Am I the only one who doesn't particularly care to read about deep dark family secrets that come to light during the course of a book? Am I the only one who thinks there are waaaay too many books who use that on their backcover blurb? Am I the only one who doesn't have a deep, dark family secret?
Unless...
Maybe I just haven't yet uncovered my family's deep, dark secret. Maybe it's just itching to come out during the course of my book-worthy life. This is a possibility I had not considered. Hmmm. (Mom, if you're reading this, don't give me any hints.)
I am personally a little iffy on the whole memoir trend. I mean, if your life has played out such that it is worth strangers reading about it, then by all means, write yourself a memoir. But if it really hasn't, and is perhaps instead somewhat embarrassing, save yourself the trouble (and the embarrassment). I have had what I believe to be some really astonishing, dare I say, even hilarious things happen in my life, but compared to what has happened to other people, I'd say I've been pretty hum-drum. At least from a write-your-own-memoir perspective.
That doesn't mean that some of my anecdotes wouldn't make some great material for works of fiction, because as we all know, quite often, truth is funnier than fiction, and at times, even more unbelievable.
So what is the point of this post, you might ask? I don't really know. But rather than ponder that question, it seems my time would be better spent sleuthing out my family's deep, dark secret. Because as far as I can tell, they (the deep, dark secrets) are pretty darn common.
Feel free to reveal yours in the comments. Anonymity is available.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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6 comments:
It seems like memoirs are the thing right now! I've never really been into them...I guess deep dark secrets just aren't my thing either! And heck, even the non-deep dark secret stuff isn't my thing. It would seem that memoirs are big and people like reading them and writing them right now just like they like participating in and watching reality shows.
I mean, I admit it, I'm a reality tv addict so I wonder if the same thing that draws me to reality tv (getting an inside peek into someone else's life) is why people like memoirs? Not sure.
I always kind of feel like celebrities have the memoirs to jump start their careers - and what better way to get readers than to mention up front there is some deep dark secret.
Having said that, I have read a few memoir books in my time - Carol Burnett's and Suzanne Somers come to mind. Carol's was just a sweet love story for her kids. I've always liked her and that just made her more endearing for me - no real scandals that I recall. Suzanne's did have a bit of scandal in it but the fact that she was so open and honest about things kind of made her more endearing too - for me anyway.
As for me, if I have a deep dark secret, I think it/they need to stay that way. :)
We are either singularly bland in the secrets line or really good at keeping them hidden. I don't know of any - skeletons either! I hope this doesn't disappoint. Your Mother
You're right! The deep, dark secret blurb adorning a seeming majority of books' back covers is a total gag line. I mean, really? Everyone's got a deep, dark secret these days. These hyperbolic catchlines remind of the nightly advertisements for the news: you know, the ole "something in your house is killing you right now. We'll tell you what it is at 11pm." Annnyway, that was a long rant to let you know that I agree with you! Thanks for checking out my blog; I'm loving yours! I adore writing, and it's a true pleasure to read about your writing adventures.
Tori Spelling's memoirs were actually really good & I'm not even a fan of hers. Is the fact that I read her book part of my deep dark secret?
I've always wondered that myself. My history is very Cleaver-ish, though I don't doubt June had a few secrets of her own ;)
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