Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Monday, November 16, 2009

Memoir Mondays

Memoir Monday!

You know how much I love memoirs! And I've been busy reading some great memoirs lately! But I haven't quite finished writing my reviews (and organizing a great giveaway!) , so I thought I would highlight a few of the memoirs that I'll be reviewing soon...

Lift by Rebecca K. O'Connor... "The culmination of a ten-year career in falconry, Lift is a memoir that illustrates the journey and life lessons of a woman navigating a man’s ancient sport. Captivated by a chance meeting with a falconer’s peregrine as a child, the indelible memory eventually brings the author’s life full circle to flying a peregrine of her own. Exploring themes of predator and prey, finding tribe, forgiveness and femininity, the memoir asks universal questions through a unique backdrop. Lift illustrates the beauty and meaning the sport of falconry can add to a falconer’s life, echoing the challenges and triumphs of being human." Rebecca is a wonderful writer and her story is equally wonderful! This book is fascinating from the start and touching.


The English American by Alison Larkin... "In many ways, Pippa Dunn is very English: she eats Marmite and toast, knows how to make a proper cup of tea, went to a posh English boarding school, finds it entirely familiar to discuss the crossword rather than exchange any cross words over dinner with her proper English family. But Pippa--creative, disheveled, and impulsive to the core--has always felt different from her perfectly poised, smartly coiffed sister and steady, practical parents, whose pastimes include Scottish dancing, gardening, and watching cricket. When Pippa learns at age twenty-eight that her birth parents are from the American South, she feels that lifelong questions have been answered and she finds that “culture clash” has layers of meaning she’d never imagined." Alison Larkin is funny! This book is great! She's even made her "story" into a one woman show too! This tuesday The English American will be released in paperback too!

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel... "This autobiography deals with her childhood with a closeted gay father, who was an English teacher and proprietor of the local funeral parlor. Fun Home refers both to the funeral parlor and the family's meticulously restored gothic revival house, filled with gilt and lace, where he liked to imagine himself a 19th-century aristocrat. Bechdel's talent for intimacy and banter gains gravitas when used to describe a family in which a man's secrets make his wife a tired husk and overshadow his daughter's burgeoning womanhood and homosexuality." This memoir is a graphic novel. (I've been reading a lot of those lately too) The drawings are wonderful! (Alison is a cartoonist after all!) The story may be a bit out of the box for some, but it is a coming of age story that is funny and bittersweet.

Hope I whetted your appetite for some great reading! Stay tuned for the reviews (and the giveaway!)... In the meantime, share what you're reading! Any good memoirs I should be putting on my shelf? What do you think of graphic memoirs? Have you read any yet?

Happy Monday! And happy reading...
Suzanne

9 comments:

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

Yess! I love it when Memoir Mondays time rolls around. Always end up adding to my wishlist :)

Darlene said...

I'd really like to read The English American. I had seen it a while back somewhere and thought it sounded fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Great choice of memoirs! I love reading memoirs with unique premises. The English American sounds really good, looking forward to your thoughts on it.

Tea said...

I love memoirs too. Thanks for the review.

Anonymous said...

They all sound good but Fun Home has really got me interested.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Bookshelf M.!
I'm so glad you enjoy the Monday Memoir post! It's just amazing how many memoirs there actually are these days! And I haven't even reviewed any of the "celebrity" ones!

Hi Dar!
The English American was a hoot! One of these days you'll have to crack the spine on that one! I know you would enjoy it!

Hi Tea!
Thanks for stopping by Memoir Mondays for the reviews! I never thought of myself as a big memoir reader, but I really am!

Hi Book pusher!
Any girl who loves Amanda Palmer would love Fun Home! :D

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Anna!
Yes, it seems like eveyone is writing their memoirs, but I like to find those that aren't the same old story.

Catharina Evans said...

This past summer I read "Fun Home," as part of a Master's study I was doing on graphic novels... "Fun Home" is so chock full of literary allusions that one must read it with a copy of the Odyessy in hand.. not a light read.. disturbing and sad.. I am really fond of Bechel's illustration style and in this book the simplicity and calmness of her clean lines help balance out the tremendous story of the trainwreck that was her family. I'd love to teach this book some day, that is, after I'm able to get my head around it..

petersteel said...

that was nice to read that that really great... for more information regarding Pittsburgh memoir writing, Pittsburgh storytelling, Pittsburgh corporate communication u can visit http://www.jayspeyerer.com/

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