Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion

Reading any good books that don't fall into the Biography, Autobiography, Memoir category? Please share!

I am reading Daniel Peter's 'Tikal.'Tikal Daniel Peters

I am currently reading: From a Buick 8 by Stephen King... I read a lot of King (another book club), and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl... which I've never read before, but I'm pre-reading it for my 9yo so we can discuss it together when she reads it (we homeschool).
As soon as I finish one of these I'll be onto The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson.
Usually I have more going at a time, but this time between Christmas and New Years when everyone is off work/school makes it hard to focus.

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
2 stars


I almost quit reading this when I got to the part about seeing Jesus in the loaf of bread and by the time I got half-way I was wishing I had quit. But, of course, if you get half-way you might as well stick with it. There were just too many things that were bizarre and unlikely to ever happen. If those things had been taken out I think it would have been a good book. The last book I read also took place during the Holocaust and a lot of the historical aspects were the same so I believe both authors did their research as to what conditions were like at the time. The narrative by the grandmother that ended up being a book within a book was too long and drawn out.

The Life of a Banana by PP Wong

Not a memoir but a novel, the narrator is a 12 year old BBC (british born chinese) girl and the story is a bit like a BBC version of Angela's Ashes, as her dad died before she was born, the mum dies when she is 12, and she's brought up by a bullying grandma and there's also a mean girl at school who torments her. Plus her brother joins a gang that's like the Triads.

A bit outrageous and exaggerated, but ultimately affecting. Author wants more 'banana' writers to come forth (Asian writers in English). I'm all for it.

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

I seem to be on a British Asian novels binge. This one is about 3 sisters from a Sikh family born in the UK and they all go on a pilgrimage to India as per their dying mothers wishes that they all get along. Part travel part chick lit, much of it dealing with wider feminine issues so don't expect it to be a comedy - it got quite dark in places. However alls well that ends well.

If the happy ending is to be cremated and your ashes sprinkled in the Ganges/Sikh temple I suppose.

Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones
4 stars

In one sense, this is similar to Pillars of the Earth, but set in Spain and in the 14th century instead since both have stories that involve a cathedral being built, are very long, have a number of well developed characters and and a few other things. However, it's not the same story; if you've read one you haven't read the other. I've read may books by Follett (I dnf the sequel to Pillars of the Earth, though, even though the first one was 4+ stars if I'd been rating books at that time) and he's not a Follett wannabe or knock off.

This book has more than one character POV, but primarily follows the life of Arnau, whose father flees with him after rescuing him after--well, why give a single spoiler if you, like me, don't read plot-descriptive reviews all the way through until after you've finished the book? Since starting not long after I had my third child I usually read the ending early on (changes the nature of the reading experience but it means almost everything else before that is a spoiler for me,) but can tell you that even having done that I ended up staying up late and reading 200 pages in one night when my plan was c. 100 pages a day. I knew virtually nothing about this book, but saw it on a GR friend's shelf and decided I'd like to read it.

This book is darker than I prefer many times, but the darkest things are based on things that really happened rather than made up or exaggerated for literary effect. That's one spoiler I will give you that the author writes about after the novel is over.

As of the start of 2023 I am dedicated to reading 1 new children's book a day with my young family. We have started the year with Saving the Team and the Kicks Series and Sam Kerr's Kicking Goals Journal. A good way to start the year with a bang and keeps us all entertained. Both big 5star reads. What are you reading? Jen

Jennifer wrote: "As of the start of 2023 I am dedicated to reading 1 new children's book a day with my young family. We have started the year with Saving the Team and the Kicks Series and Sam Kerr's..."

What a great idea!

Jennifer wrote: "As of the start of 2023 I am dedicated to reading 1 new children's book a day with my young family. We have started the year with Saving the Team and the Kicks Series and Sam Kerr's..."

Good for you! My children are long grown and I miss the days I read them a bedtime story. They always said if you read to your kids they will become lifelong readers. I had 4 boys and none of them are readers. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm the only one in my family and extended family that is a big reader.

Victory Bells For The Harpers Girls by Rosie Clarke


The sixth and perhaps final book of the series? It's now 1918 and the girls are getting through the end of the war with all their trials and tribulations. A few men are killed off, and the Spanish flu also claims a few but it's nowhere near pandemic proportions depicted here.

Sally is also constantly described as 'lucky' and half the book is characters dialogues repeating what they seem to already know to each other. But I sort of had to see this series to the end.

Harpers is a fictional department store and it seems in competition with Selfridges, but there's no mention of Harrods so maybe it's really a play on its name?

It reminded me of Deborah Challinors novels set in Auckland in a later period of ladies working in department stores. I have never worked in one only a bookshop but I think it's nice work if you can get it (when they aren't paying you minimum wage).

