[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Biography and Memoir November 2009
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:54:33 -0500
New and Recently Released!
Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy
Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker - by Gesine Bullock-Prado
Publisher: Broadway Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/08/2009
ISBN-13: 9780767932684
ISBN-10: 0767932684
Hollywood film producer Gesine Bullock-Prado seemed to have it all: a
successful career, a happy marriage, and relationships with the rich and famous
(Bullock-Prado's
sister is actress Sandra Bullock). But when her life in L.A. became
increasingly unfulfilling, Bullock-Prado and her husband ditched Tinseltown for
charming
Montpelier, Vermont, where she opened a bakery and strove to perfect the art of
baking. Containing mouthwatering recipes, this lighthearted and delectable
memoir will no doubt prompt you to roll up your sleeves, dig out your flour
sifter, and start baking.
Table of Contents
Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son -
by Michael Chabon
Publisher: Harper
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/06/2009
ISBN-13: 9780061490187
ISBN-10: 0061490180
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and
Clay, Michael Chabon is also a father of four and the husband of fellow writer
Ayelet Waldman. In this collection of previously published autobiographical
essays, Chabon's brainy humor and literary genius are on full display as he
tackles what it means to be a man, husband, and father today. Almost no subject
is too far-fetched for Chabon, who muses on everything from astronomy,
baking, and playing with Legos to whether or not men should carry purses. Don't
miss this funny, warm, and thoughtful look at manhood in the 21st century.
The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment - by A. J. Jacobs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/08/2009
ISBN-13: 9781416599067
ISBN-10: 1416599061
A. J. Jacobs is known for throwing himself mind, body, and soul into various
off-the-wall experiments; in The Know-It-All, he read the Encyclopedia
Britannica
from A to Z, and in The Year of Living Biblically, he attempted to follow all
the rules in the Bible. Now, in The Guinea Pig Diaries, Jacobs immerses himself
in multiple wacky situations, from outsourcing almost his entire life to India
to following George Washington's "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior
in Company and Conversation." If you're in the mood for laughs, make sure to
pick this one up, for Jacobs "could be the funniest nonfiction writer this
side of Bill Bryson" (Booklist).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home - by Rhoda Janzen
Publisher: Henry Holt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/13/2009
ISBN-13: 9780805089257
ISBN-10: 080508925X
In the span of a single week, poet and professor Rhoda Janzen's world came
crashing down around her. First her husband announced that he was leaving her
for a man, then Janzen was seriously injured in a car wreck; in desperate need
of help and with few options available, she returned home to her devout
Mennonite parents. As Janzen relays in this affecting memoir, moving back in
with her folks not only helped her to come to terms with her failed marriage,
but also to make peace with her past. Laced with self-deprecating humor,
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress will resonate with readers who've ever
suffered
an emotional setback or tried to go home again.
True Compass: A Memoir - by Edward M. Kennedy
Publisher: Twelve
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/14/2009
ISBN-13: 9780446539258
ISBN-10: 0446539252
On August 25th of this year, Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy--the last
of the Kennedy brothers--passed away from brain cancer. In the two years
leading up to his death, Kennedy wrote True Compass, a memoir of his youth, his
family, his political career, and the tragedies that have befallen the
Kennedys. Of special note is Kennedy's discussion of the 1969 Chappaquiddick
car accident, for which Kennedy professes having had deep regrets and life-long
guilt. If you want to know more about the late senator after reading his
"deeply affecting...heartfelt" (The New York Times) memoir, check out Last Lion,
written by the staff at The Boston Globe and edited by Peter S. Canellos.
Table of Contents
Born in November
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a
Generation - by Sheila Weller
Publisher: Atria Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/08/2008
ISBN-13: 9780743491471
ISBN-10: 0743491475
November 7, 1943 (Joni Mitchell). Combining biography and a behind-the-scenes
tour of the music industry, Girls Like Us focuses on three legendary female
singer-songwriters whose music and careers aligned with the rise of feminism.
The portraits of iconic stars Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon
showcase not only their own comings-of-age during the 1960s but their
contributions to music and their influence today. Women of a certain age--and
anyone
who's ever appreciated the music of any of these three living legends--are sure
to enjoy this "absorbing, eye-opening" (Publishers Weekly) journey.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Andrew Carnegie - by David Nasaw
Publisher: Penguin Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/30/2007
ISBN-13: 9780143112440
ISBN-10: 0143112449
November 25, 1823. Andrew Carnegie may have started out as a penniless Scottish
immigrant in the mid-1800s, but he eventually became one of the richest--and
most philanthropic--men in the world. This well-researched and highly praised
biography opens a "marvelous window" (The New York Times) into the steel
magnate's life, the world he created, and the effects his actions had on those
around him. From his personal relationships to his business acumen to his
philanthropic gestures, this is a comprehensive look at man whose story is
larger than life.
