Part of the fun of reading is to learn something new and to meet interesting characters. If you’d like to find a book genre that allows for both, you might want to consider memoir.
What is Memoir and Why Do We Like It?
Memoirs are stories where the author talks about a specific element of their own lives. They are similar to biography and autobiography (more on those in a moment), but not quite the same. These stories give us a glimpse into that person’s world, their profession, or into a shocking event that they experienced.
People like memoirs because true stories are interesting. And memoirs have the added benefit of adding a personal touch. Of course, I could read a book all about the Appalachian Trail, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to learn about it from someone’s story of walking it? Or, likewise, I could read as many travel books on Japan as I could get my hands on, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to learn about Japan from the experiences of an American who moved to Tokyo?
Memoir vs. Autobiography
A few weeks ago, we talked about Biography, which is of course a genre that focuses on the real-life stories of real people. In that post, I talked about the difference between Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir. For our purposes today, I’ll summarize them like this: All three genres are nonfiction. Biography tells the story of a person’s life, as written by someone else. Autobiography is the story of a person’s whole life as written by themselves. And memoir is the story of a specific point in a person’s life, as written by that person. This could be anything from their time spent in Hollywood to the time they climbed Mount Everest.
I’ve often heard memoir and autobiography used interchangeably, with memoir treated as a “trendy” or “updated” term for the same type of book. But, I would argue that they are not quite the same, just as a coyotes and dogs are both canines, but they are not the same species.
Choose Your Memoir:
Memoirs cover a vast array of topics. Here are a few that you can look for in your own reading journey:
- Travel: Someone goes on a journey and returns to tell us about it
- Graphic: Memoirs told in comic book format, with lots of pictures
- On the Job: Stories of what it’s like to be a [insert occupation here]
- Famous Friends: I’m no one special, but you won’t believe who my neighbor was…
Recommended Reading:
Lab Girl (Hope Jahren) Ever since I was young, I’ve enjoyed science. I’ve loved to learn about everything from how the body works to how the planets orbit the earth. And even though I’ve never been much for taking science classes (too much math, bleah) I’ve always enjoyed learning about things. So, of course I was drawn to Hope Jahren’s book, which is about her experiences as a woman in the very male-dominated field of science. Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. She tells about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and the disappointments, triumphs and exhilarating discoveries of scientific work. Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home.
True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray (James Renner) James Renner is the author of several books on true crime, including the too-close-to-home case of Amy Mihaljevic. True Crime Addict is an interesting twist on the true crime novel, however, as Renner addresses not only the case itself, but his own experiences falling down the rabbit hole and what happened to him psychologically and emotionally as a result.
Many of us would like to be armchair detectives. But, what is it really like to try to solve a crime? What goes on behind the scenes as you research and speculate and dig, going over clues that have been scrutinized dozens of times before? If you’re a true crime addict, too, then Renner’s book is the right one for you. He’s extremely readable, although the topic is extremely heavy.
Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto (Leslie Buck) When she was thirty-five, Leslie Buck decided to follow her dreams and travel to Japan, where she took on a position as an apprentice tree-trimmer in some of the most beautiful gardens in the world. This was no average internship, as the work was extremely precise and her supervisors extremely particular. In this fascinating and tender memoir, Buck shares her experiences as an outsider–not only as an American in Japan, but also as a woman in a male-dominated workforce. The lessons she learns and the adventures she has make for excellent reading, and this was easily one of my favorite books of 2018!
Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon and Mu (Junji Ito) Japanese manga writer Junji Ito is best known for his nightmarish stories and comics. I’m a fan of horror fiction and yet I’ve struggled to read my way through any of his books…except this one. Junji Ito’s Cat Diary is quite different from the rest of this author’s body of work. Ito and his fiancée A-ko decide to move in together. But, Ito is not prepared for the horror that follows, when A-ko brings along two completely unexpected housemates: Yon, a ghastly shorthaired cat with a skull pattern on his fur and Mu, an adorable Norwegian forest cat. You see, Ito is a dog person. What follows is a hilarious series of vignettes about Ito adjusting to his new housemates and their strange ways. But, since he’s a horror writer, Ito plays out these encounters, which might be baffling or pedestrian to the average person, and presents them as though they are scary. The book itself is really not that scary, and the juxtaposition of sweet cats doing cat things and the author’s horrified reactions makes for a rather funny read. While this is a book probably best appreciated by cat lovers, even dog people (like myself) will find much to enjoy.
I’d Rather Not (Robert Skinner) Robert Skinner decided to retire at the age of 28. Then, he realized that he had no more money, so he had to get a job again after all. What a great way to start a collection of autobiographical essays! Skinner shares a hilarious set of stories about his careers–both as a semi-employed editor of a failing literary magazine and as a tour guide, leading German tourists across the Australian Outback. This book is a little different from the others on this list as its not one long, continuous adventure, but very clearly segmented into different misadventures in Skinner’s life. All the same, this book had me laughing like a loon, and I read it THREE TIMES last year alone! If you’re interested in learning about the life of a starving artist (who is just really bad at budgeting his time and money) then this is the book for you. It’s quirky, it’s original, and I loved every minute of it. Easily my favorite title on this list. I also highly recommend the audiobook, which is performed by the author and adds a nice layer of depth.
