Chronicles: Volume OneChronicles: Volume One
Score Modern
What it's about
Bob Dylan's memoir isn't a straightforward life story. He writes about arriving in New York in the winter of 1961 with almost nothing, sleeping on couches and soaking up books and music in Greenwich Village, meeting Woody Guthrie and making his first records. Then he jumps ahead to a creative slump around 1970, and to recording an album in New Orleans in 1987.
Why it's worth reading
The Guardian named it one of the best books of the 21st century. Dylan writes like no one else, and it's a rare look inside his head.
You'll love it if you liked
Just Kids
The Beatles Anthology
A Moveable FeastGood to know
It skips the famous years of the mid-1960s. Volume Two has never appeared.
By the numbers
- Readers39 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics51 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller20 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #214 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #905 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1673 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Moving
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Quick answers
Is Chronicles: Volume One worth reading?
Yes. The Guardian named it one of the best books of the 21st century. It ranks #1,673 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 66.8 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Chronicles: Volume One about?
Bob Dylan's memoir isn't a straightforward life story. He writes about arriving in New York in the winter of 1961 with almost nothing, sleeping on couches and soaking up books and music in Greenwich Village, meeting Woody Guthrie and making his first records. Then he jumps ahead to a creative slump around 1970, and to recording an album in New Orleans in 1987.
How long does it take to read Chronicles: Volume One?
About 7 hours (293 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Chronicles: Volume One?
If you liked it, try Just Kids by Patti Smith, The Beatles Anthology by The Beatles or A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway.