Celebrities Who Wanted to be Librarians

A couple weeks ago, I posted about LeBron James's support of literacy, and in November, I posted about Taylor Swift's support of literacy. Someone commented on my post about LeBron James and said that B.J. Novak of The Office also has connections to libraries, which leads me to today's post.

I was reading the link given in the comments of the LeBron James post and was delighted to learn that Novak wrote the children's book The Book With No Pictures. I haven't read the book yet, but I've had several colleagues recommend it to me. I had no idea it was written by a celebrity, because I don't watch The Office, and while I don't always like it when celebrities write books, for some reason, I'm thrilled that this one was written by a celebrity--maybe because I don't know anything about Novak.

What's even better about Novak is that once upon a time, he wanted to be a librarian. In the article "B.J. Novak Goes the Extra Mile for Libraries" (this is the link that was given in the comments of the LeBron James post), Novak was quoted as saying, "I was enthralled by the library in my elementary school, where anything could happen and where no one told you where your mind was supposed to be."

This is a completely different way of showing support for libraries. Novak hasn't donated money to libraries or other literacy efforts, but writing for kids and doing readings from his children's book at libraries is a great way to bring awareness to public libraries.

Since there's not much more to say about Novak and libraries than that, I thought I'd dig around to see if I could find other celebrities who support authors. I was delighted to find this list, from Public Library News. I was even more delighted to see Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones on the list. According to an article published by The Economist, Richards, like Novak, once aspired to become a librarian.

Am I the only one who is surprised (in a good way) about celebrities who wanted to be librarians at one point in their lives? Do you know of any other celebrities who have said they wanted to be librarians when they were younger? Let me know in the comments!

LeBron James and Reading

As an NBA fan, it's impossible for me not to know who LeBron James is. I remember when he left Cleveland to play for Miami, and how angry it made everyone, and I remember when he left Miami to return to Cleveland--not that it happened all that long ago.

The reason I mention remembering it is because I remember how upset people were about his leaving Cleveland. Fans were so upset that they burned his Cleveland jersey. A lot of people were disappointed that James would leave a place that had supported him as much as Cleveland (and surrounding areas) had--James is from Akron, Ohio. At the time, I didn't have much of an opinion on LeBron, except that I thought he was a bit too egotistical.

But then, I heard about his efforts to support literacy. Before we get to that, check out this video about James' reading habits. It's pretty awesome.

So, what exactly has LeBron James done for literacy? As it turns out, a lot.

In 2014, The LeBron James Family Foundation funded an e-library program for Akron Public Schools, through the Wheels for Education program. As it turns out, James adopts a new third grade class every year; the Wheels for Education program provides those classes with various literacy tools.

It might seem small that his focus is on Ohio schools, and that it's limited to third grade classes, but even by doing that, LeBron can reach so many people and provide them with tools they need to build their literacy skills. That's not to mention the video posted above, which has been seen by many, and is a great example of LeBron James modeling good reading habits.

I have to say, it's really hard to dislike a guy who loves reading and supports literacy in the way LeBron James does. I give him major kudos for the work he's done and continues to do.

If you know of any other celebrities who have a heavy focus on supporting literacy, let me know in the comments--I may just turn this into a small series of posts.

Scully & Mulder Write! (But Not About the X-Files)

You can stream all the seasons of Friends on Netflix. Twin Peaks is coming back to TV! People are brushing the dust off their Doc Martens and buying new scrunchies, because the '90s are back in style!  That's what we've read, anyway. But we're starting to believe it now that Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny have both published fiction within 4 months of each other!  (Guess they got really in sync all those years as Scully and Mulder on The X-Files, which, by the way, is also rumored to also be making a comeback.) Interestingly, Gillian Anderson's book is science fiction and Duchovny's is a humorous fable.  Of course, we're only basing this on their X-Files characters, but that's not what we would have expected from them!

How about you? Would you check out a novel by Anderson and/or Duchovny? What do you think of celebrity authors?

