Memoirs You Won't Be Able to Put Down

Although some people wait all year to finally delve into a 900-page novel at the beginning of summer, there's nothing like reading a good memoir on a warm day. Perhaps it's getting totally lost in someone's real life that makes the hours fly by.

Finding a great memoir at bookstores, however, can be a bit overwhelming. For one, "Biography' sections include both biography and autobiographies - the latter being "memoirs", An often-mentioned, and probably true, argument is that a biography is a truer account of someone's life. But even if a memoir isn't always as fact-based, when it comes down to it, the memoir really reveals what life was like and how that person felt, in their own words.

It often takes a bold personality to write a good memoir. The best memoirs come from someone who takes responsibility for their own actions, admits when they behaved less than admirably and see clearly their positive traits and their faults. If someone tries to gloss over the rough parts of life, the scandals and heartaches, a memoir fails.

The memoirs on this list are far from failures. What's interesting is they probably don't tell every single detail of the person's life; however, you come away feeling as though you know them intimately. Each of these memoirs made an impact on me, and I recommend them all equally.

If you like... romance.

READ: Lauren Bacall By Myself (Lauren Bacall)

WHY: First published in the 1970s, Bacall recalls her life from childhood through her mid-50s. Her account of her teenage years in New York is interesting, but nothing compares to the description of her romance and subsequent marriage to Humphrey Bogart. They really lived a Hollywood romance. Plus, her descriptions of actors, producers, writers and composers are fascinating - it's a 1940s and 50s who's who list. I believe an updated version, "By Myself and Then Some" was recently published.

Other choices in the "old-Hollywood" genre: "The Other Side of Me" by Sidney Sheldon and "The Other Side of Oz" by Buddy Ebsen.

If you like... humor.

READ: One More Time (Carol Burnett)

WHY: Her hilarious memories of growing up in Hollywood will have you laughing aloud. She manages to write about her family in a way that is equally funny, tragic and endearing. It's somewhat refreshing to read about how Burnett, with so much talent, really worked and struggled to achieve her career. It's not an "overnight success" story (though she did run into some good luck... I still wonder who the anonymous money-loan was - read it, you'll know what I mean!)

If you like... literature.

READ: A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway)

WHY: Written just before his death (and apparently still in progress), "Feast" covers a very short period in Hemingway's life, when he lived in Paris during the 1920s with his first wife, Hadley, and their infant son. Each chapter is a different anecdote, usually involving other literary figures, such as Gertrude Stein or T.S. Eliot, as well as several chapters devoted to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Any writer will be intrigued reading about Hemingway's writing processes. Hemingway's memoirs are funny, often biting and surprisingly touching. This was Hemingway before Key West, before the numerous car crashes, before he had money. I was sad for it to end.

If you like... American history.

READ: Having Our Day: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (Elizabeth and Sarah Delany)

WHY: The Delany sisters take turns telling stories about their lives, and their different personalities shine through. You'll feel as though you get to know each of them - quiet, thoughtful Sadie and fiesty, outgoing Bessie. A word that describes both women: gutsy. Born in the late 1800s, they benefited from education (their father was a former slaves whose "owners" taught him to read) and became the first black women home ec teacher in New York (Sadie) and the second black woman dentist in New York (Bessie). They also found time to hang out with some of the most influential black historical figures of their day.

If you like... coming-of-age.

READ: My Own Two Feet (Beverly Cleary)

WHY: This is actually a second memoir; her first, "A Girl from Yamhill", I admit I never read. Apparently it's about her childhood through her last year in high school and I remember thinking, even as a kid, "What about the good stuff?" "My Own Two Feet", rather, is about the "good stuff" - college, jobs, marriage and the beginning of Cleary's writing career. I loved this memoir when I was a kid, and I recently reread it (curiosity as to why I remembered it so fondly) and found Cleary's recollections just as fascinating. Also interesting are the historical and regional aspects of 1930s and 1940s California - coming from Oregon, Cleary did not know what a "patio" was, had never tasted avocado and was transfixed by the warm weather - as well as details about life during WWII.

Try one of these memoirs or take an afternoon to browse the bookstore. It's fun to get lost in someone else's problems!