King among 25 Inspiring Biographies for Aspiring Writers

Online college has an interesting article titled, "25 Inspiring Biographies for Aspiring Writers."  (HERE)

The introduction is great!  It offers this advice:

Before setting off in pursuit of literary and intellectual greatness (or at least goodness), it behooves the journeyman author to learn a few things from those that came before. Don't get bogged down in fantasy. Take the time to read up on how successful writers — no matter their chosen genres or mediums — generate ideas and inspiration, process them, then bestow them life on paper or screen. Painting teachers often request their students to copy old masters in order to learn techniques they may uniquely, creatively build upon as their own visions begin emerging. And the exact same strategy works beautifully for the written arts in kind.

Each entry has a short description of the author and their work.

Included on the list of authors is

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou:
2. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
3. The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath
4. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
5. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass (I really want to read this one!)
6. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
7. The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima by Henry Scott Stokes
8. Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo.  (I’ve read this, and love it!)
9. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
10. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
11. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
12. The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
13. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
14. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
15. My Years with Ayn Rand by Nathaniel Branden
16. Excelsior! by Stan Lee and George Mair
17. Pimp: The Story of My Life by Iceberg Slim
18, The Diary of Anais Nin by Anais Nin
19. Why this World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector by Benjamin Moser
20. Ignatius Rising by Deborah George Harvey and Rene Pol Nevils
21. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
22. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
23. Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain (I have this book. . . it’s huge!)
24. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
25. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Of course, On Writing was on the list, calling it an "essential" read.  About the King book, the article says,

"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: Not only do On Writing readers receive quite the insight into ubiquitous horror author Stephen King's own personal mindset and process, they also learn quite a bit about the art. It's oftentimes cited as one of the best literary autobiographies and practicums to boot, so consider it an essential read!"

Thanks to Carol Brown