01-12-2011, 11:25 AM | #1 |
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Autobiography Recommendations?
Hello! My boyfriend just got a Kindle 3, and after many years of not reading much, he's finally giving it a try again.
However, he is VERY picky, and the only books he's found enjoyable so far are autobiographies. I know he enjoyed Obama's book as well as Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography. He likes to read about people who have had less-than privileged upbringings and the interesting lives they have led before they became successful. He'd prefer autobiographies on living or recently deceased people, preferably male. No religious figures, please. I was wondering if I could get a few autobiography recommendations? Even if you don't think he would like them, I'd still love to hear your favorites, and I might put them on my own to-read list. Thank you so much for any and all help! |
01-12-2011, 01:01 PM | #2 |
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Life by Keith Richards was very good.
While I haven't yet read it, I heard that Open by Andre Agassi was good also. Last edited by edbro; 01-12-2011 at 01:04 PM. |
01-12-2011, 01:10 PM | #3 |
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Although not a recently living person, this could be the autobiography hit of the decade: Autobiography of Mark Twain: The Complete and Authoritative Edition, Volume 1. Twain is truly a rascal in all the positive senses of the word.
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01-12-2011, 06:48 PM | #4 |
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Good Auto-Bio
Just read American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson. Very interesting, especially the part about being a punk rocker and his descent into and recovery from alcoholism.
Last edited by RolandD; 01-12-2011 at 07:46 PM. Reason: Testing |
01-13-2011, 07:34 AM | #5 |
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Boy Racer by Mark Cavendish. I found it a very entertaining and insightful read. Of course it will help to have some interest in bicycle racing.
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01-13-2011, 07:39 AM | #6 | |
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Quote:
I am struggling with Life (that sounds weird I know). Turns out I dont actually care about some bloke that spent most of his life wasted, boring. Reminds me of my youth, bunch of people hanging around bragging about how hammered they got. |
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01-13-2011, 09:40 AM | #7 |
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Given that pretty much all modern "autobiographies" of famous people are ghost written, do you think that he might extend his selection to biographies? There are a lot more biographies around than autobiographies.
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01-13-2011, 10:35 AM | #8 | |
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If he is interested in sports, I can recommend the two books by Lance Armstrong, too. Than he can try "If I did it" by O. J. Simpson. And two from people who are already a long-time dead, but the books are very worth reading and you will find them in our library here at mobileread: Jack London: John Barleycorn Benjamin Franklin: Autobiographie On a more general line: HarryT is absolutely right with his remark about ghostwriting and recommendation to extend the choice to "normal" biographies. |
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01-13-2011, 11:21 AM | #9 |
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Thank you all so much for your suggestions, and all of these recommendations look like something he would at least give an honest chance. I am making a list for him to go through.
Also, I understand HarryT and Billi's comments about autobiographies - so yes, as long as the biographies have a "personal" feel to them, I think the bf would enjoy them just as much. The reason he wants (auto)biographies is because he feels like he's wasting his time reading about things that never happened (funny, I feel like video games are a huge waste of time, but he is obsessed with those). But he finds most non-fiction pretty dry, so he wants to curl up with a good story, and the only way he can fulfill both his desires is to read the stories that real people have to tell. Again, thank you all. |
01-13-2011, 11:42 AM | #10 |
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Autobiographies
I think I perhaps have a similar leaning toward biography, but for something light and unprofound with a bit of humour, but by no means a full biography, try Tony Hawks, "Round Ireland with a Fridge" or his more recent "A Piano in the Pyrenees".
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01-13-2011, 11:49 AM | #11 |
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I'd also recommend Bill Bryson's books. They are hysterically funny, and very interesting, too. They're mainly about his personal experiences in various countries.
EDIT: They are also all available in the Kindle store at pretty reasonable prices. Last edited by HarryT; 01-13-2011 at 11:59 AM. |
01-15-2011, 07:37 PM | #12 |
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I heavily recommend "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character. It's full of fun and interesting stories that actually happened to famous scientist Richard Feynman, and he has a really endearing way of telling them.
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01-15-2011, 07:40 PM | #13 | |
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Really, really interesting read. Not your average physicist I would guess. |
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01-16-2011, 03:34 PM | #14 |
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Thanks for this recommendation. I had a couple of other Feynman books, but didn't know about this one. I just finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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01-17-2011, 03:24 AM | #15 |
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Maybe Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" and/or "'Tis"? He certainly met the "people who have had less-than privileged upbringings" criterion.
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