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Aloha Mr. Constant! I need a new book to read.

I am almost done with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, loved the Brothers K but normally read non fiction and memoirs. I'm not a huge fan of anything sci-fi or fantasy and don't like getting to the end of a book and find myself angry when things are wrapped up hastily.

vallord asked in Books & Writing about 1 year ago | Report

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  • Paul_c_small
    Paul Constant

    This is a great book that I forgot about until Gary Shteyngart mentioned it onstage last week at the Sunset: The Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc is the kind of ambitious non-fiction reporting you don't usually find anymore, and it's well-written to boot. LeBlanc spent more than a decade in the Bronx, following two women and their friends and families. I'm willing to bet you haven't read anything quite like it.

    Memoirs can be quite tough to recommend. It depends on what subject you'd like to read about. Some perennials: I have recommended Travels with Myself and Another by Martha Gellhorn many times, and I'll always stand by that. Joan Didion is amazing, of course. Her Year of Magical Thinking was exceptional and Where I Was From is that rarest of gems, an underrated Didion.

    Joseph Mitchell and Gay Talese both write non-fiction that is as engrossing and rewarding as very good fiction, and John McPhee is another writer along those lines. While Mitchell didn't write any long-form pieces, McPhee and Talese both have a few opuses that are worth your time. They're in-depth, sweeping, and they are by no means rushed or weighed down with a pat ending.

    Paul Constant answered in Books & Writing about 1 year ago | Report
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  • 6a00d83451c3ab69e200e554b4a3148833-640wi_small
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    "Zamba" by Ralph Helfer
    "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
    "The five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom
    "Wonderland Avenue" by Danny Sugerman

    All great reads

    Otterpop answered in Books & Writing about 1 year ago | Report
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    The Glass Castle is a worthwhile memoir. It was funny how differently my sister and I regarded the book. I regarded it as very much the memoir of a survivor with a mordant sense of humor. My sister found it heartbreaking, because she thought the parents' neglect of their children was tragic. My sister has children. I do not. Perhaps that's the difference.

    (We grew up poor, but there's poor and then there's POOR. The author of The Glass Castle grew up POOR.)

    Geni answered in Books & Writing about 1 year ago | Report
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  • Drinkycrowas_tv_small
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    email him directly. he should give you a response promptly. i had a question about a past recommendation and he responded gleefuly within hours. :)

    beef answered in Books & Writing about 1 year ago | Report
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