good books part 6

the memoir edition....

I read most of these memoirs months and months ago. I don't recall that anyone recommended them to me with gusto, I just stumbled upon them and one memoir led to another. I am passionate to recommend them now. These women are candid, confident, bold, hilarious and more. I felt like I was getting to know some underground celebrities, some really cool yet controversial women. There is one male author in the mix. His story Alligator Candy is the most devastating of the memoirs I've read. 

Unwifeable

Mandy Stadtmiller

My story is not unique. Single girl comes to New York; New York eats her alive. But what does stand out is my discovery that you can essentially live a life that appears to be a textbook manual for everything one can do wrong to find love—and still find Mr. Right.

 Mandy's story is told with refreshing candor and brilliant hilarity as she recounts failed romances and blackout nights. There is a deep level of rawness and pain. Just when you think Mandy's out of the woods - she spirals. She totally keeps you on edge - is she going to make it? Will she ever be wife-able?

The Rules Do Not Apply

Ariel Levy

Wow, Ariel. This book is complicated, wrenching, engrossing. There's grief, infidelity, alcoholism, ambivalence and estrangement. Years later, she finds herself at a friend’s birthday party, where a stranger asks her: “Are you the Ariel who all the bad things happened to?”

You'll Grow Out Of It

Jessi Klein

Jessi Klein is hilarious. I don't remember laughing out loud at any book as much as I did with this one. I think the fact that I had no expectations and no idea who she was/is going into this might have helped with my level of enjoyment. A lot of reviews wreak of disappointment and call her out for various reasons, lets just say her readers expected more. I didn't judge the writing on a structured level. I simply enjoyed for what it was; candid, real and FUNNY!

Alligator Candy

David Kushner

David Kushner grew up in the suburbs of Florida in the early 1970s, running wild with his friends, exploring, riding bikes, and disappearing into the nearby woods for hours at a time. (Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Even though I came of age in the 90's in Cape Cod, New Hampshire and Vermont, my childhood was certainly one of adventuring wild and free in the woods.) One morning in 1973, everything changed when David’s older brother Jon took a short bike trip to the local convenience store and never returned. 

How does one family survive the worst thing? It's a dedication to a brother tragically deprived of his right to live and a reflection on how to live in a world riven by pain, suffering, and evil. It was agonizing and disturbing, but so worthwhile to read.

Look Alive Out There
Sloane Crosley

As I started this collection of essays I'm scratching my head - why does this authors name sound so familiar? I don't think I read her first set of essays I was Told There'd  Be Cake (but then why am I reading this book if she's so forgettable?!) It finally hit me that I read her novel The Clasp years ago - it never made it into any of my book reviews. The Clasp was actually a great book!

Anyways, this woman is not forgettable. Sloane Crosley is one of a kind. With a trademark hilarity and wit, you will laugh out loud at her stories and observations. I found myself thinking - wait - this really happened to you? Or hold up - you really thought this was a good idea? I read a funny quote about her that resonated: "shes someone who shoots for the stars and hits the ceiling." Some essay subjects become more serious, and there's a deeper insight to be gained from her sharp, perceptive words.

When reading memoirs, I like to alternate. I couldn't have read Ariel, Mandy and Jessi all in a row. Is anyone else like this? I'll read a memoir, a thriller, a novel and so on as to not tire of one genre or style of writing. Let me know your thoughts or if you have read any of these!