What's your best and worst autobigraphy you have read?

[Bago]

I've read the Richard Branson book as well. It is really good. I remember not putting it down cos it was so gripping. I think I read it non-stop til I finished. I think this has to be the best one so far.

 

Wild Swan was pretty good as well. It's a lot of information to digest. I think I find it hard going at times trying to remember who was who.

 

Monica Seles was okay. Readable. Not so much variety when thinking about it.

 

Trying to try Katie Adie's "The kindness of strangers". Picked this up at a train station, and only managed to read the first few chapters. Will try and finish this off. It looks promising though.

 

Jackie Chan's "My life in action". This is sooo hard going. I can't get into grip with his style of writing. It doesn't feel like his book at all, maybe cos I always associate his style in chinese. It feels a tad padded and fake, but his life story should be quite amazing. Can't get past the first few chapters and left it since.

 

Other biographies, like Diana, and Elizabeth Taylor, I've yet to finish as well. A little bit too long-winded.

[StarSparkle]

not read but i am trying...........very very slowly to write one actually

about my life in the sheffield punk, club, hippy scenes of the mid 80s - early 90s

 

it does feature the requisite violence, drink, drugs, death, gigs, pubs, clubs and sex

as well of lots and lots of music

 

I'm very much looking forward to reading it, Mel

 

Hurry up and write it!

 

StarSparkle

[John Locke]

Good: John Peel's 'Margrave of the Marshes' (although he died part way through writing it, the remainder of the book was completed by his wife).

 

Also, not quite autobiography - but the collected letters of Hunter S Thompson are worth checking out.

 

And: Chronicles vol 1 by Bob Dylan - cracking good book.

[Shiesh]

What is the title of Ricky Tomlinsons book, Shiesh ? Id like to get it.

 

 

It's just simply called 'Ricky' by Ricky Tomlinson

 

Quite a read - you will certainly be moved by his modesty and his guts for what is right and what is wrong!!

 

[Bolero]

Classic interview with the supposedly 'intelligent' Chris Eubank:-

 

Interviewer: Chris, now you've retired, would you consider writing an autobiography?

 

Eubank: On what?

[Sierra]

The worst? Zsa Zsa Gabor. I knew it was 90% fabrication, but couldn't help myself, I had to finish it. Elizabeth Taylor's was also bad.

 

Best: The Lives of John Lennon, Michael J Fox, Doris Roberts, Shelley Winters.

 

Sierra

[Chris_Sleeps]

Bob Dylan - what a boring boring book.

Its unconventional, but i wouldn't call it boring.

[Plain Talker]

I'm halfway through Peter Kay's. Its not bad, but not as good as I expected. I'm gutted because the day after I bought it (from WHSmith) - they had an offer on for top hard-back books 1/2 price!

 

I too have read "a boy called it!" its brilliant.

 

My favourite all time book was "Flowers in the Attic" - can't remember the author (got a memory like a sieve) = read it in about 2 days and couldn't put it down...............................Oh, I think it was Virginia Andrews, that rings a bell:loopy:

 

I read all three of the three books in Pelzer's autobiograpies, and yes, I found them very moving, too.

 

The Virginia Andrews "book(s)" I read, ooh, twenty-some years ago:- I recently revisited one of them to confirm if they were as dreadful as I remembered. ......they were. her "books" (And the "books" produced by the Ghostwriting team, in recent years, since her death) are all as dire as each other. They are too formulaic, like "Writing-by-numbers" and too "samey" :-

 

1) "people" the plot with badly-treated/ poverty-stricken children,

 

2) orphan them within the first two chapters

 

3) add a setting in "deep-south of the US"

 

4) sprinkle a little incest in for the salacious reader...

 

5) end the "story" with what the reader thinks will be a happy ending, but then twist it, and turn it on its head, into a tragedy.

 

Bringing myself back on track, seeing as we were actually discussing "Autobiographies"

 

I reallly enjoy reading autobiog's:

 

One of the latest I have read was Alan Bennetts "Untold Stories". a very weighty tome, but except for the diary bit, part-way through the book, which didn't impress me, (I think, mainly cos it wasn't written in a very "Benett-y" style) was moved to tears, and to laughter. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

I have read both parts of Billy Connolly's biography, "Billy" and "Bravemouth" which, technically speaking aren't AUTO biog's, as his wife , Pamela Stevenson wrote most of them, with contributions from billy. they were an excellent read.

 

I loved "The Two Of Us", by Sheila Hancock, which was a joint-autobiog'/ biog', relating the lives of both herself and her husband, the magnificent actor, the late John Thaw.

 

Martin Kemp's book, I didn't think a deal to... I loved Georgie best, and enjoyed reading his biog', and David Essex's book "this charmed life" (I think) was interesting.

 

on my bedside table, currently, are:- a biog' of the Sitwell family (from Renishaw) which features Dame Edith, Sir Reresby, and Sacheverell Sitwell, which I have been dipping in and out of, (like the Alan Bennet book, it's a bit meaty...

 

and Richard E Grant's Autobiog', "Withnails". Again, I have only read a couple of chapters, so far.

[swarm]

Rot Shaw's was good as was Geoff Thompson's.

Worst was Rusty Lee's called 'everyone loves a patty'

[FallenAngel6]

Not really read any, i wanted Michael Shanks, Paul Gross and Callum Keith Rennie to bring one out but i dont think they have. Wouldnt mind reading Ewan Magregors.

 

I've read Dave Pelzers books and one called the Little Prisoner both are really really good.

 

From Fallen