Happy Saturday everyone! We all know by now that I love to try clothing subscription boxes. Today, I wanted to tell you about my experience with Amazon’s clothing subscription box, which is called Personal Shopper by Prime Try Before You Buy. It’s available for Amazon Prime members and is only accessible from a mobile device. To get started with your style profile, click this link using your phone. That will take you to the style survey to get you started!
But first, I’ll explain the program a bit more. After you fill out your style survey, you can either send a message to your stylist with any special requests or you can live chat with one. For the box that I’m highlighting today, I messaged the stylist that I was looking for a new winter coat to wear to watch my boys perform in the half-time shows at the high school football games in the fall and winter. I said that I was looking for something warm without being too bulky and that was at least hip length
Before your box ships out, your stylist will send you a preview of the items they have pulled for you. It’s usually maybe 12 or so and you can choose up to 8 that you want to be included in the box. You can also swap out sizes and colors in the preview mode. Once your box arrives, you have seven days to try everything on and send back what you don’t want to keep. They provide the return packaging so it’s super easy to send back what you don’t want. Instead of a styling fee, there is a subscription fee of $4.99 per box. I get them every other month. You can get $10 off if you spend $50 or more using code TBYB10 so it’s a great time to check it out and see if you like it.
Here are the coats – I got to try on EIGHT coats in the comfort of my own home. I probably would have gone to at least two or three stores to look at this many options. This saved me so much time! Plus, I’m in the high-risk category for you-know-what so it’s nice not to have to leave the house. In the end, I chose the Steve Madden Women’s Puffer Jacket. I love it – it has everything I was looking for! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about how Personal Shopper by Prime Try Before You Buy works!
Here are links to all of the coats:
- 1. Kenneth Cole
- 2. Columbia
- 3. Tommy Hilfiger
- 4. Nautica
- 5. Calvin Klein
- 6. Laundry by Shelli Segal
- 7. Amazon Essentials – no longer available
- 8. Steve Madden
(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a wee bit from qualifying purchases that allow me to offset the expenses of running this blog. Thanks for your support!)
November 27th, 2021 in
Weekend Wardrobe |
1 Comment
September 26-October 2, 2021 is Banned Books Week. Every April, the American Library Association releases a list of the top ten banned books from the previous year and why they were banned. Here’s the 2020 list:
George by Alex Gino
Reasons: Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community”
I gave George five stars! I think it’s a great middle-grade book that parents can read with their children to jump-start a conversation with them about what it means to be transgender. You can read my review here.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
Reasons: Banned and challenged because of the author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now”
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author
This one got five stars from me also. You can read my review here. I read it a long time ago before the allegations against Alexie came out and it brings up an issue that I’ve struggled with. Can one separate the artist from the art? And is it a good idea to try?
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
Reasons: Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote anti-police views
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience
Yet another five-star rating from me! You can read my review here. Funny how all of these banned books are actually really good. I highly recommend the audiobook. Sissy Spacek does a wonderful job narrating.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Reasons: Challenged for profanity, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message
Whadda ya know – five stars from me! You can read my review here. I just read this a few months ago so it will count as my banned book for 2021. I try to read at least one from the most recent list in anticipation of banned books week.
What’s your favorite banned book? You can find lists for previous years on the ALA’s website.
(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a wee bit from qualifying purchases that allow me to offset the expenses of running this blog. Thanks for your support!)
September 27th, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
Pretty Mess by Erika Jayne
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: March 20, 2018
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Erika Jayne didn’t make it this far by holding back. Now, in her first-ever memoir, the fan favorite star of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills bares her heart, mind, and soul.
In Pretty Mess, Erika spills on every aspect of her life: from her rise to fame as a daring and fiery pop/dance performer and singer; to her decision to accept a role on reality television; to the ups and downs of family life (including her marriage to famed lawyer Tom Girardi, thirty-three years her senior). There’s much more to Erika Jayne than fans see on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Pretty Mess is her opportunity to dig deep and tell her many-layered, unique, and inspiring life story.
