Magical Memoir Moments
Ben Yagoda's Memoir: A History on the Kindle–A Double Review
Ben Yagoda’s history of the memoir genre should make any other survey redundant. He’s performed a great service, not only to readers and writers but also to the new field of nonfiction/memoir studies. As promised previously, I will describe not only what I learned from reading the book but also from reading it on the Kindle. First,…
Ben Yagoda on NPR: Great Overview of Memoir History
Two days ago I posted an NPR story summary with my own slant on it. It got picked up on www.expectingrain.com and reached hundreds of viewers, instantly becoming my most viewed post. That was exciting. Thanks, Expectingrain.com! Come to think of it, NPR stories on the arts almost always fascinate me, and I can tell…
Why I am Loving My Kindle: And a Request for Readers to Report on Their Own E-book Experiences
A few weeks ago I posted a list of 18 books I had blogged about in the last six months. At the end of the list I included two books I have not yet read, pictured here. Today I got out my six-month-old Kindle and spent 20 seconds ordering the two books–Mary Karr’s Lit and Ben Yagoda’s Memoir:…
Rosanne Cash's "The List"–A Confirmation of the Value of the "Top 100"
Terry Gross, host of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” recently interviewed Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash, and singer/songwriter in her own right. Here is the link to a great interview. On the radio program Cash samples 4 or 5 songs from her latest album, “The List.” Below is the story she tells of how “The List” was created as…
The Blind Side and Invictus: Two Movies Worth Watching
I have always been a sucker for a good sports story–even though as a Mennonite farm girl I was not allowed to play competitive sports myself. One Saturday afternoon in the mid 1960’s, while I was performing one of my weekly chores–vacuuming my parents’ bedroom–I tuned the radio dial to the local station hoping to…
Memoir Holiday Presents: Just in Time for the Last Two Weeks Before Christmas
Of course you want to know which memoirs make great gifts. So here is a quick and dirty guide to what’s good from my perspective. Hope it helps you delight someone who loves to read life stories. You can make shopping really easy by clicking on the picture of the book. It takes you right to…
The Reviewer's Role: Is A Touch of Memoir Appropriate, Honest, Intrusive, Something Else?
Reading and reviewing books side-by-side offers a way of increasing the number of perspectives and experiences one can weave together. The reading process itself is an interactive one. At a minimum it includes the author’s voice and values, reader’s values and experiences, and other texts both reader and writer have woven into their lives. Two books…
Karen Armstrong's Charter for Compassion: Memoir in Action
A few months ago I read and reviewed Karen Armstrong’s memoir The Spiral Staircase here. At the time I never imagined that I would have the opportunity of meeting her. Imagine my delight, then, when she announced that she would use her TED (Technology, Education, and Design Prize Money) to create a Charter for Compassion–and…
Around the World in 80 Days: Reflections on Recent Travels
Pittsburgh: Saturday morning. Post-Starbucks and pre-wedding planning day with Kate and Nik, Anthony and Chelsea, Ila and Neal.In a mellow, grateful, Thanksgiving Weekend mood. It occurred to me, as I was returning from my third trip to NYC last week, that perhaps I have been around the world (24, 901 miles) in the last 80…