Really enjoyed this glimpse into the life of James Patterson. I'm blown away by the self discipline he has and wish I had a half of his commitment to apply to the things I have to do. It makes it easier to understand how he can manage to release so much new material on a regular basis. I loved the personal stories and the humour threaded through this.

I really enjoyed this book. I'veong been Adam of James Patterson and have read all of his books. It was lovely to hear a little of James: early life and personal reminiscences. I also liked hearing about all the work that he and his wife do to encourage people to read more, especially children.

It is not always a given that authors can write about themselves in an engaging way. Luckily that is not the case with James Patterson.

In fact, this had the feel of a series of wee chats, during which he tells interesting anecdotes about his life and career - careers actually - flitting from topic to topic as his train of thought takes him, without losing the reader!

Never taking himself too seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse into James Patterson's life and, of course, my reading list has just got a whole lot longer in the process!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It is written in a series of short, concise chapters that are easy to dip into and out of when you have time. James Patterson shares a life well-lived with some amazing experiences, and gives us as readers an insight into what makes him the man he is. The stories he tells are short and succinct, sometimes feeling like they are lacking in detail but this is better than reading someone who rambles on. Instead, the book flies along, much like his novels, and you feel yourself caught up in the excitement of his life. It is very well written, as you would expect, and feels almost like you are having a chat over a coffee.

With thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

It's always a treat to get to read an authors' autobiography, generally, you'll learn something of the writing process, the motivation and gain a deeper insight into the books themselves.
In this book, there is all of that, but what's more striking is the voice. There were times, when it felt as if James Patterson, the person, was in my head - and being such an accomplished storyteller, his voice is very easy to listen to.
Highly recommend, particularly to fans of the JP books!

James Patterson: The Stories of My Life by James Patterson was a very interesting read. I love James's books and when this came up to read I jumped at the chance, What a very interesting book this was. James was a boy from small-town New York who become one of the world's most successful writers of today.

This book tells you everything you love to read about his life;

*How on the day he was born he nearly died,
*To growing up, he didn't love to read.
*He attended Manhattan College with a full scholarship.
*Three American presidents have invited him to golf with them. etc

James Patterson, is a very complex and interesting man and I really enjoyed reading his memoir.

This is a must read for fans of James Patterson books. I absolutely recommend it and his books..

Big Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK for my advanced copy of this book to read in exchange of a review.

This was a really eye opening book that I couldn't put down and I read in one sitting. I don't tend to read autobiographical books that much, I think this is my first biographical book from an author whose novels I love. It seemed like he was talking to you giving you a glimpse into his childhood/adult life, it has also made me feel I have a connection with him you don't get if you read his fiction and it was surprisingly emotional too.
#NetGalley #JamesPattersonStoriesOfMyLife

I've been a huge fan of James Patterson since Along Came a Spider. The Alex Cross series being one of my favourite. It was lovely to read and know what he was referring to when he mentions particular books. What an interesting life he has had - one part in particular was very sad.
A real pleasure to read, thank you so much for the advance copy. I do feel honoured to have read this.

Wow I loved this book. If you are a fan of James Patterson and want to know more about the man and the myth then this is the book for you. This is written in a collection of short chapters about his life and travels but feels like you are sat having a conversation with a friend and is a fascinating read.

An excellent book by an excellent storyteller, giving an insight into his method and his psyche. This isn’t a chronological book with his life laid out logically. It is little stories, little vignettes which stand alone. It is strong because of that and very entertaining. He has certainly had an interesting life.

I loved the story about the woman on the plane who mentioned Mr Patterson’s appearance on Castle and I’m jealous of his relationship with Dolly Parton - an amazing woman.

A great book if you're a fan of Janes Patterson’s books as many of them are mentioned here. It’s also a clever way to share details of a life well lived.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

James Patterson: The Stories of My Life by James Patterson is an extremely interesting and entertaining read. I enjoyed reading about his childhood and his advertising career. He came across as someone who is thankful for his writing career and his marriage to his wife, Sue and his love for his son.
I appreciated his story and his storytelling and enjoyed reading his autobiography.
Highly recommended

I have never read a James Patterson book before this. To be honest I’d mixed him up with someone else. I found the book interesting as it seemed like he found it difficult not to just tell stories, but to let some real things into the book, even when it was about himself.

