Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion

I'm doing a Bookathon (I do it every June) but this time instead of just reading lots of books I'm reading an author a day from A-Z and blogging about them.

I am up to letter D at the moment, so if anyone has recommendations (for any letter) just post it here. I haven't restricted to any type of book, so fiction and non fiction, are all welcome.

https://iranasea.blogspot.com/2023/

I was going to do it in school to raise money for blind and low vision children, but since I don't work there anymore I'm not able to involve them. Which is a shame because they would have raised heaps of money I reckon.

Selina wrote: "I'm doing a Bookathon (I do it every June) but this time instead of just reading lots of books I'm reading an author a day from A-Z and blogging about them.

I am up to letter D at the moment, so ..."

Wow, so many books, so little time!

Culled from my 5 star books in no particular order

Republic of Dirt: A Return to Woefield Farm (the first one is also quit good)

Vinyl Cafe Unplugged and Vinyl Cafe Odd Jobs

The Wedding by Dorothy West

Home From The Vinyl Cafe: A Year Of Stories

The Paper Bag Princess

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom

Impollutable Pogo. Don't Tread on Me (has the funniest bit about new math from back when the first "new math" was in use about 50 or 60 years ago.)

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Who Has Seen the Wind

Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe

Snow Falling on Cedars

Song Yet Sung

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

Gilead

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Genesis, but as a Kiwi you probably already know this book by Bernard Beckett

I'm running out of time and this wasn't even all in that first part plus there are others.

Tastes vary, of course, but since my 5 star category is the smallest it was an easy way to start.

Ooh I have read a couple of those..good reads Karin!

I'd like to check out what Vinyl Cafe is about. Is it kind of like High Fidelity (which I haven't read)

Selina wrote: "Ooh I have read a couple of those..good reads Karin!

I'd like to check out what Vinyl Cafe is about. Is it kind of like High Fidelity (which I haven't read)"

I doubt it. The Vinyl Cafe was a radio show in Canada and these are culled from the stories the author would tell. There are both funny and poignant ones. There are a number of main characters in the town, but Dave owns The Vinyl Cafe where he sells old records. Some stories are my favourite ones, of course, like when Dave and his wife decide to install another electric outlet in their kitchen. I'm not sure how easy they are to find down under, but they are best on audio where he reads them (but those are shorter) and might be on kindle; I haven't checked.

However, only some stories take place in the used record store--many are elsewhere in town (and a few take you out of town.)

I couldn't find any copies of Vinyl Cafe in my public library catalogue.
I'll see what else I can find...

I'm now up to G.

I'm going to link all the books in my blog to Goodreads entries.
This might take some time. Blogging is not something I normally do everyday.

My fundraising page is here https://www.bookathon.co.nz/fundraise...

Selina wrote: "I couldn't find any copies of Vinyl Cafe in my public library catalogue.
I'll see what else I can find...

I'm now up to G."

I'm not surprised, but it's too bad.

L is a hard one for authors I can't really think of any that I love to recommend. Children's ones sure (Andy Lee)

L authors who are good or have written something I gave at least 4 stars to (not all of them)

Jack London

The Frog and Toad books are delightful for children and are by Arnold Lobel

Erik Larson

I liked On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee but that might be the only one I've read by him.

Lee is such a marvellous international name, isn't it? It's the most popular surname in Vancouver because the early Cantonese people with that name spelled it Lee, it's also Korean and of course British, but none of these three following are from Chinese descent (not directly, in any event.)

Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Hyeonseo Lee I gave 4 stars to her memoir

Many loved Pachinko by Min Jin Lee but it was 3 stars for me

Jennifer Lin I gave 4 stars to her family history/memoir/biographyShanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family

Ooh I did read Shanghai Faithful. Good book.
Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird is classic but I read that many years ago when I was too young I think to appreciate it.

I did love Frog and Toad are Friends.

Selina wrote: "Ooh I did read Shanghai Faithful. Good book.
Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird is classic but I read that many years ago when I was too young I think to appreciate it.

I did love Frog and Toad ar..."

I didn't get around to reading To Kill a Mockingbird until I had three children and then wondered why on earth I'd never gotten around to reading it as a child since my parents had a copy. I've read it twice and recommend rereading it.

In any event, at least I came up with two books you've read. Now that I am typing this I think I heard of Shanghai Faithful here when you were reading it.

I had plenty for M

Not sure who I'm going to pick for N!

Did you read the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird? To Set a Watchman. I wonder if it was any good. Sequels are often disappointing, as what happens after a really good novel is better left to the imagination sometimes.

Selina wrote: "L is a hard one for authors I can't really think of any that I love to recommend. Children's ones sure (Andy Lee)"


I thought you were looking for authors who started with the letter L--that's the post I was responding to :)

Is it only titles?

Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "L is a hard one for authors I can't really think of any that I love to recommend. Children's ones sure (Andy Lee)"


I thought you were looking for authors who started with the lette..."
yep thanks well I am going through the alphabet. Now am up to N. Not many well-known authors I've read start with N.

Does anyone know any biographies of blind people.

I can only come up with Helen Keller, Louis Braille and Stevie Wonder. I wonder if there's anyone else....?

https://electricliterature.com/8-memo...

This is a web site that cites blind authors' books.

Selina wrote: "Does anyone know any biographies of blind people.

I can only come up with Helen Keller, Louis Braille and Stevie Wonder. I wonder if there's anyone else....?"

Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law -- this is on the above web site, but I've read it so thought I'd mention it :) Once you realize that most of it is not about Haben being at law school it's much better; I hadn't known that going in.

I will see if I can find those titles, should be interesting. I do remember reading this novel about a blind girl (white) who falls in love with a black man. I suppose it was in the era of segregation.

A Patch of Blue

I'm a bit over lawyers writing to be honest. I never went to law school, was never interested. I did once apply to work for a law library, but didn't get that job. Legal thrillers don't particularly interest me either, but soooo many lawyers become writers after ditching the legal profession.

The other thing is, in novels, anytime a character is wealthy, it's because their parents were lawyers or they are lawyers.

But if the book isn't about law I think it should be ok for me! Law is so dry.

Well I picked up The Wedding but sorry I can't really get into it. It was kind of boring for me. I don't really care about weddings or family dramas/sagas. Way too many characters to keep track of, who married or divorced whom and all the gossip. I have enough of that drama in real life!

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub was ok though, the illustrations were very artful..

That was as many as I was able to find in the library. Thanks Karin

S...

Danielle Steel? William Shakespeare? Wilbur Smith??

Which has better entertainment value?

If you like romance then I would try Danielle Steele. I used to read her a lot until all romance started to sound the same. I have never been into Shakespeare, but I think if you could read it with a group and discuss, it might make more sense. I don't know who the third one is.

Wilbur Smith writes African stories. They are big thick tomes that one customer who never bought any books was always asking about. My dyslexic friend said he loved Wilbur Smith, and thats why he's going to Africa on his travels. I picked up one fat tome and thought I will never get through this lol. It looks too complicated.

Hard to find a U author....

Selina wrote: "I'm a bit over lawyers writing to be honest. I never went to law school, was never interested. I did once apply to work for a law library, but didn't get that job. Legal thrillers don't particularl..."

I understand, although most of this book is about her life growing up as she went from partially sighted and partially hearing to profoundly deaf and profoundly blind, plus culture since they were immigrants to the States from Africa.

Selina wrote: "Hard to find a U author...."

I'm not a fan of her writing, but there is the classic author Sigrid Undset.

Some love the writing of Thrity Umrigar

I am in a bit of a rush and don't have time to sort my shelf and hunt up U's or 5 star books :(

Thats ok..I have found one and was actually the author I invited for the school's book week as she both writes and illustrates children's books Vasanti Unka

I've not read any of those you mentioned but will look them up.

V I will probably do Jules Verne!

Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "I'm a bit over lawyers writing to be honest. I never went to law school, was never interested. I did once apply to work for a law library, but didn't get that job. Legal thrillers do..."

I've picked it up, actually looks interesting will give it a go thanks.

Selina wrote: "Thats ok..I have found one and was actually the author I invited for the school's book week as she both writes and illustrates children's books Vasanti Unka

I've not read any of t..."

But of course--why didn't I think of him right away? I loved his Journey to the Centre of the Earth when I was a kid (not so much as an adult, though.)

Finding Z books is a challenge.....I don't think I've read any. I have an author for X.

Selina wrote: "Finding Z books is a challenge.....I don't think I've read any. I have an author for X."

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas

This was a good book. It caught my eye because there aren't many Korens in the world

I gave 4 stars to The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin who is a very popular author, but wasn't as impressed with Young Jane Young. There is the old, classic scifi novel--one of the first written--Yevgeny Zamyatin's We although I didn't love that one (read it too old to love it but did give it 3 stars.)

I don't have any authors whose surnames start with X, either. Here's a link to a Wikipedia list and, no surprise, the most common surname there is Xu/Xue and most of the authors are Chinese. Exceptions include Malcolm X ,a few ancient Greeks and a smattering of others https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... .

I've read all of Xinran's books

I've now read to blind memoirs, and posted them in memoir thread.
They are both about girls who grow up blind and what it's like. They both remind me of the other memoir I've read about a deaf girl called El Deafo by Ce Ce Bell. There are some advantages to being deaf...just as there are a few sneaky advantages to being blind. But its easier to be blind and gifted with supportive parents than blind and not given the opportunity I reckon.
Trying to fit in with others is also a big thing with girls.

Selina wrote: "I've now read to blind memoirs, and posted them in memoir thread.
They are both about girls who grow up blind and what it's like. They both remind me of the other memoir I've read about a deaf gir..."