As fun and fearless as its author, this fascinating memoir proves once and for all why Erika Jayne is so beloved: she’s strong, confident, genuine, and here to tell all!
If you’re a fan of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, you know that this season is getting goooooood. Erika Jayne’s (aka Erika Girardi) husband, high-powered attorney Tom Girardi, has been accused of funneling over 20 million dollars of his clients’ settlements into Erika’s LLC, EJ Global. This is money that was supposed to go to the victims of a plane crash, including widows and orphans. Not good. The big question is…Did Erika know where the money in her LLC was coming from? The season started filming right before the story broke and more information comes to light every week. Bravo couldn’t have asked for more drama! If you’re not a fan of the show, you can watch the documentary The Housewife and the Hustler on Hulu if you want to get up to speed quickly.
Anyway, Pretty Mess came out in 2018 so there is no mention of any of that. However, I read it to see if there were any clues that Erika might have been in on Tom’s schemes. And the answer is, not really. However, Erika Jayne was never signed by a record label – she’s entirely self-funded and it doesn’t sound like she makes that much money performing. I would venture to say that she probably loses money because she is spending a boatload on costumes, and glam, travel and making music videos for her songs. Also, who knows how much she pays Mikey, her right-hand man and creative director. I’m sure he doesn’t come cheap.
Sadly, there is only one chapter about her experience on RHOBH and its light on details. She goes into a lot more detail about her time on Dancing with the Stars. I did enjoy reading about her pre-Housewives life though. I didn’t know much about her because she rarely talks about her past on the show. She opens up quite a bit about her relationship with her parents and grandmother. Fun fact: It was ghost-written by Brian Moylan, who wrote The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives that I reviewed a few weeks ago.
Pretty Mess was a quick, fun read that fans of RHOBH will enjoy. I checked it out from the library because I felt weird about giving her money while she’s in the midst of this legal scandal. If you’ve been following it, let me know what you think…Did Erika know??
August 24th, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does…
Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed―tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.
For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it’s hard to let go of the past when the past won’t let go of you.
Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.
Seventeen years ago, Belsum Chemical set up shop in Bourne and turned its water green. Since then, most of Bourne’s residents have come down with or been born with health problems, including the Mitchell triplets, who refer to themselves in birth order number, which also corresponds to the number of syllables in their names. Mab, or One, is a “normal” sixteen-year-old girl. She’s on the track for high-achieving kids at school. Monday, or Two, is on the autism spectrum. When the town library closed, she took custody of the books, which are now crammed in every nook and cranny of their house. She knows the exact location of every single one though. Mirabel, or Three, has what appears to be cerebral palsy, although I don’t think it’s ever specifically stated. She is in a wheelchair and has the use of just one arm and hand. She uses a voice machine to communicate.
The triplets’ father, who worked in the chemical plant, died of cancer before they were born. Their mother Nora has been trying to get a class-action lawsuit going against Belsum ever since. Then one day, Nathan Templeton, the son of Belsum’s founder, comes to town promising a new beginning. But can he and Belsum be trusted?
One Two Three alternates between the first-person perspectives of the three girls. Each has a distinctive voice and their own fully developed personality. It’s a heavy story but there is some humor as well. Especially from Monday, who is endearing, yet frustrating in the way that overly literal people often are. Mirabel, because she has been an observer of people for her whole life, is wise beyond her years. My favorite line from her is:
“There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who split the world into two kinds of people, and the ones who know that’s reductive and conversationally lazy.”
I enjoyed One Two Three quite a bit. I like books that are about the people in small towns or communities pulling together to help each other out, as long as they don’t get too cheesy. One Two Three certainly doesn’t. If anything, it’s a little on the darker side, but not in a bad way. This is the third book of Laurie Frankel’s that I’ve read and loved – she’s officially going on my list of favorite authors!