 

Vision of Fire by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin

Book one of the Earthend Saga. Juggling her career, parenting responsibilities and lackluster dating life, child psychologist Caitlin O'Hara begins treating an ambassador's daughter, who starts having fits and speaking in tongues right before children throughout the world demonstrate similar mystical symptoms.

Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale by David Duchovny

A rollicking, globe-trotting adventure with a twist: a four-legged heroine you won't soon forget. Elsie Bovary is a cow, and a pretty happy one at that--her long, lazy days are spent eating, napping, and chatting with her best friend, Mallory. One night, Elsie and Mallory sneak out of their pasture; but while Mallory is interested in flirting with the neighboring bulls, Elsie finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God--and what the Box God reveals about something called an "industrial meat farm" shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core. There's only one solution: escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Jerry--excuse me, Shalom--a cranky, Torah-reading pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave (in his own mind, at least) turkey who can't fly, but who can work an iPhone with his beak. Toting stolen passports and slapdash human disguises, they head for the airport. Elsie is our wise-cracking, pop-culture-reference-dropping, slyly witty narrator; Tom--who does eventually learn to fly (sort of)--dispenses psychiatric advice in a fake German accent; and Shalom, rejected by his adopted people in Jerusalem, ends up unexpectedly uniting Israelis and Palestinians.  Feeling nostalgic?  The X-Files are in the library catalog!   *all book descriptions are taken from the library catalog unless otherwise noted   

Taylor Swift: Country artist turned pop star and literacy advocate

Taylor Swift's newest album, 1989, was released on October 27 of this year. Industry experts predicted the album would sell over 1.3 million copies through November 2, according to an article on Billboard's website. Swift, who finally admitted in a Rolling Stone article that she's no longer a country artist and is now a pop artist, was thrilled when her album did better than predicted, if her Instagram video is any indication. 1989 became the first platinum album of the year, selling 1.287 copies in the first week (which is also the most successful record debut since 2002), according to The Washington Post.

In addition to being a powerhouse in the music industry, Swift has proven herself a philanthropist as well. While she has donated money to many organizations, I'm going to focus on her support of literacy. According to Wikipedia, Swift has done the following (in chronological order):

In 2009, Swift donated $250,000 to schools that she had ties to. The money went to purchasing books, funding educational programs, and helping pay teacher salaries.

In 2010, she participated in Scholastic's live webcast, Read Now! With Taylor Swift, to help celebrate Scholastic's Read Every Day campaign.

In 2011, Swift partnered with Scholastic Books to donate 6,000 books to Reading Public Library, in Pennsylvania.

In 2012, she donated 14,000 books to Nashville Public Library, in Tennessee. Some of the books she donated to Nashville Public Library went into circulation, while others were given to children from low-income families, preschools, and daycares.  Swift also partnered with Scholastic again in a second live webcast, where she promoted reading, and she co-chaired the National Education Association's Read Across American campaign, which included recording a public service announcement encouraging kids to read.

In 2013, Swift donated 2,000 Scholastic Books to the early literacy program Reading Hospital Child Health Center.

In 2014, she appeared in a READ campaign, sponsored by the American Library Association, and she participated in a third Scholastic webcast.

Want to know more about Taylor Swift, or to just check out her music? The library has plenty of things you can check out!

Taylor Swift's albums

Taylor Swift
Fearless
Speak Now
Speak Now Deluxe Edition
Red

Taylor Swift biographies

Taylor Swift by Holly Cefrey
Taylor Swift: Secrets of a Songwriter by Amy Gail
Taylor Swift: Love Story by Amy Gail Hansen
Taylor Swift: Every Day is a Fairy Tale: The Unofficial Story by Liz Spencer

Hollywood's Golden Age

A lot of celebrities have passed away recently...Joan Rivers, Robin Williams, Sir Richard Attenborough, Don Pardo, Elaine Stritch, to name but a few.  The deaths of James Garner and Lauren Bacall, though, set us on a nostalgia kick for the Golden Age of Hollywood, leading us to compile this book list from the library catalog about some of Tinseltown's biggest stars and including a few tomes about the era itself.  Did we miss anyone?  Let us know in the comments!

