How to be a Boy was a huge favourite of Nick and Olivia but I'm yet to read it. I read many biographies when I was younger but now I often find I am impatient with the writer for being a) too self-centred (you have to be that to write a book about yourself!) b) too pathetic (I know life is hard, but isn't it for many people?) I actually prefer memoir because it is usually an imperfect recollection. Defo making those cupcakes - coffee and walnuts, yum.
I agree some memoirs are absolutely gruelling and/or too interior (self-focussed). I liked How to be a Boy because it asked some good questions about how we raise our sons. I prefer books where there are some wider themes or bigger questions to ponder.
I know there are some amazing memoirs, but I tend to read more biographies than memoirs. A favorite memoir isn’t really a memoir at all but a diary--The Diary of Anne Frank. I loved it as a kid, and I still do. Another, also in the Holocaust memoir category, is Daniel Mendelsohn’s The Lost: A Search for Six of the Six Million, a heartbreaking account of his arduous quest for information about the deaths of 6 family members during the Holocaust. I also loved Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, an account of his colorful early years as a writer in Paris during the 1920s. There are so many more I’d like to read. Looking forward to your book club next week. Those cupcakes look really delicious! 🧁
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never read ANY Hemingway. I recently read a novel about his wife and it painted him as a very arrogant character so I don’t think I ever will 😀. I know one should separate the man from his writing but I’m easily influenced. I read The Diary of Anne Frank years ago and think it definitely falls into the category or memoir. Heartbreaking.
I just finished reading Grace Cho's Tastes Like War - fantastic. I love those cupcakes, walnut and coffee are my favorites. And they look so perfect. Have a wonderful live book chat next week - I'd join you but for one thing I read the book so long ago I have only the dimmest memories. I'll be thinking of all you book lovers!
Thank you for the reading suggestion, I will check it out.
The cakes are easy to make but took a little bit longer to cook than the recipe said. I forgot to mention that!
I am really looking forward the book club meeting, but as you mentioned, I read the book ages ago and can’t remember all the character’s names. I’ve requested it from the library so I can do a sneaky refresh.
How to be a Boy was a huge favourite of Nick and Olivia but I'm yet to read it. I read many biographies when I was younger but now I often find I am impatient with the writer for being a) too self-centred (you have to be that to write a book about yourself!) b) too pathetic (I know life is hard, but isn't it for many people?) I actually prefer memoir because it is usually an imperfect recollection. Defo making those cupcakes - coffee and walnuts, yum.
I agree some memoirs are absolutely gruelling and/or too interior (self-focussed). I liked How to be a Boy because it asked some good questions about how we raise our sons. I prefer books where there are some wider themes or bigger questions to ponder.
I know there are some amazing memoirs, but I tend to read more biographies than memoirs. A favorite memoir isn’t really a memoir at all but a diary--The Diary of Anne Frank. I loved it as a kid, and I still do. Another, also in the Holocaust memoir category, is Daniel Mendelsohn’s The Lost: A Search for Six of the Six Million, a heartbreaking account of his arduous quest for information about the deaths of 6 family members during the Holocaust. I also loved Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, an account of his colorful early years as a writer in Paris during the 1920s. There are so many more I’d like to read. Looking forward to your book club next week. Those cupcakes look really delicious! 🧁
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never read ANY Hemingway. I recently read a novel about his wife and it painted him as a very arrogant character so I don’t think I ever will 😀. I know one should separate the man from his writing but I’m easily influenced. I read The Diary of Anne Frank years ago and think it definitely falls into the category or memoir. Heartbreaking.
I just finished reading Grace Cho's Tastes Like War - fantastic. I love those cupcakes, walnut and coffee are my favorites. And they look so perfect. Have a wonderful live book chat next week - I'd join you but for one thing I read the book so long ago I have only the dimmest memories. I'll be thinking of all you book lovers!
Thank you for the reading suggestion, I will check it out.
The cakes are easy to make but took a little bit longer to cook than the recipe said. I forgot to mention that!
I am really looking forward the book club meeting, but as you mentioned, I read the book ages ago and can’t remember all the character’s names. I’ve requested it from the library so I can do a sneaky refresh.