I think it's most challenging to be both blind and deaf and am not sure what advantages there are to that one, though. However, with today's technology it's easier than it was for Helen Keller. I've heard, more than once, that people who lose both their hearing and vision miss sound the most, but it would be different if someone were born deaf and then lost their sight, of course.

Thanks everyone for your recommendations, tomorrow is my last day!
I've borrowed Planet of the Blind

I raised a decent amount ($336) which got me into the Best Bookworms Club ...

Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuuisisto was interesting. As it's a blind man's experience, and yes he does get a guide dog and cane, but stumbled through life a lot more than the girls did that I read about because his parents didn't want to acknowledge his blindness and he also pretended and tried to pass for sighted.

I'd not considered that but actually you'll be surprised that a lot of men try to hide their disability and not admit they need glasses, or hearing aids or whatever.

Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Finding Z books is a challenge.....I don't think I've read any. I have an author for X."

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas

This was a good book. ..."

hmm this author has a sequel to her memoir and she's written a novel too, have you read these too Koren?
The Drama Teacher
Fury: A Memoir

Selina wrote: "I raised a decent amount ($336) which got me into the Best Bookworms Club ...

Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuuisisto was interesting. As it's a blind man's experience, and yes he do..."

Excellent :) !

Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Finding Z books is a challenge.....I don't think I've read any. I have an author for X."

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas

This was..."

I did read Fury. It looks like I read it when I was on Shelfari and my review and rating did not transfer to Goodreads, but I remember I liked both of Koren's books so I will look for the one I havent read.

Congratulations on your accomplishment!

Thanks Koren
I picked up Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood but sorry to say I kind of lost interest after reading the first hundred pages or so when she got into college and just wrote about her drunken escapades I was like that's nothing new for me (my uni days were not as bad, I did not drink that much at all, though I knew others probably did) and just seems she was in denial about it all saying she wasn't an alcoholic.

Selina wrote: "Thanks Koren
I picked up Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood but sorry to say I kind of lost interest after reading the first hundred pages or so when she got into college and just wr..."

I remember that now. She wasn't in denial, she knew she had a problem, but gave up drinking without any treatment. Just went cold turkey. In my opinion, she wasn't a true alcoholic, just went through a time, like a lot of young people do, where she drank a lot.

Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Thanks Koren
I picked up Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood but sorry to say I kind of lost interest after reading the first hundred pages or so when she got into coll..."

Constant binge drinking seems like alcoholism to me. A binge drinker is like what a bulimic is rather than an anorexic, both have an eating disorder which masks an underlying emotional disorder. Hopefully she dealt with her issues but I really did not have to read about how many times she passed out or threw up or had her stomach pumped.
From what I gathered in between her bouts of drinking is that she actually had issues with her parents but wasn't able to connect with them so turned to the bottle. Her parents seemed to be drinkers too, though its socially acceptable to be out of it because that often gives people an excuse to misbehave and then not really remember anything after that, drinking makes you lose self consciousness a lot of the time. If she was doing it to be 'cool' then to me it just meant she wasn't secure in herself to not drink around others.

Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Thanks Koren
I picked up Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood but sorry to say I kind of lost interest after reading the first hundred pages or so when she got into coll..."

There are alcoholics who do quit cold turkey, and I think if she wasn't already one she was well on her way--this is so often how it starts. One of my close high school friends started that way and both of her parents were alcoholics. My friend didn't quit cold turkey on her own, but she also had a problem for a lot longer. Even then I thought of her as a "party alcoholic" (privately, never said that out loud) but she is one of the most lovely, warm people I've ever met and was that way when drunk at parties. When we got back in touch after 30 odd years she was sober and it was really fabulous to be able to catch up. We met once when I went home (she lives too far to see her every time I go, but we met in the middle) and are FB friends now.

I don't like the taste of alcohol or feeling out of control so didn't drink much. I did go to night clubs, though in university because the drinking age is 19 in my home province. But no university parties--didn't live in a dorm nor did most of my friends. Most students didn't.

Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Thanks Koren
I picked up Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood but sorry to say I kind of lost interest after reading the first hundred pages or so when she..."

Many, many years ago I worked at a detox center. They always said if you only drink once a year, but you get in trouble every time, then you have a problem with alcohol.

Koren wrote: "Many, many years ago I worked at a detox center. They always said if you only drink once a year, but you get in trouble every time, then you have a problem with alcohol."

That makes sense! My friend who started out as what I called a party alcoholic got a bad reputation for a certain sex act at parties where boys would line up at the door but she could never remember it the next day (one of the many things she had to forgive herself for when she eventually dried up. That plus later hard drugs and many things I don't know about since I didn't ask, but she would probably have told me if I had since we had that kind of a friendship where we could tell each other anything, but one of them was toxic relationships including the father of her children.)