Stephen King on Writing

 

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As we’ve established from previous posts, there are many little things in life that I enjoy the experience of, particularly when it comes to literature: closing a book and then just innately knowing what to read next, plucking a volume from the shelf at random and discovering a new favourite, to name a few. The newest experience to add to this list is picking a book that might help research or gain insight into something you’re writing about, not doing exactly that but sparking some new inspiration. I just closed the cover on Stephen King on Writing, a truly engaging, helpful, and down-to-earth read. 

Part biography and part memoir on the craft, On Writing is both entertaining and insightful. King regales his readers with true adventures and misdemeanours from his life –most of which revolve around the inspiration and the creation of his well-known stories- as well as helpful little titbits about everything from plot, to character development, to dialogue, editing, and publishing. 

While King strives to remind readers that these tips are just his personal opinions and way of doing things, there’s a certain level of authority mixed with a down-to-earth vibe that infuses the paragraphs and inspires full attention and respect; like a nonchalant uni professor you could also have a beer with after class. 

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Balancing against the insightful pointers about the creative process is the anecdotal stories that King inserts about his own life, creative episodes, and even his own thoughts towards some of his most celebrated characters. It’s particularly interesting hearing about his disdain or reluctance towards certain works that ended up winning him acclaim or recognition (e.g. Carrie). 

Filled with humour, hints, and heart, On Writing is a great memoir: helpful as a tool for aspiring writers and entertaining for anyone who likes Stephen King. Definitely worth the read!

Author: Stephen King, 2000

Published: Hodder & Stoughton, A Hachette Company (UK)

Going Solo

 

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This week I continued on with the life of one of my favourite childhood authors, diving with him right into the madness and mayhem that was Greece, East Africa, and the Middle East during the Second World War. This week, we were Going Solo.

Picking up more or less where Boy left off, Going Solo chronicles Dahl’s life as a young man leaving England to work in Africa, joining the RAF when war broke out, and finally coming home again after three years abroad. Dahl recounts with great clarity exciting adventures in every chapter ranging from encounters with deadly snakes, to being in a plane crash, to being almost shot at a military road block. 

I found this book interesting for a number of reasons. 1) It tells a true story that is exciting, dangerous, and horrific. 2) It was slightly strange to read a book from an author I recognise as a children’s author, which is directed towards a more adult audience. While Boy still had this fantastic tone of innocence and childlike wonder, Going Solo really is a more mature recounting of Dahl’s life, both in narrative content and the way he frames those stories. 

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The danger and horror of many of the situations and environments is perfectly conveyed through blunt and simple prose, I do rather like the way that Dahl does not opt for long-winded paragraphs of exposition and description, but manages to get sufficient drama and emotion through short sentences and dialogue. Thanks to this, Going Solo is a reasonably fast read, giving you that accomplished feeling at the end of a book much faster. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Author: Roald Dahl, 1986

Published: Jonathan Cape Ltd (Great Britain) 1986, Farrar Straus Giroux (USA) 1986

Boy

 

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Leaving behind the world of the fantastical and significantly dated literature, this week the book that I plucked off the shelf was a swift and glorious look into the childhood of one of my favourite authors: Roald Dahl. 

Simply entitled Boy, this book chronicles Dahl’s boyhood from kindergarten right through to his first job at the age of eighteen. Dahl regales readers with stories of mischief, fearsome authority figures, and chocolate, all of which inspired some of his greatest works. 

After the struggle that was Gulliver’s Travels, I was most definitely in the mood for easy reading for the next little while. And Boy proved to be exactly that. Reflective of its title, this is a short and sweet little autobiography that I particularly enjoyed, not merely because it’s the life of one of my all-time favourite authors, but because the book itself is a work of non-fiction that is targeted towards a young readership. While it tells true stories, it tells them in such a simple, yet exciting way that captivates and expertly paints vibrant images in the mind, making it just as engaging as a children’s fictional novel.

Dahl was one of the earliest authors I remember loving as a child. I can remember sitting up with my dad after dinner –this was just when I was getting a handle on reading, so 6-7 years old- and reading Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud to him. The simplicity and childlike innocence with which he writes his novels is prevalent here in his autobiography and I was emotionally transported to that dining room table, reading to my dad. 

