Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “memoirs”

05 Jun 2026
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Reader Roundup: May 2026


Not to sound boastful, but this month marks over 90 books read since January. That does sound like boasting, doesn’t it? My usual Goodreads goal is 101 books. I usually squeak over that goal but within days, not months.

I’m not sure how I’ve read so many books this year. Granted being retired is a factor. Then again, I’ve been retired going on four years and haven’t hit this number.

And I do more than read. Really. I write in the mornings, volunteer at the library, do some yard work, do even less housework. Maybe I will log how much time I actually do read. Then again why would I do that—scrutinizing something I enjoy would smush the joy.

Anyway—

Here are the five star reads for May:

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

When Helen Macdonald’s beloved father died unexpectedly, she dealt with her grief by withdrawing into the world of the goshawk. As an experienced falconer Helen Macdonald knew the challenge she was taking on. Her time with Mabel is a compelling memoir, as well as it is nature writing at its most stellar.

Bibliophile by Jane Mount

The book is aptly titled as it is a visual and textual feast for those who devour books about books.

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr

Set in 70s and 80 in a small Irish fishing village, readers follower the Bonnar family through the first-person plural narrator observations, which seemingly represents the village as an omniscient chorus. The descriptive passages, the ebb and flow of people’s lives create a unique tale, one that, even though it centers around fishing, is fascinating. Leastwise the audiobook version is, with the reader’s lilting style of relating the story.

The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers

A winner of the 2024 Newberry Award, it is one of those books that adults hope that children will read because it is a unique with its philosophical, amusing, clever, and thought provoking format. The illustrations add a creative dimension to the story.

Be sure to check out Ethan Hawke’s audiobook reading—it’s an extraordinary performance. A definite recommend for anyone, especially a family summer car trip.

I am looking forward to spending some time in the hammock reading from my growing TBR list. I am also looking forward to some consistent days of sun instead of this April hangover weather of five minutes of sun, four hours of gray, repeat. Let alone the 7-15 mph winds.

What are your summer reading plans? Are there titles/genres you are looking forward to checking out?

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15 May 2015
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Reading Challenge: #20–My Salinger Year


Joanna Rakoff has provided that rarity, a memoir that reads like a novel. She does admit she needed to fill in some gaps, which is totally understandable and quite forgivable. The point is that Ms. Rakoff allows her readers to peek behind the curtain where most plebeians are barred when it comes to the world of lit deals. We are given glimpses of when one of the old venerable literary agency’s began to roll out of the Stone Age of carbon copies and Dictaphones into the pacings of the WWW. This is the agency that represented J.D. Salinger. The title is both misleading and essential to understanding the book. Salinger plays his part in Rakoff’s memoir like he did in real life for so many: an enigma of reverberation. He left a lasting impression on Rakoff long after her encounters with him, and she is able to pass that enduring awe to her readers.

Front Cover

The following is a passage, which, for me, serves as the book’s metaphor. How so many freshly degreed lit majors hope to “make good” in NYC as an assistant  at a publishing house or agency and live beyond their means by believing in their facade, to almost succumb to disaster only to recover and continue in the momentum of living as a twenty-something.

 My shoe, with its narrow heel, caught on the thick carpet, and for a moment I thought–I knew, my heart beating faster–that I was going to trip and fall down that small flight of stairs, the world around me rotating, but then I simply laid my hand on the railing, steadied myself, and continued down. p.139

If you are looking at the reminiscent or retro view of the book world, a bit of Mad Men of the literary scene, then I urge you to find My Salinger Year. It’s a bit of The Devil Wears Prada peek of publishing. I wonder if Emily Blunt is busy for this one because I do see a film in the making. Heck, I could see Meryl Streep as an agency queen. Oh yeah–

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