autobiography, finished

I am proud to say that I got through and finished "Speak, Memory." It was a challenge to read about a place that I know little about (Russia) and about a guy who loves butterflies and talks more about that than his wife and kid. However, I kept in mind that this guy didn't even speak English as his first language and his writing is amazing.
Side note: It truly impresses me when someone can have a solid grasp on a language other than their native tongue. I heard on NPR this morning that there is no evidence that teaching a child more than one language when they're young confuses them. In fact, it makes them smarter and use more of their brain. And, dementia can be slowed by at least a few years. 2/3rds of European children know more than one language. Let's jump on the bandwagon already. I better get out my Rosetta Stone and work on my french.
Anyway, I still want to read his "Lolita" because he does have a nice writing style. I just wasn't captured by his biography. Is that a crime? Maybe once I read more biographies I will be able to appreciate it.
What keeps surfacing to me is why some call this an autobiography while others call it a memoir. There is a difference and to me it does matter since I am in the midst of writing about my rehabilitation from a recent surgery and don't want to call it a novel or non-fiction. I figured it would be a memoir since it's just a part of my history/life, right? There are some major debates over these genres and I would rather have no part in that so I am just going to call it what I want and if you don't like it, too bad.
In the end, I think my niece liked this book more than I did.