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Despite the simple prose, Boy is also a comparative reflection on the way things have changed, particularly travel, educational disciplinary routines, and medical procedures. Indeed there are some scenes in the book that are quite gruesome and horrifying, making me quite grateful that I did not grow up in the 1930s. 

From page one, Boy is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of literature’s most celebrated and beloved authors. I am keen to open the cover of the next instalment: Going Solo. 

Author: Roald Dahl, 1984

Published: First published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape Ltd. First published in the USA by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1984

Queer Eye

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At a time popularised by making promises to create a better you, could there be a better way to ring in the New Year than reading a book that helps you do just that? Last year the Fab Five brought out a non-fiction collaboration in which they provide tips and advice to help you get the Queer Eye treatment and head out into the world being the best you that you can be.

Sounds a bit cheesy, like some awful motivational speech right? But honestly, the book is pretty good…

On Netflix’ Queer Eye, Bobby, Antoni, Karamo, Tan, and Jonathan transform their heroes from eh to wow and through home décor, fashion, grooming, food, and culture, teach them how to become the best version of themselves; look great, and feel comfortable and confident. The aim of the show is to not just do a makeover, but to teach the heroes (and the viewers) how they can realise and maintain their potential. The book, more or less, does the same thing with various chapters devoted to tips for improving your grooming routine, wardrobe, living space, culinary game, and social life.

Beginning with an introduction by show creators David Collins, Michael Williams, and Rob Eric, Queer Eye is a fusion of genres, starting with an autobiographical segment in which we learn more about our authors. Being a fan of the show and its presenters, I was completely rapt in the first five chapters because, of course as a fan of anything, I love learning more about the things, characters, and people I love. A book can seriously lose something if you’ve got no emotional connection with the characters so this one simply glides out of the gate cleanly on that front.

We then move on to the chapters devoted to self care and improvement, coloured by tips and advice to help you get more out of your wardrobe, home, grooming routine, diet, and way in the social sphere. What’s nice about this book is that the prose is not too informative or dry; being written from each of the Fab Five, the reading experience is just like hearing them on the show, only a little more intimate as they’re talking to you. Fans’ imaginations might take over a little bit and paint images in their heads of having these conversations with the guys in the room –I know I did, I imagined Tan fawning over my Kitten D’Amour collection while Jonathan helped me shape a skin-care regime around my dermatitis, and I showed Antoni my chicken tagine with blue cheese couscous. 

Yeah, I’m a bit of a Fab Five fangirl, and I love it!

Image credit: Metro Weekly

Finally we move on to how all the elements of the previous chapters can be put together to create a fantastic dinner party; the climactic third act so to speak. We’ve got an interesting selection of recipes (some of which I’m totally going to try), suggestions for music, and everything else you need to have a great night with friends and loved ones. The final chapters are a perfect endnote, as they provide some narrative payoff and leave the reader armed with an encouraging message of “we’ve shown you how, now go be the best that you can be and love your life”. Again, it’s cheesy, but for anyone who loves the show (and therefore has probably already read the book), it leaves you with that warm and inspired feeling that starts in your tummy and then spreads through your whole body.

I’m not going to lie, I kinda loved this book!

Queer Eye is a non-fiction collaboration written by Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and Jonathan Van Ness and published by Headline Publishing Group in 2018.

Best Foot Forward

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Like TV interviews or daydreams, there’s a wonderful intimacy in autobiographies that I absolutely adore. While the initial inspiration to read someone’s autobiography is to find out more about a person you admire (or at least find interesting enough to purchase their book), there is this warm, underlying intimacy in that this person’s word (although printed and distributed to the masses) have been written by them expressly for you. A good autobiography feels as though the writer is right there across the table from you, regaling you with their delightful stories and messages. This is the feeling I am currently relishing in, having just closed the cover of Adam Hills’ Best Foot Forward.

The book chronicles various poignant and inspirational moments throughout Hills’ career; a fascinating one that has morphed into everything from stand-up comic, radio DJ, TV show host, spokesperson, and celebrated cultural darling. Fans of Hillsy will recognise such uplifting and memorable stories such as when he met the Queen of England, the Dalai Lama, and the Muppets, not to mention a few new ones and some behind-the-scenes titbits that haven’t been dropped on stage or screen.