By Myself and Then Some by Lauren Bacall

Ava Gardner: "Love is Nothing" by Lee Server

Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan

Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn by William J. Mann

A Life of Barbara Stanwyck : Steel-True 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson

Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox by Lois Banner

The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner

You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood's Golden Age by Robert J. Wagner with Scott Eyman

Becoming Mae West by Emily Wortis Leider

Robert Mitchum: "Baby, I Don't Care" by Lee Server

Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles by David Thomson

Fifth Avenue, 5 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson

Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto

Steve McQueen: A Biography by Marc Eliot [eBook]

Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Richard Rhodes

Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando by Stefan Kanfer

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger

Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick McGilligan 

Spencer Tracy: A Biography by James Curtis

The Golden Girls of MGM : Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly and Others by Jane Ellen Wayne

Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart by Stefan Kanfer

Rita Moreno: A Memoir by Rita Moreno

Thank Heaven: A Memoir by Leslie Caron

The Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams with Digby Diehl

Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds and Dorian Hannaway

Cary Grant: A Biography by Marc Eliot

The Man Who Saw a Ghost: The Life and Work of Henry Fonda by Devin McKinney

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris


Links

Behind the scenes of Hollywood with Bob Willoughby - in pictures  

Celebrity Authors

It's not unusual to see autobiographies and memoir written by celebrities. What is more unusual is that more and more celebrities have started to write fiction. From picture books to chapter books and young adult fiction to adult fiction, celebrities are taking advantage of the opportunity to write and publish books. How people feel about celebrity authors varies; some people are not happy with actors, actresses, and musicians writing fiction books, while others are just fine with it. Ty Roth, author of the young adult novel So Shelly, even weighed in on the topic.

There's also always the possibility that ghostwriters are responsible for actually writing these books, and that the celebrities just come up with the idea, or just have their names published on the books. The level of a celebrity's involvement may vary, but according to the New York Times, it's highly unlikely that celebrities are completely responsible for writing their books.

Regardless of who actually writes the book and of how readers and writers feel about celebrity authors, it is unlikely that celebrities will stop publishing fiction. Curious about who some of the celebrity authors are? Here's a list of just some of the ones that are in the library catalog, broken down by category.*

Picture Books

The Blue Ribbon Day and The Brand New Kid,by Katie Couric

Big Words for Little People, My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, and Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, by Jamie Lee Curtis

Man Gave Names to All the Animals, by Bob Dylan

Dumpy's Extra-Busy Day and Dumpy's Valentine, by Julie Andrews Edwards

It's About a Little Bird,by Jessica Lange

Queen of the Scene,by Queen Latifah

I'm a Manatee and Marsupial Sue, by John Lithgow

The Adventures of Abdi, Mr. Peabody's Apples, and Yakov and the Seven Thieves, by Madonna

The Alphabet From A to Y With Bonus Letter, Z! and Late For School, by Steve Martin

Freckleface Strawberry and Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, by Julianne Moore

Little T Learns to Share, by Terrell Owens

Halloween, by Jerry Seinfeld

Presenting Tallulah, by Tori Spelling

Dream Big, Little Pig!, by Kristi Yamaguchi

My New Teacher and Me! and When I Grow Up, by Al Yankovic

Chapter Books

Dragon: Hound of Honor, The Great American Mousical, Little Bo in London, and Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards

The English Roses and The English Roses: Too Good to be True, by Madonna

Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales, by Shaquille O'Neal

Hothead and Squeeze Play, by Cal Ripkin, Jr.

Young Adult Fiction

Modelland, by Tyra Banks

The Fame Game, L.A. Candy, Starstruck, Sugar and Spice, and Sweet Little Lies, by Lauren Conrad

Devoted and Elixir, by Hilary Duff

What do you think about celebrities-turned-authors? Have you read any of the books on this list? Would you? Or do you agree with those who think celebrities should stay away from writing books?

*Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Some of the authors mentioned have more books in the library's catalog than what is listed. This list also does not focus on adult fiction.