Off the Shelf: Recognizing We Love Memoirs Day
By Savanna Draper on August 23, 2023 from Off the Shelf
August 31 is known as We Love Memoirs Day! This special day had its first celebration in 2013. It was started by memoir authors Victoria Twead and Alan Parks who wanted to create a day where memoir writers and readers could come together and celebrate their love and appreciation for the genre and of the authors who are brave enough to share their stories for others to read.
Contrary to popular belief, a memoir is not the same as an autobiography. A memoir is an emotionally charged, non-fiction account based on the author's memories and experiences that can revolve around a specific theme or portion of the author’s life, while an autobiography is usually written in chronological order and covers the majority of the author's life. Memoirs are one of my personal favorite things to read because I enjoy engaging with the author’s personal feelings and experiences. If you are not a big nonfiction reader, I do recommend trying a memoir because it’s a great segway into the genre.
The library offers many wonderful memoirs for your perusal, and we are adding to this collection all the time. Some of our newest memoir offerings include Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson, and You Could Make This a Beautiful Place by Maggie Smith. A few of the most best-selling memoirs of all time include Becoming by Michelle Obama, Educated by Tara Westover, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Night by Elie Wiesel, and I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai.
If you are looking for a memoir to read, or any book for that matter, and want to get some recommendations, we have a section of our website dedicated to readers’ advisory. If you visit our website at bplwv.org/readers-advisory and navigate to NoveList Plus, you will be able to browse lists for specific genres and read reviews about them. Similarly, we offer NoveList K-8 Plus for children. You can also access BookChat via NoveList Plus. BookChat offers personalized reading suggestions as a live chat service Monday-Saturday 1:00 PM-9:00 PM EST. Look for the purple bubble at the bottom of the page.
I decided to use BookChat to get recommendations on new memoirs to read and I spoke to a real librarian. I sent the message “I really enjoy reading memoirs. I have liked Educated by Tara Westover, Maid by Stephanie Land, Rabbit by Patricia Williams, and Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. Can you recommend some similar titles?” Based on this inquiry, I received two new recommendations—This Is All I Got by Lauren Sandler and Born Bright by C. Nicole Mason! If you are in a reading slump or looking for new titles to consume, I highly recommend trying BookChat.
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