If you love Adam, then you’ll love this book! Those who have seen Spicks and Specks, The Last Leg, and his stand-up shows will delight in the prose, which is that genuine and down to earth, anecdotal, method of telling stories with profound meaning or incredible inspiration that Adam has in spades. Like a three hundred page transcript of one of his shows, Best Food Forward tells these genuine, but also slightly unbelievable (to me and you at least) stories that are awesome in that they involve this exciting level of celebrity in them, but at the same time blur the distinction between celebrity and mundane as they are told in this delightfully innocent and casual way. The anecdotal vibe really gives the book an intimacy and genuine edge that’s really lovely.

Image credit: The Sit Down Comedy Club

As a person that multiple nations already know and love, Best Food Forward tells us that little bit more about Adam; like a friend we’ve known for years, but are still discovering little quirks about. It’s an entertaining, funny, and often heart warming read that everyone (Hillsy old-hats and newcomers alike) will enjoy.

Best Foot Forward is the autobiography and first book written by comedian and TV presenter Adam Hills. He began writing it in 2003 with various journal entries detailing exciting or inspirational events and it became a fully-fledged autobiography, published by Hachette and hitting shelves a few months ago.

Chinese Cinderella

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When I think about it, Adeline’s Yen Mah’s book would be the first autobiography I ever read. I remember reading it in the early stages of high school, before I stopped reading altogether, and absolutely loving it; while also thinking it was one of the saddest stories I’d ever read. Having now reread it as an adult, I still feel this way. And still adore it.

Chinese Cinderella chronicles Adeline Yen Mah’s childhood from kindergarten through to university as the youngest, and unwanted, daughter from a first marriage. Tormented by her openly hateful stepmother, ignored by her father, and shunned by her siblings who blame her for their mother’s death, Adeline pours her efforts into study and keeping her troubled home life a secret from her friends. With only her Aunt Baba and her grandfather supporting her, life for poor Adeline is a true Cinderella story, which means that after all the exclusion and torment, there is the promise of a happy ending.

Chinese Cinderella is very simply written, ideal for younger readers beginning to branch out into non-fiction. It’s the story’s events, dramas, and the promise of hope for Adeline that keeps you in a flurrying frenzy of turning pages. Sophisticated and eloquent with a gorgeous tone of childhood innocence, I adore this book because it is a fairytale made real. Chinese traditions and its histories, both ancient and modern, help establish the drama and reflect the changing cultural attitudes that characterised the country at the time: the book covers WWII, the Chinese Civil War, and the rise of Communism, all told through the words of a growing child.

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Adeline’s story is inspiring as a Cinderella story that brings about its happy ending through the heroine’s own hard work and courage to carry on: a beautiful and relevant message for both boys and girls even to this day. Being so intimate with the protagonist, you actually feel the happiness, dread, and sadness of the events she’s describing and the reading experience is completely shared between reader and narrator, making it very powerful and very immersive. It’s truly beautiful.

Chinese Cinderella is the autobiography of Adeline Yen Mah, the bestselling author of Falling Leaves. It was written in 1999 and published by Penguin Books Australia.

Back on Top

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The first one was so juicy it was way too easy to jump into the second! 

Back on Top tells the story of all that happened to Amanda/Samantha after the fame and attention of coming out as an escort. The soaring business end as well as the dramatic love story between her and a client, named Big. 

The book takes on a much more girly tone, truly like that of Sex and the City and other romantic comedies. The major difference is that there is a clear love story running parallel to the raunchy boudoir tales in the Samantha chapters. True, it’s a little clichéd, but it still does the trick and makes for a fast-flipping power read. What’s particularly nice about it is that there’s a bit of a stronger sense of chronology and flow that sometimes was missing from the first book. 

While Hooked was more a story of empowerment and bravery, in a sense, Back on Top is a redemption story and a narrator’s journey, exploring the empowerment that other people can give you, not just the strands found within the self. It might seem to be all about Samantha/Amanda, but there are more situations in which neither of them is in control and it’s sort of interesting because it has this humbling affect on their strong-willed characters we’d come to know in Hooked. 

