Books Blog : celebrities

Read By the Author

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:30:00 GMT

I love to listen to memoirs read by the authors that wrote them. Not so long ago, I was quite skeptical of all audiobooks. I viewed listening to a book as cheating, unless it was a matter of poor eyesight. I have, however, warmed somewhat to audiobooks, and memoirs read by their authors have become a favorite of mine. When it comes to memoirs, what could possibly be better than someone's story in his or her own voice?

Here are some of my favorite memoirs read by their authors that I've had the pleasure to listen to so far:

Haven Kimmel's memoirs about growing up in Mooreland, Indiana, A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off the Couch. These two are good enough I recommend listening to them, even if you've already read them.
Kate Braestrup's Here if You Need Me, about being chaplain for the Maine Warden Service and her part in their search-and-rescue missions, plus her second memoir, Marriage and Other Acts of Charity.
Advice columnist Amy Dickinson's The Mighty Queens of Freeville, about the strong women in her family, including her mother, sisters and daughter.
Tina Fey's wildly popular Bossypants.
Anna Quindlen's recent memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. I don't think I'm the target audience for this one, but I enjoyed it very much anyway.
Craig Ferguson's American on Purpose, the story of how he became a musician, then a comedian, the drugs he did and the hearts he broke along the way, and his decision to become an American citizen (he was born & raised in Scotland), might be a bit heavy on foul language for some people, but it charmed me.
Bill Bryson's memoir of growing up in Iowa in the 1950's, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is most amusing read in his slight British accent-- he lives in England now.
A. J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically details the year he attempted to follow the Bible really, truly literally. Unfortunately, this is an abridged audiobook, meaning some parts of the original text are not included.

Do you have a memoir read by the author to recommend to me?

Great Scot! (aka, Grateful American)

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:11:00 GMT

Many celebrity biographies possess certain similarities: ambition, failed relationships, struggle, and frequently, addictions and/or abuse. So much of the success of the book depends not only on how the author has dealt with these situations in real life, but also on how they are able to share the details with their readers.

For me, American on Purpose: the Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by late-night talk show host Craig Ferguson is a success.

Born into a middle-class family in Glasgow, Scotland, Ferguson was pudgy boy who was beaten up pretty frequently. A lifelong passion for the United States was kindled by a letter exchange with NASA and a visit to the U.S. as a teen. Along the way, he discovered music (with a brief career as a punk rock drummer), alcohol and drugs, and eventually stand-up comedy and acting. Following a failed suicide attempt (he was diverted by a friend's offer of a drink) he eventually entered rehabilitation, and has been sober since 1992.

Throughout it all, Ferguson remains refreshingly gracious and unpretentious. He recounts the events and people in his life without malice, but instead with candor, equanimity, and a large dose of humor.

A bit of a warning here: the language may be offensive to some readers. Listening to the audiobook, which Ferguson narrates with that lovely brogue of his, probably made things a bit easier on the ears.

Okay; I'll admit it. I don't think I've ever stayed up to watch The Late Late Show. School nights, household duties--the usual reasons. But after reading American on Purpose, I just might.

E Can Write More Than Songs

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:28:00 GMT

Mark Oliver Everett is probably better known simply as E, the lead singer and creative force behind the Eels, but a few months ago he published a memoir under his full name called Things the Grandchildren Should Know. He might be a little younger than most people who've decided to write memoirs, but people in his family don't seem to live long lives, so he decided to write it while he still could. Tragedy and triumph have occurred over and over in his life, with little middle ground between. It's quite a story, whether you read the book yourself or have E's friend Chet read it to you on the CD audio version. I would recommend it not just to Eels fans, but also to anyone who enjoys a good memoir.

Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett

Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett -- CD audio edition, read by Chet Lyster

Eels' music available at the library

Authors doing good works with their written words

kiya@evpl — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:48:00 GMT

This week I heard about a fundraiser that author Patrick Rothfuss has been doing for Heifer International. After having run a successful contest on his personal blog, Rothfuss decided to try raising a little money for his favorite charity, Heifer International. On November 10^th, he announced the fundraiser on his blog, offering to match reader contributions dollar for dollar, hoping to raise a couple thousand dollars. In less than four days they contributed over $5000 (not including Rothfuss' matching donation), and he increased the goal again, and again. When the fundraiser ended on December 11^th, readers had contributed over $50,000 to Heifer International, and Rothfuss promises to match every dime. Rothfuss, who only quit his day job this past year after The Name of the Wind, the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle series, sold well in the US and internationally, is delighted, and so is Heifer International.

Then I started wondering about other authors, and what similar projects they might have done. I know that J. K. Rowling's new book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, is a fundraiser for a charity she helped found. The book is the collection of stories that Harry and friends use to reach their goals in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Both these stories help me feel good about the authors I love to read. Do you know of other authors who use their public attention to help others?

"sTORI Telling" by Tori Spelling

librarianinheels@evpl — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:41:00 GMT

Tori Spelling is the daughter of Aaron Spelling - the famous, super-rich producer of classic cheeseball TV hits like Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Dynasty, and Melrose Place, to name a few. In 2006, Spelling died, and his daughter Tori learned of her father's death via text message. Tabloids reported that Tori, who had recently divorced her husband of less than two years and married another man about six months later, had been virtually cut out of her father's $500 million dollar estate - her mother, Candy, received the bulk of it, while Tori and her brother Randy each received just $800,000.

In the last two years, Tori Spelling has married the love of her life, given birth to two children, co-written a book about her life, and starred in a reality show with her husband, Dean McDermott, entitled "Tori and Dean: Inn Love". One might say that Tori's making a concerted effort to continue living in the style to which she is accustomed. For that, she deserves at least some kudos...she's nothing if not resourceful.

Still, it's kind of hard for me to believe that Tori Spelling, of all people, has spent her whole life just longing to be "normal" - which is what she asserts in her recent autobiography, sTORI Telling. Even though she was given hand-delivered white Christmases in her Beverly Hills backyard, received a champagne-colored BMV convertible for her 16th birthday (when all she really wanted was a VW convertible) and was thrown a $1 million wedding - all Tori Spelling has ever wanted is to just be "normal". Finding some kind of "normal" seems to be the theme of the book. By the end, Tori seems to come to terms with her own version of "normal" and it's just difficult to not like her for that.

This book was an easy, somewhat juicy, but ultimately unsatisfying read. Tori briefly delves into the interworkings of the troubled cast relationships on 'Beverly Hills, 90210' ~ the show that made her famous ~ but not with enough detail for me. She spends a lot of time discussing her many dysfunctional personal relationships, most notably the one with her mother - who, if you believe all that Tori lays out, must be a real piece of work. sTORI Telling is OK - but I'm sure the tell-all that comes out in 30 or 40 more years will be much more interesting. Tori just hasn't lived long enough or, simply, enough to do much storytelling....YET.

There's not much else to say about sTORI Telling - it is just what you would expect it to be - fluffly, lacking substance, but it still keeps your attention - if only so you can find out what kind of weird thing Tori's mother will do next. (Spoiler alert: they make up, but Tori still doesn't get any more money from her dad's estate.) If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read, pick up sTORI Telling.