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25.4 - Sandy/Kristi's task: All About the Author

If you're taking part in the SRC, it's probably safe to say that reading is important to you. For this task, let's find out more about the people who make this pleasant pastime possible--the authors.

For Book A - Read a biography, autobiography, or memoir of an author.

For Book B - Read a book or collection of works (plays, poetry, newspaper articles, etc.) written by the author that is the focus of book A. Book B may NOT be a second memoir.

Examples:
On Writing by Stephen King AND one of his novels
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami AND one of his novels
Memoirs by Tennessee Williams and a collection of his plays, such as A Streetcar Named Desire and Other Plays
Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office : A Memoir by Jen Lancaster AND her only novel, If You Were Here
Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields AND To Kill a Mockingbird

More examples that work:
Paris in Love: A Memoir by Eloisa James and one of her novels
Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus: The Official Story of the Bestselling Author and His Ruthless Detective and a novel by Ian Rankin
The Lives of Danielle Steel: The Unauthorized Biography of America's #1 Best-Selling Author and a novel by Danielle Steel
The Tennis Partner OR My Own Country: A Doctor's Story by Abraham Verghese AND Cutting for Stone
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life and Shopgirl by Steve Martin
The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury and one of his novels
My Brother, Ernest Hemingway OR A Moveable Feast OR Papa Hemingway AND a Hemingway novel
My Life in France by Julia Child AND The Way to Cook
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years Of Mysteries In The Making Includes Two Unpublished Poirot Stories AND an Agatha Christie novel
The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington and The Collected Short Stories by Roald Dahl
The Master by Colm Tóibín and a book by Henry James

These pairings will NOT work:
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream -- both autobiographical

This thread is open!

ohhh goodie - I like this one

just checking - Paris in Love: A Memoir - Eloisa James and then one of her books works

I like this, too! I might need to dig, but I don't mind that :D

Dee wrote: "ohhh goodie - I like this one

just checking - Paris in Love: A Memoir - Eloisa James and then one of her books works"

Yes, that works. It's at the top of my list of possibilities, too. ;-)

i'm so glad you are doing this task Kristi ;)

so would these work
book a -Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel
book b- Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons

If anyone needs any suggestions, here are some memoirs with a lot of works from the author to choose from for Book B:

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Log from the Sea of Cortez or Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Night by Elie Wiesel
Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

Very unique task you two. Thanks.

What about

Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus: The Official Story of the Bestselling Author and His Ruthless Detective

AND

The Naming Of The Dead

___________________

Or

The Lives of Danielle Steel: The Unauthorized Biography of America's #1 Best-Selling Author

and any of her 100's of novels.

don't you mean 1000's ;)

Sheila wrote: "Very unique task you two. Thanks.

What about

Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus: The Official Story of the Bestselling Author and His Ruthless Detective

AND

The Naming Of The Dead

______________..."

Yes, but that would have sounded too catty Dee. As if I were making fun of her books that are so formulaic. Sometimes I just need to escape into one of her books.

also checking on book a My Life With Charlie Brown and book b Peanuts Treasury

but we would never make fun of her books...lol! The first stuff I ever learnt about the Vietnam War was in reading Letters from Nam because it isn't taught in australia

Or if you are as old as I am Dee you REMEMBER the Viet Nam War. ha

How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich with one of her many books?

lol...(holding tongue, so as not to get in trouble :) )

How about this one:

The Tennis Partner or My Own Country: A Doctor's Story by Abraham Verghese and Cutting for Stone.

Mmmm...tough task for me...I will have to look more into trying to get a hold on some of these.

I'll probably do Louisa May Alcott and read Little Women.

How about-

Laura Ingalls Wilder
Shel Silverstein
Judy Blume: A Biography

Here are several more options for Book 1 with multiple books for each for Book 2:

The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Yeats's Ghosts: The Secret Life of W.B. Yeats
My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende
Mother Ireland: A Memoir by Edna O'Brien

Would these work?
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy
and
Speaker for the Dead

Thanks

Hi - I just want to make sure that these will work:

Book A - In this book Allende is writing to her daughter who is in a coma about her life (allende's life), her childhood, and relatives. it's a memoir.

