Every fall, I wait for the big celebrity memoirs to hit shelves. Now, I wasn’t always this person. I used to be a little dismissive, like, why would I want to read about famous people? Aren’t their lives already perfect? Of course, that was very silly of me. In their memoirs, celebrities tell their own stories while also engaging with the stories already out there. This whole dynamic creates a very meta kind of storytelling that I’ve come to love. So this week, we’re taking a look at different celebrity memoirs, both new releases and backlist titles.
But first, bookish goods and a shoutout about our personalized TBR service, where you can get book recommendations tailored to you.
Bookish Goods
Reading Journal for Book Lover by Duncan and Stone
It’s planner time! Maybe it’s just me, but I take a ridiculously long time to choose my planner (This past spring, I started thinking over what I would choose for 2024. I didn’t decide until September. *lol sob*) So I’m going to be featuring some reading journals here to give y’all ideas! Here’s the first one. I really love a hardcover with embossing. I also love the sections of book lists and the reading challenge in the back. $24
New Releases
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
So many of us grew up with Britney Spears’ meteoric rise to fame when she appeared on the pop music scene in the ’90s. And just recently, she finally was able to free herself from the conservatorship, which allowed her family members to control so much about her life. Now, she is here to tell her story.
Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith
You may have already heard the buzz from the many interviews Jada Pinkett Smith has done to promote her new memoir, but — my stars — she reveals a lot in her new memoir. We follow her life, her acting career, and her high-profile relationship with Will Smith.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Making a Scene by Constance Wu
When Constance Wu’s hit show Fresh Off the Boat was renewed for its sixth season, Wu was intensely disappointed. She had planned on doing new projects that would help her spread her wings and challenge herself. But when she expressed that frustration on Twitter, she received intense negative feedback, and her name started trending in a terrible way. They called her ungrateful, hateful, and spoiled. Wu took some time off of social media, apologized to the cast and crew of Fresh Off the Boat, and wrote this essay collection. Making a Scene covers Wu’s beginnings as an aspiring actor, her early jobs, and many of her failed relationships. Wu writes about herself in a way that forces her to confront her mistakes.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
When I found the last hardback edition of this memoir at my Barnes & Noble, I snatched it up. The memoir was a bestseller, but the book was backordered everywhere. Book lovers scoured the internet, trying to find a way to get their hands on a copy. But why was everyone so obsessed with Jennette McCurdy’s memoir? Well, like it says on the tin, McCurdy was proclaiming to the world that she was glad her mom died. What at first looks like a punchy, eye-catching title unravels into a complex portrait of McCurdy’s mother, who abused and manipulated her children for years. The memoir follows McCurdy as she breaks out as a child star, with her world seeming perfect to everyone from the outside. But in reality, McCurdy was trapped in a life and career that she never really chose for herself.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra
