Literary Biography & Memoir Nominations • September 2014 - Page 2

Bookworm_Girl · 09-02-2014, 01:27 PM

The category is biography and memoirs. The subject can be anyone - a politician, an artist, a doctor, an author, or an ordinary person who had lived an extraordinary life. The work itself should be considered literature.

Bookworm_Girl · 09-02-2014, 01:33 PM

Tough choices! I will fourth The Story of San Michele.

ccowie · 09-02-2014, 01:41 PM

I'd like to nominate The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

From Goodreads:
In 1941, a brilliant, good-looking young man decided to give up a promising literary career in New York to enter a monastery in Kentucky, from where he proceeded to become one of the most influential writers of this century. Talk about losing your life in order to find it. Thomas Merton's 1st book, The Seven Storey Mountain, describes his early doubts, his conversion to a Catholic faith of extreme certainty, & his decision to take life vows as a Trappist. Altho his conversionary piety sometimes falls into sticky-sweet abstractions, Merton's autobiographical reflections are mostly wise, humble & concrete. The best reason to read The Seven Storey Mountain, however, may be the one Merton provided in his introduction to its Japanese translation: "I seek to speak to you, in some way, as your own self. Who can tell what this may mean? I myself do not know, but if you listen, things will be said that are perhaps not written in this book. And this will be due not to me but to the One who lives & speaks in both."--Michael Joseph Gross

issybird · 09-02-2014, 02:57 PM

Second The Seven-Storey Mountain.

sun surfer · 09-02-2014, 05:22 PM

I fourth The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham.

ETA: I also second Waiting for Snow in Havana.

fantasyfan · 09-02-2014, 05:36 PM

I'll third The Seven Storey Mountain.

ccowie · 09-02-2014, 06:05 PM

I'll second Erasmus and the age of Reformation

ccowie · 09-03-2014, 08:28 AM

And I'll third Waiting for Snow in Havana. It took a while for me to read up on all the nominations so far. Wow, what a fabulous list we have building!

desertblues · 09-03-2014, 08:54 AM

I'll fourth Waiting for snow in Havanna

Bookworm_Girl · 09-04-2014, 12:43 AM

Decisions, decisions, decisions... I had a really hard time making up my mind because all of the choices are so good.

I will fourth The Seven Storey Mountain. And now I'm out of votes!

sun surfer · 09-04-2014, 05:17 PM

I'll use my final vote to to push Charles Dickens over the edge. About a half day left for nominations!

issybird · 09-04-2014, 06:38 PM

Of the seven nominations, I own three as ebooks and two as pbooks, and have borrowed the remaining two from OverDrive just in case. So I'm all set.

Hampshire Nanny · 09-04-2014, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Of the seven nominations, I own three as ebooks and two as pbooks, and have borrowed the remaining two from OverDrive just in case. So I'm all set.

Bookpossum · 09-04-2014, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Of the seven nominations, I own three as ebooks and two as pbooks, and have borrowed the remaining two from OverDrive just in case. So I'm all set.

Now you just need the time to read them!

I'm having problems locating Waiting for Snow in Havana and I can't find a copy of Erasmus and the Age of Reformation anywhere, so it doesn't make sense for me to give it a vote - sorry desertblues. Otherwise my library is able to help me out.

Bookworm_Girl · 09-05-2014, 01:29 AM

Waiting for Snow in Havana is in ePub format at Angus & Robertson and in paperback at Booktopia. Here's a link.
http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/ebo.../9781471108358

Is Erasmus and the Age of Reformation public domain in Australia? Wikipedia says that it was published in 1924 and the author died in 1945. You would have to check Australian copyright laws.

Hope that helps!

