Give me a big, meaty, warts-and-all biography or autobiography and I am as happy as a clam, lost in the world of another person's life whether I'm at the New Jersey shore (where I was recently, under sunny skies), the farthest tips of Long Island, or points much farther flung than that.  The biography must be well written, though; it must have surprises; it must share insight, nuance and plenty of below-the-surface detail; and it must, of course, be a story not just worth reading but worth telling others about.  

    That's the ultimate test for me:  Do I want to get up out of my chair and rush to tell someone else about it?  Are there passages I can't wait to share, lines I can't wait to repeat, words I can't wait to reread, not just because they're so well written but because they say so much?  Answer questions like this affirmatively --  and really mean it  -- and you know you've pretty much got something. 

    I can think of many "great biographies" I have loved over the years (Katharine Graham's Pulitzer Prize-winning Personal History is an all-time favorite for me, for the depth of its storytelling, its revelations, its honesty), and I suppose every time I pick up a new one, I am hoping for the best, hoping for another great winner, although this is not always the case... 

    As for some worthy new bios?  People have been asking about Barbara Walters's bestselling new book, Audition: A Memoir (Knopf), and yes, you should read it if you haven't yet.  It's fascinating and comprehensive.  Best parts are not what you'd expect, at least not for me -- not landing interviews with some of the world's biggest celebrities, nor winning one new contract or award or assignment after another, or anything glittery or gold like this, though these stories are intriguing in their own way.  The best parts are when she's sharing her concern, her upset, and at the same time her guilt about her mentally disabled sister, Jackie, who was both a thorn in her side when they were growing up and also the person she probably fretted most about in her life.  Jetsetting is not all it's cracked up to be when you have a sister who needs you -- nor a daughter, for that matter, whom she named after her sister.  The sections on these two most important people in her life truly sparkle with authenticity.  So just on that basis alone, pick it up -- and everything else will be an extra.  

    I thought the title, by the way, instead of Audition, could just as well have been Ambition.  Agree?