Best memoirs/biographies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is Jeannette McCurdy’s book?

extremely depressing. I bailed.

Thanks for the heads up, I was thinking of taking it on vacation but will save it for another time

[Anonymous]

My life so far - Jane Fonda. She's like a walking American History project - was a vanguard member of every major cultural movement of the past 60 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My life so far - Jane Fonda. She's like a walking American History project - was a vanguard member of every major cultural movement of the past 60 years.

Love her, didn't realize she had written a memoir - will check it out!

[Anonymous]

Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro's Gulag (Armando Valladares)

The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls)

Me: Stories of My Life (Katharine Hepburn)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Educated

+1 to Educated. This was excellent!

[Anonymous]

When I Was Puerto Rican, by Esmeralda Santiago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My life so far - Jane Fonda. She's like a walking American History project - was a vanguard member of every major cultural movement of the past 60 years.

Not Fonda Hanoi Jane.

[Anonymous]

When in French by Lauren Collins -- Collins is a New Yorker writer who managed to convince David Remnick to send her to London. This is her memoir of meeting and falling in love with a charming and handsome Frenchman who speaks perfect English. Sounds boring, right? But there's a catch . . . she decides to learn to speak French. If you're interested in languages and how our brains work, you'll love this. (Plus, there is the fantasy of moving to London, falling in love with a debonair Frenchman . . . .etc.

Life List by Olivia Gentile -- Bio of Phoebe Snetsinger, a 1050s Seven Sisters grad who moved to St. Louis and became a stereotypical pre-feminism housewife. Then she discovered her passion: birding. I'm not at all a birder, though I love watching them out my window when I want to procrastinate. Nonetheless, this book was gripping.

[Anonymous]

Just finished Hello, Molly (Molly Shannon) and enjoyed it.

[Anonymous]

Know my Name by Chanel Miller
Finding me by Viola Davis

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed Katie Couric's book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is Jeannette McCurdy’s book?

In addition to being depressing, it is not particularly "good" as far as memoirs go. There is no sense of time. Most of the stories lack any kind of anchoring - what year does this take place? How old were you? What were your siblings/father doing during this time? What year in school was it? These are questions that do not get answered. She also seems to have dealt with these issues SO recently that writing a "recovery" book is very premature.

[Anonymous]

Huma Abedin's book was a wild ride. Still unsure how I feel about it, but I don't know many people who have read it and can compare notes.

[Anonymous]

+1 to Educated, The Glass Castle, and Know My Name

Other suggestions:
-Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. She also wrote Wild, but I really liked the letter/essay format of Tiny Beautiful Things so I prefer it.
-Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
-You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein
-Wishful Drinking or The Princess Diarist, both by Carrie Fisher
-Unbound by Tarana Bourke (this one is heavy buy very good)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is Jeannette McCurdy’s book?

I liked it! It's more like a collection of essays than an autobiography with a continuous flow. I think Jeannette has tons of potential ... hope she keeps her head together!