09-02-2014, 05:22 PM	#20
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44667380 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I fourth The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham. ETA: I also second Waiting for Snow in Havana. Last edited by sun surfer; 09-02-2014 at 05:40 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
MobileRead September 2014 Book Club Nominations	WT Sharpe	Book Clubs	64	08-23-2014 04:01 PM
Literary Biographies & Memoirs Nominations • September 2013	sun surfer	Book Clubs	43	09-08-2013 01:59 PM
MobileRead September 2013's Category Nominations.	WT Sharpe	Book Clubs	70	02-23-2013 05:17 PM
Literary Contemporary Nominations • September 2012	sun surfer	Book Clubs	18	09-04-2012 06:39 AM
MobileRead September 09 Book Club Nominations	pilotbob	Book Clubs	47	09-01-2009 07:25 PM

09-02-2014, 01:27 PM	#16
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	The category is biography and memoirs. The subject can be anyone - a politician, an artist, a doctor, an author, or an ordinary person who had lived an extraordinary life. The work itself should be considered literature.

09-02-2014, 01:33 PM	#17
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Tough choices! I will fourth The Story of San Michele.

09-02-2014, 01:41 PM	#18
ccowie Hiding with an ereader Posts: 391 Karma: 3987376 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kitchener Ontario Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350	I'd like to nominate The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton From Goodreads: In 1941, a brilliant, good-looking young man decided to give up a promising literary career in New York to enter a monastery in Kentucky, from where he proceeded to become one of the most influential writers of this century. Talk about losing your life in order to find it. Thomas Merton's 1st book, The Seven Storey Mountain, describes his early doubts, his conversion to a Catholic faith of extreme certainty, & his decision to take life vows as a Trappist. Altho his conversionary piety sometimes falls into sticky-sweet abstractions, Merton's autobiographical reflections are mostly wise, humble & concrete. The best reason to read The Seven Storey Mountain, however, may be the one Merton provided in his introduction to its Japanese translation: "I seek to speak to you, in some way, as your own self. Who can tell what this may mean? I myself do not know, but if you listen, things will be said that are perhaps not written in this book. And this will be due not to me but to the One who lives & speaks in both."--Michael Joseph Gross

09-02-2014, 02:57 PM	#19
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,357 Karma: 223034386 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Second The Seven-Storey Mountain.

09-02-2014, 05:36 PM	#21
fantasyfan Wizard Posts: 1,371 Karma: 26915798 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE	I'll third The Seven Storey Mountain.

09-02-2014, 06:05 PM	#22
ccowie Hiding with an ereader Posts: 391 Karma: 3987376 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kitchener Ontario Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350	I'll second Erasmus and the age of Reformation

09-03-2014, 08:28 AM	#23
ccowie Hiding with an ereader Posts: 391 Karma: 3987376 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kitchener Ontario Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350	And I'll third Waiting for Snow in Havana. It took a while for me to read up on all the nominations so far. Wow, what a fabulous list we have building!

09-03-2014, 08:54 AM	#24
desertblues Home for the moment Posts: 5,127 Karma: 27718936 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: travelling Device: various	I'll fourth Waiting for snow in Havanna

09-04-2014, 12:43 AM	#25
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Decisions, decisions, decisions... I had a really hard time making up my mind because all of the choices are so good. I will fourth The Seven Storey Mountain. And now I'm out of votes!

09-04-2014, 05:17 PM	#26
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44667380 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I'll use my final vote to to push Charles Dickens over the edge. About a half day left for nominations!

Advert

Advert

09-04-2014, 06:38 PM	#27
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,357 Karma: 223034386 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Of the seven nominations, I own three as ebooks and two as pbooks, and have borrowed the remaining two from OverDrive just in case. So I'm all set.

09-05-2014, 01:29 AM	#30
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Waiting for Snow in Havana is in ePub format at Angus & Robertson and in paperback at Booktopia. Here's a link. http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/ebo.../9781471108358 Is Erasmus and the Age of Reformation public domain in Australia? Wikipedia says that it was published in 1924 and the author died in 1945. You would have to check Australian copyright laws. Hope that helps!