Samantha’s voice definitely has a bit of a different tone in this book: a little more snobbery and privilege, an understandable change that comes with the higher class lifestyle that she’s privy to. 

And it’s interesting to see that the roles of the characters have been completely reversed. Where Samantha was the one in potentially dangerous and harmful situations, it’s Amanda that ends up in serious trouble, ironically having to be rescued from a man not by a man. 

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The likeness to Sex and the City is a lot stronger here, namely because of the character of Mr. Big. Samantha, straight off the bat, admits that she’s borrowed the name for two reasons: to protect the man’s privacy, and create an apt depiction of his character. Just like the show, I spent a lot of time during the Amanda chapters openly voicing what a dick Big is, wondering why Amanda put up with the gaslighting and abuse, and hating the fact that I was doing all of this. So there you go. It might be girly and clichéd, but it’s still effective. 

Back on Top doesn’t have the same sassy and vivacious vibe that Hooked did but then again, it is telling a different story. Like its predecessor, it’s easy to power through and is an open window into a real world that many people don’t understand or accept. That’s what’s especially great about it. 

Author: Samantha X 

Published: Hachette, 2017

Hooked

Half the fun of reading non-fiction is that it’s a true voyeuristic trip into the world of someone else. A proper look behind the curtain. Whether it is self-written or ghost-written, done well or done badly there is a certain feeling one gets from reading a non-fiction work. I’ve been on a bit of a bender with the genre recently, having done Amanda Palmer’s autobiography, Clementine Ford’s Fight Like a Girl and just come off the back of Tara Moss’ The Fictional Woman. The latest piece to join that company: Samantha X’s Hooked. 

In the real world, she’s Amanda Goff: successful journalist, divorcee, and mother of two. But she’s unsatisfied with the life she’s leading. One day she gets up the courage to go to an interview at a brothel and Samantha X is born. Confident, sassy, and in control, Samantha quickly becomes comfortable in the world of sex workers: a world where the money is great, she can orgasm at work, and the hours are flexible, giving her more time with her kids. But there are prices to pay for a perfect job and soon Samantha’s addiction to her work takes its toll on Amanda’s life. Can the two work it out? 

Whilst it might sound a little girlish and tacky, this book is Sex and the City as it could have been. Imagine how different the show would have been if Carrie had been an escort? It really would have been sex and the city. Fitting with its title, Hooked gets you in straight away, beginning with a juicy scene inside the Bordello where we meet Samantha X and one of her clients. From there, it’s a game of table tennis between Samantha and Amanda as each chapter is named and after the woman’s perspective and tells her side of the story. 

The jagged pace and fractured chronology of it can be a little jarring, but it’s quickly compensated for by the deliciously gossipy tone that the majority of the book is written with. Both Samantha and Amanda speak directly to their readers in discussion, narrative, and confession and it’s very personal, but written in a sassy way. 

However, it’s definitely not a book for everyone. The pink title and girly, gossipy timbre in which it’s written doesn’t really exclude men from being invited to read it, but does indicate a certain target market. There’s a ‘trashy’, guilty-pleasure side to this book, like watching The Bachelor or Sex and the City, and while the writing is not bad, it’s not amazing either. The appeal of Hooked is its central character(s) and the many stories that it tells in such a small span of pages. The character arcs and situations that they find themselves in are ones that a large portion of the readership can relate to and Samantha and Amanda’s confidence in bearing all in over two hundred pages is what keeps them pages turning. 

Hooked is a very easy and very accessible read, that I positively powered through, enjoying every word. 

Author: Samantha X 

Published: Ebury Press, 2014

The Art of Asking

I guess –no, I am sure- that there are hundreds of thousands of millions who, like me, have this stubbornly and stoically rooted idea in their brains that you should be able to do everything yourself: that you don’t need help. Of course, this is utter bullshit and the people like me know it, but it’s very hard to dislodge our minds from that rusted track. This mentality comes back and bites you, whether in the form of getting caught walking home, unjacketed and umbrella-less in a downpour because you didn’t accept a lift from a colleague, or missing an important deadline because you said no to the offer of some-else’s internet. 

