Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Reviewers' Roundtable- Celebrity Books




Inspired by all the blogs who do these joint discussions, The Reviewers Roundtable is our version of a weekly feature where we discuss a book related/blogging topic.
Meet the Reviewers:

Rachel from Rachel Reads (Saturdays)

Emily from Read Your Bookcase (Fridays)

Me (Michelle) from here at Pink Polka Dot Book Blog (Thursdays)



When Celebrities Write.. Do you read them?

Celebrities have been writing biographies (with the help of ghostwriters) since forever it seems... but now more and more are getting into writing fiction (or attempting to anyhow).  I haven't read a ton of these books, but here are my thoughts on some of the better bios and what I think about celebrity fiction.
I think I'll start with:
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
I'm starting with this book because it seems like this one started the celebrity writing fiction (esp. YA fiction) fad.  I read this book a few years ago when it came out because it was there.  I was at Wal-Mart and there really wasn't anything else, so I picked it up.  It wasn't horrible, but it was total fluff.  I forget what even happened in it... all I remember is a girl named Jane was on a reality show.  Anyway it did well and she's published a series and a spin-off series called The Fame Game.  I did not read the other books in the series because the book was so blah for me.  My expectations of the writing were pretty low and I think LC actually did a decent job for a non-writer.  That being said, the writing was not good.  There was barely any imagery or character development.  It was basically a Hills recap.  She also does non-fiction beauty books which I think are really good.
The others (from bad to worse):
  • Elixer by Hilary Duff- So I haven't heard super bad things about this one... and the premise does sound at least original. 
  • Modelland by Tyra Banks- Ummm I think it's America's Next Top Model with something "sinister" thrown in.  This book appears on my all-time fav Goodreads list: Dealbreakers: If You Like This Book, We Won't Get Along :)
  • Dollhouse by the Kardashians-  Do I even need to say the day this came out was a dark day for the book publishing industry?  Whatever your opinions are of the Kardashians, I think we can all agree that they can't write a book for shit.
Some Celeb Bios I Enjoyed:
The Dirt by Motley Crue & Neil Strauss
This book is actually hilarious.  I don't love their music or anything, I mean it's hair metal... but their lifestyle is just too entertaining not to marvel at.  I especially loved Vince Neil's and Tommy Lee's parts.  If you think celebrity antics can no longer shock you, I guarantee there is something in this book that will... it's crazy!
sTORI Telling by Tori Spelling
Ok so I'm going to go ahead and kill my credibility.  Maybe I went in to this with super low expectations, but this book was actually funny!!  It had some cool little things in it like: her dad only was worth $500 mill and only left her $800,000 and how the house she grew up in had 123 rooms!
Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis
If you like Rock and Roll bios, you HAVE to read this... it's one of the best!!  He's been through A LOT and he's actually really deep.
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler is hilarious and crazy.  She just puts it all out there.  Her elementary sleepovers were legendary for sure!!
So that's what I got for you... what were your best and worst celebrity reads?  Do you think it's ok for celebs to write YA?
 **Now I'm really in the mood to read some Rock bio books!!**


10 comments:

  1. I have L.A. Candy just cause it was like $2 at Walmart. Haven't read it though. I have had Elixer for years and haven't read it yet either. I didn't know about the Kardashian's book but Modelland is one I have ZERO interest in reading. I do like Tori Spelling a little (from what I've seen of her) and I think she might actually write something half decent so that one I might pick up. One day... Yeah, not really feeling the urge to read most celebrities books though.

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    1. Yeah I don't think I'll be reading celebrity fiction ever again. I think I've only read the LA Candy book, but that was enough for me :)

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  2. My roommate was gifted Modelland as a joke one Christmas. We've spent the past two years "reading" it. I can't get over how bad it is. I really love Patti Smith's memoir Just Kids; it's incredibly touching. It's probably my favourite. Keith Richard's autobiography is a close second because well, he's Keith Richards. He has plenty of stories.

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    1. I've been wanting to read Patti Smith and Keith Richards books. Glad to know they are good :) I used to read bios all the time, I need to get back to doing it every now and then at least... sometimes they are SO interesting!

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  3. I forgot about Chelsea Handler! I think of her as an author first because I knew about her books before I knew about her show. Great post!

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  4. Yeah I'm always wary of celebrity written books. I mean, anyone of them can publish all sorts of crap just bc they're famous. Lauren Conrad's book has some terrible reviews lol

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    1. Yeah it's sort of like how every celeb has a fashion line just because they can. And they don't even design it they just slap their name on it. Books are the same thing... oh I'll write a book because i can... NO THANKS!

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  5. I read Elixer by Hilary Duff, and although it wasn't super-bad...it wasn't all that good. I try not to make assumptions about books based on their authors but it's HARD if the books are kinda...rubbish :)

    Charlie xx

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    1. Agreed... maybe someday a celeb with writing talent will write a book. I mean Natalie Portman went to Harvard, surely someone like her could write an amazing book.

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  6. I'm embarrassed to admit that I saw an episode of America's Next Top Model where the models were shooting a motion editorial, which was basically a nonsensical wordless movie, based on Tyra's book Modelland. I remember thinking, "this sounds like the worst book in the entire world."

    I've never read the L.A. Candy series, but I do like Lauren's non-fiction books. And Chelsea Handler is awesome!

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