Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion

Happy New Year!

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
Tom Felton
4/5 stars
Tom Felton relates his acting career and the ups and downs of being a child actor, especially being in one of the most popular movie series of all times. Nicely written and very interesting!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Review for My Life And Work

Henry ford autobiography a must read for history

Julie wrote: "
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
Tom Felton
4/5 stars
..."

I enjoyed this book last year was a good read

Koren wrote: "Happy New Year!"

You too

Life of Chopin

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review for life of Chopin written by Franz Liszt

Just finished Martin Luther kings autobiography here’s my review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger
3 stars


Finally finished this. I kept putting it aside and picking up something more interesting. As the title says, this book mostly focuses on the years that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were married. As we know, they married and divorced and married again and divorced again. There is a lot telling about their many arguments, drinking and spending huge amounts of money. The authors tell us many times about how beautiful they were. I think this could have been a much shorter book.

In her group biography Young Bloomsbury: The Generation That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England author Nino Strachey writes about the members of the Bloomsbury group who came after the founders: Virginia and Leonard Woolf and peers.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/01/10/y...

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir
Ruth Reichl
5/5 stars
I love Ruth Reichl and this book doesn’t disappoint. Ruth relates her life at Gourmet magazine from her beginnings there to when the magazine closed. The funny thing is that I remember when that happened because I was in charge of the magazine department at my library around that time. Gourmet was not the only serial to fold and we have lost a lot of magazines and it continues on as a lot of magazines have reverted to being online only. Reichl is an amazing author and I highly recommend her books!

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman
3 stars


I can't say I'm a major Paul Newman fan. Paul Newman died in 2008, before he finished this memoir, and his family finished the project for him. If you are a fan, I think you will like this book, although he is not always the nice guy you think he is. The title An Extraordinary life, I don't feel is accurate. Having read many celebrity memoirs, I didn't feel that this one was the most interesting. I did like that he didn't dwell overly long on making his movies, and instead focused more on his personal life. Hats off to him for donating all of his profits from his salad dressing business to charity.

I enjoyed I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home by Jami Attenberg. It's a memoir about her life as a writer, and thoroughly candid.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/01/16/i...

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox
5 stars


Michael J. Fox has written two memoirs before this, so I wondered what he could come up with that he hasn't already talked about. In this book, he focuses on his Parkinson's diagnosis, a disease he has dealt with for over 30 years. This book gave me new insights into what a Parkinson's patient goes through. I have two friends with this awful disease that takes so much away from young people.

Koren wrote: "No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox
5 stars


Michael J. Fox has ..."

I heard a funny story about MJF, he was saying how his kids help with social media and someone had said something rather rude about people with Parkinson's disease. His son tells him tweet back "SMH". So he does then asks his son what does that mean. "Shaking my head".

Koren wrote: "The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman
3 stars


I can't say I'm a major Paul New..."

Koren wrote: "The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman
3 stars


I can't say I'm a major Paul New..."

When I was young I remember thinking he was gorgeous and wonderful-his eyes held my attention. Have not read the book but will put on my list.

I have a memoir that I put out about my personal struggle with ental illness. You can get it in any format you could ask for. Hardcover, paperback, eBook, and audiobook read by the author himself! It is called Paralyzed Emotions. you should check it out.

www.paralyzed-emotions.com

I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars


I'm always interested in stories about people that have found new relatives from ancestry.com. I had something similar happen in my family so it was interesting to see how the author connected with the family he didn't know he had. Only one complaint, at times the author gets overly dramatic. But otherwise, an interesting read.

In his autobiography Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons pianist Jeremy Denk chronicles his life from childhood to graduate school. Along the way he copes with some very finicky piano teachers.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/01/20/e...

Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars
[bookcover:I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir o..."

One of my adopted brothers did one of these (not sure if it was this one or another one). He found some of his "DNA family" as he now chooses to call them--he'd met some of them already--but a half-nephew came up as some other possible level of relative.

After he was 40 his birth mother told him he was the product of an affair which was one of the final nails on the coffin to his wanting to have anything to do with her (he looked her up when he was an adult.)

Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars
[bookcover:I Had My Underwear On The Entire Ti..."

I wonder how many people come up with surprises from those DNA tests. I had someone in Canada contact me through Ancestry because her mother knew she had been adopted at birth and through the DNA test found out a great uncle of mine was the father. Looking at his records (he died before I was born so I never met him), I found out he was married and his wife had a baby around the same time this other baby was born. Pretty risque for the 30's I think. Anyway, the woman who contacted me only wanted a picture of him, which I didn't have at the time but was able to get one from my aunt.

