Senior Book Break
October 10, 2023
Subject: Memoirs
Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry
Mr. McMurtry was born in 1936 and grew up without books until a cousin gave him his ‘library’ of 19 books when he enlisted in the military. He began buying books to read and went on to owning a bookshop in Washington DC for 30+ years. He moved back to Texas and started writing fives pages a day, then 10. He has written 40+ books, many which have been made into movies. If you haven’t read any of his books, I am sure you have seen them on television.
Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
This book is about Lily, born in 1901, the mother of the wayward mother in the book “Glass Castle.” She was a ranch girl of West Texas who taught school at age 15, and managed to finish college. She had two kids, married twice, learned to fly, ran a ranch, and had an indomitable spirit. This is the story of that spirit.
As Time Goes By by Richard Roberts
A self-published 3 volume story of a man’s life, which he wrote and published for his children. Very Limited publication.
All The Beauty in The World by Patrick Bringley
A portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art written by a former staffer who was a museum guard. What he learned by listening to other guards and guests gave him a way of feeling and experiencing that art that went beyond looking at it. He learned to experience what the artist was trying to tell the world and appreciate it.
Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson
An assistant to Mark Meadows the last year of the Trump presidency, she experienced up close what we only saw through various reporters’ lenses. It was a roller coaster ride that changed her life. She testified in the trial against Trump.
Loving Grief by Paul Bennett
A book given to our reader upon the death of his wife that gave him much solace.
Calypso by David Sedaris
Humorous vignettes of the life of a man who is not shy about sharing his human frailties.
Memories of the Russian Court by Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova
Published in 1923, a short time after the murder of the family of Nicholas II, Czar of All Russia’s, whom she called The Emperor, Anna was a confidant of Empress Alexandra, though not of royal blood. Royalty looked down on her. She gives an idea of how distant the royal family was from the “little people.” It was a tragic time for Russia and the world. The heir to the throne was hemophilic and it was a hidden fact because Alexandra was already known as “that German.” She was also the source of the hemophilia. One wondered why Anna survived, she was not royalty and not considered a threat.
—Fran Strauser