Lorraine Kelly on Woman's Hour, plugging her new novel...

Unless she's interviewing Professor Stock.

Then her kind, twee, giggly persona instantly turns cold and rude.

Am I wrong in thinking her daily TV persona is not the real thing but as fake as a trans woman's tits?

I've just seen this -on this site - advertised as a 'perfect gift for Mother's Day'.

Really, we don't even get a day to ourselves, but we have to share it with some man called Magnus in a frock?

I wonder what the Shetlands have done to offend her, so that she would inflict this turgid shite on them?

She was plain embarrasing on Graham Norton, totally out of place and I have no idea how she got a place on the sofa!

Richard Osman said on a podcast that he knew he’d get a book deal as a celeb because you don’t actually need to sell that many books to make a profit. Obviously his books have become massive, but it sounds like celeb books are profitable even with more modest sales which explains a lot.

Katherine Rundell is a brilliant writer - I've just Super-infinite which is excellent.

If it's any comfort, I work in a school where a lot of the DC read solid stuff. Admittedly it's a school where the teachers tend to quietly ditch any David Walliams or Captain Underpants books that appear in the bags of books that parents bring in when weeding their kids shelves. But even the 'home' books are very strong on exciting stories and a lot are well-written. JKR is still huge (at one point something like 13 of a Y4 class were reading one or other if the HP series). Y6 currently strong on pony stories (which often have a strong element of being responsible and persistent and caring - not much different from the ones I read at the same age), adventure stories (making good decisions, taking risks for the greater good) and His Dark Materials. For sure there is dross out there (some of which gets the weaker readers reading) but there is a lot of modern children's fiction which is either okay, decent, or very good. Do not despair!

@WinterTrees

horrified but not surprised.

I wonder if this trend will impact on our national love of literature?

One thing I am noticing that i s that if children are moving away from the celeb books there is an underlying sense that some how that is intellectual snobbery and reading say 'dark materials' or 'hunger games' shows a 'nerdy' taste.

I fear that this culture may seem into adult book reading where picking up a classic or good modern fiction will be viewed as a kind of elitism, a little like saying to listen to radio 4 or watch BBC 4 and people will not want the label associated with this.

celeb culture is so insidious isn't it and I can see the mutual praise between celebs we constantly are subject to gaslighting the nation into believing the celeb book is both of quality and authentic.......

sod getting a first at Oxford as being some sort of indicator of being adept at the language or literature I have been on I am celeb, strictly, the one show etc. so I obviously have the credentials. ( Not that you need a uni degree I am just putting the point that you have a great talent for writing which will be drowned out).

Thanks!

It was David Baddiel! Dull drivel that went on far too long. Compared to the next book I read them by Katharine Rundell - they couldn’t wait for bedtime to hear what happened next.

Is it supposed to be a children’s novel? It reads like one.

I also love how Freya’s/Magnus’ transition takes up about half a page.

not a single incident of bullying/ name calling or old people not understanding

If it helps, my bookworm likes David Baddiel books!.

She does, but she's replying to a post about Walliams, and most other people talking about abysmal celebrity writers for children are talking about Walliams, so I was curious to find out if Baddiel is also a duff writer or if it was a mistake.

"Baddiel or Walliams?"

Pp clearly says Baddiel.

During lockdown, TalkSport used to get a Steve Bruce impersonator to read from said detective novels, as there was very little sport to report on. The novels are every bit as bad as you'd imagine.

Lorraine Kelly is very annoying. It's been years since I saw her programme but the last time she just wittered and babbled on leaving her guests confused as to what she was actually asking them. How on earth is she still in that job? Then, she promotes clothing lines and moves from one to another. She seems like a real money-grabber. Now she's written a book. What next.........?

However, I don't mind her too much on Celebrity Gogglebox!

I noticed in a charity shop the other day novels by Richard Madeley and Simon Mayo and had to pick them up to check they really were by THAT Richard and Simon. I mean FFS.

Baddiel or Walliams?

Totally agree. I remember reading a David Baddiel book to DCs when they were younger. They begged me to stop reading it to them every night as it was so deadly boring. I was very relieved. Even now if they see it in a bookshop they roll their eyes and laugh at how boring it was and they’re both very keen readers.

Completely agree, but many of my friends love her books. I was very disappointed. See also: Dawn French

Look on the bright side.
At least she buys her own carrots and doesn't have some minion buy them for her.

That is a treasonable offence to be honest.

Lorraine Kelly pushed in front of me in a green grocers to buy carrots and I have disliked her intensely ever since.

I actually tried to read a couple of these sleb "novels". The one that really fucking annoyed me was Ruth Jones. She's so talented that it should've been at least passable, but no, excruciatingly boring shite.

I know most authors get shit PR and returns Bonio - although some non-celeb authors will become the buzzy ones who then get loads of PR, sometimes for bad books too (especially in children’s). Not defending publishers that this is the model. They put in PR to make money where they think it will work, and some authors (crap or not, celeb or not) make most of the money, while others make a bit or make a loss.

As for TV shows and interviews - you can’t really blame them that they interview a steady round of celebs who have something to punt, because they get ratings from people who are already popular. Book-devoted shows are better and interview or highlight new and interesting authors.

It’s annoying but celebs have always moved into new areas where they can get an instant audience. Like pop stars and models doing films. Some become good at it but it must piss off good but unknown actors.