It takes a strong voice to chip away at the rust that binds us to our mentality-tracks. Usually, it’s our own, but there are some that just have that punch behind them to get through to us. Amanda Palmer is one such voice, as I discovered reading her autobiography, The Art of Asking. 

The book chronicles Amanda’s trials and tribulations (of which there are many) on the road to be an artist and a rock star. But underlying this autobiographical surface is a self-help (for want of a better word) story of discovery about both sides of humanity: helpful and naysaying. She talks about the lessons she has learned about asking for help and receiving it from tough, but humble beginnings as an eight-foot living statue, to half of a punk-cabaret duo, The Dresden Dolls, to being an official musician with a label, to being an ‘independent’ (again, for want of a better word because her musical endeavours and achievements grow from the help of her friends, family, and fanbase) artist. Each story she chronicles has a profound meaning and purpose to the overall message of the book, making it so much more than a rock star’s ramblings about life on the road. 

I am not usually a fast reader, but I absolutely powered through this. The main thing I accredit this to is Palmer’s writing style. The complete tone of the book is one of conversation and discussion, making it wonderfully accessible and digestible. Keeping in mind that my last review was A Tale of Two Cities, the joy that is this book was only heightened by its simple and straightforward tone and the short and simple stories it regales. 

The unbroken line between author and audience is blurred and then transcended as Palmer makes is clear that she is on the same level as the reader. Some of her phrases may have a bit more of a poetic edge, which is all artistic and lovely, but ultimately the stories she tells and the way she tells them is very down-to-earth and real. She could be sitting across the couch or table from you as you’re reading, telling you everything. It’s because of this tone and the simplicity of the stories and anecdotes she writes about that makes them all the more poignant and you all the more eager to turn the pages. 

On every level, this is something exciting about the contents of this book, be it rock star anecdotes that people like me only fantasise about, or suspenseful stories that you need to get to the end of to find out whether a heart gets broken. 

But I think the most wonderful thing about this book was that it spoke to me. Without knowing me, Palmer managed to dislodge some of the rust that holds me in a stubborn state of “no that’s ok, I’ll be fine on my own”. During my reading of this, I accepted help from people on a number of occasions (one of which saved me from an hour-long trek at midnight in the pouring rain and freezing cold, without jacket or umbrella, for which I had already steeled myself). 

I would heartily recommend that this be the next book you read; even if, like me, you’re not a real Amanda Palmer fan, this may just make a convert out of you! 

Author: Amanda Palmer 

Published: 2014

The Book of Margery Kempe

‘Written’ by Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe is an autobiographical work that proves to be a challenging read for the modern audience. A medieval text (one that I only read because my uni course requited it), this Norton Critical edition takes a little of the challenge out of the read by modernising the language as much as possible, making it much easier to understand than other Medieval texts like, say, Chaucer’s poems (other texts that my course requires me to read). Nevertheless, I found this book really challenging because it’s one big preach fest, written in a disturbingly disjointed kind of way. Having said that, it’s a good book to read for those who aren’t afraid of a literary challenge! 

Margery Kempe, a married woman from Lynn in England, was not one to shy away from sin. That was, until, the Good Lord Jesus Christ came to her in a vision and converted her. Having seen the light, Margery then devotes her life to God and Jesus Christ, preaching their word, going on holy pilgrimages, and saving many people on the way. But with all good there is evil and Margery is not always seen in the best light, receiving much scorn and despite from many people she encounters, including some of holy status. 

It sounds boring right? And, yeah it truly is. For the modern reader, The Book of Margery Kempe is one big preachy/schizophrenic narcissistic indulgence, ripe for all the attack of scepticism and the like that contemporary readers have in spades! My minute fascination that took a long time to germinate, let me tell you, stems from the fact that there is so much controversy about this book even as a literary work. It’s credited as being one of the first autobiographies, but when we consider the 1400s when it was written, can it really fall under that label when we consider that women were more or less illiterate, forbidden to write, and the whole thing was dictated and taken down by male scribes? Is it really autobiography when the woman herself did not physically write it? The ins and outs of that alone are what intrigues me about this book. 

