Memoirs and Biographies We Love discussion

Finished Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story
On completion, I have changed my review a bit: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now I will read In Sunlight and in Shadow. I loved A Soldier of the Great War but detested Winter's Tale, all by Mark Helprin. It is new. It is nice and long. I hope it is good.

I finished In Sunlight and in Shadow
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I can only recommend it to some people.

Will startEx Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader tomorrow. Embarrassing that I still haven't read this. I have been putting it off since it is essays; I usually prefer longer books.

Finished Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader in just one day! I prefer longer books, but it was funny and will appeal to just about all of us. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I am crazy about Colum McCann's writing, so now I will begin my third book by him: Dancer. So far I definitely like it. This book has several narrators. One of them, Suzanne Toren, was in fact the narrator of "Ex Libris". She did a marvelous job.

I adore the writing of Colum McCann. WOW! Here is my review of Dancer: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A word of warning. The subject matter is not going to fit everyone.

I have begun
The Professor & the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity & the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. How come so many people liked this book? Its topic seemed rather boring, but having listened to several chapters, I concur. It reads like fiction. It is interesting and exciting. You are pulled in immediately.

Yup, The Professor & the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity & the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester is indeed very good, but short! I will definitely be reading more by him. His writing and narration makes non-fiction engaging.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I am going to try and stick in the free, 45 minute long audiobook that I got from Audible: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by none other than Arthur Conan Doyle. It is a Christmas story so I must read it before Xmas. I LIKE getting free presents from Audible!

The book I will really be starting is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I figured I had to listen to this before "They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance, which deals with Lincoln's death! So I am doing an intensive Lincoln study for Xmas.

I cannot recommend No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt more highly! This is also by Goodwin.

I am on a Lincoln binge. Finished the monstrously long but highly acclaimed biography:Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

and am continuing with "They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance. I enjoy reading this after the other. I know who is who and recognize what is going on! I guess I have actually learned something from the first book!

I definitely recommend reading firstTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln followed immediately by "They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance

My review of the latter: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Recently I linked to my review of the former.

Now I need a book with a completely different setting and theme. I need to know what I will think of The Reader. Some think it is great; others abhor it.

Why are there so few people at GR interested in biographies and memoirs? I wish this group was more active. I want to get ideas from others!

I very much enjoyed The Reader
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Campbell Scott is a good narrator!

Tomorrow I better listen to the freebie I got from Audible: A Christmas Carol.

There is a quite a bit to think about in The Sheltering Sky, set in Morocco, but.....
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I have changed my mind a million times about whether I should read A Fine Balance. Audible changed their rules, now selling all books even the very long ones for one credit. So I bought it. What if they change their rules again! I hope it is not too depressing. I am satisfied if there is just a little, teeny bit of hope or some humor or just something to lighten it. So I am off to India now. I love learning about different places and cultures.

Neither of these are biographies.

I am almost done reading a new memoir called "Brain On Fire: My Month Of Madness" by Susannah Calahan and it is a fascinating and intriguing read!

Christie, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness does look interesting.....but also scary. Could you tell me a bit about it?

Christie, I'm in and out of genres, but loved the Professor and the Madman...now reading Here When You Need Me by Kate Braestrup after hearing a podcast with her on OnBeing.

Did you read Strayed's Wild? What did you think?

I'm a big fan of some if the western writing...Gretel Ehrlich, Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams, Stegner etc- any of that appeal?

And agree: GR seems to be focused on fiction.

I'm reading I haven't read an autobiography in quite some time. Still early in the book but I have a feeling I'll enjoying reading this one.

Shanon, not sure if you are speaking to Christie or me... I really enjoyed The Professor & the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity & the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. have you read more by Winchester?

I have not read Wild. Tell me about it. Do you recommend it? I haver read Stegner, but it did not blow me over.

I would love to talk with more people about biographies and memoirs!They are my favorite genre. I like how they teach history from the point of view of those who lived through the historical times.

Chrissie wrote: "Christie, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness does look interesting.....but also scary. Could you tell me a bit about it?"

One day in 2009, twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. A wristband marked her as a “flight risk,” and her medical records—chronicling a monthlong hospital stay of which she had no memory at all—showed hallucinations, violence, and dangerous instability. Only weeks earlier, Susannah had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: a healthy, ambitious college grad a few months into her first serious relationship and a promising career as a cub reporter at a major New York newspaper. Who was the stranger who had taken over her body? What was happening to her mind?
In this swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her inexplicable descent into madness and the brilliant, lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. A team of doctors would spend a month—and more than a million dollars—trying desperately to pin down a medical explanation for what had gone wrong. Meanwhile, as the days passed and her family, boyfriend, and friends helplessly stood watch by her bed, she began to move inexorably through psychosis into catatonia and, ultimately, toward death. Yet even as this period nearly tore her family apart, it offered an extraordinary testament to their faith in Susannah and their refusal to let her go.

