It's a beautiful Fall day here in North Carolina, a good day to meditate on a busy week. I want to thank all of you for reading and sharing my post from last week. Some new readers read my thoughts on the life of Corrie ten Boom, the Christian who suffered horrific persecution at the hands of the Nazis in the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. I even had the opportunity to share the post with a man who I met in Starbucks. He started talking to me and commented that I must be working very hard, but I told him that it wasn't actually work, but it was an interest of mine, my blog. I gave him my card with the web address of my blog and felt confident that he would read my posts sometime. Some of you shared my post with your friends or family members, and I want to thank you for that as well.Last night we had our annual Hispanic Heritage Night at our elementary school here in Durham. I can't even describe how much physical and mental work that it involved, but I had great people to work with and the event was a great success. I would guess that there were approximately 200 people present for our program and potluck meal. There was standing room only during the program, and the cafeteria was so crowded that many young people sat on the floor in the gym to eat their food. The children of our school sang songs such as "De Colores," "Bienvenidos," and "Somos el Barco" and shared information that they had learned about famous Latin Americans. There were displays of student work in the large hall as well. The projects that were shared were amazing this year and showed the great talent of our students and staff. I'm thankful that our event was a great success as we celebrated the heritage of many of the children in our school.
Now to proceed to something else that I love to talk about...books. I've been thinking about the memoirs that I've read over the years, some that are funny and some that are both funny and inspiring. Then there is the category of "memoirs that are very serious." Rhoda Janzen wrote two very funny memoirs about her life as a Christian and spiritual seeker. These books will probably make you laugh out loud. The first one that I read is entitled Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? As you can imagine, this book is hilarious as Janzen reflects on her church life, what others think of her, etc. As a church-goer myself, I have seen a lot of funny things happen in church as well, but I don't think I've had the kind of experiences that Janzen has had. Of course, it helps that she has the talent to make just about anything sound funny. Her other funny book is called Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.
Tina Fey wrote a well-known memoir called simply, Bossypants. She cannot help but be funny, so if you're looking for some laughs, this is a good one. Doris Roberts, the actress who played the mother on "Everybody Loves Raymond," has a fun memoir as well, Are You Hungry, Dear? Her book is full of funny anecdotes of things that happened behind the scenes during the production of the show. You also get a recipe at the end of every chapter. Another funny memoir that I enjoyed is Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. I read this book in 2009 and sent an email to the author when I finished it. The book is about the childhood of Kalish as she grew up on an Iowa farm during the depression. Her family was very poor and often neglected to be an emotional presence in the lives of their children, but Kalish made it through tough times. I was very excited when Kalish responded to my email immediately. At that time she was living in a retirement community in California. If you've never corresponded with an author that you admire, I recommend it because they might actually respond. This has happened to me before as well. Little Heathens has a lot of humor, but it's not strictly a funny memoir - it's more of an "inspiring" story that has funny aspects throughout it.
Here is a list of some of the other memoirs that I recommend.:
Angela Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man by Frank McCourt, the Irish immigrant.
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
My Life in France by Julia Child (she was pretty amazing!)
My Life in Orange by Tim Guest (it's about a boy who grew up in a cult)
How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill (excellent & interesting story!)
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Swimming Across by Andrew S. Grove (one of my favorites)
An Hour Before Daylight and Christmas in Plains by Jimmy Carter (must-reads)
What memoirs can you recommend? Why did you enjoy them? A penny for your thoughts...keep reading, and keep writing.
Melissa Hill
Book Blogger: www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Amazon used bookseller: MCH Seller
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