Comfort Reads discussion

I knew we were missing something. Here's a folder for memoirs!

Oh good. Thanks, Lee. Moved from general non-fiction:

Well, I alluded to this book before but hesitated to shelve it as I have strange "comfort reading" taste, which includes some Holocaust books. But I loved the memoir Blackbird: The Story of a Childhood Lost and Found by Jennifer Lauck. The first sequel was good but not a comfort read and I don't think I'll even read the second sequel.

I found it comforting because it was an autobiography told from a child's view, her viewpoint when she was younger, and she had a challenging coming of age, and I found it inspiring to see how she got through it.

Lisa, I think it's fascinating to hear what you find comforting based on your life history and experience. I'm glad you are sharing different things even if you think they may not be comforting to others. You never know what might hit a cord with someone else.

I think that when one is having "difficulties", it is comforting to just plain escape into other people's lives! You realize you don't have it so bad at all, and you get thinking about other issues. The latter is the most important for me. I VERY highly recommend Eleni. I am amazed that now even my husband is glued to the book!

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

One of my favourite books that I've reread at least three times is How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn. Although sad and poignant, the story is both poetic and moving and I find it both a comforting and enlightening read.

Gundula wrote: "One of my favourite books that I've reread at least three times is How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn. Although sad and poignant, the story is both poetic and..."

Ah! I loved How Green Was My Valley. My mother's mother was born in Wales so I was particularly interested when I read it at about age 12.

We actually had to read it for school. I loved the story, but even now when I reread it, I get livid at the school scenes where little children are punished for speaking Welsh.

One of my favorite memoirs is The Glass Castle. I also have Half Broke Horses, which is based on Jeannette's maternal grandmother, that I plan to read in March.

I have always been fond of two books by Duff Cooper that fall into this category. The first is his biography Talleyrand (1932). The other is his memoir of diplomacy in the 1920s-1940s entitled Old Men Forget. Cooper was married to Lady Diana Cooper and is the father of the eminent historian John Julius Norwich. What a family!

Hi Jim, thanks for your contributions! Duff Cooper sounds like an interesting man.

I loved The Glass Castle, too. And The Tender Bar: A Memoir and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood.

Jim wrote: "I have always been fond of two books by Duff Cooper that fall into this category. The first is his biography Talleyrand (1932). The other is his memoir of diplomacy in the 1920s-1940s entitled Old ..."

I read Lady Diana Manners' (Cooper) memoir, Rainbow Comes and Goes, which I found really fascinating. Of course, she mentions her love affair with and marriage to Duff Cooper, one of her few male friends to survive WW1. I'll have to read his book sometime!

Tracyene wrote: "I loved The Glass Castle, too. And The Tender Bar: A Memoir and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood."

Tracyene, I loved Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood!

Those 3 books made me fall in love with memoirs.

I own Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, but I am anxious about reading it. Is it really violent?

Christine wrote: "I own Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, but I am anxious about reading it. Is it really violent?"

No, it's not really violent. I do remember one part where one of their maids gets hurt and it's quite bloody though.

Hmmm....okay. I'll give it a try. My friend loved it and gave it to me a while ago.

I am reading The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life. I do not believe it will be either terribly sad or funny - just very, very interesting. It is about a Jew who became Muslim. He left Baku, Azerbaijan after the tumulut of the Russian Revolution. First he went to Berlin and later to austria when Hitler took power. He is the famous author of Ali and Nino: A Love Story which is utterly stupendous!!!! That is if you are interested in Eastern versus Western ways of looking at issues and Baku and Persia and Turkey.....

Chrissie, I immediately added Ali and Nino: A Love Story when I saw your review. It sounds great!

I read Half Broke Horses back in March and I really enjoyed it. Having read The Glass Castle a couple of years ago, I was interested to read about Jeanette's maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Boy, was she a strong spirit!

