Coffee & Books discussion

As the usual traditions continue, this month is all about the biographies/autobiographies. As this genre tends to be easily miss looked, lets try to show 'em a little love!

Sign up and let me know what your book of choice is. If a few of you end up reading the same one, please do not hesitate to start a mini little discussion here!

Happy new year xx

Sign-Ups!
amber - Men We Reaped: A Memoir & Great Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia
Rach - Salinger & #GIRLBOSS
Zara - Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China
Linda - Jim Henson: The Biography
Book Concierge -This Token of Freedom & The Elephant Whisperer
Becky - Coming of Age in Mississippi & The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?
Enuffkids - My Salinger Year
Monica - Black Boy
M1ssb3rry - Is It Just Me?
Gail - Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13
Yvonne - Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart
Deb - Bossypants
Karen - Bach in the Composers and Their Times series, Dimitri and the False Tsars & But He Doesn't Know The Territory
Demetra - Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
Tonya - Mom & Me & Mom &
Jennifer - The Year of Reading Dangerously[book:The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life|20910034]
Alissa- Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"
Jenny - Yes Please
Katelyn - Eat, Pray, Love
DianaS - Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune & Learning to Breathe Again: Choosing Life and Finding Hope After a Shattering Loss
Sonya - The Basketball Diaries

I'm in!
I'll be reading Men We Reaped: A Memoir. I might also be reading Great Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.

I am in! I am signing up for Salinger

I'll be reading the biography Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China in January. I'm really looking forward to reading this book.

I'm in. I need to pick my book still.

I'min with Jim Henson's bio

January 2015 Challenge - Biographies
Begins: 01Jan15 / Ends: 31Jan15


2 books completed

The Secret Piano ✔ – 26 Jan 15
The Elephant Whisperer ✔ - 08Jan15 - 4****

Becky wrote: "I'm in. I need to pick my book still."

I have decided to read Coming of Age in Mississippiby Ann Moody

I'm in. I'm going to read Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou.

I'm going to give this one a shot. I'm going to read Black Boy by Richard Wright.

I'm in, too! But I really need some recommendations.

Noor wrote: "I'm in, too! But I really need some recommendations."

Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood was really good. As was Chasing Down the Dawn. I also like Marie Antoinette: The Journey.

I hope to read Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart
I have been meaning to read this one forever

Enuffkids wrote: "I'm in. I'm going to read Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou."

LOVED this one! I listened to it on audio & it was good listening to her narrate.

I'm still trying to get to the book at the bottom of my TBR stack. I promised that I would read it for the December challenge and the 12 Days of Christmas Readathon. Maybe I'll actually read it for the January 2015 challenge: Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell

Well, no. I read Cary Elwes's As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride instead.

amber wrote: "Noor wrote: "I'm in, too! But I really need some recommendations."

Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood was really good. As was Chasing Down the Dawn. I also like [bo..."

Thank you! I'll read one of these, for sure.

You're welcome!

I'll be reading Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart

Becky wrote: "Enuffkids wrote: "I'm in. I'm going to read Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou."

LOVED this one! I listened to it on audio & it was good listening to her narrate."

Awesome! Thanks.

I'd like to join this challenge please. :) I'm going to read "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. Thanks.

I am adding #GIRLBOSS to my stack as well!

I am also adding The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?by ice t

I browsed my shelves and picked out three I've had a few years: Bach in the Composers and Their Times series; Dimitri and the False Tsars; and But He Doesn't Know the Territory.
I read Black Boy this year. The first chapter or two is a bit difficult to get through but the book is very worth reading.

I'm going to read Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

Changing my book. I'm reading My Salinger Year. The Maya Angelou book hasn't come in at the library yet, and I got Salinger on Overdrive.

I have had Mom & Me & Mom sitting on my shelf for awhile, great reason to read it! I'm in for that one this month.

