People tell you stories all the time --- on the bus, on the subway, while standing in line at the grocery store. During my recent pregnancy, I've heard every birth story, every little monster story, every "just wait 'til they're eighteen" story I will ever need to hear to prepare myself for motherhood. The telling of one's personal experiences to other people is the oldest form of storytelling in the world, and it is healthy and happy and kicking along in the publishing world as well.

After the immense success of Frank McCourt's painful and painstaking look at his childhood in ANGELA'S ASHES, the memoir genre has been blown wide open. In this feature, The Book Report takes a look at a more recent spate of interesting memoirs, including the Hollywood tough guy admittances of superagent Bernie Brillstein in WHERE DID I GO RIGHT?; the religious internment of an orphaned child in Jennifer Lauck's moving BLACKBIRD: A Childhood Lost and Found; the Vietnam saga THE UNWANTED by Kien Nguyen; the hilariously honest account of mid-life crisis in Stacy Horn's WAITING FOR MY CATS TO DIE; and the indy film primer MY FIRST MOVIE, where famous directors talk about their not-so-stellar beginnings.

The memoir is a lucid and stretchy thing, like Rubber Man, encompassing so many different voices in one. We hope you enjoy these selections as much as we have --- and perhaps the next time your mechanic starts telling you about that time he and his friend went to Las Vegas, you might think and listen before rolling your eyes.

--- Jana Siciliano