World Wild Vet: Encounters in the Animal Kingdom by Evan Antin
4 stars

This book, written by a veterinarian, is about his adventures around the world, looking for snakes, rhinos, apes, sharks, and more. He especially likes to find endangered species and the book stresses how many of these animals are disappearing and the impact illegal poaching and habitat encroachment has on all of us. While it was hard to read at times, it was interesting and something we all need to know.

In their new book How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures author Sabrina Imbler describes how ten different sea-dwelling animals live (and die) in the ocean, and offers vignettes from her own life. The science is fascinating and their reflections on their journey as a non-binary person are both compelling and revealing. Imbler’s narration of the audiobook is deeply personal.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/01/24/h...

Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars
[bookcover:I Had My Underwear On..."

That sort of stuff happened in the 30s, of course--cheaters have always been around. But of course it was very bad for the woman if she wasn't married back then whereas now it's much easier and you don't have that stigma.

I wonder if my dad fathered any kids with any of his affairs and if any husband ended up raising his kid.

Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars
[bookcover:I Had M..."

Have you taken the DNA test? Of course, the other person would have to take it too for you to know. My sister refuses to do the test. I think she is afraid to find out if our fathers are the same.

Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars
[boo..."

?? You can't tell by looking..?
I guess for my family, since there were very few Chinese peeps around at the time, it would have been obvious if my mum had gone with anyone else. Also I had twin brothers and they definitely have the same dad lol.
Actually I can't think how traumatic that would be to find out your parents were not actually your parents. But then they can't ask for a spare kidney or whatever from you I suppose.

I finished today My Prosthetic Life: A Memoir by Laura Kendall. 3 stars from me!

Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blair
4 stars
[boo..."

No, I haven't. I get nervous about them having rights to my DNA, which is probably silly, but every now and then I think about it more to see what I have in my DNA. One of my aunts did this and found out she's 2 percent Asian (like my mother, she's 100 percent Icelandic in descent) which is most likely Saami since many of our forbears came from Norway prior to going to Iceland over 1000 years ago.

I'm only half Icelandic and it would be interesting to see what's there. We have a family tree for both my dad's sides, but not nearly as far back or complete as the Icelandic one. On his dad's side it's just from the first man they found with the first form of his surname (my maiden name)--they can trace it back to only one man in the 18th century (not sure if records were lost in WW II bombings.)

Ghostbuster's Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis
Violet Ramis Stiel
4/5 stars
This was a very interesting book on the Ramis family and her father Harold Ramis who was probably best known as one of the Ghostbusters but was also involved in writing and directing. She relates her unusual rearing and also talks about her children and partners along with talking about her father’s many films.

Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy by Michael Blai..."

My sister looks more like my mom and I look more like my dad. She also acts more like my mom. That is not a good thing. LOL! We are mostly German on my dad's side and Slovenian on my mom's side. My mom said we had some Irish blood and I found out it was 2% and I haven't found the ancestor yet that gave that to us.

Dead Giveaway: The Rescue, Hamburgers, White Folks, and Instant Celebrity... What You Saw on TV Doesn't Begin to Tell the Story... by Charles Ramsey
5 stars


An unlikely hero. You might be familiar with the names Amanda Berry, Gina De Jesus, and Michelle Knight, the three girls that were locked in a house for 10 years by a man named Ariel Castro. I know at least 2 of the girls have written their own book if you want to know more about the crime. This is the guy that heard them yelling for help in the house next door and kicked the door in to rescue them. I was amazed at the picture of the houses and how close they were and yet no one knew there were children trapped in the house. He became an instant celebrity with more than 15 minutes of fame. Did you know that those morning shows on tv pay for your way there, but you are on your own finding your way back home? That is just one of the funny things this guy comes up with. Anyway, the book dwells little on the actual crime. The author has his own story to tell and he does it with a great sense of humor and a liberal use of the F word! (Thought I'd throw that in just in case you are offended by it). Seems his entire mission in life since he was a boy is to see how much trouble he can get into. This was a quick read as it is a short book, and you can't put it down because you want to see what he is going to do next!

Cyclone Bola: Gisborne, 1988 by Kath Beattie

Another My New Zealand story, this time its about Cyclone Bola which devastated the Gisborne region in 1988. Narrated by a 13 year old girl from Auckland who is sent to stay at her Aunty and Uncle's farm/vineyard in Gisborne while her parents are away sailing. Although the diary part is fictional it's based on real life events and there are some facts about it at the end.

All I can say is its pretty much what's happening in Auckland now with all this rain we've had, minus the wind.

Spare by Prince Harry
3 stars

I have mixed feelings about this memoir and am VERY glad I didn't read those reviews that blathered way too much and out of context. Some of it was interesting, some not. I thought he kept quite an even hand about his family overall and it's clear that he was very fond of his late grandmother--they had a good relationship. By far his biggest complaints were directed to the press who are unbelievably invasive and spewed lies as well as sometimes facts. After a respite for a while after his mother's death his life has been made miserable by them countless times. Not just him, all of the royals and every one of his girlfriends once they found out. Even Meghan's jumped considerably He couldn't even go on his first deployment thanks to it being blathered all over the media--not just because it put him in danger, but also increased the danger for all he served with and the Taliban openly making all sorts of threats.

