Trying to solve a personal dilemma and curious what others thoughts are. Which do I read first? Do you read the more factual, outside view of someone’s life before going to their recollection, or read their view before going to the more factual take?
Some additional facts to help:
1. I already own both books as physical copies, picked up second hand.
2. I plan on reading both anyway.
3. The biography is slightly newer than the memoir, 2021 versus 2019.
4. The memoir is higher rated on Goodreads (per reviews the biography is boring lol) but only by .4, both are below a total of 4 stars (though the memoir is just barely below).
5. The biographer is not the same gender of the subject, which may not matter, may be of note (I haven’t read it yet!).
6. Yes, I’m avoiding giving the subject because it would derail the discussion, I’m just interested in the idea of biography or memoir first at the moment.
So which first? Biography or memoir? Whose voice do you listen to first?
by IAmBaconsaur