tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post4173846664269830590..comments2024-01-17T04:33:08.243-08:00Comments on My Friend Amy: The Sunday Salon: MemoirsAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02515314638093018928noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-55146291806184925552009-02-08T22:06:00.000-08:002009-02-08T22:06:00.000-08:00Nymeth..this is a good point. I suppose the same ...Nymeth..this is a good point. I suppose the same can be said of bloggers. ;)<BR/><BR/>Saveophelia..I went to check out the Amazon reviews and found them pretty divided. It's funny, b/c in other places arrogance really bothers me, but it didn't in this book or didn't enough for me to remember it a year later when I read Dewey's thoughts. I do remember wondering if it had been a blog. I think it was a diary. Which does make it a bit different than a regular memoir.<BR/><BR/>Mangomissives...a common theme I'm hearing!<BR/><BR/>Florinda...well said! I think perhaps that's why both Esme's and Nuala's stories interested me. I could still learn from their stories, and I guess if they were arrogant, I overlooked it somehow.<BR/><BR/>Swapna...I was just too caught up in the story, I guess.<BR/><BR/>Violet...now that sounds really interesting!!!Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02515314638093018928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-60792287089326312372009-02-08T21:48:00.000-08:002009-02-08T21:48:00.000-08:00I do read memoirs, in fact that is one of my fav g...I do read memoirs, in fact that is one of my fav genre. I have read a book called 'The beloved witch' which is an autobiography of the only certified witch in India. Ins pits of the book being interesting I found the author extremely arrogant and vain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-49035184623622636402009-02-08T18:52:00.000-08:002009-02-08T18:52:00.000-08:00I totally agree with you - I've read a few memoirs...I totally agree with you - I've read a few memoirs and never found the author arrogant. I don't even know if the thought would occur to me while reading!S. Krishnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10268527069548216054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-81138528032300216542009-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:002009-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:00Most of the nonfiction books that I read are memoi...Most of the nonfiction books that I read are memoirs. I haven't come across very many where the writer struck me as arrogant. Whiny victim, sometimes; clueless, sometimes; self-involved, yes, but as other commenters have noted, the person is telling his or her own story, so it's understandable. And for me, the story matters - if it doesn't interest me, the memoir, and its writer, probably won't either.Florindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09789402061034734894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-65866337239984214482009-02-08T15:10:00.000-08:002009-02-08T15:10:00.000-08:00I read a lot of memoirs and for the most part I en...I read a lot of memoirs and for the most part I enjoy them, but there have been a few where the author was just a bit too self-centered (even for a memoir).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-91069423996127599252009-02-08T12:50:00.000-08:002009-02-08T12:50:00.000-08:00I have to admit that I don't enjoy certain memoirs...I have to admit that I don't enjoy certain memoirs because I feel that the author is self-centered. It has only happened with two - one of them being Educating Esme. Some memoirs though, I absolutely love. It depends on the author!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-89656753144250969522009-02-08T12:10:00.000-08:002009-02-08T12:10:00.000-08:00I have only read a handful of memoirs, so I haven'...I have only read a handful of memoirs, so I haven't come across this problem yet. Maybe a reason why memoir authors can be perceived as arrogant is the fact that the very act of writing a memoir demands that they justify it somehow. They have to "sell" the book. They have to, in a way, explain why their life and achievements are unique and interesting enough for others to read about.Ana S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16092495983972185943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-822628239001105052009-02-08T10:43:00.000-08:002009-02-08T10:43:00.000-08:00Kerrie...I agree it's hard for a memoir not to be ...Kerrie...I agree it's hard for a memoir not to be self-focused!<BR/><BR/>Wendy..I think you're right that it might be a matter of perception. <BR/><BR/>Guatami...probably a good time to read them. Maybe I should read more I do generally enjoy them.<BR/><BR/>Kathy...very interesting!<BR/><BR/>Beth...thanks for weighing in! I see what you're saying. Sometimes I think there are different kinds of memoirs that serve different purposes? <BR/><BR/>Natasha...I haven't read that one, but remember reading a lot of people having different viewpoints about it.<BR/><BR/>Memory--I agree that the set-up definitely has the potential for it. I'll have to keep my eyes out for your next review of a memoir. ;)<BR/><BR/>SmallWorldatHome--i'm off to check out your post!Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02515314638093018928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-23324445874973351862009-02-08T09:57:00.000-08:002009-02-08T09:57:00.000-08:00I love the memoir genre, although I don't always l...I love the memoir genre, although I don't always love memoirs. I have a Sunday Salon post called "On Memoirs" here:<BR/>http://smallworldreads.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-salon-on-memoirs.htmlSarah at SmallWorldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15306137253094526922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-38202808592729411232009-02-08T09:50:00.001-08:002009-02-08T09:50:00.001-08:00Hmmm. I'm reading a memoir right now, and while I...Hmmm. I'm reading a memoir right now, and while I can see how the author <I>could</I> be perceived as arrogant, I'm not sure that I'd consider her to be so. As Kerrie said, a memoir is necessarily self-focused. The memoirist has set out to write about their own life and what it's taught them, and they're going to have to examine themselves in order to do so properly. <BR/><BR/>I rarely have a problem with this, but I do think this setup has the potential to come across as arrogant. It's a fine line, and I suspect it may be the reader who crosses not, not the author. Some readers are going to find each individual memoirist's life engaging and inspiring; others will feel that the author's tone and approach give too much weight to their own wondrousness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-39589172315790017632009-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:002009-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:00I love memoirs. I really, really do. The one tha...I love memoirs. I really, really do. The one that comes to mind immediately is Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. Either you want to be her best friend or else you can't stand her. I wrote my review of Eat Pray Love over a year ago and it is still one of my most commented on posts. The comments range from love her, hate her. And the comments aren't about the book necessarily, but about her as an individual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-40513430665997255532009-02-08T08:26:00.000-08:002009-02-08T08:26:00.000-08:00AmyHaving written five memoirs and read countless ...Amy<BR/><BR/>Having written five memoirs and read countless others, I find this question so essential. I always lean toward those life stories that seek answers to universal questions—that use one life as a search, but do not declare that one life an exemplar.Beth Kepharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14236487532413398431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-61120444139676030792009-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:002009-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00I do read and enjoy memoirs. I have read a few th...I do read and enjoy memoirs. I have read a few that seemed a little arrogant or preachy, but most don't come across that way to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-23066070441308899882009-02-08T07:15:00.000-08:002009-02-08T07:15:00.000-08:00I like to read memoirs in between fiction reading....I like to read memoirs in between fiction reading. Keeps me in perspective!<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://readingandmorereading.blogspot.com/2009/02/tss-early-salon-moments.html" REL="nofollow">Early Salon moments</A>gautami tripathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04192356825699543613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-81139960320958313972009-02-08T02:32:00.000-08:002009-02-08T02:32:00.000-08:00I have read a few memoirs over the years and canno...I have read a few memoirs over the years and cannot say I have come across any in which I would call the author arrogant. As you point out, memoirs by their very nature are about the author. I imagine it can and probably does happen though--or maybe it is all a matter of perception? I haven't read either of the two memoirs you reference and can't speak to those.Literary Felinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13079276242303738719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-7228147433768786962009-02-08T00:34:00.000-08:002009-02-08T00:34:00.000-08:00I think memoirs are necessarily self-focussed, but...I think memoirs are necessarily self-focussed, but perhaps not always arrogant.Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.com