Or really, anything really absorbing.
Here's a few I'll throw out there - not my absolute favorites, but these are some biographies/memoirs I really enjoyed recently.
My Several Worlds: A Personal Record
by Peral Buck, author of The Good Earth, Pulizer prize winner in 1932. She grew up in China, the child of missionaries).
The Curve Of Time
By M. Wylie Blanchet. A widow with 6 children in a small boat, spending summers traveling in the inland waterways of British Columbia in the 1930's and 1940's. Gripping stories.
'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning' documents Laurie Lee's walk through 1930s Spain.
Spiffingly good. Sort of beatnik before beatniks.
Wow...you and I are on the same wavelength. I just read this one. Very interesting. I also read his memoirs on his experiences in the Spanish Civil War (A Moment of War). Fascinating.
Great.
I would also recommend Bruce Chatwin (Songlines, especially), and Marching Spain by V.S. Pritchett.
A Personal Odyssey
by Thomas Sowell
These sound absolutely captivating! Thanks for sharing — I’m especially intrigued by The Curve of Time — a widow with six kids exploring BC by boat? That’s the kind of real-life adventure that puts fiction to shame. 😮
I haven’t read My Several Worlds yet, but I’ve heard great things about Pearl Buck’s perspective growing up in China. Definitely adding both to my list.
If you have more like these — memoirs that really pull you in — I’d love to hear them!
Oh absolutely, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe I'll write a post on my favorite memoirs.
Meanwhile, the one I always recommend first is Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. It's absolutely captivating, part biography (of the authors mother and grandmother) and autobiography. And this is all through a very tumultuous period of Chinese history.
Was @Macoy31 (outlawed) a bot?
I was a little suspicious (the text seemed a little off, a little too flowery and well written for someone who was not a native speaker).
But probably not suspicious enough. How to know for (almost) sure?
Your suspicion is legit — sometimes it really is hard to distinguish whether someone is a bot or not, especially when the writing is very polished. But we also shouldn't jump to conclusions — there are non-native speakers who are genuinely great at writing in English.
The Splendid and The Vile was good: https://booklight.top/posts/2023-07-20-splendidvile
Pertwee's is also good: https://booklight.top/posts/2024-11-20-moonboots
Both of these sound very interesting - I'll have to check them out!
Do ghostwritten count? Open - Andre Agassi, Spare - Harry. Both are deep and relatively emotional.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s memoir “Total Recall”.
Lot of main character energy in that book and puts the reader in an achiever mode
The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Alex Haley
@denlillaapan mentioned this memoir in passing- "Troubled" by Rob Henderson.
I read it and really enjoyed it. Talk about overcoming adversity. I found it inspiring. Henderson is a good writer.
he's freaking excellent! been impressed by his work for quite some time
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl - Carrie Brownstein.
She's Sleater-Kinney, she's Portlandia. She's punk, she's culture. She's cool.
I love Sleater-Kinney.
-Tom
Be Here Now by Ram Das
has a nice little memoir, art, illustrations, reflections and absorbing life advice on living mindfully.