Amy Schumer has a Paste BN hit with 'Girl'
Here’s a look at what’s new on Paste BN’s Best-Selling Books list…
'Girl' power: Amy Schumer seems to conquer everything she tries: stand-up, TV (Inside Amy Schumer), movies (Trainwreck) and now, books.
Her memoir The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo (Gallery Books), released on Aug. 16, lands at No. 4. (The full list is out Thursday.)
Schumer, who received a multimillion-dollar advance for the book, is the latest female comedian to do well on Paste BN’s list. Tina Fey (Bossypants), Lena Dunham (Not That Kind of Girl) and Amy Poehler (Yes Please) all made it to No. 5. Mindy Kaling’s best showing was No. 4 with Why Not Me? And Chelsea Handler, who has had four Paste BN best sellers, is queen of them all with Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, which hit No. 2.
Schumer’s publicity for Back Tattoo included an interview with Paste BN’s Andrea Mandell, who described the book as “a funny, highly revealing collection of memories, relationship rehashes and career experiences.” In it, Schumer talks about her mother’s affair, as well as the night her boyfriend took her virginity without asking when she was a teenager.
The title of Schumer’s book cleverly plays off The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the No. 1 thriller by Stieg Larsson. And she’s tapping into the ubiquitous “Girl” book title trend, as well.
Presidential picks: Colson Whitehead is certainly feeling the love. On Aug. 2, Oprah Winfrey chose his new novel, The Underground Railroad (Doubleday), as her latest book club pick. Then President Obama revealed that Whitehead’s novel, about an escaped slave, is on his summer reading list. Railroad, which landed on the list at No. 10 on Aug. 11 after Oprah’s announcement, is No. 7 this week.
Paste BN gave the book, in which Whitehead imagines the historic Underground Railroad as a literal means of transportation, ***½ out of four stars, calling it “masterful.”
Obama’s eclectic list also includes the smash-hit thriller The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, No. 2 this week; the movie adaptation is due this fall.
Other books piled on the presidential bedside table: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan; H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald; and Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. The president and his family just wrapped up a vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.