The book itself is preachy, dry, and written in a discordant manner. Divided into two books, each religious escapade, event, or ‘ghostly’ vision is told as a separate chapter and written in the third person register with Margery herself being referred to as ‘this creature’. A few metafictive jibes make their way into the mix, providing a new voice (that of the scribes, for there were two) that delineates away from the monotonous third person omniscient. There’s no real narrative flow either, the whole thing is very jagged and unnerving, a bit like Steven Tyler’s autobiography but nowhere near as interesting! It jumps back and forth between time frames and is quite indicative of its status as dictation: “one time this happened, and then this, and then another time this happened”, that sort of thing. Not very cool really. 

Filled with drama, religious ‘miracles’, love, devotion, and betrayal, The Book of Margery Kempe is a pretty boring and dense read that poses more than one challenge for the contemporary reader. Whilst I didn’t really enjoy it at all, one thing I will say in its defence is that the feeling of achievement that you get when you actually finish reading the entire thing is pretty grand! 

Steven Tyler: Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?

Every time that I look in the mirror

All these lines on face getting clearer

The past is gone

It went by like dusk to dawn

Sing with me

Sing for the years

Sing for the laughter

Sing of the tears

Dream On, the greatest rock ‘n’ roll song to ever grace the earth! It’s lyrical, passionate, can be interpreted in practically any way, and is just downright genius. The man from whose mind burst forth that rock ‘n’ roll wonder is Steven Tyler and this is his autobiography; the aptly titled Does the Noise is My Head Bother You?  

From a humble, if not so much clean, beginning in Sunapee to the stadium rocking screaming sensation that we all know and love, Steven Tyler writes about a life completely lived: his life. From his musical family, to his first band, to the formation of Aerosmith, to the infamous drug abuse and numerous stints in rehab, to his marriages and his children, this is a real rock ‘n’ roll memoir! 

A personal story behind me is that my name is Hannah and my mum named me that because it was an old name and when I came into the world, it seemed to her that I had been here before. It’s a very apt name really, and I have only recently come to the conclusion that is explains my taste in music, which practically mirrors that of my parents. Throughout my life, I have been a fan of Queen, David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Tom Waits, and of course, Aerosmith, so when I discovered this book, I simply could not wait to add it to my library. It’s a wonderfully rock ‘n’ roll read: hard, jagged, stoned, high, passionate, musical, lyrical, and then personal. 

I found it hard to get into at first because Steven does tend to jump around a lot from one anecdote to another and it does read like an explanation or conversation; going off on tangents when something triggers some memory or reminiscence. It’s bloody entertaining though and gives the book a very close and personal vibe, like Steven himself is standing in front of you, telling you his life. 

What impressed me about the book too, was the fact that it was brutally frank and completely unfiltered. Steven just seems to have a case of verbal diarrhoea and completely overwhelms you with confessions and anecdotes of a very personal and sometimes edgy nature, things that I personally would never feel comfortable confessing. But it makes the book excruciatingly real, completely shattering any illusions about band unity, the trashy glamour of being a rock star; it really makes you understand the phrase “one man’s dream is another man’s nightmare”. 

Filled with absolutely everything from drugs, romance, music, drama, conflicts, anecdotes, history, name-dropping, comedy, and pretty much anything else you can think of, Steven Tyler: Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? is a fantastically frank and rock ‘n’ roll read that just will have you laughing, swooning, raging, and captivated from page one. 

Julie & Julia

Written by Julie Powell, possibly the most well known blogger of the century, and now made into a fantastic film starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia is an autobiographical portrayal of Julie Powell’s “year of cooking dangerously.” The by-product of a personal project that harboured a few surprises, catastrophes, and an unexpected path to contented enlightenment, this book is one that I am fine to have read, but in all honesty I would not be in any big rush to read it again. And, believe me, it’s hard for me to say that as a blogger who has herself been inspired by Julie’s personal story. In truth, it was watching the film Julie & Julia that made me want to start a blog and have personal projects of my own; although I now think I have too many and they will occupy my free time for the next two decades. Anyway, this is not about me… 

Living in a “crappy” apartment and trapped in a job that she utterly despises, Julie Powell sees life passing her by. With her thirtieth birthday looming over her, she finds herself one night in a Korean market buying the exact ingredients for Potage Parmentier, as described in Julia Child’s legendary cook book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And so the project is born. Julie begins to cook: 365 days, 524 recipes and blogs each and every one of her successes and failures. Soon the Project is her all-consuming reason for being, but along the way she has a few realisations that not only affect her cooking, but her life. 