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
Other books by Laurie Frankel that I’ve reviewed:
Goodbye for Now
This is How It Always Is
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
August 6th, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Narrator: Matthew McConaughey
Publisher: Random House Audio
Release Date: October 20, 2020
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.
Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life’s challenges—how to get relative with the inevitable—you can enjoy a state of success I call “catching greenlights.”
So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.
Hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.
It’s a love letter. To life.
It’s also a guide to catching more greenlights—and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.
Good luck.
Oh dear…This book was not what I expected but it was what I SHOULD have expected. There are a few tidbits from Matthew’s childhood and early adulthood. He writes even less about things that have happened to him since he became famous. Most of it is corny and/or trite “wisdom” that sounds profound until you stop and think about it for half a second. Some examples:
“We cannot fully appreciate the light without the shadows. We have to be thrown off balance to find our footing. It’s better to jump than fall.”
Or
“We catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the red lights are in our life, and then change course to hit fewer of them.”
Basically, this book is one of Matthew’s Lincoln car commercials in book form. If you think that his voice is so sexy that you’d listen to him read the phonebook [I don’t – he’s never been my type.], then this is a great audiobook for you. Otherwise, you can skip it.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
August 3rd, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.
The Dutch House is the story of Danny and his older sister Maeve. They grew up in the Dutch House, a huge mansion that their father surprised their mother with after he made his fortune in real estate. Unfortunately, their mother suffers from some sort of imposter syndrome and doesn’t feel deserving of their new wealthy lifestyle. She abandons the family to serve the poor in India when Danny is just three years old. Danny and Maeve’s father is cold and distant. He doesn’t quite know what to do with children so they are raised primarily by the housekeepers Sandy and Jocelyn.
The Dutch House spans several decades. It’s interesting that while it’s told from Danny’s point of view, Maeve is just as much of a central character as he is. At one point, someone refers to them as being like Hansel and Gretel and I think that’s true. The Dutch House is very much like a fairytale. One day Danny and Maeve’s father brings home Andrea, who becomes the evil stepmother in this fairytale. Her presence brings Danny and Maeve even closer than they already are. The Dutch House is also just as much a character as any human in the book and continues to cause Danny and Maeve pain long after their mother leaves them.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Dutch House. I liked that it was told to the reader by present-day Danny, who remembers how he felt in his childhood but can also see the things that happened back then from a different perspective as an adult. Danny and Maeve had a truly special relationship that I appreciated. The Dutch House was the July selection for one of my book clubs and it gave us a lot to talk about. One of the best discussions was about whether or not it’s possible to make a mother who abandons her children a sympathetic character. It’s been done successfully with fathers but not with any mothers that we could think of. Ann Patchett said in an interview that she tried and failed to make the mother in The Dutch House sympathetic:
“I wrote this book, got all the way to the end, read it, hated it, threw it away and started over. And I mean completely. What I realized in having it bomb so completely is that you cannot write a sympathetic character who leaves her children for ethical reasons. There is definitely a different standard for men and women, and I wanted to take that on. And I realized that I couldn’t. We sing songs about Odysseus, and we pray to the Buddha [both of whom left home], and nobody thinks about their sons. I sat down on the carpet in the middle of my office. I imagined every mother on my street who has young children, and her leaving her children to go and do important work for the poor. And I was angry at all of them.”
I listened to the audiobook of The Dutch House because it’s narrated by Tom Hanks. He does an excellent job, of course. Highly recommended.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
July 23rd, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza
Publisher: One World
Publication Date: October 20, 2020
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In 2013, Alicia Garza wrote what she called “a love letter to Black people” on Facebook, in the aftermath of the acquittal of the man who murdered seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin. Garza wrote:
Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.
With the speed and networking capacities of social media, #BlackLivesMatter became the hashtag heard ’round the world. But Garza knew even then that hashtags don’t start movements—people do.
Long before #BlackLivesMatter became a rallying cry for this generation, Garza had spent the better part of two decades learning and unlearning some hard lessons about organizing. The lessons she offers are different from the “rules for radicals” that animated earlier generations of activists, and diverge from the charismatic, patriarchal model of the American civil rights movement. She reflects instead on how making room amongst the woke for those who are still awakening can inspire and activate more people to fight for the world we all deserve.