Overall I am glad I have finished it and I don't know if there will be a 7th installment now all the war drama is over!

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Elizabeth Taylor
Mrs. Palfrey has decided to move into a senior housing at her age. Her son and daughter live nearby but never seem to come and visit her. Fortunately, she meets a young man named Ludo when she was shopping at Harrods and he starts to visit her. Her friends from the home all seem to think he is her son but she doesn’t dissuade them either way. This was a sweet, sad novel and I enjoyed Taylor’s writing. I would read more of her.

The Kew Gardens Girls at War by Posy Lovell

Sequel to the Kew Gardens Girls this time the story is set around the 2nd world war although one character is the same there are two 'new' girls and once again with the men off at war they are now wanting female gardeners again.

I thought it was better written than the Harper's Girls series but again it is on similar lines. If you looking for gardening tips though, you won't find much in here lol. It's mostly about their lives and loves.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Balli Kaur Jaswal

My librarian friend recommended this one to me. I'd read the Shergill Sisters one but she said this one was better. I kept thinking it might be funnier but it actually wasn't that funny, it all took a dark turn near the end (but still with happy ending, girl gets the guy) . The only thing was, ok British Asian community, set in London, amongst Sikhs. I kinda get it the whole immigrant experience but why again, must any character in chicklit have to be a lawyer to be rich.

It's kinda bugging me.

The main character her is 22 year old Nikki who stumbles into teaching English job at her Sikh temple as a second job since she's dropped out of her law degree and now works in an Irish pub. But she somehow ends up with hearing erotic stories from the widows who've enrolled and the class takes off. Then there's some drama when she gets busted (because in Sikh life, widows are not meant to have a life after being widowed) by the morality police.

Anyway, I thought it was well written (aside from the erotic stories, it wasn't anything you wouldn't have heard before from out of the kama sutra) but the lawyer thing made me wonder - there must be a cabal of ex lawyer writers out there.

Birmingham Rose by Annie Murray
Maybe I'm not getting my fill of British drama so embarked on another saga this time set in Birmingham around World War 2 years.
Rose grows up in the slums of Birmingham and manages to escape a bit to Italy to help out with the war effort. She has several adventures and there's a plenty of heartbreak and ups and downs on the way. I thought it was well written and of course it had a happy ending so it wasn't all crises and soap opera. A bit more realistic than the other British sagas I had read.

Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney
It's book 16 of the Diary of the Wimpy Kid series..and there's no let up of the satire.
I kinda wanted Roderick to be the star of the story but of course brother Greg doesn't draw him in the best light. Garage band groupies and fans of Metallichuahuahua (Metallica?) might love this one.

For book 17 I want Manny to feature. He's like the Maggie Simpson of the Heffley family...

The Juniper Tree and Other Blue Rose Stories by Peter Straub

4 stars

I have read many of the stories in here in other collections, but not all of them. Each is a separate little horror show, a portrait of the childhood traumas of the little boys who grew up to be the central characters in Straub's other Blue Rose mysteries like The Throat and Koko. Every single one of these boys had an appalling childhood, I can tell you that right now. One of the characters -- never named in his first-person narrative, although I suspect he is little Timmy Underhill -- even describes the process of writing the Blue Rose mysteries themselves, saying he is trying to get answers about his life and in trying to figure it out he writes a story or novel about it, tears it up, then starts over from a completely different angle, never quite satisfied, never able to stop. Now I am picturing Straub's own life this way and I sincerely hope I am wrong about this. You wouldn't wish experiences like these on anyone.

I'm binging on Milan Kundera just now. Not strictly memoir but so steeped in Czech history and his experiences of exile that it is close. I'm staring at a stack of second hand copies I just purchased. Thoreau says nothing makes someone happier than seeing a wood pile. Well, this is mine.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Slowness
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Life is Elsewhere
The Joke
Immortality
and The Joke

Crocodile on the Sandbank
Elizabeth Peters
3.5/5 stars
Amelia Peabody, orphaned and who has inherited a fortune takes off on a trip to Cairo and is soon ensconced in a mystery after she meets Evelyn, a young woman who was dumped by her lover. Is there a plot against Evelyn? What is the mystery of a mummy running amok? Does Amelia have the grit to uncover these mysteries? Interesting story!

Paradise Valley
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell was working for the sheriff’s department in North Dakota while trying to apprehend the Lizard King, known for his kidnapping and murdering women but things fell apart and she is now on her own. In the meantime, a young man Kyle and his friend take off and are kidnapped by Ron Pergram. His grandma wants Cassie to look for them and so she tries to trail them and return them home. I am enjoying this series!

Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho

My anti-valentines chick lit for the year.
In this one, the heroine decides she wants a baby and goes to get one through a co-parenting site. Unfortunately she happens to fall in love with the co-parent dad which she didn't want to do, since she was still getting over her ex.