Rachel - I think you missed me at post # 8

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I read mine (is it just me? By Miranda Hart)
It was incredibly funny, so a very enjoyable read

Enuffkids wrote: "Changing my book. I'm reading My Salinger Year. The Maya Angelou book hasn't come in at the library yet, and I got Salinger on Overdrive."

You MUST tell me how it is :)

Book Concierge wrote: "Rachel - I think you missed me at post # 8

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

Sorry!!! I have added you into it! :)

M1ssb3rry wrote: "I read mine (is it just me? By Miranda Hart)
It was incredibly funny, so a very enjoyable read"

Amazing! So quick! Good job! How was it?

Lol yes! it was the first book I read this year
It was funny and quite relateable actually :D

Rachel Skye wrote: "Enuffkids wrote: "Changing my book. I'm reading My Salinger Year. The Maya Angelou book hasn't come in at the library yet, and I got Salinger on Overdrive."

You MUST tell me how it is :)

Book..."

Rachel- I am almost finished, and it is awesome! I remember reading Salinger growing up, and loving Catcher in the Rye. I love that the agency is old fashioned, and the descriptions of New York.

I am planning on reading The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life. It's more memoir than straight-up autobiography, but I hope it counts anyway! :)

Jennifer wrote: "I am planning on reading The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life. It's more memoir than straight-up autobiography, but I hop..."

Absolutely!

I'm in! I'm going to try and squeeze in Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" by Lena Dunham

I'll be reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler.

Does "Eat, Pray, Love" count? More memoir I suppose..

Katelyn wrote: "Does "Eat, Pray, Love" count? More memoir I suppose.."

Of course! :)

I finished Mom & Me & Mom, I really enjoyed this book! I'm not sure why I've never read her before, but I will be checking out more.

I've met my personal goal for the month, but I'm planning to read The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard soon. I might make it by the end of the month. :)

I'm two thirds through Dimitri and the False Tsars. But I've learned some Russian history. Boris Godunov was a real person and a terrible tsar.
The times were so violent then. We hear so much about media persecution now. It was so much worse then. Maybe there is hope for people yet.

January 2015 Challenge - Biographies
Duration: 1/1/15 thru 1/31/15
Books Read: 1/2

1. Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman (1/8/15) ★★★★
2. Learning to Breathe Again: Choosing Life and Finding Hope After a Shattering Loss by Tammy Trent (Currently reading)

January Bookshelf

I'll read The Diary of a Young Girl

I read the basketball diaries

I finished My Salinger Year. It was awesome! I gave it 5 stars. I cried at the end. I suppose that the fact that I've always loved Salinger helped, but its as much about Joanna Rakoff as it is Salinger.

I read both of my picks, Coming of Age in Mississippi& The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?. Coming of age in Mississippi by Anne Moody was wonderful. It told of her growing up & then becoming one of the members of the sit in at the Woolworth's counter. The ice tea bio on the other hand was a complete waste of paper & ink. It was very racist & swear to god, reading it gave me migraine.

The Music Man is a favorite musical. I finished "But He Doesn't Know the Territory" about how the musical came to be.
Many of the people and names I passed by as I had no idea who they were. This happened in 1958.
But how Meredith Willson wrote, rewrote, promoted, auditioned and finally had produced this musical was interesting. I even found out how The Music Man is unique, even today.
For those who know enjoy musicals, stop and think. How many have what Willson calls song-speak? Think about the opening train scene. There are others.
Willson's description of barbershop singing was enlightening. The Music Man is the only musical to include true barbershop in it. By the way, he wrote Lida Rose.

Karen wrote: "The Music Man is a favorite musical. I finished "But He Doesn't Know the Territory" about how the musical came to be.
Many of the people and names I passed by as I had no idea who they were. This h..."

ahhh, the good old Music Man. Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, The Buffalo Bills (barbershop, not football) and of course, who could forget, Ron Howard! Great Musical. Love it!

I just finished The Diary of a Young Girl.

Update Message # 8 - finished my second book (not sure I'll get another done this month, though I'm going to start a third one later this week.