Amelia wrote: "Drawn to the Rhythm: A Passionate Life Reclaimed, loved this book. A great story of a life made better by the woman finding a passion to get her through a rough part of her life."

Amelia, this looks really inspiring!

I'm going to read it!

I'm not generally a fan of memoirs, and haven't read many biographies, but I agree that it is comforting just to experience something outside yourself for a while...

I read a lot of gut-wrenching, heartbreaking stories. I gravitate towards them for that feeling. I love when I experience something horrific through another's eyes and can come away feeling as though my life, as much as I like to complain about it, is pretty damn good compared to some. I think it keeps me humble, in a way. And it opens my eyes to a lot of things that we tend to avoid thinking about. :(

One of my favorite semi-recent reads was An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina, the man who ran the hotel which was depicted in the movie "Hotel Rwanda". His story is amazing.

I also read more than a little Holocaust lit, and have been starting to read a bit about Afghanistan and the Middle East. I currently own Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it.

I am starting Stalin's Children: Three Generations of Love and War. I felt I really needed to read a memoir. They are my favorite. So far it's good - I think I am really going to feel close to the author's mother. When her son is going to write about the family:

"...she worries that when I tell the story it will be too grim, too depressing. 'Write about the good people, not just about the darkness,' my mother has said to me when describing her childhood. 'There was so much human generosity, so many wonderful, soulful people.'"

I like that although she had a very difficult life she made the effort to find good things too! Furthermore she made sure to teach her son this too. Three generations are covered, through life under Stalin and then the Cold War.

I go through periods where I read a lot of memoirs, and while I liked The Glass Castle, it was too horrible to be a comfort read for me. Likewise, Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller is hard to take. However, The Liar's Club by Mary Karr is another tale of a rough and sometimes-bizarre childhood that nevertheless has a cozy feel.

I'll have to check out The Liars' Club. Thanks Amy!

I highly recommend reading The Zookeeper's Wife. It is about a man and woman, two zookeepers, who helped save many Jews lives in WW2. It takes place in Warsaw. It makes you believe in humanity. People who suppress their own fears and help others. There is lots of interesting bits about the zoo animals too! And people - good and bad. It was very good reading it after The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews. Many of the animals in the zoo were from the primeval forests near where the Bielski Brothers had their camps. I highly recommend both books. The Bielski Brothers is also a "biography", but it is not light reading. I also loved it for its fantastic job of summarizing all the different zones of conflict during WW2. I gave the Bielski Brothers five stars and The Zookeeper's Wife four. See my reviews if you want to know more of my thoughts.

Chrissie, TBB got 5 stars from me too, though it was a very tough read, bringing up all sorts of conflicting feelings. TZW has been on my to-read list since about the time of its publication, and it's one I have on my book club's shelves as a suggestion for us to read. I doubt we'll ever get to it, but maybe. If we don't, hopefully eventually I'll read it on my own.

Lisa, the Zookeeper's Wife is a very different "WW2 book". Of course I enjoyed the bits about the animals...... Wait till you read about the badger! Many of the animals depicted are not exotic animal. The exotic ones were "stolen" - moved to German zoos. But this husband and wife loved animals and they lived in their house. Their child learned to live with the necessary deception required if you are hiding people. Animals have human names and people have animal names. Bizarre and wonderful and NOT your normal holocaust book. I was just so tired when I wrote my review so I didn't put my heart into it. And it is better when I write a review immediately or while I am reading the book...... Remember my head is a sieve. Once I start blabbing about the book wonderful bits comes back.

Hi Chrissie -- so glad you enjoyed The Zookeeper's Wife! I read it with my live book club last year I think it was, and I enjoyed it also. I so admired the husband and wife, their son and how they raised him, and how the people came together to save humans and animals alike.

Diane, I really liked it! The family composed of people and animals were so special. The humans were so willing to help others regardless of their own fears and even their small son UNDERSTOOD what was going on. The animals, not being exotic zoo animals b/c they were stolen, were as much a part of the household as the humans. It was a book about WW2 that was very much from a different pov. I loved the badger!

