Gina Yashere's Personal Library Includes Horror Classics & Black Female Authors | Shelf Portrait | Marie Claire - video Dailymotion

Marie Claire

Here, British comedian Gina Yashere shares her favorite books in MC's 'Shelf Portrait' series.

Transcript

00:00 (box thuds)

00:02 See, look, all my books are falling down

00:04 'cause it's creepy, because this is horror

00:06 and there's supernatural stuff going on.

00:08 What's happening, people?

00:08 I'm Gina Yashere, a stand-up comic,

00:11 writer, exec, producer, co-creator,

00:13 and actor on "Bob Hearts and Vichola" on CBS,

00:16 and now author.

00:19 Wait.

00:20 There!

00:20 So I'm about to give Mary Claire and you guys

00:23 a peek into my personal library.

00:25 So, welcome to Shell Portrait.

00:28 (upbeat music)

00:30 I've been reading books since I was a young child.

00:36 My mother, as a Nigerian, super overprotective,

00:40 wouldn't let us play out in the streets

00:41 in case we got run over and killed.

00:43 So books were my solace.

00:44 I read a lot as a child.

00:48 As a kid, I started off with fairy tales.

00:49 Those were my favorite genre.

00:51 Fairy tales, then I moved to ghost stories,

00:54 and then I moved to horror.

00:55 And to this day, horror is still probably my favorite genre,

01:00 and my favorite writer has got to be Stephen King.

01:03 There is no other.

01:04 This book is my favorite book that I read as a child.

01:07 It's, look how thick it is!

01:09 Look at this book.

01:10 See, look, all my books are falling down,

01:15 'cause it's creepy, because this is horror,

01:16 and there's supernatural stuff going on.

01:18 I was about 14 when I read this book, maybe,

01:20 and I knocked it out in three days.

01:23 I just didn't eat, didn't sleep.

01:25 I just sat there, stewing in my own juices

01:28 while I finished this book, and I loved it.

01:30 It was a book about, you know, killer clowns,

01:34 child-eating spiders, but also about children

01:37 who were misfits, who formed their own little gang,

01:40 and fought evil together.

01:41 And so this is definitely one of my favorite books

01:44 as a kid, by Stephen King.

01:45 I'm a big fan of black women writers.

01:47 I like to support black women writers.

01:49 One of my favorite authors, I got into science fiction.

01:52 I'm not a big science fiction fan,

01:54 but Octavia Butler, one of the best authors

01:59 of any generation, and this is one

02:02 of my favorite books of hers.

02:03 In fact, this is my favorite book of hers, "Kindred."

02:08 It's kind of time travel, it's about a black woman

02:10 in the '70s, 'cause I think this book was written

02:11 in sort of late '70s, I think it was based in '79,

02:15 but a black woman living with her boyfriend,

02:17 who's white, and for some reason,

02:20 she gets dragged back into the past,

02:23 and finds herself back in slavery times.

02:26 So she's a modern woman, dragged back into the past,

02:29 and has to act a certain way so as not to be killed.

02:32 And then in one chapter, her boyfriend gets dragged back

02:35 through with her, and he's white,

02:36 so he has to pretend to be her owner.

02:39 Crazy book, wonderful book, and I don't know

02:42 why it's not a movie.

02:43 Why is this not a movie?

02:45 I would pay to see this movie.

02:47 In fact, I don't know if anybody's bought the rights.

02:49 If they haven't, I think I've given my idea away,

02:51 but I would love to buy the rights of this

02:53 and make this a movie, but I ain't got rights

02:55 buying money yet.

02:56 But anyway, "Kingman," Octavia Butler.

02:58 Speaking of black women writers, Nigerian authors,

03:02 "Second Class Citizen" by Buchi Emecheta.

03:06 She was a Nigerian author.

03:08 She died, God bless her soul, a few years ago.

03:10 And we used to study her books in school.

03:13 But what was the most fun part of this,

03:15 I knew this woman.

03:17 My mother and her were very good friends,

03:19 and I used to go with my mom to Auntie,

03:22 I used to call her Auntie Emecheta.

