Magical Memoir Moments
Jonathan Franzen’s Genre-Bending FREEDOM: Part II
On September 24, 2010, Part I of Lanie Tankard’s comprehensive review of Freedom was published here. Today the review concludes with a fascinating report on Jonathan Franzen’s visit to Austin, TX, Lanie’s home. Channeling Walter Cronkite, Lanie makes you believe that “You Were There!” If you can, I suggest that you get a cup of…
Jonathan Franzen's Genre-Bending FREEDOM: Part I
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, August 2010. Available in hardcover, CD, digital audio, and ebook formats. Reviewed by Lanie Tankard Author Jonathan Franzen, an avid birder, has trained his binoculars here on a different species: Homo sapiens. While he does deal extensively with our fine feathered friends in his new…
Shall I Follow Jane's Friedman's Great Example? Or Just Let Jane Do It?
Jane Friedman has 22,679 Twitter followers, some of whom could more appropriately be called devotees. It’s worth getting a Twitter account just to follow her. You’ll soon see why she has built a rabid tribe. She’s smart, ahead of the rapidly evolving book industry curve, witty–and generous. One of the things I like most about…
Judging a Book By its Cover: Rosanne Cash's Composed
Your mother told you never to judge a book by its cover. Right? Well, your publisher isn’t likely to tell you that. And, admit it, when you go into a bookstore, you don’t follow Mom’s advice either. The cover of Rosanne Cash’s memoir Composed: A Memoir arrested me. The author is sitting on a bench…
City of Tranquil Light: A Fabulous Pre-Publication Book Giveaway
I’m so excited! Today I got three shiny new hard copies of Bo Caldwell’s brand new novel City of Tranquil Light. Caldwell wrote the bestseller The Distant Land of My Father, her first novel set in WWII Shanghai, in 2001. This excellent new novel (I’ve read it) takes place in the north China plain and…
Memory of Trees: Another Farmer's Daughter Memoir
I love reviewing books for Christian Century magazine. If editor Richard Kauffman had not asked me to review this book, I may never have found it, and that would have been a great loss. You can find the review below in the August 24, 2010 issue. When it is posted online, I will link to…
Toy Story 3: A Memoir Stimulus Package
When Stuart and I saw Toy Story 3, I remembered one of our more delightful experiences while in Prague last year–a trip to the Toy Museum at the base of the huge castle in Prague, Czech Republic. At the time we visited, the museum displayed an amazing collection of Barbie dolls in honor of her…
Unfinished Business by Lee Kravitz: A Book Review
Like many of you, I am surrounded by books and paper everywhere I go. Here in the red chair, which serves as my favorite office, magazines spill over each other on the both sides of me. In front of me is the pile of paper I scooped off my work desk on the way out…
Keith Taylor's Memoir Essay: At Springhill Farm
Keith Taylor directs the Bear River Writers’ Conference and a whole lot of other things, chiefly, the undergraduate creative writing program at the University of Michigan. He’s a giant among the writers of this state and beyond, offering his writerly wisdom and love of nature freely and fully. Keith and I discovered one connection deep enough to…
100 Top Memoirs: Sue Silverman's List Will Give You Even More!
I had the great good fortune this weekend to attend the Bear River Writers’ Conference, about which I will say more later. Sue Silverman, author of two bestselling memoirs, led an excellent workshop on memoir. I purchased and will review her craft book Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir at a later time. In that…