?! Yea it don't make sense but this also another Singaporean Crazy Rich Asian we are talking about. Well not that rich, but she happens to be in law.

Think Miranda off Sex and the City, but the city is Singapore.

Lady
Thomas Tryon
5/5 stars
Set in New England in the 30’s and 40’s and before the WWII, Woody, a young man befriends Lady, an older, wealthy woman neighbor who is widowed and lives with her servants Jessie Griffin who chauffeurs her around and his sister Ag who cleans and cooks for her. However, Lady has a secret and when it is revealed Woody has to decide whether he will still remain loyal to her. Well written and I had a hard time putting this down. 1974

I am not so much reading books right now, because I am working on another book. I wasn't going to write one, but I guess I am. Its a series of short stories. Gonna call it the Tall Tales of Lil' Joe.

Julie wrote: "
Lady
Thomas Tryon
5/5 stars
Set in New England in the 30’s and 40’s and before the WWII, Woody, a young man befriends Lady, an older, wealthy..."

I never heard of this one but will seek it out! I loved his novels The Other and Harvest Home!

Still forging ahead on Friendly Fire and The January 6th Report.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Mark Kurlansky
3.5/5 stars
Kurlansky is one of my favorite writers and in this book he writes about the history of the Cod fish and the cod fish industry in this book. Though this was not my favorite of all his books it was quite interesting. I learned a lot of information about Cod fish and industrial fishing. There is also a section on cod recipes.

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende
3 stars


There were parts of this book that I really liked. I am always interested in the immigrant experience and what makes people want to leave their homelands for a strange country. But, there were parts that weren't very believable and those are the parts I would have like to skip.

The Moonshiner's Daughter by Donna Everhart
4 stars


In the beginning, I didn't like the main character, Jessie, very much. She came across as whiney and a brat. Deeply resentful of her father's occupation, she fights him at every turn. Her father also has a secret that relates to how his wife died. I thought the author did a good job on the anorexia/bulemia angle to the story. I kind of hated how the story ended. I didn't see that coming.

Forever, Erma by Erma Bombeck
4 stars


I remember reading Erma Bombeck way back when. If you have young children or grown children, I think you will identify with Erma's humorous takes on family life. This book is a collection of her newspaper columns. Erma has been gone for 27 years, but most of her writing has stood the test of time. At the end of the book are some excerpts from eulogies that were read at her funeral.

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
3 stars


The main story line of this book is the hostage situation by a gunman at an abortion clinic. Before I was halfway through the book I was hoping the hostage situation was not going to be the entire book but it is. I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight because the characters really don't get fleshed out until the end. I didn't care much for the writing style of ending the book at the beginning of the story. On the plus side, I think the author did a good job of showing both sides of the abortion issue, but leaning a little more to the pro-choice side, and at the end in the author interview she does say that she is pro-choice. This would be a good choice for a book club but I can foresee some heated discussions.

The Dog of the South
Charles Portis
3.5/5 stars
Charles Portis who wrote True Grit explores the ups and mostly downs of Ray Midge's life after his wife takes off with another man and his car. Ray is determined to find his wife, his car and is able to track her down with his credit card statements but along the way he meets a variety of kooky and interesting people.

A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
4 stars


Historical fiction is a little out of my comfort zone, but after a while I did get into this story about a Revolutionary War woman who wanted to see the world and fight in the war but the norms of the day forbid it, so she dressed as a man and entered the army. I thought the premise was a little far-fetched until I got to the end and the author explains that the story was loosely based on a true story and how she researched and came up with the story.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
5 stars


Very powerful story of abuse in a boy's home in the 60's, made all the more powerful to find out the book was loosely based on a real life boy's home. Always hard to read about people having to endure horrific abuse just because of the color of their skin. A twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart
5 stars


Not usually a fan of historical fiction, this book may help me change my mind. I like that this author tells us at the end of the book what made her want to write the book and how she went about researching the book. The book takes place in the southern part of the US during the depression. You will learn why North Carolina is called the Tar Heel state. I had never heard of turpentine camps. Add a little romance and you have the makings of an interesting book.

Koren wrote: "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
5 stars


Very powerful story of abuse in a boy's home in the 60's, made all the more powerful to find out th..."

That ending and what led to it brought it down a star for me, but his writing was excellent!

Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
5 stars


Very powerful story of abuse in a boy's home in the 60's, made all the more powerful ..."

Much better book than The Underground Railroad, in my opinion.

Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
5 stars


Very powerful story of abuse in a boy's home in the 60's, made all the ..."

I've only read his Harlem Shuffle after this one and don't care for that genre.

