Are you a reader of memoirs and/or biographies? I have to admit, I normally am not. It’s not that I have anything against these genres, I just don’t usually gravitate towards them. That’s one of the reasons why I included ‘a memoir or biography’ as a category for the 2018 Reading Challenge. Choosing a book you ordinarily might not is a great way to stretch your reading muscles, something we all need from time to time, and I expect that the biography I chose will do that for me.
After much deliberation, I went with Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand for my May book choice. It is the biography of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete, World War II veteran, and survivor of a plane crash and a Japanese POW camp. Sounds interesting, right?
There were three main factors that went into choosing Unbroken. First, I googled ‘great biographies’ and this one was at the top of the search results, which was promising. Second, this book has been mentioned a multitude of times, always with the highest of praise, on my favorite bookish podcast ‘What Should I Read Next?’. Third, the ebook and audiobook were both readily available from my library, and I borrowed both so that I can test them out and see which format hooks me more. Bonus points for the fact that there is a movie version of this book that I can watch after I finish it.
I’m the same way – I don’t typically gravitate towards memoirs or biographies, but this one sounds really interesting! I’m excited to see your thoughts on it once you’ve read it!
I’ll definitely try to share when I’m done!
Biographies are super interesting to read, cna’t wait to hear what you think about it
I’ll try share my thoughts when I finish.
Memoirs can be hit or miss for me. I guess it depends on the writing style. Recently, I’ve read two that I loved- Educated and Heart Berries.
I saw the movie Unbroken and am not sure I could stand to read what he went through, but will be interested to see what you think.
My big May read will be the next historical novel by Alison Weir. She’s writing a book each about Henry VIII’s wives and they are fascinating. She peels away the myths and gossip about their lives and shows them more fully. The Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were marvelous so I’m hopeful about Jane Seymour.
Oh my word, that sounds like a fantastic series. I was fascinated with Henry VIII and his wives in high school and I still love historical fiction, so those sound like something I would adore!
I didn’t know there was a movie! I’ll have to look for it. I was riveted by Unbroken–it’s amazing how much one person can endure.
I’m waiting on library holds of Prairie Fires, the new Laura Ingalls Wilder biography, and Educated, so those will probably be the next memoirs/bios I read.
You are the second person to mention Educated to me – I’ll have to see what that’s all about.
I finally opened my first book of 2018 this weekend (The Husband’s Secret) and am already over halfway through. Its not a biography or memoir but I like it 🙂
As long as you are enjoying reading it doesn’t matter what genre it is! 🙂
Wow what a life she’s had. Sounds like a great read!
It’s really fascinating so far. He was basically a juvenile delinquent before he turned his life around running track.
This sounds like a great book! I will put it on my summer reading list.
Hope you get to it soon, it’s amazing so far!