Magical Memoir Moments

Five Best Memoirs: A New List by Norris Church Mailer

Every so often I “Google” key words related to this blog–like “best memoirs,” ” memoir blogs,” and “top ten memoirs.” If you do the same–Google “best memoirs”–right now, you will come across this article in the Wall Street Journal by new memoirist Norris Church Mailer. I have not read her memoir about life with her husband…

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Defining Memoir–With Tongue Firmly in Cheek

Thanks to Richard Gilbert, whose wonderful blog Narrative I highly recommend, I can include a link  guaranteed to induce a chuckle. One of the goals of this blog focuses on the quest to understand memoir as a genre. What differentiates it from other forms? Why is it both popular and maligned in the contemporary literary…

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Why Are We Here? Roger Ebert's 100 Answers to that Question in Films

Scroll slowly over this picture. Do you recognize the famous film critic Roger Ebert? I knew that Ebert had battled cancer, lost weight, and kept on going. What I did not know, until I saw that picture and read the article in Esquire about him, was that he has also lost his physical voice and most of…

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24 Memoirs in 28 Days: Check These Out as We Build the Top 100!

For those of you searching the web for “top memoir” reading lists, here is a new resource. Angela  Kelsey, a Twitter friend, is challenging  herself to review 24 memoirs in the next 28 days. She has reached Day 4 already, and the quality of both the books and reviews will reward your reading effort. Check out…

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Listmania!–Jerry Waxler's 70 Memoirs List with Annotation

If you are looking for the 100 best memoirs,  you are coming to the right place. We are making progress building not only one list but many! Several of the posts in this blog include lists, and here is another blogger’s list with annotations. You surely will find something to your taste in this list…

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Top Ten Memoir List from Mary Karr

As you know, the goal of this blog is self-education in public.  I am trying to learn about memoir by reading and reviewing great examples of the genre, books about the genre, and offering some mini-memoir on the way. When readers search for good memoir reading lists, I want them to find this blog. What…

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Top 10 Memoirs: If You Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine!

Let me begin with an apology for slacking off on blogging this past week. I probably will continue a low profile until June 30th, after an important board meeting, and after I have finished a book review to send to Christian Century. But how lovely it would be if we together could make some progress…

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Top 100 Memoirs: Which Ones are Essential?

Embarrassing story:  When I was a newbie grad student at the University of Texas at Austin, I turned in a review of a book that my professor did not recognize.  He asked me why I chose this book to review.  I responded, “Because it was on my shelf.” He looked horrified. As Paul Newman might…

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