In a world where Justin Bieber can release his first memoir [First Step 2 Forever - don't pretend you don't have your own treasured copy) at the age of sixteen and his second one just two years later, we shouldn't be surprised when young celebrities release autobiographies.
In fact, unless you're an A-List film star, these days writing the story of your life seems to be an essential part of every celeb's life, from D-list reality stars, to "nation's sweetheart" Cheryl Cole. Which is why it was so refreshing to read the news last week that Adele has turned down a £7 million offer to write her memoirs. Apparently Adele, who is 24, said ""I’d like to do a bit more living first."
And that was coming from a woman who has actually written two phenomenally successful albums. But there are plenty of celebs whose only discernible talent seems to be self-publicity, and that hasn't stopped them from turning to autobiography.
Take Katie Price, who at this stage is probably the only author who has "written" more books than she's actually read. Price produced her first memoir Being Jordan at the grand old age of 26, back in 2004, and since then has been churning out another installment every year or two, just in case you've missed any of the personal updates she's shared with the world via her columns in OK and the Sun.
It's now two years since the fourth one came out, however, so surely we're long overdue another update.
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Celebrity memoirs aren't quite the cash-cows for publishers that they used to be. Between 2001 and 2006, sales of autobiographies by famous people trebled, and back in 2006 nearly a million copies of Peter Kay's autobiography were sold. Since the recession hit, sales of all genres are down, but the celeb memoir genre has been hit harder than most - by early 2012, sales of celeb memoirs had gone down by 60% from 2010.
Publishers, however, wouldn't keep churning out these books if the market weren't still there.
So clearly there are still plenty of people who want to read about the life and times of Lauren Goodger, star of The Only Way Is Essex, whose memoir Secrets of an Essex Girl is currently number ten in Amazon's celebrity biography chart, below memoirs by Jo Wood and Miranda Hart. In fact, Goodger is just one of the TOWIE girls to tell her story in print - Amazon reveals that customers who bought her memoir also bought books by her co-star Chloe Sims (The Only Way Is Up) and Sam Faiers (Living Life the Essex Way).
Of course, not all celebrity memoirs are rubbish. There are plenty of famous people who can actually write, from Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl, whose memoir Bedsit Disco Queen has been receiving rave reviews, to the late, great actor David Niven, whose hilarious and debonair memoir The Moon's a Balloon sold over five million copies back in the 1970s. But there's a big difference between David Niven and, say, Kirk from TOWIE (Essex Boy: My Story was published in February).
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So are you one of the thousands of readers who devoured Jordan's adventures? Have you succumbed to the allure of the trashy - or not so trashy - celebrity memoir? And if so, what are your favourites? I've got to admit, this hilarious critique of Justin Bieber's last memoir by the Mirror's Corinne Redfern almost makes me want to read it...
