Task 15: Read a memoir by a Latinx author

[Book Riot]

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the 15th Read Harder task.

[Chrissy]

My top choices are A Cup of Water Under My Bed: A Memoir, In the Country We Love: My Family Divided, and Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction.

[Candace]

I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months.

[Kelsey]

Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."
Ooh, that is a good pick, I've been meaning to read that one for a while so this might be the incentive I need

[Katie]

For this one I'm picking In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.

[Bonnie G.]

Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."

One of my favorite books of 2020! Emjoy. I think I am going to go with The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey which I somehow never read before.

[Gina]

I recently bought and have heard good things about Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz.

[Elizabeth]

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir by Cherríe L. Moraga has been on my list. The author was the editor of This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.

[Virginia Reads the World]

I think I'm going to try My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education for this one

[Tanu]

Kelsey wrote: "Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."
Ooh, that is a good pick, I've been meaning to read that one for a wh..."

I can’t recommend it highly enough! It also fits ‘set in the Midwest’, for those who want to double dip.

[Tammy]

Down These Mean Streets, by Piri Thomas really impressed me when I read it over 15 years ago. I love memoirs but haven't read many by Latinx authors, so am happy about this task. Others I read more recently and recommend are:

The Pregnancy Project, by Gaby Rodriguez
Free Lunch, by Rex Ogle

[Katrisa]

Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."

It's SOOOO good!

[Erika]

I'm thinking of either To Selena, With Love by Chris Pérez or The Closer: My Story by Mariano Rivera

[Juliet]

I think I'm going to go with My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende, mostly because I have really liked her fiction that I have read

[Rebecca]

Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."

Same!

[Katrisa]

I think I will choose A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca

[Bobby]

Would a Basque person be considered Latinx? I am considering reading Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World, by Catalina de Erauso for this challenge.

I am also considering reading Before Night Falls, by Reinaldo Arenas, or A Woman of Genius: The Intellectual Autobiography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

[Eric]

I'm going with My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor, which covers the subject's life before becoming a judge. The audiobook is read by the illustrious Rita Moreno.

Incidentally, Rita Moreno published a memoir a few years ago that could be another option ( Rita Moreno: A Memoir), but I haven't read that one either.

[Eric]

Erika wrote: "I'm thinking of either To Selena, With Love by Chris Pérez or The Closer: My Story by Mariano Rivera"

I think The Closer is going to be a good read for us baseball types. I'm using it for a prompt in another challenge.

[Anna]

Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."

Carmen (the author) is a friend of mine from college. It's waiting on my bookshelf along with her short story collection. It also fits the bonus task, since she is LGBTQ+ as well.

[Kathryn]

I'm going to read Havana Real: One Woman Fights to Tell the Truth about Cuba Today by Yoani Sanchez for this prompt.

[Altan]

I think Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America by Maria Hinojosa would fit this prompt perfectly!

[Book Riot]

Hello, readers! Our post with suggestions for this task is up now. https://bookriot.com/read-harder-2021...

[Beth]

Will try the The Undocumented Americans

[Gabriela]

Over thinker here...wondering if Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America counts? Maria Hinojosa is a journalist but she is the author of this book sooo..she's a Latinx author?

[Erika]

Gabriela wrote: "Over thinker here...wondering if Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America counts? Maria Hinojosa is a journalist but she is the author of this book sooo..she's a ..."

Counts 100%!

[Manda]

"Child of the Dark"- a truly powerful memoir from the 1960s. This was written by a Brazilian woman and mother who lived and managed to escape the favelas. She wrote this entire memoir on scraps of trash. Powerful.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

[Amy]

Just finished In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. It was beautiful and for a work about past trauma it was actually a quick read. The topic was heavy, but it was written so beautifully it didn't feel like it. If that makes sense. Highly recommend!

[Gw]

ORDINARY GIRLS IS my choice for this one.

[Tammy]

I just finished Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noé Alvarez. It's not the most perfectly written book, but I still really liked it and definitely recommend it for this task. (It got a lot better for me after Part 1).

[Shelby]

Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."

I just finished it the other night and it was absolutely outstanding! I literally read it in one sitting, I could not put it down.

[Jennifer]

I loved A Cup of Water Under the Bed and In the Dream House

[Candace]

Shelby wrote: "Candace wrote: "I'm going with In the Dream House for this prompt! I've had on hold at the library for months."

I just finished it the other night and it was absolutely outstanding..."

Same! It was beautiful and I love the mix of writing styles

[Mandie]

Thank you to whomever suggested To Selena, With Love. I had to get it via InterLibrary Loan, but finished it in a day.

[Meredith]

I've been on the hunt for more eclectic books to fit this prompt. I love "eventful" narratives so I leaned toward those!

In case this is helpful:

Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White -- if you're looking for a graphic memoir (event: civil rights unrest in 60s Alabama)

Miracle in the Andes -- if you like survival stories (event: plane crash in the Andes!)

Rafa -- if you like tennis, especially its mental aspect (events: 2008 Wimbledon & 2010 US Open)

The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border -- if you're interested in the topic of family separations (event: mother separated :( from her children )

We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time -- if you're interested in the topic of disaster relief (event: Hurricane Maria!)

Letters to Cristina -- if you're interested in education, especially its link to democracy (event: unrest in Brazil)

Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir -- if you're interested in music, especially Linda Ronstadt's music!

The Meaning of Mariah Carey -- if you like celebrity memoirs, pop music, and/or audiobooks

[James]

Undocumented: A Dominican Boy's Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League

[Octavia]

I read My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende for this, and it was so good. I just love her prose.

[Sherri]

I read Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Diaz

[Angela]

I’m going with In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

[Megan]

Angela wrote: "I’m going with In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado"

I just finished this and was quite impressed. This also works for #22 Read a book set in the Midwest

[Brittany]

I just started The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara.