This week's Booking Through Thursday asks:
Do you read celebrity memoirs? Which ones have you read or do you want to read? Which nonexistent celebrity memoirs would you like to see?
I haven't read very many, to be honest. Most of the times, it feels like a money-making gimmick. Take some of the footballers in their early twenties, for example. They've barely peaked, but they all have a memoir. On the other hand, if the likes of Zidane or Cantona had a proper memoir, I'd be rushing out to get it. (I'm a bit of a sports buff!)
The one book that I did really enjoy was Lance Armstrong's It's Not About The Bike. I thought it was well-written, and interesting... and he did have something to write about! Battling cancer, and then going on to win Tour de France. That's quite commendable, don't you think?
Not sure if these count as 'memoirs' (dictionary definition-wise), but Irving Stone wrote Lust for Life (about van Gogh) and The Agony and The Ecstasy (about Michelangelo). I think it was those two books that got me into art, and both remain my favorite artists. I forced my parents to take me to Rome as a graduation present, just to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and I dragged a couple of my friends to New York last year, predominantly to go to the Met and MoMA. Again, were they celebrities, or, do we glorify them now, for they weren't appreciated in their time? Well, van Gogh wasn't.
I would really like to read Syd Barrett's memoir, but there are so many versions out there, that I'm scared I'll end up picking one up which doesn't justify the genius he was at any level. I've got an image of him in my head, where he's some kind of music god, and I don't want that to get ruined.
Oh, and as a special treat, this is my favorite painting by van Gogh. Isn't it amazing? Don McLean even wrote 'Starry Starry Nights' as an ode to the genius.
