93. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

The cover of this cute, quirky autobiographical book sums it up: “I have not survived against all odds. I have not lived to tell. I have not witnessed the extraordinary. This is my story.” Rosenthal is a writer who at one time wrote for Might magazine and has contributed to NPR. She reflects back on her life, from small details of her favorite childhood foods, to what it has taken to get her latest book published. Her family is written about heavily, along with childhood memories.

Full of short entries arranged alphabetically from A – Z, readers can jump into Amy’s life at any point. Entries are also cross-referenced and there are many illustrations and charts throughout. Rosenthal originally got the idea for this book because she liked the arrangement of a book called The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. I remember reading an article she wrote in the magazine Real Simple, so I decided to check this book out. Fun and different, it truly is full of small accounts from an ordinary woman’s life. For fans of Dave Eggers and David Sedaris.