We’re celebrating memoirs published in 2010 in today’s edition of BookPageXTRA. A few of our favorites (pictured above) are:
Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup
Breath by Martha Mason
Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt
Street Shadows by Jerald Walker
Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
What are your favorite memoirs from 2010?
Or ever?
Claiming Ground by Laura Bell.
I cant do this book justice because
I don’t know how to convey the beauty of this memoir. The first thing that grabs you is quality of the writing…………every single phrase is perfect. You want to read entire pages over and over again. Her descriptions of the Wyoming landscape coupled with her honesty make this a joy to read. This will be a keeper on my bookshelf.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is one of my all time favorite books. The book begins with an adult Jeannette riding in a taxi in New York City when she sees her mother rooting through a dumpster. Truely an 1ncredible story of survival!
The first thing that pops in my head is the book Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I guess because I have recently read it.
Love good memoir, especially when you consider it in the larger sense. Even Heminway’s The Dangerous Summer is memoir-esque. A Moveable Feast is memoir. But my most recently read memoir is A Three Dog Live by Abigail Thomas. Lovely and emotional without being sentimental. Wonderful writing.
I have also written a memoir – new printing just released – Accidental Lessons. It’s the story of a year teaching in a troubled school during a tumultuous year or personal change. (hardcover, paperback, and kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Lessons-memoir-teacher-renewed/dp/1609764110/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
Keep reading!
David
Love good memoir, especially when you consider it in the larger sense. Even Heminway’s The Dangerous Summer is memoir-esque. A Moveable Feast is memoir. But my most recently read memoir is A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas. Lovely and emotional without being sentimental. Wonderful writing.
I have also written a memoir – new printing just released – Accidental Lessons. It’s the story of a year teaching in a troubled school during a tumultuous year or personal change. (hardcover, paperback, and kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Lessons-memoir-teacher-renewed/dp/1609764110/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
Keep reading!
David
Personal History by Katharine Graham is one of my favorites. Also, My Life in France by Julia Child. Oh, and The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. Haven’t read any of the above.
I, too, loved the “Glass Castle.” I want to read “My Life in France,” but haven’t yet. (Those weren’t published in 2010, I know, I’m just digressing as others above me did!).
Secrets of a Mysterious Older Woman by Constance Feathers is a memoir of divorce — very personal and also humorous of Feathers, about her affair with a count, their marriage in a Swiss castle and life in a 200-year-old barn — haunted by cows) in France. She’s done a number of jobs, including painter, interior designer, comedienne, comedy writer, song writer, costume and set designer, dancer, even popcorn machine operator. (She even had a cabaret show!) Since suddenly a number of friends are going through divorce, it resonated with me.
I loved An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken – heartwrenching and so beautifully written. The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan is wonderful (not from 2010, I know!). I also enjoyed Making Toast.
A Mountain of crumbs
My favorite memoir has to be Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richardson. She learns so much about herself by caring for an adopted horse that was neglected by her previous owner. It is so powerful — even though I read it years ago, I still think of it nearly every day. Let’s take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell comes in at a very close second!
I loved that book – Chosen by a Horse. Very good. Agreed!
I just love memoirs! And I’ve been reading a lot of them lately. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman was great, What I Thought I Knew by Alice Cohen was harrowing, as was An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen was funny and gave perspective. There are a lot of great options right now!
I love twilight! I might sit and watch all day long if I did not have school..or life to stay me from doing it! lol Amazing Just Wonderful!