I love reading books by James Patterson so this book made me excited. To find out about his personal history and the route in to full time author. His chatty style and short chapters are his trademark style of writing that makes you feel as if you are having a conversation with the man himself.
Interesting and fascinating tale of determination and resilience.
Agree with the sentiment that we need to get youngsters reading and it can open up the world to them, even if it's to escape their reality

An fascinating insight into an author's life. James Patterson's memoir is written in the same style to his books, with short, snappy paragraphs. Interesting to read about his early years in marketing, but my favourite part was how he explains the process of writing. His love of books shines through, whether he's discussing enjoying other authors' work or his concern about low literacy levels in the US. You don't think about authors having time to read books themselves. I've only read one James Patterson novel so far so I'll be diving into my husband's collection now!

I don’t tend to read autobiographies. Not because I don’t care, don’t get me wrong. I just find I often prefer the fiction to the fact that the author produces. I read to escape reality. However the blurb for this book was intriguing, including (but certainly not limited to):
On the morning he was born, he nearly died
He worked at a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he met the singer James Taylor and the poet Robert Lowell
Three American presidents have invited him to golf with them

So call me tempted. I grew up reading James Patterson books. I still read James Patterson books. They will always be a solid, reliable go-to on my bookshelf. If someone asks for a recommendation to get into reading - Patterson will be on the list. So I read his autobiography, as I have read nearly everything else he has written.

It was delivered in true Patterson style, short chapters that pack the action or drama. It was a very conversational tone, truly, stories being told of his life. It had a loose woven theme of how he became the writer he is today, but there was a fair bit of jumping about between stories. A true conversation with a creative mind I guess. Some stories are funny, some sad, some engrossing, and others, fill the gap until the next. I did enjoy learning more about his passion for developing children's literacy and love of reading, which should be commended. His penchant for collaborations with other writers was something I always wondered about, and it was brilliant to get an insight into that process.

While overall an enjoyable read, at times I felt the book was a bit disjointed, sometimes a jump in train of thoughts, and almost an exercise in name dropping. But then I guess when you have lived the life that Patterson has, how can you not drop some names! I am still not much further convinced on my stand on autobiographies, but I am glad to have read this one, to learn a bit more about the man I spend much of my life reading the works of.

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

## The Stories of my Life by James Patterson

4 stars

As the title suggests this is the story of one of the most productive writers of our age. It pulls you in immediately. Although I have read several of his novels I knew nothing about the man himself, apart from the fact that he is prolific.
It's quite refreshing to read an autobiography that highlights failures as well as successes. The book has lots of short scenes, which I like, but may not appeal to everyone. By short I mean a page and a half and it does flit about a bit.
He relates his life story as though you, the reader, are a friend with whom he is having a conversation. It works very well and being in an interesting conversation you want more.
It's a well-written story, as you would expect from a writer of his calibre.
One thing that stuck with me as I read it was that he, even to this day, writes with a pencil. I find that unusual but most of his story is quite unusual too, so why not?

My thanks to #NetGalley, #JamesPatterson, and #RandomHouseUK for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quick, easy read. It was quite entertaining with lots of humorous stories of his life and career. A born story teller.

I read a lot of James Patterson's books but I didn't know a lot about him. This was a gripping and interesting read.
He's a master storyteller and this is another great book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I had no idea what to expect when I requested this story. Over the years I’ve read quite a few books by the author so this story is definitely something that I couldn’t miss. And not any other reader should.
It’s so interesting to see how his life shaped everything along the way in his career and the characters that he met along the way left their mark as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you’ve read his books or not, it’s one of those that will stay with you forever

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this quirky book

i say quirky as its a collection of stories of james pattersons life, and at times i laughed out loud and other times i agreed with him

it was lovely to find out how it all started and now i understand how he has a book out nearly every 3 months he writes everyday....

but its his love of reading that comes across and how he is trying to encourage it for everyone....

its a great read and i thoroughly enjoyed the quirkiness of this book

looking forward to my next james patterson book

Anyone who's a Patterson fan (and maybe those who aren't) will enjoy reading this book. It's written from the heart and you get a real insight into the man behind the stories.

Another fabulous read by this author, with a insight to his life such a fabulous author would recommend to anyone who likes thriller books he never disappoints his readers.

I love Pattersons short sharp chapters, and I found this so interesting finding out more about the man behind all those amazing books.
James is so down to Earth and honest. I didn’t realise he has done so much over the years. All the good him & his wife do for the schools in America, trying to make sure all children find a love for reading is just inspiring.

