I am a big fan of reading. As a reader, I generally stick with fluffy, nonsensical, romance novels or mysterious thriller types. As often as possible, I try to get out of my shell and read something different. Usually, I do so in phases. I decide that now, I would like to read only historical fiction - or something similar. This was a phase like that. These phases, whatever they might consume, usually only last for a little while before I get back to my standard.
Last year, I got in a phase where I was fascinated with books written by celebrities. I read a lot of biographies (Fran Drescher, Alan Alda, Kristin Chenoweth, etc.) At that time, I hooked up with Tori Spelling to start reading her books. At the time, both STORItelling and Mommywood were out on the shelves. I read them both happily and I was pleased with the result. I'd gone in with some really low expectations (because I, of course, believe everything I see on TV or in the news). But, by the time I finished both, I was really satisfied with the result. I think that it was, partly, that I felt some empathy with Tori Spelling. Ha! - how often can someone say that?? But, I also found it inspiring that she was trying to write - something I have always wanted to do. I found her books to be funny and touching, very light-weight and easy reading. They were perfect "escape" material, which is something I generally require in a book.
So, it should come as no surprise that when the latest Tori Spelling book was released, Uncharted TerriTORI, I added it to my list at the library. I started at position #67 or something crazy like that. So, when I finally got it yesterday, I cracked it open with no hesitation. I was disappointed.
This was probably the book I'd been expecting to read when I read Tori Spelling's first books. The first two books were written seeming as if Tori had identified a story that she wanted to tell. They both had the feeling of being more important to Tori Spelling than she expected them to be to any fans. That is an important aspect of writing. This latest book had the feeling of being written because Tori felt like she needed to write a book. She had two previous successes and needed to continue to strike the hot iron.
Tori has mentioned her various neuroses and oddities before. Anyone who has read Tori Spelling's previous books knows that she has a crazy fear of flying and that she is into "other-world" healing. In the previous books, those things were small stories and they were funny. They did not consume the entire book and so, by extension, one could assume that they did not consume Tori Spelling.
Uncharted TerriTORI has a huge focus on Tori's neuroses. She turns into a twisted version of the crazy bag lady. No longer is she a quirky but humorous celebrity. I spent the first part of the book wondering why she was focusing so. Her previous two books had done such a good job of painting her in the "No really, I am normal" light. This book was undoing all of that work. But, like a car crash, I couldn't turn away.
What's more is that the first three-quarters of the book seems to wander. That may be part of the reason that Tori pays so much attention to her eccentricities. She has nothing else to write about - or nothing that would create a whole book, anyway. In the previous two books, she had a story to tell. She was talking about her unconventional marriage. Or, she was talking about being a celebrity and trying to build a family. This book doesn't get to the point until it's nearly over.
And the point is that Tori is a bit crazy, just like the rest of us, but MORE SO. And Tori needs to tone Tori down a little bit and just relax. It's a lesson that we all learn, most likely, at some point or another. And it's too bad that Tori took the first slot for writing a book about it. I expect that there are many others, celebrity or not, who could be more successful when writing about this journey than Ms. Spelling.
It's unfortunate, but I think that Tori Spelling has exhausted herself as an author. Two books were funny and refreshing. The third is tired and annoying. Here is a tip, Tori: now that you've learned to relax and take a time-out (so to speak), the first thing that should go is writing.
