Chelsea Handler vs Tina Fey vs Mindy Kaling

Reading these nonfiction, semi-autobiographical was quite the change for me. I'm very much drawn to fiction because I'm attracted to lies and as a writer I lie for a living. But autobiographies have a bit of exaggeration to them, similar to reading fiction.

I also don't see the point in reading books by celebrities because I just don't think they need to write about their lives. They're always complaining about not having enough privacy and then they write a tell-all book chronicling their escapades in the Netherlands. I also think that people tell them they should write a book about their lives just to tell them. You know how sometimes you tell someone what they want to hear just to shut them the hell up? That's how I imagine the idea of writing an autobiography comes about. And of course their agents aren't going to tell them, "No, don't write a book." because the agent also has a chance to make money off the book sales. But here I am having read three nonfiction books by celebrities.

I decided to read three nonfiction books by the comediennes: Chelsea Handler, Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling. I know of all three of these women and I watch their shows. I soon found out the only thing in common these women had was me reading their book.

Novel Adaptation: Breakfast at Tiffany's

If you've been living underneath a rock and have never heard of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), I hope that rock is comfortable because it's too late to leave it now.

I've heard of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) because I'm a film major, I don't live underneath a rock and mostly because of Gossip Girl. For those of you who read the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar, Blair Waldorf is obsessed with Breakfast at Tiffany's and Audrey Hepburn. After watching the film, I understood why.

It was either in the credits or stalking the Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDb page that led me to discover it was a book first. But I had the same reaction (astonishment) I did when I discovered Drive was a book first. I do hate reading the book after watching the film, but in this case it was worth it.

Just in case you want to read or watch the film before reading this post (because this post may contain spoilers), here's some information about the two versions of Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

The novella was written by Truman Capote and you can find it at your local library or Amazon. The copy I got was borrowed from the library and contained three other short stories.

The film, starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, was written by George Axelrod and directed by Blake Edwards. It's on Netflix, probably found at your local library and you can buy it on Amazon. (It's worth the money.)

F*CK!: I'm in my Twenties by Emma Koenig

A month ago, I turned twenty. So I'm officially in my twenties. Some people say your twenties is the best time in your life. You get to discover yourself and everything finally comes together. The days leading up to my twentieth birthday were daunting and I wasn't excited. Two weeks later, I realized I have an immature sense of humor and that it will help get through whatever challenges I face in my twenties.

Months before I turned twenty, I found F*UCK!: I'm in my Twenties by Emma Koenig on the Urban Outfitters website. I didn't really see a point in buying the book because I won't be in my twenties forever. I imagine I'll only relate to the book until I'm twenty-five. I figured I'd read this book to get a perspective on being in my twenties. I know it's not going to be like on Gossip Girl or any other TV series or film, but I like to get different opinons. I'm not going to use this book as a guide book to live by during my twenties because I don't believe a book can tell me how to live my life. But perhaps some parts will help me make decisions. It's exciting and devastating being in my twenties because it means I'm finally growing up, but I'm also getting old.

Reading List!: July 2013

I think I'm starting a new series here on Lectionem Monstrum. I've done plenty of posts like this, but with different names. I think starting this series will make it more clear for you guys and it's a little more organized, which is good for me. It'll be easier to keep track of the books I read in the month and I'll be closer to completing my goal.

I finished reading all of Chuck Palahniuk's fictional novels and I finished another series I was reading. Now it's time to start reading some new books!

I'm so used to reading books in a series or books written by the same author that it feels weird to start reading individual books. But I'm really looking forward to reading these next books. Although I am going to read a book and its sequel.

I do want to read another series or find another author to marathon read. I was thinking about re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket because I love that series. Then when this season (season 6) of True Blood ends I was thinking about starting the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I've been wanting to start that series probably for two years. I think it's finally time. Plus, reading that series after the current season ends will help ease the pain of not seeing Alexander Skarsgård, Joe Manganiello or Anna Paquin every Sunday night.

The four new books I'm really excited to read are Palo Alto: Stories by James Franco, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories by Truman Capote, John Dies at the End and This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It (both) by David Wong. I'm reading James Franco's book because he's so talented, I want to see how that talent transfers into a book and because the book has been made into a film. I heard the way the script was written and how the book is written is different, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to experience both and probably love them. Maybe I'll even do a Novel Adaptation post about it. Then I'm reading Breakfast at Tiffany's because I just saw the film for the first time and I had no clue it was a novel first. I have to say Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) is possibly the greatest film I've ever seen in my life. I bet the book is just as great and it comes with three other stories! The way I came about wanting to read the novels by David Wong is similar to why I read James Sallis's Drive and Driven. The only difference is I watched John Dies at the End (2012) knowing it was a book first. I just really wanted to see it and I didn't want to sleep that night. Doing some more research I discovered that David Wong had also written a sequel. The film was quite extraordinary, although I didn't get the entire thing. Maybe the books will shed a little light on my situation.

I also really want to finish the Sophie Katz series by Kyra Davis, but I discovered that my local library does not have a copy of the final book (Vanity, Vengeance and a Weekend in Vegas) in the series. I want to read the last two books (Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress and Vanity, Vengeance and a Weekend in Vegas) together, but fear I won't be able to if I don't find a hard copy of the last book. There's an Audible copy of the last book, but I don't like ebooks as stated here.

I've started to read these books already, but I feel like July is going to be a long, free month for me. I want to spend July reading as many books as possible and completing my reading goal for 2013.

Happy Reading and Read On, Bookworms!