tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post9050811090091701589..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: Biographies - do you or don't you?!StuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-17928586930969387572010-01-28T15:22:12.947+00:002010-01-28T15:22:12.947+00:00I don't read them often but I have read biogra...I don't read them often but I have read biographies. It has to be of someone I really have an interest in learning more about which isn't very many people. I'm not celebrity crazy.Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04013633281843747712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21695266360861117192010-01-23T16:39:17.690+00:002010-01-23T16:39:17.690+00:00I like historical figures, literary sorts and lots...I like historical figures, literary sorts and lots of memoirs (depending on topic). Alison Weir writes a good historical bio, Hermione Lee of course does literary bios well, and Claire Tomalin also.Bluestalkinghttp://bluestalking.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-62177466702398545472010-01-18T15:41:45.471+00:002010-01-18T15:41:45.471+00:00I read a lot of biographies of scientists for my s...I read a lot of biographies of scientists for my studies and a lot of writers and artists for my own pleasure. For me it's fascinating to find out more about the person behind the things I like, be it books, paintings or scientific theories, and to see how they were influenced by the social milieu in which they worked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-76612719360105382702010-01-15T11:45:55.723+00:002010-01-15T11:45:55.723+00:00I have just thought of an autobiography I found i...I have just thought of an autobiography I found interesting - Gabriel Garcia Marquez' first one, Living to Tell the Tale. I had read his novels and thought he imagined the unlikely stories. However quite a lot of them are true! It also gave me an idea of what living in Colombia was like - a country I hardly knew anything about except for drug warfare. A fantastically varied country which I would like to visit one day.Janellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13961832954886167857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-9177731862271063262010-01-15T07:27:26.616+00:002010-01-15T07:27:26.616+00:00I love biographies, mostly of authors and historic...I love biographies, mostly of authors and historical figures of note, usually royalty, or people like the wonderful Mitfords, society belles, you know the sort - and, like Bloomsbury Bell, I loved Karen Armstrong's autobiographies. I quite like autobiographical novels, too. I don't read them that frequently, but that's mostly due to the length and heaviness of them. I do most, if not all of my reading on the tube and train and I can't lug a biography around with me so they have to wait for holidays and other times of houseboundness.Rachel (Book Snob)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13669640788036671572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-49743227745851177382010-01-14T17:45:18.154+00:002010-01-14T17:45:18.154+00:00I read the occasional autobiography but find mysel...I read the occasional autobiography but find myself increasingly avoiding actual biographies, I don't think there's any real reason for it though. I love diary and letter collections - I find them very handy when I'm in a reading rut as they normally get me back into an actual book.Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-17472583938124378322010-01-14T12:47:42.409+00:002010-01-14T12:47:42.409+00:00Like most of those commenting, I do read biographi...Like most of those commenting, I do read biographies and autobiographies - mostly about to find out more about people/eras I'm interested in. Probably just nosiness when you get down to it.<br /><br />If you want an interesting pairing of biographies, try two takes on E Nesbit, using the same background material, but telling the story very differently because of what was acceptable at time of publication - E Nesbit: A biography, Doris Langley Moore(1933)and A woman of passion, Julia Briggs (1989)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-76337725637136722832010-01-14T12:19:13.803+00:002010-01-14T12:19:13.803+00:00My mother was an inveterate reader of auto/biograp...My mother was an inveterate reader of auto/biography, and I got the habit very young through reading her library books. I'll nearly always read a biography of a writer I like, and am also fond of diaries and letters. Autobiography and memoir I find less enjoyable, and I also tend to prefer the subject to be dead, as it makes for greater frankness.Tanya Izzardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05229305256800572696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21845004426041112262010-01-14T09:30:23.974+00:002010-01-14T09:30:23.974+00:00I'm the same, Simon. As you say, if I enjoy a ...I'm the same, Simon. As you say, if I enjoy a writer's books then it seems logical to read about their life too - and is it just a coincidence, or do most writers seem to have lives that are much more interesting than the norm?<br /><br />I am using the library more and more, though it is nice to have the biography on your shelves so you can look up some half-remembered detail.Pursewardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08093084051459231677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-10246911153400348022010-01-14T08:44:40.659+00:002010-01-14T08:44:40.659+00:00I love them, read lots of letters & diaries as...I love them, read lots of letters & diaries as well. Mostly writers & historical subjects. I usually race through the childhood chapters to get to the really interesting chapters on adult life & love & how they wrote their books or did whatever they were famous for.lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21561814435079659562010-01-14T00:01:47.972+00:002010-01-14T00:01:47.972+00:00I am johnny come lately and may have missed a disc...I am johnny come lately and may have missed a discussion of the following books. I was interested in Jeanette Wells "The Glass Castle," about her childhood and her novel/biography, "Half Broke Horses."Brenda Meiselshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00419488246736564022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-49289102317619818722010-01-14T00:00:35.068+00:002010-01-14T00:00:35.068+00:00I was interested in Jeanette Wells book, "The...I was interested in Jeanette Wells book, "The Glass Castle," about her childhood. She also wrote a novel/biography about her grandmother, "Half Brok Horses."Brenda Meiselshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00419488246736564022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-61710273839190065582010-01-13T22:42:44.148+00:002010-01-13T22:42:44.148+00:00I love reading diaries and letters, but am not at ...I love reading diaries and letters, but am not at all interested in biographies and memoirs.