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In My Library: Chris Colfer

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If you thought Chris Colfer misses being part of TV’s late hit, “Glee,” guess again. “It was an amazing experience but it was like putting on a new Broadway show every week,” says the actor who played Kurt. “A lot of shows have hiatuses but we never, ever got a break because we’d go on tour during the summer.” Besides, the 25-year-old says, he had other fish to fry: He’s just come out with “Beyond the Kingdoms,” the fourth book in his bestselling YA series, “The Land of Stories.” He’s also working with a dialect coach to prep for his role in an upcoming Noel Coward biopic co-starring Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry. Any “Glee” regrets? “I’d go back and get [guest star] Shirley MacLaine’s phone number if I could!” he says.

Here’s what’s in his library:

The Demonologist by Gerald Brittle

This chronicles the careers of Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were made famous recently by the film “The Conjuring.” I’ve always loved good ghost stories. This stuck with me because it’s told almost like a textbook — it doesn’t try to creep you out but the basic facts are creepy enough. Scary movies freak me out too much, but I love reading about this.

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

I’ve been a fan of hers for years! I met her once, briefly, in a Marc Jacobs store. She told me I had pretty eyes, and I nearly died! I love this book. There are so many books by privileged people telling others how they live their lives. It takes a special person to say, “These are my flaws, and this is how I’m dealing with them.”

Intimacy Idiot by Isaac Oliver

I’m biased, because Isaac is a friend of mine, but he’s very funny and very honest about his life as a young gay man in New York City and his lack of intimacy. With all the social media, it’s become increasingly hard to have a human connection. I think anyone, gay or straight, who’s trying to hack his way through the dating world would enjoy this.

Naked by David Sedaris

I absolutely worship him — I’ve read most of his books. I have the audiobook of this with David reading it at Carnegie Hall. I love his view of his family and how he’s able to find the humor in everyone. I come from a huge extended family and every one of us is crazy, but our own unique kind of crazy.

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10 Things We Learned About Chris Colfer at his #BNAuthorEvent

Glee star and author of the wildly popular “The Land of Stories” series Chris Colfer came to B&N to an event that filled the store. Fans had been waiting in line outside since the evening before (he brought everyone in the line cookies!), and the line snaked down four floors of the Union Square Barnes & Noble location. People in the audience came from Canada and Mexico, and many of them had already finished reading Chris’s latest book, Beyond the Kingdoms, that had been released that day, while they were waiting for the event to begin. We chatted with him for a few minutes before he greeted his super fans, and here’s what we learned:

He was influenced by the traditional fairy tales his mom used to read to him. “I remember she had a very unique storybook because rather than illustrations it was photographs of a doll positioned in dramatic action settings. And I think as a kid, it all seemed so real to me, I think that’s where it first clicked. And I started to daydream about what it would be like to enter into that world of fantasy. Every time I ever read a book about fantasy I just wanted to enter it.”

He’s also influenced by movies and music. “Usually when I write books I listen to movie soundtracks. It’s really kind of impossible for me to listen to a film score without seeing visuals in my head that the music inspires. So I definitely listen to that, especially when I’m outlining things. It really paints a picture for me of what each book should be.”

His favorite fairy tale when he was little was Sleeping Beauty. “It terrified me and I was obsessed with it. And I also like the idea of sleeping for 100 years—that’d be great. It’s so funny because as a kid, I think I never really saw each story as separate. I saw it all as one big world, which is sort of why I’m mixing them together in my head. I thought strange things, like Prince Charming, I was like, “God, he gets around.” You know? Then I was like, “How are all these women okay with it?” I remember thinking as a young kid, “This isn’t setting a good example. Aren’t you supposed to have one girlfriend or one boyfriend?” And then I came up with the idea when I was writing the book, “Oh, they’re brothers.” That’s why it’s always Prince Charming—it’s a Charming dynasty, it’s not just one bigamous.”

He’s careful with putting jokes in his writing. “I know that every line can’t be funny, and I know that a character can only say so many funny things in a row before it seems a little redundant and you want to get on with the story.”

He was a “terrible reader” when he was a kid but fortunately he watched a tons of TV and lots of movies. “I required a lot of special attention when I was in elementary school because I probably am dyslexic, but I was never diagnosed. Parents are always told “Don’t let your kids watch too many movies or TV because it would dim their minds too much,” but I think it did nothing but stimulate mine. I think it really taught me how to tell a good story.