Not the usual memoir; a scattergun of anecdotes about his life. The title is very apt. I enjoyed reading about his early life, how he became a writer, all done in a conversational style as if he is chatting to you personally. I was also pleased to read about his collaborations with other authors and discover he has a great deal of input, rather than as many think, are being ghost written. Nice short anecdotes, but as with his books, they keep you reading and are pithy, insightful and sometimes poignant. I also admire him for his literacy work with children which he is passionate about. He comes across as a genuinely likable guy, totally invested in writing. Very readable and recommended.

Thanks to Cornerstone, Random House UK and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

I’m a fan of Patterson’s popcorn thrillers and this book, even though it’s stories of his life, is much the same for me. Short entries make it easy to pick up and put down as you don’t feel you’ve to stop in the middle of anything. Some interesting insights in here, an easy read.

It's nice to read autobiographies by well known authors as they are bound to be well written. I found James Patterson's highly engrossing. A lot of humor, a lot of name dropping and a lot of questions answered (especially how he co-writes)! It's sweet that he seems so eager to show himself as a good, humble, likable personality with lots of friends. Something rare for a celebrity who rubs shoulders with Presidents and other celebrities, I suppose!

Definitely a must-read for writers and die hard fans of the author's! Must-buy for public libraries.

5 stars from me, for all the chuckles!

I have been reading James Patterson books for as long as I can remember. In fact, his Alex Cross books are some of the first grown up books that I remember reading. Needless to say, I am a big fan and I urge every crime book lover to read his books. When I heard that this book was coming out I just had to read it. It is always fascinating to learn more about the people that you admire, and James has had a very interesting life.

This is a book of stories, in not particular order really. He jumps around his life, telling stories of what he has done, people he has met and how he became the world best selling writer. I enjoyed reading about his time as an advertising executive, his school days, his experience at Woodstock and his lack of confidence at becoming a fiction writer. He talks about his friendship with former President, Bill Clinton and their writing collaboration. It was written in his usual conversational style, with short chapters which makes it a very fast read - just like his fiction novels.

I look forward to my physical copy arriving so that I can see the photos to go along with the stories.

This is a must read for fans of the great man's books. Absolutely recommend. All the stars

Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read..

I've been a fan of James Patterson novels for a number of years so it was really intriguing when the author announced he was releasing a story of his own life.

I do enjoy autobiographies so this was definitely one I was interested to read.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for allowing an ARC of this book.

It was a gripping read, but from James Patterson I have come to find that all of his books are highly enjoyable and satisfying.

If you enjoy his work then this one is definitely recommended to be added to your book pile.

Many thanks to both NetGalley and to Random House UK for letting me see an advance reader's copy of The Stories of my Life.

From the moment I knew that this book was coming out, I wanted it. Therefore, I was delighted when I was approved to write a review.

The Stories of My Life by James Patterson is exactly that, filled with what appears to be lots of little anecdotes about, well, his life. I can imagine them being spoken during an after dinner speech, and it also appears that that's where many of the stories originated: from speaking events.

The best bits for me were the ones about Patterson's writing process. He's one of the most prolific writers in the world and I was interested to see how he does it.

I'd also heard rumours that he wasn't writing his own stories any more, and that did put me off reading him for a while. I was very happy to be corrected on this in that the books with only his name on the front are, in fact, written by him. Any others are co-written rather than ghostwritten and, hence, the co-writers also get a credit on the cover.

The copy I received was a scrappy, unedited draft and there were text dumps in various places, either copied and pasted in error, or the typist forgot to go back and cut out the extra, unwanted bits. This interfered with the reading for me, but I pressed on to the end regardless.

I would have liked to have known more about Patterson's writing process, such as how many drafts does he write before the typist takes over, and then how many revisions. I also would have liked to know where the ideas come from before they land in his ideas file. It could also have been much longer for me.

However, I did enjoy it and I'm glad I read it. Every writer, or reader of James Patterson, would enjoy this book, I think.

Four stars.

Loved reading about Mr Patterson himself!
Felt like I was in a room having a conversation with him.
Loved the references to his novels.
Keep at it Mr P.

I could not wait to read this as been following JP for years and have pretty much read everything he’s released. A wonderful insight into the life of one of the best authors ever and told in a way that just makes you want to read page after page. Loved it and would totally recommend to anyone who wants a peak into the life of the one and only James Patterson.

James Patterson is such a legend. It was so interesting reading abt the man behind all these amazing stories.