51. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan

This is a humorous, well-written memoir. I usually avoid memoirs because, anymore, memoirs seem to be just excuses to browbeat the author's terrible parents with how the author survived in spite of all the graphically horrible things that happened to them as a child. I find it depressing and I'd rather look for happier stories. But this one was just the opposite. It was a tribute to the author's mother, who helped herself and her family survive happily in spite of difficult circumstances. I just liked that there was no bitterness in the book, even toward Ryan's alcoholic father who kept the family perpetually poor. The crux of the story is that Ryan's mother kept her family afloat by entering and winning jingle contests in the 50's. It really is an amazing story and I would highly recommend it.