Although it is a mere 310 pages long and, compared with Jane Eyre (the book I read previously), a walk in the park, I found Julie & Julia interesting, but at the same time tedious and somewhat annoying. I suppose one reason for this is because the content is actually quite (I don’t want to say “boring” because that’s not the right word) lacklustre, in that she records all these dramas and disasters… and that seems to be all she does. Don’t get me wrong, the drama and conflict is what generally engages the reader, but to have each chapter devoted to disaster after disaster just gave the book the feeling that it was just a way of venting and whining about how miserable her life was at the time. I will be the first to admit that people, women in particular, do love to whine. For us, it’s like breathing, but there is a time and a place… and in Julie’s case, a format for it. 

This was one of the rare times where I watched the film first before reading the book. And after completing it, I have come to the conclusion that it is not always better to read the book first. My mum tried to read the book and gave up not a hundred pages in. Julie’s recounts of her project, her feelings, and her conflicts take on a very conversational tone, a tone that I personally think works online, on blogs, on the computer screen etc, but just really isn’t quite right for a book. Having said this, there aren’t many ways you can write an autobiography, they do leave a lot to be desired, which is maybe why I don’t tend to read that many of them (I found myself struggling through Russell Brand’s Booky Wook). I don’t know, the repetition of personal tragedies combined with the conversational timbre of the book, made it sometimes engaging, but there was only so much you could take. 

Filled with French food, marital humps, domestic dramas, butter, the odd bit of blogging, and a few segments of Mastering the Art of French Cooking scattered throughout, Julie & Julia was a read that I sometimes found entertaining, but ultimately just felt like I was on the receiving end of a rant. To be sure, I am glad that I have read it, but I’m sure I could still have lived a full and contented life if I didn’t. 

My Booky Wook

Written by comedic actor and stand-up artist, Russell Brand, My Booky Wook tells of the early stages and misdemeanours of the star’s life and career. 

The flamboyant and stylishly eccentric dandy Russell Brand lived his life as though performing in a Victorian vaudeville. But his ascent to stardom has not been an easy or smooth journey. He has had to battle through a troubled childhood in Essex and addictions to drink, drugs, and sex that found him drying out in institutions and rehabilitation clinics all over the world. This flamboyant, frank, and brutally honest memoir charts the peaks and the troughs of Russell’s thorny rise to fame, introducing the audience to the man behind the hair. 

I suppose, in order to really like an autobiography, you have to really love the person you’re reading about. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Russell Brand, he has a presence and is the type of person who catches the eye because he is different (a noble and sadly disappearing trait in modern society). But to be brutally honest, I only bought his book to keep myself amused on a flight home from Melbourne (one on which I had forgotten to bring the book I was reading at the time). Of course, after starting the book, it would have killed me no to finish it sooner rather than later (I cannot stand starting something and than not finishing it) so, after finishing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Harry Potter 7, and A Christmas Carol, I endeavoured to sit down and finish reading My Booky Wook. 

What is nice about the book is the way that it is written. It uses casual language and is very frank and down to earth. It actually feels as though you are talking to the man and he is relaying all this information and these stories to you personally. 

The book also kept my attention because it mentioned, sampled and quoted other works, some cultural and some more tragic and modern. References to Star Wars, Spike Milligan, Black Adder, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and snippets of poetry sneak into the text, giving it a sense of realism and making you feel that you can relate. 

The book also harbours pictures and photocopies of documents that played a key role in Russell’s ascent to stardom, because, in this day and age, people respond more to photographic evidence and visual stimuli. It’s sad but true. 

A brutally frank memoir filled with sometimes graphic stories of prostitutes, homelessness, drink, drugs, abuse, self harm, and sexual escapades, My Booky Wook was an interesting read, though not one that I would really rave about. It’s very simple to read, using casual language with the occasional big word thrown it to add a dash of sophistication and culture, but it really isn’t anything spectacular. Only read it if you’re a big Brand fan.