Recently, I was set off on another wave of hatred for the celeb author trend when I heard that Lauren Conrad, of the TV show, "The Hills" had a YA book coming out. I have never seen an episode of "The Hills", but I have seen clips of it on The Soup and cannot understand why anyone would choose to waste any minutes of their life watching it, unless, like The Soup, they are making fun of it.
I have always been skeptical about fiction books written by celebrities. It's probably because I'm a little bitter that because someone is a known actor or other famous being, they are able to get a publishing deal, whether they are really good writers or not. I understand it's an instant marketing plus, but still an insult to those of us who are passionate about writing.
However, to be fair, I know that there are some celebrities who are talented writers. For example, I have enjoyed several picture books written by Jamie Lee Curtis, with her illustrator Laura Cornell. We have at our house now her book titled "It's Hard to Be Five," which my son (who is almost five) has insisted be read at bedtime every night for the last two weeks. She is good at capturing the emotional mindset of young children, as well as injecting humor and a good rhythm and rhyme pattern in her writing.
I have always been skeptical about fiction books written by celebrities. It's probably because I'm a little bitter that because someone is a known actor or other famous being, they are able to get a publishing deal, whether they are really good writers or not. I understand it's an instant marketing plus, but still an insult to those of us who are passionate about writing.
However, to be fair, I know that there are some celebrities who are talented writers. For example, I have enjoyed several picture books written by Jamie Lee Curtis, with her illustrator Laura Cornell. We have at our house now her book titled "It's Hard to Be Five," which my son (who is almost five) has insisted be read at bedtime every night for the last two weeks. She is good at capturing the emotional mindset of young children, as well as injecting humor and a good rhythm and rhyme pattern in her writing.
Still, I will not be buying, nor even checking out from the library, L.C.'s book or many of the other "celebrity" tomes, unless they are well-reviewed or recommended - just on principle.
I have that same hesistance toward celeb books. I've read a few I like (Billy Crystal's picture book. The picture books seem to be okay) but mostly, I steer clear. I have liked Jenny McCarthy's because my twins are autistic and we're always keeping our options open to how best to help them. I do really care about her books because she's another mommy who gets how terrifiying and urgent it is to help your child--no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI agree that these kinds of books bother me. Just because someone has the money to hire a person to "help" them write a book doesn't mean they should. Stick with acting. I can only stand to hate so much :)
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