IRL I know some people who love and some who loathe Prince Harry. Who is telling the truth? Every single memoir ever written has to be taken with a grain of salt because memory isn't nearly as reliable as we all think, but that doesn't mean that there are no reliable narrators. I didn't get the sense of this being just a pack of vindictive lies against his family and those working for them because what he wrote was very plausible and, to be honest, not way out to lunch.

However, there were some things that he put in here that I couldn't see any point to including or at least not discussing so very much (view spoiler)[eg is frostnipped penis, and he never did tell us if it recovered even though we heard too much about it. Ditto for his experience with chocolate mushrooms in the states and what he hallucinated in the bathroom plus what his friend did. Plus some other things (hide spoiler)]

Interesting review...I haven't read the book (yet) maybe my sister will send me a copy.

In the UK I don't know how bad the press is, but in NZ the only coverage of the royals these days is in the women's magazines, and everyone knows they tell a pack of lies and useless gossip, especially the weekly ones (Woman's Day, New Idea, etc...) So nobody puts much score in anything they say, and they do it to most every celeb, stick photos of them while they are walking to the shops wearing trackpants or whatever.
People pay big money to get some hairdresser gossiping about royal behaviour and it will usually be cited as 'a source' tells us ....or more likely, disgruntled servants who've been let go.

On the Netflix, they made a big deal of this letter Meghan had written to her dad that the press somehow got a hold of and published excerpts from. But thing is they actually have a lot of servants catering to them and any one of them could have slipped the correspondence unless it was intentionally planted by the royals themselves, and the royals have been known to tells stories about themselves that aren't true as well. Unfortunately if you are in public office and you court the media (like Jackie O did, she WAS a journalist at first) people think that gives them the right to invade your privacy, even while you get your children to pose for photographers. Its like mothers who put their children's pics on facebook.

Sure you're proud of them..and want to show off but did you ask your children whether they want all their activities put online for all the world to see?? How embarassing.

Selina wrote: "Interesting review...I haven't read the book (yet) maybe my sister will send me a copy.

In the UK I don't know how bad the press is, but in NZ the only coverage of the royals these days is in the ..."

Actually, according to Prince Harry, her dad did give it to them. Plus it was edited by the paper to make her look bad. Her dad made money off the press at least once.

Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "Interesting review...I haven't read the book (yet) maybe my sister will send me a copy.

In the UK I don't know how bad the press is, but in NZ the only coverage of the royals these ..."

Not sure if he was pressured to do that with the money they were offering him, or he willingly sold his daughter down the river. Confusing.

I am not sure which particular papers they don't like. Is it The Daily Mail, the Guardian, the News of the World, or the National Enquirer or the Telegraph or all of them. Which ones actually tell the truth and which ones are the muckrakers?

We don't get any of that in NZ. We just have women's magazines (also called hag mags).

I know People magazine and Hello! are sort of like royally endorsed publications. i.e vehicles for Celeb PR and court reporters. Meghan also guest edited for Vogue once.

For most of her writing career Janet Malcolm avoided autobiography and memoir, but the posthumous essay collection Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory contains essays about her own experience that she wrote near the end of her life.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/02/01/s...

Selina wrote: "Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "Interesting review...I haven't read the book (yet) maybe my sister will send me a copy.

In the UK I don't know how bad the press is, but in NZ the only coverage of the..."

None of those are reliable. To be honest, even "good" media is not totally reliable;* I can't tell you how many times I've known people close to a major event who say that the news has it wrong. I don't worry about all of the details in news of real events and just get the gist of something that really happened. As for things like the National Enquirer see the end.

*Also, before the world wide web was in full swing with google and all of that, I once joined a provincial political party to go to a meeting and hear what the then-provincial premier had to say. The next day the newspapers only quoted his jokes and made them sound like he was serious. That was the day I lost my trust for newspapers, etc. I don't think that it's any better now.

People isn't a tabloid so is much better than those, but I don't completely trust People magazine, either since my brother has been in it before. However, I NEVER read tabloids but will read People magazine if I'm in a waiting room and didn't bring a book.

Plus from what I've read not all of the royals are on the same page PLUS they aren't the only ones pulling the strings. I really think that the "gilded cage" is quite accurate.

The National Enquirer, if it's anything like the one over here, isn't reliable.

I've never trusted newspapers to be factual or totally accurate, they will always put their spin on things for the headlines, and they have a limited amount of space for copy (which is edited) and deadline pressures to have something in print.