This is the story of one woman’s lessons through years of bringing people together to create change. Most of all, it is a new paradigm for change for a new generation of changemakers, from the mind and heart behind one of the most important movements of our time.
Alicia Garza is one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network but she worked as a community organizer for a long time before that. The Purpose of Power is multi-faceted – it’s both her personal story and the story behind #BlackLivesMatter. It’s also about community organizing in general and how to go beyond hashtags to make real and lasting change.
I learned a lot from this book. It starts with a brief history of movements and leadership within the Black community to give context to where things stand with it today. Then she weaves in her personal story, including her work as a community organizer. I first heard the term “community organizer” when Barack Obama ran for president but I didn’t know what it really meant. Garza has a wealth of experience that she details in this book and I feel like I understand what a community organizer does a lot better now.
The last section of the book is about the Black Lives Matter movement – how it started and where it is today. I appreciated this information because I didn’t know the specifics before reading this book. Now, I feel like I have a wealth of knowledge that I can use to educate others. There is a lot of misinformation about Black Lives Matter out there and I’m glad I feel like I can speak out now.
The focus of The Purpose of Power is the Black Lives Matter movement but what Garza shares about organizing can be applied to any movement. If you’ve ever felt like you wanted to do something beyond posting a hashtag, this is a great book for you.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
July 20th, 2021 in
Books |
No Comments
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Publisher: MIRA
Publication Date: March 3, 2020
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Escaping from an abusive marriage, 17-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist – and confidante – to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own….
Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow – a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.
Lakshmi left an abusive marriage years ago and has spent her time away becoming the most sought-after henna artist in Jaipur. It’s the 1950s so divorce for an Indian woman is unheard of – Lakshmi must present herself as a widow. This is all well and good until her husband shows up out of the blue with a 13-year-old girl who he says is her younger sister. Keeping him a secret has deep repercussions on her reputation and way of life.
The Henna Artist shows how pervasive the caste system was in India in the 1950s and how little control women of any caste had over their own lives. Even Lakshmi, a supposed widow, isn’t fully independent. Lakshmi has to tread very carefully in her interactions with the wealthy women she hennas – it must be mentally exhausting. Every conversation is filled with innuendo and hidden meaning. Words must be carefully chosen. This becomes even more apparent when Lakshmi takes in her sister, who has been raised in abject poverty and has no social graces whatsoever.
The Henna Artist was right up my alley – we know by now that I love books about the social mores of India. My favorite character was Maharani Indira Man Singh. She and her parrot provided just the right amount of comic relief in what was otherwise a pretty heavy book. I enjoyed reading it but it was not a feel-good book by any means. From what I understand, The Henna Artist is the first book in a planned trilogy. The second book, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, came out in June. Its focus is Malik, Lakshmi’s young assistant. I plan to read it soon before I forget the details of The Henna Artist. I’ll keep you posted!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
July 16th, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: February 28, 2017
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
I’ve been meaning to read The Hate U Give for a while now but other books kept getting in the way. When my son said that he had to read it for school, I decided to read it too. He loved it so much that he finished it in record time and then read it again right away. I can see why – it may be the best young adult book I’ve read.
Starr Carter is a sixteen-year-old who lives in a poor neighborhood. She attends an elite prep school where she is one of two Black kids in her grade. She keeps her two worlds very separate until one day when she is with her neighborhood friend Khalil and he is fatally shot by a police officer. Starr was the only witness but she’s not sure she wants to get involved – it could be too dangerous.
It’s sad and a little eerie that this book was published in 2017 but pretty much mirrors the events of the summer of 2020 after George Floyd was murdered. Some things never change, unfortunately. Thomas does a beautiful job of showing how the frustration of a community over the murder of an unarmed Black man by police could lead to rioting. I would love to gift this book to people who say they can’t understand why the protests aren’t all peaceful.