The most engaging parts, for me, were when he talked about his wives and his son. The fact that he could not write for more than a year, after his first wife died, was very telling.

He has obviously been involved in many books, films etc. What made him seem more human was his apparently real belief in the power of reading for children, and for this he should be applauded.

A book about James Patterson - by James Patterson.... yes please!!
I loved how it was written in his well known and loved short paragraphs and loved getting an insight on the man behind so many incredible books. And what a man, so many anecdotes from his life, some humorous some serious but all giving us an insight into himself. I loved reading it.

This is a strange one for me to review. I had mixed feelings about it and I’m not entirely sure they’re the fault of James Patterson. I had expected this to be an autobiography, and in a way it is – just not in the traditional sense. This is a group of stories of various events that have happened in James Pattersons life but there is no logical groupings and they’re non linear, which is confusing. For example, we have a couple of chapters about working with Bill Clinton and the books they wrote together and then shortly after that we have them meeting for the first time on a golf course.

For the first quarter of the book I was getting very annoyed at the constant name dropping, I had it in my head that this was showing an arrogance on Pattersons part. However, as I read more of the book and got to understand Patterson more I came to realise that it wasn’t arrogance or showing off but that he is genuinely excited and surprised that he has the level of fame that he does and that he has met the people that he has.

There is very little about writing in this, I had really hoped for more. Patterson does tell us about books and authors that he loves, and touches on his writing process but its nothing deeper than what he’s revealed in other interviews. One thing that Patterson does do very well in this book is too give credit to other people, be they people he’s worked with in advertising or people involved in the publishing process.

Ultimately, I was disappointed in this book, I much prefer Patterson’s fiction work.

With thanks to the author, publishers Random House UK, and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I seem to be firmly in the minority in that I have never read a James Patterson book before! I’m not sure how that has transpired when he writes primarily in the crime/mystery genre, which is one of my favourites, but there you have it, The short and snappy chapter approach of the author was therefore a new experience for me, albeit one that I felt worked well in the context of this autobiography, where the random nature of the chapter topics made it an ideal book to dip in and out of while taking a break from reading other fictional works.

The author has certainly led an interesting life, based on the different careers he has had and the people, famous and otherwise, that he has crossed paths with along the way. He has also had his fair share of tragedy to deal with, but this, along with his middle-class upbringing and lack of pretension, makes him a likeable character that most people will be able to easily relate to.

One criticism would be that I would have hoped for a little more insight into the authors writing process, and a little less of the name-dropping which seemed to permeate this book, sometimes for no apparent reason other than to mention them. But perhaps that wasn’t the intention for this book.

Overall an enjoyable read though. Now I’m off to find out who the hell Alex Cross is!

A collection of anecdotes from his life’s journey illustrating his experience of rising from a small-town nonentity to the CEO of a national advertising agency and then to achieve an outstanding position as a world-famous author consorting with US Presidents and the like; relating what sucks. to avoid, and who are Jerks, to be aware of along the way. Observing that to live a successful and fulfilling life is like juggling 5 balls with only a specific one that one could drop and recover.. What the balls represent and what is the specific one that is recoverable and why, well the book will need to be read to find out..

Tales from the life of the bestselling author, his experiences and time transitioning from advertising exec to writer. I would have liked more on his writing process and methods for plot, tension and the like but this is an entertaining memoir none the less.

James Patterson: The stories of my life by James Patterson

Thank you. I Absolutely loved it! The humour and the background stories were amazing. (I too am a fan of Jonathan Kellerman and just as likeable as a writer his wife Faye Kellerman and I have tons of both of their books!)

I now have a short list and a long list of James Patterson books I NEED to read. 😀

I haven't read a James Patterson book for several years but always aenjoyed them and I do love memoir and autobiographies. So this one was a must read for me. It's full of short choppy chapters, just like his novels. Full of fascinating information about his life from boyhood onwards and plenty of recognisable names threaded through the stoties too. He's certainly led an interesting life and the book read just as if you met him for a coffee and he told you another story.. Highly recommended. With thanks to NetGalley, the oublishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.