Reading List: Inspiring Biographies

Do you read autobiographies or biographies and personal memoirs for inspiration?

Reading about the lives of other people has always been a source of inspiration for me and no doubt it is the same way for other people too. In fact, if a person is suffering from depression one of the suggested activities to uplift their spirit and pull them out of the dark black hole is reading life stories. Not trying to sound corny but we are all ordinary people and it is encouraging to know that the majority of us endure the same trials and tribulations and most of us overcome or rise above our difficulties and get on with our lives.

But clearly, you do not have to be depressed to draw motivation from reading about the achievements of someone else. For one of my friends, it was the life of Malcolm X. The first biography which influenced my life was about Sammy Davis Jr. It was titled Yes I Can. (I could just kick myself for not keeping the book as it is now considered a collectible. He also published a sequel called Why Me?) 

The first autobiography written by Mr. Davis is also the book that piqued my curiosity and got me interested in reading more and more biographies about anybody – celebrities, men and women in history, people in political circles, etc. I turned this fascination into a hobby and created a Pinterest board called BIO-Snapshots, a collection of trivia, information, and articles about people. Some of my most recent pins link to mini-bios of Nora Baker, Robert Smalls, and Huma Abedin.

Do you get inspired by reading
biographical accounts or personal memoirs?

Click to view my picks.

NOTE: Content previously published elsewhere on the web, however, the site shut down. 

Historical Period Viki Original K-drama Series: The Red Sleeve (2021-2022); 17 episodes

The Red Sleeve Cuff (2021-2022); 17 episodes

This historical K-drama is a Viki Original series based on a novel of the same name. It's a fictionalized account of the love story of King Jeongjo and his royal consort Ui-bin Seong, but they are real historical figures. King Jeongjo is the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty, and Ui-bin Seong (real name Seong Deok-im) was his royal consort. There were several pregnancies that resulted in miscarriages, one son lived, Crown Prince Munhyo.

This series focuses on the life of Seong Deok-im. She entered the palace at the age of ten (10) as a maid servant. Whereas all of the court ladies probably dreamed of being bedded by the king, Seong Deok-im rejected his advances. She did not want to become a concubine because she said she would no longer be able to have her own life. In other words, she would lose herself and only live for him.

Nevertheless, she fell in love with the king and became his favorite concubine, known as Royal Consort Sung Ui Bin. The series showed that she did give up her own life. When she was an ordinary court lady she could go out with friends, visit family, and enjoy the freedoms commoners enjoy. Once she became the king's concubine, her life was restricted to the palace. She spent the entire day just waiting for him to come to her chambers and rest his head in her lap. It was a life choice she made. Although she did not regret loving the king, she always knew she made a great sacrifice to live as the king's woman. She died in her early 30s and the king wrote on her epitaph about how much he had loved her.

P.S.  If you love Korean dramas, please visit my entertainment blog.  It has lots of K-Drama love.  Original source.

The Red Sleeve no.1, Korean Novel

Vintage Books for Your Personal Library or Book Collections

No matter what anybody says I say that libraries will never go out of style.  Yes, there is and always will be digitized literature.  But nothing will ever replace resting comfortably in your bed or on your sofa and curling with a good book!  NOT a tablet!

That being said, I have always loved most things vintage. Have to define “vintage” in case you happen to be about the age of one of my kids. Vintage for them might be circa 1980 or 1990, and they may think vintage for me would be circa 1880 or 1890. Not so.

Vintage, by my definition, is back in my day, the 1950s and 60s, or anything before that but still in the 1900s.

Are we clear? Good!

One of my favorite things is “library trash”. Books that some public libraries toss like trash because they do not have enough room on their shelves and have to make space for the “new”.

In my dictionary: old books = vintage books; and they are still worth reading!

Of course, if it is left up to chance and you are searching for a specific book, the odds are not in your favor and you may be waiting a while – wishing and hoping for that particular reading material to end up on the pile. Not all awesome vintage books are tossed by the head librarian.

Fortunately, there is a bookstore called Vintage Books, that has been around since 1954. It is physically located in New York, New York, but thanks to the wonders of information technology, you can peruse their bookshelf online. There are books listed by the usual genres from Art to History to Mystery to Travel. But you might find the selected works categorized in the Vintage Series worth examining. There are 5 different series: Civil War; Classics; Contemporaries, Departures; and International.