03:23 I used to go to her house when I was a child

03:25 and sit in a corner reading her books

03:27 while she and my mom discussed life back in Nigeria,

03:30 'cause they all came to England around the same time.

03:33 And this book, "Second Class Citizen,"

03:35 is a story of a woman coming from Nigeria to England

03:38 and all the challenges she faced with racism,

03:41 racism, racism, and the struggles and trials

03:46 and tribulations of raising her children in England.

03:49 And that was basically my mother's story.

03:51 So it's a beautiful book because it kind of tells mine

03:54 and my mother's story.

03:56 And it's a wonderful author, a very well-known author.

03:59 We read her books in school and I knew her as well.

04:02 So extra special, extra special.

04:05 Another author I love, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

04:09 And this is one of my favorite books of hers,

04:11 if not my favorite.

04:12 I mean, she's got some fantastic books,

04:14 "Half of a Yellow Sun," another wonderful book

04:16 that was made into a movie, but I didn't like so much.

04:19 I'm sorry, am I allowed to say that?

04:20 I didn't like the movie as much.

04:21 The book was amazing.

04:22 But anyway, Americana, one of my favorite books of hers.

04:25 A lot of the stories in this book are very similar

04:29 to chapters in my life.

04:30 So I was reading the book and going,

04:31 "Oh my gosh, it's like she's in my mind.

04:34 "It's like she's lived my life."

04:36 A lot of the similar stories of journey and change

04:39 and trying to find yourself and trying to fit into a society

04:42 that doesn't necessarily want you.

04:44 Americana, wonderful book.

04:47 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, wonderful writer.

04:50 Go read her stuff.

04:51 And I'm pretty sure she was probably,

04:54 she probably read a lot of Bucci and Leta's stuff as well.

04:58 Okay, so this book, I found this by accident.

05:02 I was just looking for fun new books

05:04 and it came up as a suggestion

05:07 after I'd read one of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's books.

05:10 And this is called "My Sister, the Serial Killer"

05:12 by Anka Braithwaite.

05:13 And oh my gosh, great writing.

05:17 So funny as well, actually.

05:18 It was very, very humorous as well as being dark

05:21 'cause it is about her sister

05:23 who likes to kill her boyfriend.

05:25 But I'm not gonna tell you anymore.

05:26 You have to read the book.

05:27 But very fun book, really well written,

05:29 really witty, really hilarious, really good fun.

05:33 Black women writers, man.

05:34 We're killing it.

05:35 Another black woman writer,

05:36 I don't know if you've heard of her.

05:37 Her name's Gina Yashway.

05:38 Yeah, that's me.

05:39 I've read the book, people.

05:40 I'm an author.

05:42 I'm an author.

05:43 This is called "Cack-Handed."

05:44 This is my first book.

05:45 I wrote it myself, all by myself.

05:49 It's called "Cack-Handed" because I'm left-handed.

05:51 And in England, left-handed, the term is cack-handed,

05:56 which also means clumsy and awkward

05:58 'cause left-handed people

05:59 are supposed to be clumsy and awkward.

06:00 I don't believe that to be true.

06:02 I just think that the whole world

06:03 is made for right-handed people.

06:05 So the few of us who are not right-handed,

06:07 we're gonna be perceived as clumsy and awkward

06:10 because the world is not made for us.

06:12 So that's why I called this book "Cack-Handed"

06:14 because it kind of, because I'm left-handed

06:16 and also because my journey through life

06:20 and through career has been awkward

06:21 and clumsy and different and weird.

06:23 And that's why it's a memoir covering my birth,

06:27 well, my parents traveling from Nigeria to England,

06:29 my birth in England, my life as an engineer,

06:31 'cause I was an engineer before I did comedy,

06:33 before I went in entertainment,

06:35 and my journey to get to America,

06:37 which to me was like, yeah,

06:40 it was the place that you had to be.

06:41 After watching kids on TV solving crimes

06:44 and riding around on cool bikes,

06:46 I had to come to America.

06:47 So this is my memoir that covers that story.

06:50 So please buy it.

06:51 It's available on all good platforms.

06:54 Yeah.

06:55 I love a good journey.

