Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

I love memoirs. I read several every year. One of the great things about memoirs is you can usually find something for every topic you're interested in. Sports, politics, entertainment, humanitarianism, business leaders, the list is endless.

I want to read Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology for this.

I think I might read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

Megan wrote: "I want to read Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology for this."

I just bought David Miscavige's sister's book Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape yesterday on Cyber Monday. I want to read Leah Remini's book too!

I think I might read American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History

Ooh, so good, Michelle. I read American Sniper for the 2015 challenge and really liked it. I haven't seen the movie yet, though, so if you have, I'm not sure how that would impact your view of the book.

I absolutely love Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Tina Fey's Bossypants isn't too bad either.

Has anyone read either Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk or Kathleen and Frank: The Autobiography of a Family by Christopher Isherwood? I was thinking of maybe reading one of these for this challenge.

I also really like memoirs, and I read several each year. I'm not sure what I'll read for this challenge, but there are several memoirs I'm considering:
Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored - John Lydon's second memoir, this one starts with his childhood, but it is mostly about his time with PIL - I know this because I started it, but had to return it to the library before I finished; I found myself kind of bored with it, the writing wasn't that great, very stream of consciousness rambling, as if one stumbled upon Johnny in a bar and he drunkenly started telling stories in random order. But it bugs me to have it floating around in my head unfinished. This could count as "written by a celebrity" too.
Dust Tracks on a Road (Zora Neale Hurston) - I LOVED Their Eyes Were Watching God, which I read many many years ago; I only recently discovered she had written a memoir, and I'm excited to read it!
My Beloved World (Sonia Sotomayor) - I will probably read this one for the Political Memoir category (and can I just say: I'm annoyed that this year's challenge includes several similar categories - Autobiography, Political Memoir, Written by a celebrity, and Written by a comedian - all will be fulfilled by memoirs. I really like memoirs, but I look to the Challenge to broaden my reading experience, not repeat it over and over)
The Rain Tree -(Mirabel Osler) - I read A Gentle Plea for Chaos many years ago, and really enjoyed it, found it very soothing and thoughtful; so I would like to go back and read another book by her.
Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget (Hepola) - gets good reviews and looks like it might be right up my alley
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness - (Alexandra Fuller) - I read her first memoir (Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight a few years ago and loved it, I've had this second memoir by her on my TBR list ever since it was published, just haven't gotten around to it yet. This might be the year!
On the Move: A Life ( Oliver Sacks) - I'm sure you've read about this one, and it sounds fantastic, but to be honest this is more of a "should" read than a "want to" read for me, if you know what I mean, so I may not get to it this year.
Her (Parravani) - this was on my "maybe" list for last year's challenge but I read something else instead, so it lingers on my TBR list, it looks interesting, but there's always some other book I WANT to read even more
Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs (Sally Mann) - I loved her first book of photos when it first came out, I found the photos beautiful, haunting, and a little disturbing.
My Family and Other Animals (Durrell) - I found this when looking for "books set on an island" - it got superseded by some other books I found that I want to read more, but I haven't taken it off my TBR list entirely because it got such good reviews.
and finally
A Life's Mosaic: The Autobiography of Phyllis Ntantala - I've never heard of her, but I saw this recommended on a list of books to add diversity to the canon - she sounds like a powerful and important woman that I should know more about, and - while I realize they take place in entirely different countries - I'm hoping I will enjoy this as much as I enjoyed The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper (a memoir set during the Nigerian uprising - I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys memoirs such as Don't Let's Go to the Dogs, Glass Castle, and Liar's Club.) This book was not in my library system, but I found it for one penny on Amazon, so I bought it.

Nadine: I am with you on the Alexandra Fuller front. I will read her new one in 2016 for sure.

Written by a comedian or celeb doesn't have to be a memoir though, Britney Spears and her mom wrote "a mother's gift", James Franco published a book of short stories (palo alto), Steve Martin (a comedian) wrote an object of beauty and isla fisher wrote seduced by fame and bewitched. None of these are memoirs, they are all fiction :)

Does she have a new book coming out?!

I meant the 2015 release.

I just bought The Plain Choice by Sherry Gore. I'm not one who reads memoirs often, but I follow her on Facebook and thought her story looked really interesting.

I'm reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail for this prompt :)

Anything by Augusten Burroughs

Currently reading The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir by Marjorie Perloff for that prompt.