He was a Potterhead as a teen. “And I loved anything by Eva Ibbotson. She wrote Which Witch? and The Secret of Platform 13 and Island of the Aunts. Anything that was a big adventure, I loved. I was really into the “Sixth Grade Alien” series, too. But the “Harry Potter” series is really what inspired me to read in general, because I loved the characters so much that I would sit and work at it and read every chapter three or four times until I knew I had the full picture.”

He just wrote Mother Goose’s biography, which is coming out in October. But he would also love to write the autobiography of a historical figure. “Kind of like what Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does, where you write about someone but you make it all up. So I don’t know if that would be a really good biography, but I would love to write about Marie Antoinette’s book club that no one ever knew about.”

When he goes to B&N, he heads straight to the kids’ section. “I love the middle grade chapter books. The smell of them! The smell hits you first. I keep all the copies of my books in one closet in my house, and sometimes when I walk by the closet I open it and just take a whiff of the new paper smell. I remember loving just walking into the section as a kid and being mesmerized by all the colors and the characters.”

If he were casting his books as movies, he’d want to use new actors. “I think for Alex and Connor, one of the reasons why I wrote them with no—I didn’t name the city they lived in or really the country, although people know that they’re American—is because I wanted every kid, everywhere, to be able to relate to them. So I would really would like for them to be unknowns. So that every kid knows them as Alex and Connor first, and then they can go off and have wonderful careers. I think the characters that are known—the kings and queens—it would be good to cast people that are known. A few of my friends have attached themselves to the movies, so that’s fun. They’re like, ‘Oh Chris, I’m going to be in the movie. ’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to stop you.‘”

The different colors of the books have meaning. “The first one was green because it was like the forest—they were entering a magical forest. The second one was kind of purplish-pink because it was all about passion, because the enchantress was very upset. And the red one was red because it was a little bloody. And this one is blue because it was demanded to be blue. And, yeah, I think the fifth and possible sixth one will have themes that possibly relate to the plot.”

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@TeamID: .@chriscolfer is feeding the imaginations of kids everywhere! #TLOS is the #1 children's series on @nytimes list!

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Chris Colfer’s Literary Confessions [US Weekly: July 20, 2015]

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Kidsday reporters Kendall Parker, Gionna Altebrando, Anjelia Altebrando and Tess Altebrando, 12 and 14, from Medford and Miller Place, met with singer, actor and author Chris Colfer at Hachette Books offices to talk to him about his latest novel: “The Land of Stories, Beyond the Kingdoms.” (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). They really like his latest book a lot, and were just amazed that even though he is only 25, this is his fifth novel. Chris also talked to our reporters about his time on the show “Glee!” All the reporters are huge Chris Colfer fans.

Did your life influence the lives of your characters Alex and Connor in “The Land of Stories”?

Absolutely. I think Alex represented my curiosity when I was a kid and Connor represented my sense of humor. I’m a Gemini and I’ve always said they’re kind of my yin and yang, where Alex is kind of like my smart and practical side and Connor is my witty sarcastic side. So they’re definitely me.

Who is your favorite author of fairy tales and why?

I’m going to go with the Brothers Grimm because they’re the most classic, with all due respect to Hans Christian Andersen. They’re like the founding fathers of fiction.

Was writing something you always loved to do?

Yes, especially when I was a kid. I used to write stories for my action figures and then I would act them out. Although I didn’t think it was considered writing at the time.

At any time were you afraid you were going to fail?

Constantly. Now I am, even now talking to you guys I’m afraid I’m going to fail and scar you guys for life. I like it – it keeps me on my toes.

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Actor and author Chris Colfer with Kidsday reporters [HQ]

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"Glee" actor Chris Colfer chats with Long Island kids | Newsday

Kidsday reporters Kendall Parker, Gionna Altebrando, Anjelia Altebrando and Tess Altebrando, 12 and 14, from

Kidsday reporters Kendall Parker, Gionna Altebrando, Anjelia Altebrando and Tess Altebrando, 12 and 14, from Medford and Miller Place, met with singer, actor and author Chris Colfer at Hachette Books offices to talk to him about his latest novel: "The Land of Stories, Beyond the Kingdoms." (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). They really like his latest book a lot, and were just amazed that even though he is only 25, this is his fifth novel. Chris also talked to our reporters about his time on the show "Glee!" All the reporters are huge Chris Colfer fans.