My MFA thesis was a biography so I got into reading memoirs and biographies. I enjoyed reading those books and dreamt of writing more in this non-fiction genre. Research took a lot of time, but even after the final defense of this book, I read more books of personal essays to discover how authors encounter and craft lives in real or imagined times. I took my time reading and re-reading the biographies in my personal library, and now, I have gotten into a habit of lingering in the biography section of the Fully Booked store.
Later on, I got into reading e-books. Some of what I own in the list below are e-books. I've been learning a lot in writing about persons from these treasures. And until I've written another biography, [so yes, I dream on] they will sit on my shelf and hover on my personal cloud.
I've listed here only the memoirs I've been re-reading and will list the newly acquired memoirs in future posts after I've actually read them. I still have to account for the biographies on my shelves [mostly of women authors and artists], so that list will follow as well. [Why I'm listing? Well, it's also a way of making a formal inventory - like, I need to be able to find the books immediately when I need them.]
For a preview, below are pictures of the covers of books that are currently on my desk-pile of books to read:
1. "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt (1996) - This Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir recounts McCourt's impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland. It became a bestseller and remains a significant work in the genre of misery memoirs (lithub). [I remember buying and reading this book because I learned that McCourt was a teacher.]
2. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers (2000) - This memoir is a blend of tragic and comic, detailing Eggers' experience of raising his younger brother after the sudden death of their parents (lithub). [Before owning a copy, I borrowed this book from the University Library. Having enjoyed it immensely, I had to have a personal copy. I found this one below by Dave Eggers, and am going to read it, too.]
3. "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion (2005) - A profound account of grief and loss, Didion's memoir delves into the year following the sudden death of her husband and the severe illness of her daughter (listchallenges). [This book details Didion's grief. The motivation for buying it was Didion's reputation as a classic essayist -- that is, Every essayist I know believes that everyone who wishes to write a memoir can learn much from this author.]
4. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (2006) - Gilbert's memoir about her journey across Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of self-discovery and healing became a worldwide sensation (lithub) (listchallenges). [I enjoyed the movie adaptation, only because it was Julia Roberts in the title role. I bought the book because the title has "Pray" in the middle. However, Gilbert is not writing about Praying in the sense of being a Christian.]
5. "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi (2016) - Although written in the late 2000s, this memoir became iconic. It chronicles Kalanithi's battle with terminal cancer and his reflections on life and mortality (listchallenges) [An amazing book by a doctor. Recently, there were writing workshops held for writers who are doctors or medical practitioners. Authors from this discipline have rich stories to share about their encounters with patients. Dr. Kalathini writes about himself - as the one under examination. He scrutinizes the essence of his mortal body, and how immortality is achieved only by an acceptance of our limitations.]
6. "H Is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald (2014) - This memoir intertwines Macdonald's grief over her father's death with her experience of training a goshawk. The book received widespread acclaim for its lyrical prose and deep emotional resonance (lithub) [Beautiful book. My e-book copy however is not enough for me, so I will secure a hard copy as well. I've never imagined that one can write about oneself from a dissertation about birds. I just read Margaret Atwood's blog about bird watching and I continue to be curious.. Birds are lovely in whatever shape or color, but they are so rare in the skies of Metro Manila.]
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