Monthly Memoir // February 2023
Posts for the month of February.
Notable Quit Lit Memoirs
I am feeling pretty darn good after Dry January. I wonder, after reading this article in The New York Times about how even a little alcohol is harmful, if I should keep on chugging into February (metaphorically speaking). Whether you’re gearing up for sobriety or simply in the mood for a good sobriety memoir, check out these stories about life after alcohol.
A Few of My All-Time Favs
Here’s a shortlist of a few of my favorite recent(ish) memoirs. If you like these too, we should probably be friends. Text me!
Memoir of the Month: Getting Lost
by Annie Ernaux
French writer Annie Ernaux recounts her affair with a Russian diplomat she met while on a writer’s junket to Moscow in the late 1980s. He is posted in Paris, and they continue to see each other when he comes to town for work. He is thirty-five and married. She is forty-eight and divorced.
Samantha Irby’s New Book: Quietly Hostile
Samantha Irby has a new book of essays coming out in May. Samantha also writes a newsletter called bitches gotta eat!, with a special section called who’s on judge mathis today?, a totally unnecessary analysis of the “greatest syndicated courtroom show of all time” (her words). She eschews capitalization, opting to write everything in lowercase. I guess she’s just busy churning out a bunch of writing because like she already said, bitches gotta eat. Read more about Samantha in last month’s post.
A Funny Essay on Writing
In case you missed it, check out Kimberly Harrington’s essay on McSweeney’s “If You Love To Write Just Wait Until You Try Not Writing.” Harrington also writes a great newsletter on Substack called Honey Stay Super.
The Coolest Book Review Website Ever
I discovered this book review aggregator, which gathers all of a book’s reviews into one place. Published by Lit Hub, the site pulls reviews from reputable sources across the internet and ranks them as Rave, Positive, Mixed or Pan (unfavorable).