Book B -

So, does the person's primary occupation have to be as an author? I'm thinking, for example,

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama...the first is a memoir, the second is a book he wrote that is not a memoir.

A number of public figures have written books, and have been written about, even though their primary occupation and the subject of their book(s) is not the writing process.

JennRenee wrote: "so would these work
book a -Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel
book b- Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons"

JennRenee wrote: "also checking on book a My Life With Charlie Brown and book b Peanuts Treasury"

The biography of Dr. Seuss and the autobiographical essays of Charles Schulz are fine. However, as per the Challenge rules, collections of syndicated comic strips or panels must be aggregated to at least 500 pages. So you would need to find and read at least 500 pages of Dr. Seuss's editorial cartoons or 500 pages of Peanuts comic strips.

Sheila wrote: "
Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus: The Official Story of the Bestselling Author and His Ruthless Detective

AND

The Naming Of The Dead

______________...

Or

The Lives of Danielle Steel: The Unauthorized Biography of America's #1 Best-Selling Author

and any of her 100's of novels.
"

Either one of those pairings would work, Sheila.

Sassafrass wrote: "How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich with one of her many books?"

Absolutely.

Thanks Kristi.

Sassafrass wrote: "How about this one:

The Tennis Partner or My Own Country: A Doctor's Story by Abraham Verghese and Cutting for Stone."

Yes, either of Verghese's memoirs paired with Cutting for Stone would work.

Jayme VA wrote: "I'll probably do Louisa May Alcott and read Little Women."

That certainly works.

Fran wrote: "How about-

Laura Ingalls Wilder
Shel Silverstein
Judy Blume: A Biography"

The biographies work for Book A, but be aware of the general challenge page rules for reading children's books for Book B.

These two sound better than my previous choice:



The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume I: 1889-1910

and Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Kara wrote: "If anyone needs any suggestions, here are some memoirs with a lot of works from the author to choose from for Book B:

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Animal, Vegetable, Mi..."

Some good choices in here. Thanks!

Kathy G. wrote: "Would these work?
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy
and
Speaker for the Dead"

They certainly do.

Randi wrote: "Here are several more options for Book 1 with multiple books for each for Book 2:

The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Yeats's Ghosts: The Secret Life of W.B. Yeats
My Inven..."

Great list! Thanks.

Mariya wrote: "Hi - I just want to make sure that these will work:

Book A - In this book Allende is writing to her daughter who is in a coma about her life (allende's life), her childhood, and..."

Yes, that pairing will work.

Peebee wrote: "So, does the person's primary occupation have to be as an author? I'm thinking, for example,

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaimin..."

The person does not need to be primarily a writer, no. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin and one of his novels, such as Shopgirl, would work, for example.

However, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream is still autobiographical. Even the GRs description says it is "refreshingly candid about his family life and his time in the Senate". So pairing it with Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, which is also autobiographical, will not work.

Wondering about The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses ?

Kate wrote: "Wondering about The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses ?"

Yes, that pairing works. Half Broke Horses is characterized as a novel.

How about Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life and Shopgirl by Steve Martin? He's funny...

Sara � wrote: "How about Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life and Shopgirl by Steve Martin? He's funny..."

As a matter of fact, I just added that pairing as a suggestion. ;-)

Love it!

Kristi-
I think you wrongly okayed my Orson Scott Card books.
I looked at the first one, compared it to
the Stephen King books in your example, and mine isn't
a biography--- it's more a "How To" book.

Thank you anyway-

My L. M. Montgomery choices work though---
I think---
In Post 34?

Just checking,
Thanks

Oh no! This task sounds so fun and I just read the last author biography I have on hand for the spring challenge!

Kathy G. wrote: "Kristi-
I think you wrongly okayed my Orson Scott Card books.
I looked at the first one, compared it to
the Stephen King books in your example, and mine isn't
a biography--- it's more a "How To" bo..."

Sorry I skipped over post 34. I think we were posting at the same time. ;-)

The L.M. Montgomery choices absolutely work.

Thank you so much!

. There's a new memoir out by Anna Quindlen who has published books and collections of newspaper articles. Would that be OK?

What about Zen in the Art of Writing and another Bradbury book? Thanks!