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.

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.

Why Memoirs are Increasing in Popularity

Memoirs are not new, but they’ve recently become quite popular.

In Ben Yagoda‘s “Memoir: A History,” Yagoda writes:

“According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of U.S. book sales, total sales in the categories of Personal Memoirs, Childhood Memoirs, and Parental Memoirs increased more than 400 percent between 2004 and 2008.”

In an April 15, 2008 article, “Everybody has a story — but is it worth telling?” for CNN, Todd Leopold wrote:

Photo: Wikipedia

“Memoirs rose in popularity during the ’90s on the backs of such books as Frank McCourt’s “Angela’s Ashes.” Now they’re in such demand that, in 2007, more memoirs were accepted by publishers than debut novels, according to Michael Cader’s Publishers Lunch newsletter, reported USA Today.

Current memoirs in the top 10 of The New York Times’ hardcover list include Julie Andrews’ “Home,” David Sheff’s “Beautiful Boy,” Jose Canseco’s “Vindicated,” Tori Spelling’s “Stori Telling” and Valerie Bertinelli’s “Losing It.” The top two books on the Times’ paperback nonfiction list are also memoirs — Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin’s “Three Cups of Tea” and Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love.” Both have been on the Times list for more than a year.”

Since Leopold wrote that article, not much has changed. Almost two years later, “Eat, Pray, Love” is sitting at number 4 on the Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller list. The movie adaptation of the book, starring Julia Roberts and James Franco, is set to be released this summer.

So why now, more than ever, are memoirs so popular?