Joyride: A Memoir
Might be the best craft book on writing you will ever read. It’s not written as a craft book, of course; it’s a memoir, and an entertaining one at that. But it is a memoir about how Orlean became a writer ... Orlean is engaging and generous, explaining how she found ideas, honed and reported them, overcame obstacles ... It is the good fortune of the rest of us to be invited along on this ebullient ride.
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A pleasure because in many ways Orlean represents the two kinds of reportage she says she specializes in: 'Who knew?' stories about odd subcultures...and 'hiding in plain sight' stories ... There are elements of Joyride, particularly in its latter chapters, that Orlean the memoirist speeds past things Orlean the journalist would pursue doggedly ... The latter portions of the book feel more like dinner-party stories than the close studies that distinguish her other writing. Still, for anybody who admires Orlean’s work, Joyride is a satisfying story about what’s required to make strangeness your beat.
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There are many highlights ... This down-to-earth leviathan invites you to sit right next to her on her joyride, and even imagine you might take your own version.
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