Vintage books are priceless additions to your own personal library and are great gift ideas. What is also great is that these published works are not very expensive, come in paperback or hardcover, as well as audio-book format or in the Kindle edition.

(NOTE: Vintage Books is part of the Random House/Knopf Doubleday network of bookselling sites.  Below are book Selections From the Vintage Series


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The Civil War Dictionary by Mark Boatner
(Vintage Civil War Library)

For almost thirty years The Civil War Dictionary has been the most complete, authoritative, and handy reference book on what has been called the Second American Revolution, 1861-1865.

Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster
(Vintage Classics)

A young English widow takes off on the grand tour and along the way marries a penniless Italian. Her in-laws are not amused.

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
(Vintage Contemporaries)

A love story is woven into a novel about hopes and dreams, and redefinition of what it means to be American.

Cuba in Mind: An Anthology
(Vintage Departures)

Explorer Christopher Columbus described Cuba as “the most beautiful country that human eyes have ever seen”. 31 writers – poetry, fiction, and nonfiction – agree.

Bombay Stories
(Vintage International)

1930s Bombay provided the author with the inspiration for this collection of short stories.

If you’re gifting vintage books might as well throw in some vintage bookends and a desk! :)

Decorative Heavy Duty Bookends – Metal Large Book Ends – Vintage Tall Books Stand

Sauder Graham Hill Desk, Autumn Maple Finish

Source:  Webnuggetz.com

Shaloo Walia's List of 7 Books You Can Read In Less Than An Hour

I met my friend Shaloo Walia many years ago via Facebook. It's been so long I can't remember who contacted who to connect. I'm just glad we crossed paths with each other. We share many similar interests and we chat happily with each other often. Somewhere during the course of our conversations, I learned how much she liked to read. So, to me, her doing book reviews via YouTube seemed like a logical next step. Nevertheless, I conducted a short interview to ask her how and why she got started. See Q&As below.

I was glad when Shaloo let me know that she had started a YouTube channel. I subscribed and have watched many of her videos. I think the particular video below that I am sharing would interest many people. Lots of people enjoy reading. But they don't always have time. But maybe they do have time.  They would probably be happy to read 7 books in an hour. But is that possible? Shaloo says it is. Here is her list.

7 Books That You Can Read In Less Than An Hour – YouTube

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Results of Shaloo Walia's Interview 

Q:  Why did you decide to start a book review vlog?

A:  I not only love reading books but also book discussions. Unfortunately, none of my friends or colleagues are readers. So I started writing book reviews on my blog so that I can share about the books that I read. Early this year I started a book-tube channel to share my passion for books with others. Having a book-tube channel just seemed to be a natural extension of my blog.

Q:  How do choose which books to review?

~ Do they come from a bestseller list?

~ Are you active on Good Reads?

~ Are you in a book club?

A:  Life is too short to read trashy books. So I am very picky about the books that I read. I check reviews on Amazon & Goodreads before buying a book. I am also a part of a reading group on Facebook from where I get excellent book recommendations. I try to review all the books that I particularly enjoyed reading.

Q:  Will you consider taking suggestions from others on certain books to read and do a review?

A:  Of course, suggestions are always welcome. If I feel that a certain book suggestion is worth exploring than why not?

Q:  Do you have a reading list for books you plan to read in 2020?

A:  I am not too organized to follow a certain list but I have certain books and authors in mind. I want to read more books by Elif Shafak, Neil Gaiman, Murakami, Agatha Christie, and Paulo Coelho. Also, I want to read a few classics. I am currently reading 'Little Women'. Some other classics that I want to read this year are Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility & Emma. I also want to read at least a few books by Indian authors - the titles are "Sacred Games", "The Far Field", "Malgudi Days" (short story collection), and "The Room on the Roof".

Q:  Is there something you would like to say to your YT channel subscribers?

A:  Read every day even if just a few pages. And also share your love of books with others. Encourage others to read.  And do share my YouTube channel with your friends. I have some interesting videos planned for the coming months and will be doing some giveaways soon. So stay tuned. ☺

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