My dad worked for the NZ Herald though he wasn't a journalist, he was doing the classifieds back when they actually had classifieds. He always subscribed to the paper AND the rival evening paper the Auckland Star till it folded. I didn't read it for the 'news'. I read it for the Garfield comics.

The Herald has since degenerated from a broadsheet to a tabloid (Tabloid being half the size of the broadsheet paper) but what keeps most newspapers going is the advertising. Which on the front page will mostly be - Harvey Norman electronics, or retirement villages. I am under no illusions that a newspaper is a commercial enterprise that runs off advertising revenue just like youtube and facebook are.

Another collection of memoir-based essays? Yep. Best known for her novel The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner demonstrates in The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020 that the author in real life is not that much different from the protagonist in her novel.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/02/03/t...

Doctor Ice Pick by Claire Prentice
4 stars


This is an e-book short, just 85 pages. What was amazing about this book is that this procedure was even allowed to happen and it wasn't all that long ago, only in the 1940's and 50's. Perhaps the most well-known lobotomized person is Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of President Kennedy. How any person could think it would be good to hack away at someone's brain with an actual ice pick is beyond me. This guy did it to thousands of people before he was stopped. If this was a full-length book it would have been interesting to interview people that either had a lobotomy or knew someone who did. If you have Amazon Prime, this was a monthly free pick.

Selina wrote: "I've never trusted newspapers to be factual or totally accurate, they will always put their spin on things for the headlines, and they have a limited amount of space for copy (which is edited) and ..."

Yes, you have it right in my opinion!

Child of the Sea. by Doina Cornell
I've read Pacific Odyssey by Gwenda Cornell and this is her daughter's memoir of the same sailing adventure. Doina was aged 7-14 when the family first embarked on their round the world odyssey, starting from the UK. In this book its not just the Pacific thats described but also the other places they visited..the Greek Islands, Egypt, Israel, the Carribean, New Zealand. It was interesting to read a travel memoir through a child's eyes. Doina was the oldest of two, she had a brother two years younger called Ivan. This book is also a bit of a coming -of-age as well when she reaches her tween years.

My parents were never as adventurous as hers! I only ever recall ONE holiday when we actually left the house and stayed overnight anywhere as a family lol. We didn't have a boat though, just dad's car.

In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Standup Comedy
Shawn Levy
4/5 stars
Levy relates the fascinating tales of how these female comedians made it into show business. He includes Moms Mabley of the Black vaudeville circuit, Jean Carrol, Minnie Pearl, Sophie Tucker, Phyllis Diller, Elaine May, Totie Fields and Joan Rivers. He goes fairly in depth about their lives and careers.

In her book Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit author Lyanda Lynn Haupt reflects on her life through the lenses of nature and spirituality, with a dash of science thrown in.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2023/02/09/r...

Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
5 stars



At first, I didn't think I was going to like this book. It begins with the author telling us his story through the eyes and voice of a 6-year-old boy. But, the voice changes as the boy grows and then becomes an adult. It really brought home how things that happen to us when we are young can follow us throughout our lives. The boy spends his youngest years in a cult, one that later became well known as Synanon. The small children were taken away from their parents and not allowed any contact. His mother along with his brother escape the commune but the mother has major depression issues (loved how the 6 year old voice thought it was called the deep Russian) and the father is not in the picture. As the boy grows he has a talent for finding trouble until he finds music and founds the Indie band Airborne Toxic Event. Along the way, he also goes to college. I didn't want this book to end and actually shed a few tears at the end.

Baby Doll: My Mother, My Secrets by Charlotte Rossler
5 stars


The author suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of her mother and stepfather. She became pregnant twice before the age of 18 and was forced to give away her children. She left home as a teenager and went through addiction before turning her life around. An amazing and uplifting story.

Country Ragamuffins: Reflections on a Midwestern Farm Childhood by Maxine Bergerson Werner
5 stars and a heart


After reading several books about children who were horribly abused, this book was a breath of fresh air. The author writes about growing up on a farm in rural Minnesota during the 1950's and 60's. I also grew up on a farm in Minnesota in the 1960's and so many memories came flooding back, although I will say we had an indoor toilet and a TV. So many memories that I hadn't thought about for a long time. Loved this trip back in time. Loved seeing the recipe for Rommegrot, a dish my daughter-in-law makes every year at Christmas.

In February, I read 'Rosco The Fastest Aussie on Earth: An Amazing True Life Story of Ross McGlashan as told by Mark J Read.' The book is not on Goodreads, released in January 2023. It's a memoir/autobiography of the man who broke Australian land speed record and intends to break the world land speed record (though he is over 70 now). And this all after dropping out of school and running away from home at age 12. A great man's story. 3 stars from me (because I felt that the way the story was presented lacked a little bit of editing; it's just simple, conversational language).