Celebrity Biographies

The latest celebrity biography is embargoed in New Zealand until 16th April, but that hasn't prevented the furore already surrounding it. Claims and counterclaims over the veracity of what between the covers of Kitty Kelley's new book on the life of Oprah Winfrey.

All of which will make Oprah : a biography even more popular than it would otherwise be, so I am sure Kitty Kelley doesn't mind the fuss. A simple Google search of "Oprah Kitty Killey" certainly reveals that there are a lot of opinions out there. The summary of this version reads "Based on three years of research and reporting as well as 850 interviews with sources, many of whom have never before spoken for publication, Oprahis the first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful, and admired public figures of our time, by the most widely read biographer of our era. Anyone who is a fan of Oprah Winfrey or who has followed her extraordinary life and career will be fascinated and newly informed by the closely observed, detailed, and well-rounded portrait of her provided by Kitty Kelley's exhaustively researched book. Readers will come away with a greater appreciation of who Oprah really is ..."

This is not the first biography of Oprah Winfrey that has been published and we hold one by George Mair (a 1994 publication aptly subtitled "The Real Story") in Rodney Libraries. And of course we also hold a subscription to the Oprah magazine.

The problem with biographies, particularly celebrity biographies, is that they sometimes leave you wondering. If they are authorised you wonder what has been left out and if they are unauthorised you wonder what has been embellished. I will, of course, qualify this statement because I know it is a gross generalisation and there are whole shelves full of brilliant biographies.

Regardless they make entertaining, inspirational and informative reading and are one of the most popular sections in the library. All our biographies are shelved with a Call Number (the Dewey Decimal number on the book's spine) of 920. Our Biography section in our catalogue is narrowed down into more defined subject headings (e.g. Biography Actors and Actresses Great Britain or Biography Prisoner of War New Zealand).

Biographies are one of the genres that NCEA students are required to read for their "wide reading" requirements. Come in and talk to your librarians about where to find them.