This must be the first week I will publicly bash the book chat genre we are supposed to be celebrating, but I just have to be honest here.  And really, it's not bashing.  It's really more like my mini-memoir account of the memoir-reading struggles I have suffered from my entire life.

I've put some serious thought into our topic this week, and I've come up with a list of reasons I just cannot read memoirs.  Maybe you are like me and can relate, but if you are not like me, then maybe this will provide some insight to those of us with memoir-intolerance disorder. 

Reason #1

Are you still talking about yourself?  This question inevitably crosses my mind at some point in my memoir reading.  I know how delusional it is, trust me.  It doesn't matter how interesting or important the story they are telling is, it never fails that I grow old of hearing them talk about themselves.  
I guess when you boil it down, I tend to care more for fictional characters than real people.  Empathy for the win. 

Reason #2

People do amazing things.  People have been known to cut off their own arm in the name of survival.  Women cross giant deserts alone just days after a heroine binge and grow emotionally from it.  [Insert a million other epically amazing feats completed by human wonders of awesomeness]  
**eye roll** Yeah, sure, okay.

Reason #3

Hey kids, remember this guy?  Remember when Oprah was all liar-liar-pants-on-fire and he admitted to just fudging a bunch of that crazy emotional stuff in his book about addiction and all of us were GD devastated?  Yeah, well I read that book and I cried like a GD baby when "a certain person did something" and I guess I should have felt better that she didn't really do that....or exist at all.  So, now I'm ruined.  Fool me once...
Cut to this book about how the Cups of Tea guy is a big liar too.  Pants on fire!

Reason #4

Please stop whining.  I'm not proud to admit that, people, but it's true.  I can't listen to people complain about their lives.  I just can't.  Look, now I'm whining about it.

Reason #5

No one sparkles or rides on broomsticks and while people are pretty incredible at times, I still choose to hang out with the wizards and fancy vampires. 

But in all seriousness, I guess I just haven't really found a memoir I've loved.  I refuse to believe I'm just too skeptical to enjoy anyone's story.  I know there has to be one out there I can enjoy.

So now it's in your hands.  Help this poor soul.  Tell me what memoirs are worth reading, please!

Link up

The co-host this week is Daire of Doing it the Open Way.  You can follow her via Twitter or Bloglovin.  She blogs about life and books and art and goals.  She's pretty awesome.

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1. Please follow the host and co-host


Next week: Favorite Chick-lit