Books like Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
12 books with a reading profile close to Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan. Inward-looking; a moderate read.
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1
Yossarian slept here
by Erica Heller
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Erica Heller’s memoir documents her upbringing as the daughter of Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22, within the Apthorp apartment building in Manhattan.
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2
Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Gabrielle Hamilton chronicles her unconventional path from a chaotic childhood in rural Pennsylvania to owning Prune, a tiny, celebrated restaurant in New York City.
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3
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Alexandra Fuller outlines her upbringing in 1970s and 80s Rhodesia, Malawi, and Zambia during a period of violent decolonization.
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4
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
by Kate Beaton
memoir, narrative
Kate Beaton chronicles her time working manual labor jobs at remote mining camps in northern Alberta to pay off her student loans.
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5
Priestdaddy
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Patricia Lockwood, a poet, moves back with her husband into her parents' house in a Kansas City rectory.
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6
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Just Kids chronicles the relationship between Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, beginning with their chance meeting in Brooklyn in 1967.
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7
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8
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Carrie Brownstein chronicles her development from a fan in the Pacific Northwest underground music scene to the guitarist of Sleater-Kinney.
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9
When All Is Said
by Anne Griffin
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Maurice Hannigan, an elderly Irish farmer, sits in a pub in a small town one evening and orders five drinks, one for each person who has been important in his life.
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10
Wat ik nooit eerder heb gezegd
by Celeste Ng
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Set in 1970s Ohio, the narrative begins with the death of Lydia Lee, the favorite daughter of a mixed-race couple.
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11
This Boy's Life
by Tobias Wolff
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
Tobias Wolff’s memoir recounts his nomadic upbringing in the 1950s as he travels across the United States with his divorced mother to escape an abusive boyfriend.
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12
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative
James McBride alternates between his own upbringing in a Brooklyn housing project and the oral history of his mother, Ruth Jordan.
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