She also does a fantastic job of showing the effort that it takes for Starr to navigate between her two worlds. Starr has to be ever mindful when she’s at school that she doesn’t come across as an “angry Black girl”. She doesn’t speak about her home life because she doesn’t want people to think she lives in the ghetto. That’s why she is hesitant to speak up about having been with Khalil. It gets harder and harder to keep quiet as she watches the media turn him into a criminal and she hears her classmates calling him a thug.
I don’t know how someone could read this book and not walk away with a deep sense of empathy and understanding for what it’s like to be a Black teenager in today’s world. I think it should be required reading for high school – I’m so glad that my son read it. Incidentally, he watched the movie and said that it was very different from the book and he didn’t like it. I’m probably still going to watch it just to see for myself – I’ll report back after I do. In the meantime, I give the book The Hate U Give my highest recommendation.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
July 2nd, 2021 in
Books |
1 Comment
The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
From Brian Moylan, the writer of Vulture’s legendary Real Housewives recaps, a table-flipping, finger-pointing, halter-topping VIP journey through reality TV’s greatest saga…
In the spring of 2006, a new kind of show premiered on Bravo: The Real Housewives of Orange County. Its stars were tanned, taut, and bedazzled; their homes were echoey California villas; and their drama was gossip-fueled, wine-drenched, and absolutely exquisite. Fifteen seasons on, RHOC is an institution, along with The Real Housewives of New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, Miami, Potomac, and more. Over the years these ladies have done a lot more than lunch, launching thirty-one books, a cocktail line, two jail sentences, a couple supermodel daughters, Andy Cohen’s talk show career, thirty-six divorces, fourteen albums, a White House party crash, and approximately one million memes.
Brian Moylan has been there through it all, in front of the screen and behind the scenes. The writer of Vulture’s beloved series recaps, he’s here to tell us the full story, from the inside scoop on every classic throwdown to the questions we’ve always wanted to know, like―what are the housewives really like off-camera? (The same.) How much money do they make? (Lots.) He has a lot to say about the legacy and fandom of a franchise that’s near and dear to his heart, and inextricable from pop culture today.
The Housewives is a must-read for any die-hard Real Housewives fan – even if you don’t watch all of the cities. I “only” watch Orange County, Beverly Hills and Salt Lake City. And my summer project is binging RHONY – I just started season six so I have a long way to go. I’m powering through though! Anyway, even though I haven’t watched all of the cities, I still enjoyed this book a lot.
It’s important to know that The Housewives is a behind-the-scenes look at the franchises themselves and to some extent Bravo as a network. There is not much scoop on individual housewives’ personal lives off-camera. However, that didn’t bother me at all. Sure, I love dirt but I’m also fascinated by the inner workings of the shows. Especially since Bravo is notoriously secretive about how Housewives works. This book finally answers everyone’s number one question, “Who pays for the trips??”
Bravo’s extreme concern about keeping everything confidential is one of the reasons this book doesn’t have more scoop on the housewives themselves. The author says that when he told them he was writing this book, instead of helping him like he was hoping, Bravo told all current and past housewives not to talk to him under any circumstances. Luckily, not everyone followed instructions. Also, Brian got plenty of former production staffers to talk to him and they provided some great stories.
I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author. His delivery is a little stilted but once I got used to his style, I was hooked. He is a super-fan and clearly loves the shows, but he is delightfully snarky about them at the same time. I especially loved the chapter about when he went on a retreat that Vickie Gunvalson (of RHOC) put on in Puerto Vallarta. He whooped it up with Vickie!
Towards the end, he discusses some of the academic research that has been done about the Real Housewives phenomenon. Yes, academics are studying the show and writing serious papers about it! It turns out some benefits of watching it have been found. If you feel at all guilty about being a fan, this book will make you feel better about it. Recommended for Real Housewives fans everywhere.
(I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for review.)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
June 29th, 2021 in
Books |
No Comments