Table of Contents
Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix - by Charles R. Cross
Publisher: Hyperion
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 08/03/2005
ISBN-13: 9781401300289
ISBN-10: 1401300286
November 27, 1942. Though Jimi Hendrix was only 27 years old when he died in
1970, he is without a doubt one of rock and roll's biggest legends, if not
the greatest guitarist of all time. Room Full of Mirrors is Charles Cross's
well-researched and comprehensive biography of Hendrix, from his birth in
Seattle,
Washington, and his poverty-stricken childhood to his rapid ascent to the
heights of the London music scene. Based on more than 300 interviews with those
who knew him best, this landmark book is the definitive take on this musical
icon.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L. M. Montgomery and Her
Literary Classic - by Irene Gammel
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/08/2008
ISBN-13: 9780312382377
ISBN-10: 0312382375
November 30, 1874. Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Anne of
Green Gables' first appearance in print, this unique book profiles both author
Lucy Maud Montgomery and the beloved character whom she created, redheaded
orphan Anne Shirley. Author Irene Gammel covers such topics as the death of
Montgomery's mother, Montgomery's life on Prince Edward Island, and the
inspiration for adding an "e" to the end of Anne's name. In addition, Gammel
also
paints a vivid portrait of life in early 20th-century Canada. Devoted Anne
Shirley fans will also be delighted to know that an authorized prequel, Before
Green Gables, was published in 2008.
Table of Contents
Focus on: Memoirs of Loss and Grief
Paula - by Isabel Allende
Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/01/2008
ISBN-13: 9780061564901
ISBN-10: 0061564907
In December 1991, award-winning author Isabel Allende's 28-year-old daughter,
Paula, was struck down by the blood disorder porphyria and fell into an
irreversible
coma. As she kept vigil at her daughter's bedside--first in Madrid and later in
California, where Paula was transported to spend her final days--Allende
kept a journal in which she not only tried to make sense of her daughter's
tragic end, but also recorded stories of her own childhood and adult life. When
you finish this heartbreakingly beautiful memoir, you might also want to pick
up Allende's The Sum of Our Days, a memoir of her family's life after Paula's
death.
First Chapter
Comfort: A Journey Through Grief - by Ann Hood
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 05/01/2008
ISBN-13: 9780393064568
ISBN-10: 0393064565
On an April morning in 2002, author Ann Hood's five-year-old daughter, Grace,
woke up with a fever that refused to subside; less than 48 hours later, Grace
had died from a virulent form of strep. In the aftermath of this seemingly
unbearable loss, Hood was unable to read, write, or make sense of the world
around her. Eventually, she found solace in unexpected ways, like learning how
to knit, and she began writing again. Comfort: A Journey Through Grief is
Hood's heartwrenching and deeply personal memoir of her journey to healing.
Readers who liked or found solace in Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking
will enjoy this book, too.
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir - by Elizabeth
McCracken
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/10/2008
ISBN-13: 9780316027670
ISBN-10: 0316027677
Novelist Elizabeth McCracken has lived through an event that most of us can
hardly bear to even imagine: the death of her first child, a boy, in utero
during
her ninth month of pregnancy. In An Exact Replica of a Figment of My
Imagination, McCracken discusses that devastating loss, her profound grief,
and, happily,
the birth of her second son a little more than a year later. While you may be
tempted to pass by this memoir because of its somber subject matter, McCracken's
stunning writing makes it an account not to be missed; Publishers Weekly says
that it's a "triumph...a literary gift."
First Chapter
The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks - by Robin Romm
Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 01/06/2009
ISBN-13: 9781416567882
ISBN-10: 1416567887
When Robin Romm was just 19 years old, her mother was diagnosed with breast
cancer, and after a brave nine-year battle, Romm's mother succumbed to the
disease.
In The Mercy Papers, Romm poignantly records the final three weeks of her
mother's life, during which Romm struggled to cope with the impending reality
of her mother's death as well as with more mundane challenges like handling
unruly pets and dealing with her mother's hospice nurse. If you've ever cared
for a loved one during his or her last days, pick up this piercing memoir,
which The New York Times calls a "furious blaze of a book."
First Chapter
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