Thanks, Annie. I like memoirs, too, when they are well done.

Right now I just see too many by people who seem to be trying to cash in on a perceived boom (which, as I noted, may have gone bust before they started).

Some of my favorite memoirs involve Scotland, including John McPhee's "The Crofter and the Laird." It's about an extended stay he and his family made on one of the Scottish islands decades ago. It gave you a great feel for the landscape and the few residents who still lived there,