Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader | 
I actually wrote my Master's thesis on women's autobiographies and the memoir boom, and I love the literary theory behind self-told stories SO MUCH. Hearing 'biography' and 'autobiography' used interchangeably is probably my snobbiest pet peeve, but I am totally okay with the blurring lines between 'autobiography' and 'memoir.' #readjanuary #autobiography #snob
LeahBergen It is such a peeve of mine, too. Shhhh... 😀 8y
shelf-improvement @LeahBergen The only thing that bothers me as much is when people call a non-fiction book a novel. I am such a book snob (but I try to keep my tongue bitten!) 8y
Ellen Thanks for this! I was actually just wondering about the distinction between #memoir and #autobiography and if librarians/academics/editors care 8y
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shelf-improvement @Ellen A memoir is more literary in style while an autobiography is more fact-based (and might get fact-checked). Memoirs usually focus on just a specific aspect of a life, whereas autobiography is the whole shebang. But the definitions are growing more fuzzy as memoirs have grown in popularity. 8y
Ellen Excellent distinction, thanks! 👍 8y
shelf-improvement @Ellen I think memoir has become a more marketable term so people are using it to describe books that would've been called an autobiography thirty years ago. Also, more people are writing their life stories at a younger age and the term memoir suggests that their story isn't done yet. 8y
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