Sunday, October 10, 2010

Awesome Autobiography Weekend

Jenny McCarthy - Love, Lust & Faking It: The Naked Truth About Sex, Lies, and True Romance
The inveterate truth-teller turns the lights on for a funny, often wise, and no-holds-barred look at the essence of relationships: love and sex.

McCarthy talks about finding first love and dealing with heartbreak; the importance of playing doctor and other nice and naughty fantasies; becoming a Playboy Miss October; why women are master manipulators; the virtues of sex with the lights off; the power of a "loving no," and so much more.

Love, Lust, and Faking It takes on a subject the sex symbol, mother, television star, comedian, and divorcÉe can be trusted to examine with nothing but unvarnished honesty and outrageous humor.

What I Can Tell You: I absolutely loved this book but then again I have loved Jenny since Singled Out on MTV. Jenny is brutally honest and candid in her account of her life. There were times (and I don't do it often) that I had to laugh out loud ("it was like uncooked spaghetti", "sex was like a pap smear"). If you are looking for honesty (well except for the Brad Pitt story, or maybe not) and a no holds barred approach to first love, non-sexy photoshoots, tween teddy love, lady bits, sex, cheating, sex with the lights on and more, this is the book for you.  

Hysterical! 5 out of 5 for a good laugh.


Pat Benatar - Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir

For 30 years, Pat Benatar has been one of the most influential women in popular music. Now, this rock legend tells her story as she saw it, recalling her rise to fame, life in the MTV generation, her tours, the fans, and how she managed to avoid the trappings of rock stardom. Part of the first generation of female rock stars to put the women's movement into practice, Benatar's career has embodied the defiant attitude and rebellious edge that has long been associated with her music. As the first woman ever to be featured on MTV, Benetar's story is an incredible inside look at the integral role that the nascent cable network played in shaping the face of music in the 1980s, helping to propel rock anthems like "Heartbreaker and Love Is a Battlefield" to the top of the charts. Winner of an unprecented four consecutive Grammys for best female rock performance, Benatar details a unique time in music history, demonstrating how the advent of music videos turned musicians into platinum selling stars overnight, but also set the stakes for being a female sex symbol in the male-dominated world of the music business. From sold out arena tours to her incessant battles with her record label to her love for her husband that kept her grounded, this book offers an open and fascinating look at one of rock music's most storied performers.

What I Can Tell You: I have been a Pat Benatar fan from 1979's In The Heat of The Night her very first album. As someone who always loved female vocalists, Dolly Parton, Steve Nicks, Dusty Springfield, Helen Reddy, Karen Carpenter when I heard Pat, she was so different from my favorite albums.  I thought that is Rock and Roll!

This book is great for the fan of this elusive singer. In the 70 and 80s celebrities weren't chased around by the papproazzi or interviewed like we have now. We heard them on the radio, saw them on a random TV show but we didn't know much about them. They were beautiful and we wanted to be like them but knew nothing about them. It was a much easier time to be a celebrity I'm sure but they weren't raking in the dough like even the non-celebrities of today (Snooki, Kim K, Paris).

We learn how she got her last name, it is not her husband of 30's (father of her daughters) Spyder. It is her high school sweethearts, first husband who returned from Vietnam with Post Traumatic Stress, the reason she didn't attend a Julliard audition, last name.

This isn't your typical rock star, band book. Pat has never been in rehab. Her marriage to her husband is still strong and she never posed nude to sell an album.

The story she tells is very unrock and roll and that is how she likes it. She was a slave to her record label, fought back against the sexism that was thrown at her. Was not allowed to talk about her children because that wasn't considered very rock n roll.

This is a love story. Pat has been in love with Spyder since she met him and it took them years to find their way to each other. She credits him with who she is and how far she has gotten.

Oddly enough, I had no idea this book was out until I saw it in the library on Thursday and have spent the past two weeks listening to Pat and referred to a teacher "you mean the one who looks like Pat Benatar" the other day. It is kismet that I found the book in the new release section of my library last week (it was released in June 2010).

4 out of 5.

Great reading weekend.

1 comment:

  1. Both of those books appeal to me. I saw Jenny on Oprah and knew I wanted to read it then, she is jokes. As for Benatar, I am a total punk so this is right up my alley! Great reviews for both!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to talk to you further