Memoirs & works of creative & narrative nonfiction.
Among too many good books to list, these thrilled me to my toes:
Beard, Jo Ann. The Boys of My Youth
Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Caldwell, Gail. Let’s Take the Long Way Home (Noted & Noted & Noted.)
Crews, Harry. Childhood: The Biography of a Place (Reviewed.)
Dillard, Annie. An American Childhood (Reviewed.)
——. For the Time Being ( Reviewed.)
——. The Writing Life ( Reviewed.)
Dubus, Andre III. Townie (A gripping masterpiece.)
Dyer, Geoff. Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D. H. Lawrence (Absurd, brilliant, hilarious.)
Franzen, Jonathan. The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History
Grealy, Lucy. The Autobiography of a Face (Noted.)
Griffith, David. A Good War is Hard to Find: The Art of Violence in America (Reviewed.)
Grimes, Tom. Mentor (Q&A)
Jung, Carl. Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Karr, Mary. Lit (Reviewed.)
Kimball, Kristen. The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love (Compelling story; beautifully written.)
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. The Rural Life (Reviewed.)
Lethem, Jonathan. The Disappointment Artist (“The Beards” is perfect.)
Martin, Lee. From Our House
——. Such a Life (Memoir essays. Review, Interview.)
Moore, Dinty W. Between Panic and Desire (A postmodern peach.)
Nabokov, Vladimir. Speak, Memory (I love to hate this classic. Reviewed 1 & Reviewed 2.)
Orr, Gregory. The Blessing (Reviewed.)
Patchett, Ann. Truth and Beauty
Rapp, Emily. Poster Child (A physical disability but an inner transformation. Reviewed.)
Ray, Janisse. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
——.Wild Card Quilt: Taking a Chance on Home
Rilke, Rainer Maria. Letters to a Young Poet (Discussed.)
Roorbach, Bill. Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey (Reviewed.)
Roth, Philip. Patrimony
Smith, Alison. Name All the Animals (Simply perfect. Reviewed.)
Stephens, Liz. The Days are Gods (Reviewed.)
Strauss, Darin. Half a Life (Truly a great book. Reviewed.)
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail (Noted, Analysis.)
Updike, John. Self-Consciousness (Better than Nabokov’s. Reviewed.)
Urrea, Luis Alberto. The Devil’s Highway: A True Story (Reviewed.)
Welty, Eudora. One Writer’s Beginnings (Discussed.)
Winterson, Jeanette. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (Reflective, expository; distilled rigor; still-raw pain. Reviewed.)
Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own (Reviewed.)
——. Moments of Being (Noted & Noted.)
Wolff, Tobias. In Pharaoh’s Army
——. This Boy’s Life