Then, at the last minute, celebrated neurologist Souhel Najjar joined her team and, with the help of a lucky, ingenious test, saved her life. He recognized the symptoms of a newly discovered autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the brain, a disease now thought to be tied to both schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps the root of “demonic possessions” throughout history.

Far more than simply a riveting read and a crackling medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind. Using all her considerable journalistic skills, and building from hospital records and surveillance video, interviews with family and friends, and excerpts from the deeply moving journal her father kept during her illness, Susannah pieces together the story of her “lost month” to write an unforgettable memoir about memory and identity, faith and love. It is an important, profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic.

Shannon wrote: "Christie, I'm in and out of genres, but loved the Professor and the Madman...now reading Here When You Need Me by Kate Braestrup after hearing a podcast with her on OnBeing.

Did you read Strayed's..."
I have Wild but have not read it yet. Did you like it?

Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading I haven't read an autobiography in quite some time. Still early in the book but I have..."

This looks like a good one. Please let me know what you think about it once you finish it please.

I pushed past the forward which was "imagined" and now I like it just fine!

Mark Twain

Christie wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading I haven't read an autobiography in quite some time. Still early in th..."

I finished it last night Christie and I really enjoyed it. It has me interested in learning more about Liberia, it's history and it's people.

I'm reading (Will be done that today) and I'm also reading

Chrissie wrote: "Why are there so few people at GR interested in biographies and memoirs? I wish this group was more active. I want to get ideas from others!"

I think more and more people are getting into biographies. I didn't even know this group existed for the longest time. Maybe the group needs more threads to get more people posting?

Kimberly wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Why are there so few people at GR interested in biographies and memoirs? I wish this group was more active. I want to get ideas from others!"

I think more and more people are gett..."

Maybe lack of exposure? A good starting place for folks who think it's too "heavy" are some of the delightful books of letters and diaries out there. My first was and it was the gateway to so many other fascinating people and topics.

Letters to a Friend: The Correspondence Between T.H. White & L.J. Potts

I am at a loss for understanding why biographies and memoirs are considered heavy! For me, particularly bios about historical figures, make history personal, something I can relate to.

I am so happy you two have taken an interest in this group.

I was so lonely here. I felt like I was talking to myself.......or a wall or an empty room or

I finished A Fine Balance, and I do recommend it! There is humor mixed in; without it you would sink. You are enveloped in another time and place. The characters become your friends. Yes, they are beggars, maimed, poor and destitute.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

***************

Now I am reading The Map of Lost Memories: A Novel, which is set in Cambodia. I hope to learn a bit about the Khmer Civilization (9th through the 15th Centuries) wrapped in a fun adventure story lead by a strong woman protagonist. What will characterize this book most: culture, feminism or adventure?

Chrissie wrote: "I am at a loss for understanding why biographies and memoirs are considered heavy! For me, particularly bios about historical figures, make history personal, something I can relate to.

I am so ha..."

I agree, if I'm interested in someone, the history of something etc. it makes me much more inclined to read abiography, memoir or autobiography. Many of my choice take place in Africa because I'm obsessed with the continent.

I'm curious to see what you think about The Map of Lost Memories: A Novel Chrissie. It's been on my tbr list for some time.

Kimberly, it is very much a mystery story with some romance and adventure thrown in, MUCH mote than learning about the Khmer Civilization. I was told by a friend that it was more about the culture, so I am a bit surprised. I have listened to half. Finally they are in Cambodia, after Shanghai and Saigon.

Memoirs and bios and autobiographies, be they historical fiction or non-fiction, are my favorite books!

I'm just starting God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation this is probably going to be a very difficult read but one I think needs read.

Kimberly, I have added GSIR. looks like my kind of book! Thanks.

I knew a woman, a fellow student, who took place in the massacre. Yes, she survived and there she sat, next to me. You have no idea the stories people can tell you if you just ask. By looking at her you had not the faintest idea of what she had gone through. It makes you think.

Africa is interesting, but so are other continents.

Finished: The Map of Lost Memories: A Novel
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A fun action novel, but not terribly much about the Khmer Empire, so not really what I expected.

I will start Sacred Hunger. This Booker Prize-winning work by Barry Unsworthy is about England and the slave trade.

A MEMOIR: How a preacher boy questioned the bible, failed the code of conduct, wagered with god and found healing from spiritual head injuries. If you read this book you will be encouraged, enlightened or possibly enraged – maybe all three

There is a book trailer at http://rleoolson.com/wordpress/?page_...

