For the Internet and Memoir, What’s Left?

Photo: Blippy

Yesterday, I read an article in the New York Times by Brad Stone called “For Web’s New Wave, Sharing Details Is the Point.”

The article talks about the recent rise in Web sites that allow people to share every aspect of their lives, including every purchase they make on their credit card, where exactly they are at all times and how long they spend doing different exercises at the gym.

Too Much Memoir

A strange thing happened to me this week.

On Wednesday, after a surprise boat ride in Central Park and a homemade dinner for my 21st birthday, my boyfriend took me to Strand to pick out any book I wanted, his treat. As soon as we walked in I went to the back corner of the store and started flipping through the Ks until I found Karr.

The store had Mary Karr’s second and third memoirs, but they were out of her first: “The Liar’s Club.” I made my way back to the front of the store to see what new memoirs they had. I started to pick up a few, quickly reading the back covers, when a weird feeling came over me.

Mary Karr: The Memoirist Everyone is Talking About

Photo: Marion Ettlinger

In the past few weeks, I have interviewed authors of memoirs (both self-published and Pulitzer-nominated), a college professor who teaches memoir writing classes, a student at a memoir writing class, a creator of a memoir blog and numerous people who enjoy reading memoir.

I posed similar questions to each of them, but their responses only seemed to match up on one:

“What is your favorite memoir?”

Favorite Memoir and Why: Eric Horvath

Second in my series on the favorite memoirs of my family and friends is my boyfriend, Eric Horvath. We’ve been dating for almost three years (33 months, but who’s counting?), but it’s only in the past year or so that I’ve seen him develop a real love for reading. When I asked him what his favorite memoir was, I honestly didn’t know the answer I would get because of all the books he’s read recently. (I also want to thank him for keeping his response within the allotted 2-3 sentences, not an easy feat for an English major.)

Haruki Murakami - Photo: Wikipedia

Name: Eric Horvath

Age: 20

From: Long Island

Currently: Studying English and Economics at Fordham University

Favorite Memoir: “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” by Haruki Murakami

Why: “Murakami’s memoir about his preposterous streak of running marathons (something like one every year for over 25 years) and writing best-selling novels really spoke to me. When I read it (last fall) I was training for a 9 mile race of my own and just admitting to myself that I wanted to write for a living. His intertwining of the two, along with his translatable work-ethic, made his book all the more resonant.”

“Making Toast” by Roger Rosenblatt: A Must-Read Memoir

Photo: HarperCollins

Before I had even decided to write about memoir, my journalism professor mentioned a new memoir that she had heard great buzz about: Roger Rosenblatt’s “Making Toast.”

I requested it from my local library over spring break, my mom picked it up for me a week later and I brought it back to school with me last weekend when I went home for Easter. The book is now seriously overdue, but if the large fines end up getting me banned from my library, at least I picked a book that made it worthwhile.

“Making Toast” originally appeared in The New Yorker as an essay.

Interview with Marya Hornbacher: Author of the Pulitzer-Nominated Memoir, “Wasted” (Part 2)

Photo: Marya Hornbacher

No more babbling, I’m getting right to the good stuff. Here’s part of my interview with author Marya Hornbacher from this past Wednesday.

How do you define memoir?

Literary truth telling. Memoir is not autobiography. It’s about a specific period or thing in someone’s life. My life is not terribly interesting, but a couple of interesting things have happened to me.

Why did you write “Wasted?”

Interview with Marya Hornbacher: Author of the Pulitzer-Nominated Memoir, “Wasted” (Part 1)

Photo: Borders

Wednesday morning, I sat at my desk telling myself I wasn’t dreaming. I had the phone number of my favorite author, Marya Hornbacher, 36, dialed on my phone. All I needed to do was press “send.”

Almost ten minutes later I was still sitting there, still holding my phone. It was 10:17 am and we had agreed I would call her at 10:15. I panicked that Hornbacher would think I had forgotten her. I pushed “send” before another minute could pass.

I don’t particularly like talking on the phone, especially with people I do not know. I still throw a fit every time my mom asks me to call my grandma to tell her we’re running late.

10 Questions with Gotham Writers’ Workshop Participant Juliette Borda

Photo Illustrated and Provided by Juliette Borda

When I attended the free Gotham Writers’ Workshop almost two weeks ago, I sat next to a woman who caught my attention when she asked about writing a memoir for children. Juliette Borda, 42, an illustrator and Brooklyn resident, recently answered some questions for me about her views on memoir:

1. Define memoir.

One’s recounting of what they consider to be pivotal or transformative events in their lives; the story of the struggles that built their character. It’s the writer’s job to turn the random series of events in their life into a story and to find meaning in the events.

Modern Memoir: Are Blogs the New Memoirs?

Photo: Amazon

In my very first post, I mentioned that Marya Hornbacher‘s “Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia” is my favorite memoir and–although I still don’t believe it–she’s agreed to speak with me later this week.

What sets Hornbacher’s memoir apart from others I’ve read is her ability to share painful memories and raw details with her readers without appearing to over sensationalize them. “Wasted” was published in 1998, but even read in the post-James Frey world there is no doubt that Hornbacher is being honest in her writing.

Recently I’ve discovered a new world, a world that reminds me of Hornbacher’s. Mostly women (and a few men) with different psychological disorders and addictions are taking to blogging to aid in their recovery. Known as “recovery blogs,” people use these sites to write daily or every few days about the status of their recovery.

Memoir Bargain: Traig’s “Devil in the Details” for Cheap on Amazon

Photo: Amazon

A few posts ago, I wrote about Jennifer Traig’s memoir, “Devil in the Details,” that I bought at the Strand for $11.50.

As a gift to myself because—as my mom made sure to point out earlier this week—the Easter bunny doesn’t come to college kids, I’ve been skipping my law readings this past week to read Traig’s memoir. Not quite an even swap, but I’ve convinced myself that since it’s a memoir I can consider it research for my blog.

I’m about halfway through “Devil in the Details” and I can’t put it down. Traig’s scrupulosity, a psychological condition often known as a religious form of obsessive compulsive disorder, has the potential to be an upsetting and even off-putting topic (for those unaware of Jewish traditions); however, Traig’s ability to reflect on her own ridiculous actions with candid humor and sarcasm makes the book an entertaining read in addition to an accurate look at a life-consuming disorder.

If you’re interested in reading “Devil in the Details” (which I hope you are), I suggest taking advantage of Amazon’s current low price of $3.25.