With a reading goal of 24 books in 2016, I was surprised to see that I actually read (or listened to) 34 books. These are the ones that I recommend, in no particular order.
Since one of my goals is to finish my memoir this year, I’d have to say that Why We Write About Ourselves is a “must read” for anyone thinking about telling her story. For added inspiration The Magic of Memoir will appear on my 2017 list.
The rest of the books above I read for entertainment and gave each one a five star rating. Yes, I see that my favorites are not memoirs. I enjoy those too and I did give several of them a five star rating on Goodreads. So the question beckons – if I am so into fiction, why the heck am I trying to write a memoir? Bottom line, truth may be stranger than fiction but fiction might be a necessary distraction in dealing with truth.
Which aisle of the bookstore are you drawn to?
WittBits 
Fiction that reads kind of like memoir and memoir that reads kind of like fiction are my favorites! And “All the Light” might be my favorite book ever. And I just read “Small Great Things” and was blown away and enlightened. I also read “Loving Eleanor” recently and I read and loved “The Nightingale” a while ago. What is the first one? The cover is familiar, but I can’t read the title when I enlarge the screen. I will look for the memoir books. Thank you! Happy reading. And writing. I’ll be watching. My goal is to finish a decent draft of my memoir in 2017. “Write like heaven,” my mentor says.
Oh, it’s “Why We Write About Ourselves”! I just put it on my library hold list.
I see you figured out the first book. It will be a wonderful addition to your writing incentive. Not a surprise that we both like the same kind of books. I’ll be watching your progress as well!
Thanks! I just ordered the “Why We Write About Ourselves” book.
Great – I’m sure you will enjoy the book. Nice to know I actually posted something useful 🙂
I love seeing what books other writers enjoy. Thank you for sharing yours. I’m going to read Why We Write About Ourselves for sure and agree with an earlier comment: All the Light We Cannot See is on my list of top twenty books I’ve read.