A Book Written By A Celebrity: Worthington Reading List

Have you seen this year's Worthington Reading List yet? In it I have the 26 categories of books read for this year. This post is a breakdown for one of those categories. Each time I finish a category I will fill you in with what I read by sharing my review of the book along with a list of other books I've read that fit in the category (and what I thought about them), all to give you suggestions of what to read! It's not a numbered list, so you can go in whatever order you want! All that being said... onto the post!

The first category I finished is "A Book Written By A Celebrity." 

My favorite general list is HERE from Goodreads. I love this list because not only can you see the reviews of the book right there, you can also see which of your friends read it (and what they thought of it)!

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

I picked this book for this category of my 2016 reading list because my book group had picked it as our book for this month; and I was really excited about it. You can judge this book by it's great cover! I loved it! Here are my reasons why:

1. I enjoy Jim Gaffigan. I think he's funny. I'm not a Jim Gaffigan groupie, but I've appreciated a few of his skits over the years ("Hot pocket"). I like that he uses clean language, and I got a kick out of his TV show that came out on TVLand this year! So I was looking forward to reading this book before I even started it.

2. I listened to the book. I often fancy when celebrity-written books are read by the celebrities themselves; this book was no exception. I liked hearing his inflections in the jokes, and since I'm not that familiar with his comedy that's something I wouldn't have been able to enjoy had I actually read the book. 

3. I appreciate food. I'm what Jim fondly refers to as an "eatie" not a "foodie." I'm not one for fine-dining or exotic foods, but I love a good donut! I like to eat, and I enjoy when food tastes good. Granted I'm not nearly as extreme as Mr. Gaffigan in the "eatie" department, but I could appreciate the humor because I could relate (to a good portion of it anyways). 

4. I like jokes about food. See the point above. 

5. There is a whole chapter on bacon! I REALLY like bacon. 

6. I like to laugh. I found myself laughing OUT LOUD while listening to this book... in the car, on the treadmill, while doing dishes, and while baking cookies. No matter where I was, I was laughing; and I found that pleasurable. 

Should You Read It? Do I think you should pick this book for your reading list this year? YES! Highly recommend it!

By now some of you are thinking, OK Cami... enough with that book... give me some other options! Whatever your reasoning, some of you may not find the previous book appealing, and that's OK. There are plenty of other books written by celebrities that you can use for your reading list. Here are some of the ones that I've read.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

This book is hilarious. I have read it multiple times and it keeps getting funnier each time! First, I listened to it. Like I said, I'm a sucker when the book is read by the celebrity who wrote it. Mindy's humor is my kind of thing. I'm a huge fan of her TV Show The Mindy Project, and I felt like this book fit well with that kind of humor.

Then, a couple years later I read the book. Still just as funny. I'm pretty familiar with Mindy's comedy style, so I was able to "hear her" in my head as I read the book (I think it also helped that I'd listened to the book before).

This book made me literally LOL.

Should You Read It? Heck yes! It's one of my favorites. I'll likely read it a few more times in my lifetime. 

Bossy Pants by Tina Fey

I attempted to read this book for the first time years ago. I don't think I finished it, and even forgot that I had attempted to read it.

Fast-forward to last year when I was reading this book for my 2015 reading challenge. I borrowed this book from the library, and was so surprised when I started reading it and the first few chapters were very familiar! I had totally forgotten I had tried to read this book before, and didn't like it!

But my 2015-self actually really enjoyed this book! I read it fairly quickly. I think it probably had something to do with that I'm older now and more familiar & comfortable  with Tina's comedy style. This book wasn't as funny as Mindy's book... but I did enjoy it and laughed out loud a few times. I probably won't re-read it though (unless I forget I read it...again).

Should You Read It? It's a solid book, so I say yes.

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Did I just miss the hype on this one, or did it really not get a lot of it?
I enjoyed this book. I'm a HUGE Gilmore Girls fan, so listening to this book being read by Lauren Graham was like watching Gilmore Girls in my car as I commuted to school and work. I listened to this book years ago, so I don't remember a lot of details, but I do remember enjoying it! I had borrowed the audio book from the library and ended up buying the print copy of the book because I liked it so much, and wanted to be able to share it with others.
Should You Read It? Yes! This is a great option for this category!

Yes, Please! by Amy Poehler

I really wanted to like this book; but I didn't. The cover is amazing, the pictures in the book are hilarious, and the book itself is gorgeous (it has the most luxurious pages), but it was so difficult for me to get through it. Halfway through instead of giving up, I checked out the audio book from my local library; it didn't make the book any better. I wanted to listen to commercials on the radio more than I wanted to listen to the book! The only thing I liked about it was that it was Amy Poehler reading the book, and her voice is soothing to me, but it made me want to go to sleep. 

Don't get me wrong. I think it was a valiant effort, and I still love Amy Poehler, but I'm glad I borrowed the book from the library instead of buying it. 

The audiobook felt like she was just reading it line by line. I didn't feel a connection between her and her words, and that didn't connect to me as a listener. 

In this book's defense: there are a lot of people that love it. And, I did enjoy the parts where she talked about her little boys! The story of them chasing the moon together was adorable and heartwarming! And I think if you go into the book expecting a "regular memoir" rather than a funny memoir like Tina's and Mindy's books then I think you'd enjoy it more. 

Should you read it? eh yah, you might want to give it a shot...who knows, you might love it (but borrow it before you buy it, and don't be afraid to stop and read a different book instead).

WHAT I WANT TO READ THAT FITS IN THIS CATEGORY:

I'm sure I'm not the only one with an ever expanding TBR pile! Here's a list of the books I want to read that fit in the "A Book Written By A Celebrity" category. Have you read any of these?? I'd love if you left a comment to let me know what you thought!




Happy Reading!