In any event, I am woefully behind on reviews and when I come here to catch up get caught up in the more social aspects of GR, talking about books, etc :) But I am re-listening to a biography and reading something with real history well mixed with legend and fantasy (The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, including 49 Tales which is 5 volumes. No doubt at least some of these people were in my mother's family tree, but genes are funny things. Trivia--did you know that in the older bones from Iceland there is proof of Scottish genes, but they are all gone now? It's thought that they were a liability during some of the times of famine and disease combined with isolation that Iceland suffered. This proves what I already figured out--a DNA test can prove if you have genetic descent, but cannot disprove it if it goes back a few generations due to genetic recombination (which is why people don't get a DNA strand from one parent that is exactly like one of their parent's strands.)

Yesterday, I finished a biography of general Johan (Yohan) Laidoner, an Estonian national hero during the War for Independence (1918-1920) - and one of two high authorities who surrendered Estonia to Soviet Russia in 1939, making sure not a single shot was fired.

Available only to those who know Estonian or Finnish (the original text is in Finnish, my edition was a translation into Estonian):
Kindral Johan Laidoner ja Eesti Vabariigi hukk 1939-1940 by Martti Turtola

The River
Peter Heller
4/5 stars
Wynn and Jack take off canoeing in Canada and encounter a couple fighting but they disappear. Later on they find the woman injured and they can't leave her because a forest fire has taken over. They grab the woman and take her in their boat but are afraid that the husband may come after them. Heller doesn't disappoint in this novel.

Go back to when the Berlin Wall had recently fallen and the USSR collapsed. There was a brief moment of hope. The Scorpions song “Wind of Change” was a top hit and this author was in Russia, trying to be a part of that change. A true and hilarious story, and 4.7 stars on Amazon. Give “Wind of Change: an American Journey in Post Soviet Russia” a read.

Fatal Error by Mark Morris
4 stars


I was watching 20/20 last week and thought I had a book about the crime they were discussing and when I checked my bookshelf, I had this book about Sharee Miller. While Sharee didn't actually commit the crime, she may have gotten off scott-free if the lover that killed her husband hadn't kept all of the emails she wrote encouraging him. Dubbed by some to be the first internet murder, if it's not the first it surely is one of the first, as the murder takes place in 1999. Since then, I think most of us know that anything we put on-line can be traced back to the one that wrote it. I waited to watch the 20/20 episode until I was finished with the book and it was fun to see most of the characters in person and see how much they had changed in 20+ years. Also, Sharee was interviewed from prison and finally after so many years, confessed to what she did.

Am still reading the Canadian/Chinese novel Gold Mountain Blues about halfway through. Taking a while because its a saga of five generations...

Starting to read Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

Also the memoir James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life by James Patterson

Christine wrote: "Starting to read Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May [bookcover:Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times|..."

I will be interested in your review of the Patterson book.

I'm starting--and it's part biography part science story (it follows the life of a nobel prize winning scientist) The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

I'm also re-listening to William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back because the audiobook performance is well done and these are funny. Plus I'm reading a few other books, as per normal :)

Koren wrote: "
I will be interested in your review of the Patterson book. ."

A little bit busy at the moment since our family’s baby chickies have arrived, however I will say that it’s an outstanding one. A full life with surprising twists and turns. No wonder he’s a great writer. Highly recommend. One of my favorites of the year so far.

Weekend candy read. The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown

Christine wrote: "Weekend candy read. The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown
[bookcover:The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Win..."

huh might look into it...I'm not sure why I'm so nosy about royals. But then royals sort of WANT you to know all about them. I'm not royal, so I don't make a Christmas broadcast every year and put my family weddings on national tv and have my birthday as a holiday, nor do I invite people over for fancy dinner parties at my house.

I guess with having a huge house, I mean palace... it would seem empty without a lot of people (and servants) helping you run it. Of course you want everyone to know how expensive it is to maintain...just to gain a bit of sympathy, because you can't really earn any money or hold down a real job. It has to look good to impress the other royal families around the world.

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer

I learned from reading this book that I'm quite well educated in classic novels, but I hadn't read any classic science books apart from Silent Spring.
If you looking for some reading lists and quick summaries of classic books, (history, poetry, drama, etc) here's a decent primer if you want to forgo university tuition fees and embark on a voyage of self-education - if you can actually find these books in the public library though. Or maybe you can order them from Amazon. Good for those readers who want a challenge although its very Western/American-centric. I'm not sure reading Herotodus or the Canterbury Tales will ever benefit me though there are the odd ones that I find interesting that I think 'hmm must check that out'.

In NZ , schools are meant to be teaching NZ history as part of the curriculum so I'm only just really beginning to learn all about the recent past anyway and I wonder what kind of books would make those lists if a book like this was written for NZers.

Parihaka?
Maori Myths and Legends?
Kate Shepard?

For those interested in autobiography, it has a decent list. I'll start another thread on it as a challenge.