06:56 I love a good story of coming up against the odds.

07:00 And this book, "Jennifer Lewis, Mother of Black Hollywood."

07:04 You know, I love Jennifer Lewis.

07:05 I'm a big fan.

07:06 She's super talented, super funny.

07:08 She's fantastic on "Blackish" on ABC,

07:10 and she's been fantastic in everything she's done.

07:12 And this book is a chorus, hilariously funny,

07:17 but also very touching, very, very fun book to read.

07:21 Another Stephen King book that I read when I was a kid,

07:23 "Pet Sematary."

07:24 Horror, dead animals coming back to haunt you

07:29 and then burying your kids.

07:30 This was the first book that let me know

07:32 that children are not safe.

07:35 Most movies I watched as a kid,

07:37 kids always got out alive.

07:38 The adults died, but the kids always got out alive.

07:42 But Stephen King took that safety net away

07:45 when a baby was buried and came back to haunt his parents.

07:48 But great, great book.

07:50 So that's my favorite genre, horror.

07:52 My favorite place to read a book,

07:55 there are many places.

07:56 When I'm on vacation and I'm on the beach,

07:58 'cause I'm not an active person when I go on vacation.

08:00 I don't wanna climb.

08:01 I don't wanna hike.

08:02 I don't wanna do anything.

08:03 My bed, I just wanna sit by the water,

08:06 not go in the water

08:07 'cause I don't even like swimming that much.

08:08 I sit by the water and read a good book.

08:10 That is my idea of a perfect reading location.

08:15 On a beach or on a rooftop or by a pool, doing nothing.

08:19 Just reading and ordering cocktails.

08:22 This is Dinkoons.

08:25 I think I'm pronouncing his name correctly, Dinkoons.

08:26 Okay, when I was 12, I used to go to the library

08:30 to get my books.

08:31 I couldn't afford to buy all the fun books I wanted to buy.

08:33 So I'd go to the library and just borrow them and read them.

08:36 And I went through all of Stephen King's books at the time

08:39 and I was looking for a horror fix.

08:42 I was desperate for a horror fix.

08:44 And I was in the library asking the librarian,

08:46 "Please, is there any new Stephen King books out?

08:49 Is there anything I need to read?

08:50 I need some more horror."

08:51 And a strange looking man sort of sidled up beside me

08:54 and he was like, "I know what you'd like.

08:57 If you like Stephen King, you'll love Dinkoons."

09:02 And I never saw him again.

09:03 I think he was a ghost.

09:04 He might have been a ghost that haunted the library

09:05 just helping people out with book selections.

09:08 But I took his advice and I started reading Dinkoons.

09:12 And he is my second best horror supernatural typewriter

09:16 after Stephen King.

09:17 And this was his first book that I read.

09:19 I don't know if it's his first book,

09:21 but it's definitely the first book of his that I read.

09:23 It's called "Lightning."

09:24 And it's a book of time travel

09:26 and fantastic dogs and love stories.

09:29 And it's just brilliant.

09:31 So, Dinkoons.

09:34 I've read all of his books too,

09:35 but this is definitely one of my first book of his I read

09:38 and my favourite.

09:40 Well, people, that's it.

09:41 Thank you so much for watching "Sheriff's Portrait."

09:44 Hope you had as much fun as I did.

09:45 And make sure you watch "Bob Hearts Abishola"

09:48 Monday nights, CBS, 8.30 PM, 7.30 Central.

09:52 Don't forget to buy my book.

09:53 Get candid.

09:54 I don't know why I'm whispering.

09:56 Buy my book.

09:58 I guarantee you'll love it.

10:00 If you don't, I'll give you back the money,

10:02 if you can find me.

10:03 Now that I have some private time by myself with my book.

10:07 I love you, Kevin. See you.

10:10 Oh, yeah, and don't forget to subscribe to Nellie Claire.

10:13 (gentle music)

10:16 (gentle music)

10:18 (gentle music)

10:21 (upbeat music)

10:23 (upbeat music)

Gina Yashere's Personal Library Includes Horror Classics & Black Female Authors | Shelf Portrait | Marie Claire

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