I loved Incidents in the life of a slave girl written by herself by Harriet Jacobs

You aren’t doing anything wrong - it’s simply a genre that you do not enjoy. Please don’t think negatively about yourself for it. If you wish to try again, I would try to find another connection. If you like sports, get a biography about an athlete and try to think of it as a sports book instead of memoir. It may be your internal labeling. Or try a pair. I have had fun reading books by different people on the same event. You also don’t HAVE to try again. If you need to force yourself to read something it feels like school/work. Choose something you enjoy instead.

I’ve read I’m Glad My Mother Died and Educated via audiobook, both of which were read by the author. I think that this method can sometimes help you connect, since you can hear the emotion in the speaker’s words. Maybe give audiobooks a try!

That said, memoirs and biographies are certainly not everyone’s cup of tea - I tend to avoid them unless it’s a person I am particularly interested in (or, in the case of McCurdy’s and Westover’s books, my spouse highly suggested them).

Finally, you picked pretty heavy memoirs, focused on traumatic childhoods and complex, abusive relationships with the authors’ parents. Perhaps a more lighthearted memoir of a comedian may be a good place to start. Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Mindy Kaling all have memoirs that are generally well-reviewed (I haven’t read any of them in a while though).

At the end of the day, contrary to popular opinion, memoirs are kind of a niche thing to enjoy. They’re super popular because of celebrity culture and the fact that they’re relatively easy to write and sell. If you don’t like them, don’t force it! Life is too short.

Edit: Michelle Obama’s memoirs are amazing as well!

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Memoirs often have the effect of reading like a novel, because it’s someone telling the story of their life, except they’re not tidy and satisfying like a novel because nobody’s life is tidy and satisfying with all the loose ends and plot points neatly tied up at the end. A bunch of stuff happens, and there’s no real underlying plot. Might this be your issue?

That said, one of the most entertaining memoirs I’ve read is Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx. There’s a remarkable amount of real history in there, related by a guy who lived it, from the Vaudeville era to early Hollywood to the stock market crash of ‘29 to the Algonquin Round Table.

I really only enjoy a certain kind of memoir: it has to be by a person who was in some kind of extraordinary situation and the book has to focus mostly on that particular situation, not their life as a whole. And then, of course, it should be beautifully written, thoughtful, reflective, etc.

Last year, my top favorite book was a memoir: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, about her experience in an abusive relationship. I've also loved When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi, a neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

When I've tried to read memoirs that fall outside this formula, no matter how interesting the person's life seems or how much I might like them as a celebrity figure, I end up feeling bored or like the story is too meandering.

Personally, I only read biographies about or by people I'm interested in. For instance, I've read Who on Earth is Tom Baker? and A Life With Footnotes(about Terry Pratchett), both of which were interesting.

I think unless you generally read and / or enjoy memoirs and biographies, two main factors necessary.

1. You have to be interested in the person or at least one important event / time in their life that is guaranteed to be mentioned in the book.

2. You could technically so enjoy a book about somebody you do not know anything about, but then they must have (had) either a very interesting life or the book is written in an especially captivating way.

You’re doing nothing wrong. Read what you enjoy.

Memoirs, like any other genre, have examples I like, and others I don't. A lot of memoirs are plagued by a lack of self-awareness, or attempts by the writer to present themselves exclusively in a positive light. Of the books you read, I only read "Educated", and I know Westover was criticized by family members. I'm not a fan of celebrity memoirs (or most political memoirs, for that matter), as they tend to be self-serving and narcissistic. I can't imagine ever reading Jennette McCurdy or Tom Felton's. One exception from a celebrity was Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime", but he had a genuinely interesting life, and he's funny. Other memoirs I enjoyed in no particular order ... Lit, by Mary Karr; Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir, by Natasha Trethewey; and Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren. Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass is a mix of memoir and nature writing, and is one of the best books I"ve read in years.

There are a lot of excellent biographies. Ron Chernow has written a few excellent ones about important people in US history. "Hamilton" is perhaps his most famous. David McCullough wrote an excellent biography of John Adams. Walter Isaacson's biographies are uniformly excellent. His biographies of Leonardo Da Vinci and Einstein ware particularly good.

I think if you read memoirs about people you like/are interested in, you will find them more enjoyable

Hi there. Per rule 3.3, please post book recommendation requests in /r/SuggestMeABook or in our Weekly Recommendation Thread. Thank you!