<br /><br />What I love about diaries and letters is that they are written in the "here and now", while memoirs look back and biographies not only look back but are written by people who, as "outsiders", have to make conjectures about their subject._lethe_noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-59291364009333014192010-01-13T21:59:32.838+00:002010-01-13T21:59:32.838+00:00I love biographies, and even went so far as to do ...I love biographies, and even went so far as to do a degree in them! My major collection entails the lives of writers (and I love Claire Tomalin) but also, I really like biographies about different historical figures, although I wouldn't touch Alison Weir with a 10 foot barge pole!<br />I read fewer biographies than I did, because they take up so much time, but I do love them!GlassCurlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07006992143355408956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-65657458997542368192010-01-13T17:52:11.681+00:002010-01-13T17:52:11.681+00:00Thanks for recommending Blue Remembered Hills (Lin...Thanks for recommending Blue Remembered Hills (Linda Gillard) as I loved Rosemary Sutcliffe's books. I liked Bill Bryson's Shakespeare, Clive James' Unreliable Memoirs (start out a bit sad, then very funny)<br />and Charlotte Bronte's letters though they are very sad as they include those to her Belgian teacher, who was married and did not respond when she fell in love with him - good background for Villette.Janellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13961832954886167857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-55670185681481525972010-01-13T17:43:21.107+00:002010-01-13T17:43:21.107+00:00I love this genre, especially autobiographies and ...I love this genre, especially autobiographies and journals. Add me to the fans of all things Mitford. I especially enjoy the journals of those living through an exciting time in history-- such as WWII.LuvBritLitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-15176293267283802612010-01-13T15:37:27.191+00:002010-01-13T15:37:27.191+00:00Oh yes, autobiographies, memoirs and journals are ...Oh yes, autobiographies, memoirs and journals are high on my list of books to read, and because more writers than, say, scientists, write autobiographies (it's just their nature, isn't it), they're the ones I read most.<br /><br />Biographies not so much, because what interests me is the subject's view of their world and life and times, rather than the outward view in towards the subject.Susan Dhttp://www.destevenson.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21456416405398240232010-01-13T14:56:50.820+00:002010-01-13T14:56:50.820+00:00I've always enjoyed biographies; I'm not s...I've always enjoyed biographies; I'm not sure why. Probably, as you said, it's just interesting to know more about authors (or others) whose work you've enjoyed.Tiffany Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16030610462498175664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-33040293662881094502010-01-13T12:59:33.647+00:002010-01-13T12:59:33.647+00:00Biographies? Absolutely! I've been an inform...Biographies? Absolutely! I've been an information junkie since I was five years old and have sought out bio's since I was eight and learned about Helen Keller. People are fascinating!Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07415316482631852565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-56102810803020848772010-01-13T12:18:13.715+00:002010-01-13T12:18:13.715+00:00I do read biographies, autobiographies and memoire...I do read biographies, autobiographies and memoires, although they do not make up the bulk of my reading. I tend to read ones about novelists, historical figures, and social history - I steer away from those about modern day 'celebrities'.A Bookish Spacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15352870732457077916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-22058444440410321932010-01-13T12:04:39.528+00:002010-01-13T12:04:39.528+00:00I love journals and diaries and do read some biogr...I love journals and diaries and do read some biographies/autobiographies but mostly historical ones.<br />I love the Mitford letters - and yes these are the sort of books that are kept in the bathroom or by my bed (because although I will read anywhere, I can rarely stay awake long enough to read more than a few paragraphs by the time I get to bed!LizFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-84240157352533127782010-01-13T10:58:11.467+00:002010-01-13T10:58:11.467+00:00Simon I am not in general interested to read about...Simon I am not in general interested to read about the authors of books. I do read biographies of scientists, engineers and musicians.Dark Pussnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-54805335183770101492010-01-13T10:51:12.698+00:002010-01-13T10:51:12.698+00:00I think it was C S Lewis who said that the most in...I think it was C S Lewis who said that the most interesting part of any biography/autobiography was the childhood and my experience leads me to agree with him. I often lose interest and fail to finish these books. I think great skill is needed by the author of a life and this is not always present.Deb Wnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-79136223655681481862010-01-13T10:35:16.246+00:002010-01-13T10:35:16.246+00:00I am hit and miss with biographies and autobiograp...I am hit and miss with biographies and autobiographies and would like to read more of them. I tend to go for ones about National Treasures like Julie Walters etc and then big ones on the Mitfords. <br /><br />I have to say I quite liked Dear Fatty, I found her childhood quite interesting, especially teh Queen Mum's visit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-42905120285416332242010-01-13T10:14:59.209+00:002010-01-13T10:14:59.209+00:00I love biogs and memoirs, but don't read enoug...I love biogs and memoirs, but don't read enough of them (8 last year). Mostly showbiz ones (but I'm very picky!) plus a few musicians and occasional literary ones. <br /><br />Currently dipping into the second volume of Michael Palin's diaries which are great. I also have several Mitford tomes waiting to be read.Annabel Gaskellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12210341270502698508noreply@blogger.com