I an going to read I am Malala. I have wanted to read it for some time, so I'm glad it fits into a category for this challenge!

I just finished Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was pretty decent. It made me realize what a wuss I am though :)

I'm reading "Life" by Keith Richards (the Rolling Stones guitar player on whom Johnny Depp based Captain Jack Sparrow) and it is very entertaining! He definitely has some interesting stories to tell. I'm actually listening to the audiobook and Johnny Depp reads part of it.

my feb book pick :That Woman by Anne Sebba.

I read Just Kids by Patti Smith. Could have counted it for the prize winner, or the book by a celebrity, but I choose this one because this one seemed 'hardest' to me to get.

Finished Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography last week. So funny!

Kitty wrote: "I read Just Kids by Patti Smith. Could have counted it for the prize winner, or the book by a celebrity, but I choose this one because this one seemed 'hardest' to me to get."

I read that last year. I absolutely loved it! Read the follow-up M Train last month for this category as well. It wasn't my favorite. It was a completely different style of writing IMO.

Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

I am going to read "A Mother's Reckoning" by Sue Klebold, mother of Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold. I was in the eighth grade when the shooting happened and it's lodged in my memory. I know this story will be heartbreaking but I need to read it.

Is what I am going to read.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. It was recommended by a blogger friend who said to listen to the audiobook. She was totally right. Hearing Rob Lowe tell these stories puts it over the top. Now I want to read The Outsiders!

I read Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology for my book written by a celebrity. It was interesting to hear about a young Tom Cruise in Rob Lowe's book after reading about the current version in Leah Remini's book. Big difference!

I started reading My Life in France by Julia Child for this one. It could also work for a book set in Europe.

I'm reading Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed: Growing Up With Undiagnosed Autism, although I have to say I'm still a bit confused about the difference between autobiographies and memoirs.

@Rachel, I think an autobiography is a chronological timeline and a memoir focuses on just a few select happenings.

Definitions:

Autobiography - an account of a person's life written by that person.

Memoir - a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.

What's the difference (according to the Writer's Digest)?
A: In some general contexts, memoir and autobiography can be used interchangeably. In fact, Amazon.com puts them in the same category. But there’s a key difference that publishers use to define each—the timeline covered in the writing.

Sandra wrote: "What about The Autobiography of Malcolm X?"

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a great book and definitely worth reading, but - bizarrely, I know - I'm not sure if it counts as an autobiography. It was written by Alex Haley, and he wrote it to sound as if it was in Malcolm X's words, but Haley wrote it (he finished it after Malcolm X's assassination). It's more of an authorized biography, since Malcolm X approved and gave many interviews with Haley to create the book.

Not *quite* and autobiography, but kind of - I'm currently reading Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow, and it's a bit of a peak into his career as a writer and director through interviews with a slew of famous comedic actors that he's worked with or built relationships with. In a way, this is a memoir told through interviews with his colleagues and friends, which is pretty interesting. This has been pretty hard to chip away at (reading a book of interviews can be a bit clunky - it's not like flying through a novel with a story line that flows) and I've been reading it since December, but my goal is to finally finish it up on my vacation this month!

I listened to Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming for this prompt. Audio bonus of listening to Alan Cumming speak.

I'm starting to really love memoirs! I read My Life on the Road for this one, it totally blew my mind and I cannot recommend it strongly enough!

Some others I'd really recommend:
How to Be a Woman
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Reasons to Stay Alive
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life

I read Always Running, Luis J. Rodriguez' autobiographical account of growing up in gang life and his conversion to a gang mediator and social activist.

I read Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. I wasn't very impressed. It's the story of a girl who moves to Uganda right after high school to volunteer and ends up adopting a whole bunch of young girls and running a house for them. As I have recently moved to Tanzania where I live and volunteer at an orphanage, I thought it would be relatable, but unfortunately I really didn't like it.

I read Mom and Me and Mom by Maya Angelou, which is part 7 of her 7 part autobiographical series. I had read some of Maya Angelou's poetry and her cookbook before, but honestly didn't know a ton about her life. This chapter of her autobiography looks at her life from the perspective of her relationship with her mother. Honestly, it was quite fascinating and really opened my eyes to what an insane life Maya Angelou lead. I would definitely recommend this book, however, I have a complicated relationship with my own mother and it did make reading this book emotionally difficult at times.