Not to be silly, but what does 'close reading' mean as opposed to 'regular-ass' reading? I have a weak stomach so parts Angelou were hard for me to get through to say nothing of the book, the writing, or its power. I'd be very curious to read your review of that book.

This isn't necessarily a recommendation but look into Speak, Memory by Nabokov as well if you are looking for out-of-the-ordinary memoirs; it has it's strong points and is more than an amazing title.

Chad, maybe you're a better all-around reader than I am, but I don't concentrate equally on everything I read. A "close" reading to me means really analyzing a book to pieces, being always very aware of structure, word choice, etc., and not allowing myself to relax and get lost in the story. I'm trying to read from a writer's perspective, rather than a reader's.

I'm surprised that you disliked Angelou's memoir so much; I thought it was pretty universally acclaimed. Other works of hers, especially her poetry, I've heard heavily criticized, but not this one.

I have Speak, Memory around here somewhere (you're shocked, I know), so I'll pull that one out and give it a read as well as part of my project. Thanks for the recommendation.

I think I understand what you mean by 'close reading' now. Generally speaking I'm terrible at that, unless it's something I really don't like.

I didn't dislike Angelou at all. It had rough spots to read but that is just the subject matter that was her life. I love the narrative feel on the book as opposed to most memoirs that feel like litany of facts: "When I was 18, I went to Penn to study basket weaving..." It's a great book. I'm trying not to give anything away if you haven't gotten through it yet, but there certainly were hard spots for me to read through. (I'm a self admitted wuss.)

Chad;

Now I want to start a short story with the sentence, "When I was 18 I went to Penn to study basket weaving."

Marion

I just want a mention for the title.