Funny Look At How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass. The one with the photo of President Obama sipping dai..."This sounds like something I would like - so many books - so little time!
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I think Bill Mahar is hilarious. If you like Bill Mahar you might like Trevor Noah's biography Born a Crime.
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I did not know the play/movie Chicago was based on a true story. I didnt think the writing was interesting but if you are interested in historical true crime you may find this a good one.
Tricky Twenty-Two
Janet Evanovich
3/5 stars
Stephanie, Grandma Mazur, Lulu, Ranger, and Joe are back for another nutty adventure involving a frat and the plague. Loved the first book in the series but after 22 it is starting to get a little old and sections of the book are just repetitive explanations of the characters. However, there is some movement in Stephanie and Joe's relationship in this book.
Gast
Carol Swain
3.5/5 stars
In this graphic novel, a young girl moves into a farm community in Wales and begins to explore the area taking her notebook with her to document her discoveries. When she learns about a neighbor who has died, she goes to his farm and looks for clues about him and the life he lead which helps her to learn more about herself.
Just started Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found. The Daedalus Books catalogue marked it "Staff Favorite," which is usually the sign of a great read, but so far it's a little dry. I was also scandalized to see in the first couple of pages that the author uses the utterly ungrammatical term "decapitated head," as if it were even physically possible to decapitate a head.
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Koren wrote: "Just started This Life I Live: One Man's Extraordinary, Ordinary Life and the Woman Who Changed It Forever by Rory Feek. Now I have a dilemma. I need to get some housework and yard ..."Split the time. Do some reading and do some housework or just read because the housework never ends!
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
Books mentioned in this topic
Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose (other topics)Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game (other topics)
Escaping the Arroyo (other topics)
Stolen Lives: The Untold Stories of the Lawson Quins (other topics)
The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Alcott (other topics)Annie Hartnett (other topics)
Rachel Joyce (other topics)
David Mitchell (other topics)
Diane Setterfield (other topics)
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Do most american cars run on ethanol gasoline now? I think over here we still get gasoline (or we call it petrol) it fr..."
Selina, corn used for animal feed and ethanol is not corn that people can eat. Its really hard. I have no idea how many people use ethanol. Not everyone likes it.
I read Turn Here, Sweet Corn and LOVED it. Unfortunately, around here you cannot convince farmers to farm organically. Very few do it.