Memoir Armoire

My Fair Lazy Giveaway!

I decided to give away my copy of Jen Lancaster’s My Fair Lazy to one of my lovely readers (I’m posting it myself, so I’m afraid it’s UK-only).

All you have to do is leave a comment or send me an email letting me know your favourite memoir, and I’ll pick a winner at random using one of those online random number-picker things (sorry to blow your mind with jargon, there).

Take a look at the book trailer to see why you should want to win (hint: ‘cos it’s funny).

*Comp closes 2 weeks from today, midnight British time. So hop to it!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Shauna Reid

The fact that I haven’t yet reviewed Shauna Reid’s The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl shouldn’t be taken to mean that I didn’t read and love it, because I did, and I do. While some weight loss stories never really touch on the important stuff — like the feelings underneath over-eating — Shauna faces the truth about herself and her (for want of a better word) issues whilst remaining humble, funny, and inspiring. Her book’s not just about a young woman losing weight, but a woman learning to live. (I know, this is a bit of a gushfest, but you should read it.)

I’m so pleased Shauna (left) agreed to answer my probing questions:

We’re all about keeping things short and sweet here at Memoir Armoire, so could you describe your book in five words?

Lard lost, fun found… hilarity! (Dude that’s really hard!)

What are some of your favourite memoirs (apart from your own)?

Bit of Blur by Alex James (it’s OTT but irresistable if you’re a fan), A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, This is Paradise! by Hyok Kang

What’s your top tip for aspiring memoir writers?

Ransack your life with a sense of humour and a big machete — be ruthless about cutting scenes and people who may be lovely but not good for the story.

What are you working on now and/or releasing next?

Working on a novel that is so rubbish right now it may never see the light of day. Help!

Please plug your website(s) and any other non-book projects we should know about:

Dietgirl [the blog that begat the book].

My non-fat blog.

Podcast: Two Fit Chicks

Memoirist of the Future: Lena Chen

Confession: when I hear the words “sex blogger”, I cringe a little. I’ve never bought into that whole “having loads of sex for the sake of it is super-feminist” myth.

But while Lena Chen became famous for her blog The Sex and the Ivy (about her sex life at Harvard) she doesn’t subscribe to the idea that having sex with a lot of people is in itself feminist. She’s more interested in challenging our expectations about sex, gender, and sexuality, like with her conference, Rethinking Virginity.

Now graduated, with an impressive list of publishing credits um, under her belt, she often mentions her desire to publish a memoir — and I’ve no doubt she will.

Until then, keep up with Lena’s freelance writing, globe-hopping, feminist-promoting adventures at The Ch!cktionary, her regularly-updated blog, or at GURL.com, where she’s the editor of the health, sex, and relationships channel.

[Photo credit: Patrick Hamm: via]

Previously: Memoirist of the Future: Jamie Varon.

Memoirist of the future: Jamie Varon

Welcome to a new Memoir Armoire feature where I’ll highlight some of the best writers who will one day be publishing their life stories, at least if they (and I) have anything to do with it.

I discovered Jamie Varon via Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess, as Jamie is the design half of Shatterboxx who make fine-looking websites like Jenny’s. Jamie has her own blog, A Life in Translation, where she’s recently written about her slight anger problem, why she’s not a real grown-up, and how changing for the better can really suck sometimes, among other things.

I like the way she thinks. And writes.

I like it a lot.

Plus, when I read her about page, where she states:

I dream of being a memoirist and so, please, do not tell me about the success of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love because I’M AWARE and it gives me the worst case of the jealousies I’ve ever experienced.

I knew we were kindred spirits.

Until she gets that book deal, you can also read her writing  at cool places like SF Weekly and lalawag (which is just fun to say).  [Photo credit]

Do you know a memoirist of the future? Tell me all about them. (Yes, you can nominate yourself.) 

The Bloggess Gets a Book Deal

I’ve only just started reading The Bloggess, because her reputation for being outrageous preceded her and I thought I might find her blog not to my taste. Boy, was I WRONG. She’s completely hilarious, sometimes inappropriate, and very raw. (This post on her trip to Japan is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read.) (If you don’t like swearing though, stay away. Srsly.)

Anyway, the good news for those of us who are fans is that The Bloggess aka: Jenny Lawson has sold her first book, a “mostly true memoir” called Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, to be released in 2012.

More info here.