RichardScarry

Help!

I need recommendations for biographies/autobiographies which are good on audio, short (ideally under 8 hours. Shorter=better), not celebrities, quite light-hearted or up-beat & (VERY importantly) not a total miseryfest.

The lady asking is in her 90s, and we are really struggling to find her anything to read! I am Malala went quite well. I would totally go with Born a Crime if I could get it on cd… I am stumped!

Thanks in advance.

JamieArc Frances Mayes has a newer one that is 8 hours and not a misery fest. More memoir of places she has lived than autobiography.

A Place in the World: Finding the Meaning of Home

rockpools @JamieArc That absolutely could work. We‘ll try it. Thank you! 2y

Itchyfeetreader I M not a great audio book person but coming in on audible at under 6 hours there is a Roal Dahl book at 5 hours called Going Solo which sounds intriguing and potentially of interest to someone in that age bracket. Celeb but also of potential interest might be Dick Van Dykes ‘keep Moving‘. One of my issues with audio is that they are so long! 2y

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Megabooks So I was looking through memoirs I‘ve read this year, and not sure if either of these would be appropriate but both are under 6 hours and not bleak.

Oh My Mother!: A Memoir in Nine Adventures

Megabooks And

Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater

Megabooks Tagging fellow memoir queen @Chelsea.Poole 👸 2y

sblbooks How about

Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading

BkClubCare Twain‘s Feast narrated by Nick Offerman was really interesting. 2y

BarbaraJean My caveat is that I don't know how any of these are on audio! But I think @Itchyfeetreader has a good suggestion with Roald Dahl's Going Solo. Dahl also has a memoir called Boy, about his childhood, which would be fantastic on audio if it has a good narrator! Steinbeck's Travels with Charley might be of interest, too. And the tagged book could be a possibility. It's not lighthearted, given the subject, but I thought it was fascinating & inspiring.

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity

fredthemoose What about Stanley Tucci‘s book? A little under 7 hours and I remember it being charming on audio.

Taste: My Life Through Food

fredthemoose I‘ll put a few more in the comments. I‘m guessing most won‘t work, but just in case…

The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape

fredthemoose Not a biography but features Queen Elizabeth as the main character, so feels like it could be. And only a couple of hours.

Uncommon Reader

fredthemoose Charming on audio of not too much of a celebrity

How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived

fredthemoose

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick A bit more of a memoir about his work with animals and his travels, but this wasn't a misery fest and rather enjoyable.

World Wild Vet: Encounters in the Animal Kingdom

rockpools @Itchyfeetreader @BarbaraJean Thank you both! These are absolutely worth a try! I‘m often looking for shorter audio myself (39 hours is just unacceptable!!), so I might well try them myself as well. Roald Dahl sounds like it could work really well. Thanks! 2y

rockpools @Megabooks Brilliant - thanks Meg! You may well see those popping up in my own feed at some point 😁 2y

rockpools @sblbooks That is a really good idea. And I can probably convince the library to buy a cd copy. Thanks you 😊 2y

rockpools @BkClubCare Nice! I‘d not heard of that - I‘ll see if I can track it down. Thank you! 2y

rockpools @fredthemoose Ooh. I think you might have cracked it. Thank you. I LOVED a Shepherd‘s Life, and I reckon Alan Bennett might be the tone we‘re going for, even if it‘s not biog. And I can get both of those straight away on cd. Thank you so much. 2y

rockpools @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I think memoirs might be more likely to work as shorter audio, so that‘s probably the way to go. I‘ll look it out. Thank you 😊 2y

Chelsea.Poole Thanks @Megabooks 😊 I‘m a misery reader apparently…every single one I think of couldn‘t be considered “happy” 😂 I did find this link from the Seattle Public Library https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/list/share/86922331/201137603 2y

Chelsea.Poole Here‘s a few that might work…?

Inciting Joy: Essays

Chelsea.Poole A bit sad but I wouldn‘t consider it “misery fest” lol

Smile: The Story of a Face

Chelsea.Poole Kind of about dolly but also really focused on the author, so I don‘t know if it‘ll work because of the celebrity aspect but

She Come by It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs

Chelsea.Poole

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

Chelsea.Poole LOVED

Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration

Chelsea.Poole

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

fredthemoose @rockpools glad to help! Let us know how it goes! 2y

rockpools Thank you so much @Chelsea.Poole ! Wonders and Butterflies sound amazing - I think I‘ll stack them myself. Smile could actually work, though, if she‘s ok with medical stuff… I‘m tending to look at ‘cosy‘ stuff but I think she‘d prefer something a bit edgier/more interesting if it was hopeful. Hmm. We‘ll see what we can find. Thank you so much! 2y

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