Books Blog : Marriage

Read By the Author

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:30:00 GMT

I love to listen to memoirs read by the authors that wrote them. Not so long ago, I was quite skeptical of all audiobooks. I viewed listening to a book as cheating, unless it was a matter of poor eyesight. I have, however, warmed somewhat to audiobooks, and memoirs read by their authors have become a favorite of mine. When it comes to memoirs, what could possibly be better than someone's story in his or her own voice?

Here are some of my favorite memoirs read by their authors that I've had the pleasure to listen to so far:

Haven Kimmel's memoirs about growing up in Mooreland, Indiana, A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off the Couch. These two are good enough I recommend listening to them, even if you've already read them.
Kate Braestrup's Here if You Need Me, about being chaplain for the Maine Warden Service and her part in their search-and-rescue missions, plus her second memoir, Marriage and Other Acts of Charity.
Advice columnist Amy Dickinson's The Mighty Queens of Freeville, about the strong women in her family, including her mother, sisters and daughter.
Tina Fey's wildly popular Bossypants.
Anna Quindlen's recent memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. I don't think I'm the target audience for this one, but I enjoyed it very much anyway.
Craig Ferguson's American on Purpose, the story of how he became a musician, then a comedian, the drugs he did and the hearts he broke along the way, and his decision to become an American citizen (he was born & raised in Scotland), might be a bit heavy on foul language for some people, but it charmed me.
Bill Bryson's memoir of growing up in Iowa in the 1950's, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is most amusing read in his slight British accent-- he lives in England now.
A. J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically details the year he attempted to follow the Bible really, truly literally. Unfortunately, this is an abridged audiobook, meaning some parts of the original text are not included.

Do you have a memoir read by the author to recommend to me?

Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich

Meditatinglibrarian@evpl — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:02:00 GMT

I just finished reading Louise Erdrich's new novel, Shadow Tag. This dark, tragic novel about a toxic marriage was utterly compelling and absorbing reading. Below are quotes from reviews about it. Soon after I started reading, I started remembering that Louise Erdrich used to be married to Michael Dorris. And I found myself looking them both up in Wikipedia and wondering how much of this novel and the incredible insights in it are hard-earned and autobiographical. Dorris committed suicide in 1997, a couple years after he and Erdrich divorced. He was also facing child abuse accusations. I loved Erdrich's early writing, grew disenchanted with her writing for many years, and have come full circle to loving her writing once again.

"A brilliant cautionary tale. Reading it is like watching a wildfire whose flames are so mesmerizingly beautiful that it's almost easy to ignore the deadly mess left behind." (Library Journal )

"A fast-paced novel of exceptional artistic, intellectual, and psychological merit. Nowhere have love's complications been better illustrated than in the raw honesty of Shadow Tag." (Boston Sunday Globe )

"A masterpiece, a captivating work of fiction, exquisite, tightly focused, arresting. This profoundly tragic novel captures that lament in some of Erdrich's most beautiful and urgent writing." (Ron Charles, Washington Post )

"A portrait of an 'iconic' marriage on its way to dissolution. Erdrich's unbridled urgency yields startlingly original phrasing as well as flashes of blinding lucidity." (New York Times Book Review )

"An exquisite, character-driven tale, its piercing insights into sex, family, and power are breathtaking. A masterfully concentrated and gripping novel of image and conquest, autonomy and love, inheritance and loss." (Donna Seaman, Booklist )

"Erdrich offers a portrait that's convincing. Shadow Tag is wonderfully, painfully readable and revealing." (Minneapolis Star Tribune )

"Into this deeply personal novel about marriage, family and individual identity, Erdrich weaves broader questions about cause and effect in history...A small masterpiece of compelling, painfully moving fiction." (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

"Muscular and fearless. It is [Erdrich's] superb telling of this story that makes it real, her stellar writing that brings powerful truth to invented worlds." (BookPage )

That Old Cape Magic new book by Richard Russo

GoldensRule@evpl — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:45:00 GMT

Having just listened to That Old Cape magic by Richard Russo of Empire Falls fame wanted to say it is a book that resonates ...both hilariously funny in part (the wedding rehearsal dinner ) to achingly sad in its depiction of family life. It is told from the perspective of 54 year old college professor. former screen writer , Jack Griffin whose academic parents lives he details from his child hood to finding the best place on the cape to scatter their ashes . It is a study in family relationships, friendships and yearnings for something always out of reach, ...the belief that if only ......

As a child Jack and his parents vacationed on Cape Cod every summer after being forced to endure 11 months out of each year in the "mid......west" where his parents taught at a large public university (think IU). As always, every summer they spend time looking at real estate only to label it all either "wouldn't have it for a gift" or " too expensive" . The reality of their own lives, fed by their belief in dreams, is never satisfactoy. Jack carries some of their angst into his own marriage as he examines his options at midlife as once again he crosses the Sagamore Bridge onto the Cape . Russo's characters will stay with you long after the last chapter.