While browsing through the latest publishing news on Twitter, I came across Cara Delevingne’s cover reveal for her debut novel, Mirror Mirror. I do enjoy her work in modeling and the few films I have watched her act in, but the track record for celebrities and book-writing has always been iffy.
Just like Good Charlotte sang, “always see it on T.V. / or read in the magazines / celebrities want sympathy,” we are constantly shrouded with the latest celebrity gossip in some way, shape, or form. In more recent times, many celebrities have taken to writing novels, or hiring a ghost writer to fulfill their dream of writing a book. Unfortunately, some of those works don’t end up becoming literary moguls.
When reading an autobiography, like the late Carrie Fischer’s The Princess Diarist, there’s always a sense of closeness to the author which is what makes it appealing to consumers. Carrie took down walls, made me laugh, and even published her own diary entries to show how lovesick she was during the production of the famous “Star Wars” series. Or comedian Amy Schumer and her debut practically reiterating all her stand-up in word format. I imagined her standing on a stage in front of me, reading from her book and acting out the stories she told about how she came to be a successful comedian. You even have actors and actresses who executed creatively executed novel-writing, such as Steve Martin and B.J. Novak. Successful books like these, make us want more and get us excited for the next big celebrity book.
Then, you have the work that should not have made it past the editor’s desk…
We all know them, and in some cases, we might love them too. The ones we need to be most wary of are the celebrities known for being TV personalities and singers who write a novel (or two). Fabio, Tyra Banks, David Duchovny, James Franco, Farrah Abraham, and even Snooki made it onto a list of “cringeworthy” novels written by themselves. And I must say: I agree. I didn’t get the chance to read the full-length novels, but reading the summaries made me cross my legs twice, eyes bulging out of my head with my jaw stuck to the ground.
Like most readers, I take pleasure in reading the creativity produced by authors. Sometimes, it becomes too much and in this case, it has become way too much. Most stories are fictional representations of the celebrity’s life, something we don’t care to know about since we already have probably watched multiple documentaries of their life on E!. Even with the use of a ghostwriter, celebrities have come out with crazy ideas for novels – most of them not making any sense. Just read the summary for Modelland by Tyra Banks and tell me what you think.
But who knows, maybe Cara Delevingne has produced a coming-of-age novel worth the read.
We will give her the benefit of the doubt for now.