I just finished Sacred Hunger.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I am going to stay in England and listen to St. Peter's Fair. The problem is the recording is very poor. I hope Audible can solve the problem for me. There seem to be two recordings with different release dates. I guess I got the wrong one. You hear voices in the background!

Hello all! I am new to this group! I just started getting into reading really. The most recent reads were just fun, easy reads...."A million little pieces" and "Scare Tissue" by Anthony Keidis. Both were ineteresting, yet sad. Any other very interesting memoirs please share....nothing too too heavy :)
Thanks!

Amanda, welcome. We need more people in this group! I adore memoirs and biographies because they put a personal face on history. Well, that is how they work for me.......I think if you look above you will see a million entries by me, hoping that more would take an interest in this genre!

I have a hard time recommending a book to you b/c I don't know your interests... Check out

Between Love and Honor
All That I Am
Dancer
Painter of Silence (not a memoir, but special)
to name but a few.....

You can also check out my bio shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

I finished St. Peter's Fair and I must highly recommend this!
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Now, finally, I like cozy, historical mysteries. There are so many more in this series left for me to read. I will be reading The Leper of Saint Giles as soon as I have a chance to download some books into my Ipod! I HAVE to read the two I already have there. This isn't terrible. I have started Pure. This is one of those books that the atmosphere of the place draws you in immediately. Paris, back in the end of the 1700s. OK, it is stinky, but it is still Paris, and Paris has a charm of its own, doesn't it?! I really am enjoying this.

I am slowly but surely getting through The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. I read a chapter a day. It is impossible to read this without feeling you just might be sick! And you wash your hands incessantly. Maker sure you have a good supply of soap at home when you read this book.

Chrissie, Thank you so much for the warm welcome and recommendations!

If you look above you see why we need more people in this group. I don't even think there is a leader.... I would just love to talk with others who adore bios and memoirs. I do not go for the ones about actors or sports people, but rather those that teach about past times and places. What are your preferences, Amanda?

I am glad I could suggest some books!

I finished a book set in France, Pure, Paris of the 1780s to be exact, and I did enjoy it!

My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now I am going back again to another of the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. I have chosenThe Leper of Saint Giles. I am definitely hooked. I am in fact almost done with it..... I cannot stop listening. This series is addictive.

Minutes ago I finished The Leper of Saint Giles. I adored it. It was fabulous. What a story!!!!!!! I will write a review and then past it in here. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... The audiobook narration by Johanna Ward was just p-e-r-f-e-c-t!

I am on a roll. I have to read another by Ellis Peters. It will be The Sanctuary Sparrow. So I am definitely staying in Great Britain.

I finished another of the Brother Cadfael series: The Sanctuary Sparrow. Still very good!
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I have begun Speaks the Nightbird, the first of a promising new series set in the Carolinas, historical fiction about witchcraft and murder. I will be reading this with a friend.

I'm currently reading Robert K. Massie's The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. I am a Russian history and biography junkie who got hooked on Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra years ago and just haven't stopped reading about these fascinating people.

kim, i loved Nicholas and Alexandra! i can also recommend Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. i intend on soon reading Robert K. Massie's Peter the Great!

Others may like Speaks the Nightbird, but not me. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Then I tried The Bloodletter's Daughter and after a chapter or two I dumped that too. Let's put it this way, the style of writing was not to my taste. I have seen and loved the French film version of A Very Long Engagement. I was just learning French when I saw this. I feel reading the book will clarify what I didn't understand. I have already begun it, and I am satisfied that this will be a keeper.

Just finished Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Now I am on to Albert Einstein by Walter Isaacson

I had a hard time understanding the confusing mystery in A Very Long Engagement, even after seeing the movie! I adored the French movie. Perhaps something has gone wrong in the translation and/or the narration of the audiobook. Read it in French if possible. My review explains more: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I will now start Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.

I'm reading Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? It's a very funny, light weekend read.

I am currently reading a blog by Wayne McNeill, Songbook for Haunted Boys and Girls. This is his third blog and each one is a series of short memoirs. Prose poetry vignettes about his life and the street in Toronto on which he lives. Beautiful and evocative. And, I understand, soon to be coming out in a book by the same name. Here is the link...check it out! http://sylvaingarneau.blogspot.ca/

Lisa wrote: "I am currently reading a blog by Wayne McNeill, Songbook for Haunted Boys and Girls. This is his third blog and each one is a series of short memoirs. Prose poetry vignettes about his life and the ..."

The book isn't registered here at GR....

I very highly recommend Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. There is much more to be known about this man than you think! It is not just for those interested in the founding fathers of America!
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Thank you, Laura, for telling me I simply had to read this book!

I will take a little detour and read The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy, because I want to read something by Stewart O'Nan! Then I will return to the founding fathers topic and read John Adams by the great author David McCullough. When you read a really good book, your reading lists don't decrease; they grow exponentially.