Well, I'll have to read it soon. Have purchased it from audible. Sounds wonderful!!

Martha, I know the feeling of not having time to read what is sitting on the shelf.......

I just finished The Road From Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival and Hope and here follows my GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

It is informative, but not terribly comforting unless you want to be distracted.

Diane D. wrote: "I read Half Broke Horses back in March and I really enjoyed it. Having read The Glass Castle a couple of years ago, I was interested to read about Jeanette's maternal gra..."

I have both but haven't read either yet. Does it matter what order you read them in?

John,
The Glass Castle was written before Hald Broke horses. The general consens is that the first is the best. I really liked the first, but haven't read the second, Half Broke Horses.

A Lotus Grows in the Mud

This one made me feel better somehow. I also read one by Rebe McIntyre but cannot think of the title of it at the moment. She was on horseback all day sometimes starting very young.

That Goldie Hawn book has a great title.

The title of this thread always makes me laugh so hard. Just had to say it.

Christine wrote: "The title of this thread always makes me laugh so hard. Just had to say it."

Ha! I love these kinds of books.

Me too!

John wrote: "Diane D. wrote: "I read Half Broke Horses back in March and I really enjoyed it. Having read The Glass Castle a couple of years ago, I was interested to read about Jeanet..."

Delayed response from me: Half Broke Horses is about Jeannette Walls' maternal grandmother. Pretty much, if you read The Glass Castle first, you would want to read Half Broke Horses to see who the heck was the mother of Jeannette's mother!

I adored Nicholas and Alexandra and here is my review which explains why :http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Oh Yes, I forgot to say - I finished The Confessions of Catherine de Medici and here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... It is historical fiction but keeps very close to the facts so I am putting it here in this thread.
I disliked the the portryal of love as it was presented in the book, but by the end I was rooting for Catherine and had learned a lot. The author did an excellent job of teachig a very complicated time period and doing it in a manner that pulled the reader in. I ended up giving the book 4 stars.

Then I read A Child al Confino: The True Story of a Jewish Boy and His Mother in Mussolini’s Italy and here is my review of that: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... Spoiler free as usual! Nobody classifies this as a young adult book. I do. I think a boy of 10-14 would go bananas for this book. It is not bad for adults either. I llearned a lot about the specifics of Italian racial laws in WW2. I do recommend the book. Maybe it should have gotten four stars rather than three.

Now I am reading Thanks to My Mother and have started a running spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
At the beginning I was confused about who was who and had to start over a second time writing down all the family members. This was a bit tedious. In retrospect, maybe this wasn't necessary. From around page 60 the tempo took off and it became very exciting and moving. I have read about half. This and the last book have wonderful photos.

Chrissie, I think we should nickname you the queen of biographies! Thanks for all the contributions!

HRH, Queen Chrissie of Biographies! lol

Lee, I know..... I guess they are my favorite genre, but not the modern, celebrity or sport biographies! So I am kind of picky.

I just finished Running in the Family. I did have to struggle a bit, but by the end I was enjoying it and very happy that I had read it. It is a memoir about the author, Michael Ondaatje's family and living in Ceylon. My GR review follows: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I put it here, because it isn't terribly humorous and it isn't one of my favorites, so where else should I put it?! It is not about a terrible situation either.... It is just plain interesting.

I just finished The Forgotten Highlander. It is a book that should be required reading for all. It does not cover an easy subject, but the book is clear and relates the facts in an unsentimental fashion. It is about the building of the "Death Railway" between Burma and Thailand, about the Japanese hellships of WW2, about the "Fat Man" of Nagasaki. It should be read b/c the Japanese deny the veracity of these events. It is an autobiography of one man who survived. What a man!

Oh and here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

This book really fits in this thread. .....