Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I recommend as an audio book. Her delivery is iconic. I don't know much about here, but really enjoyed listening to this.
These 5 stars are personal because reading this memoir was like therapy for me. So much of Phillips’s adolescence and 20s reminded me of my own mistakes and the twisted rationales I’d use on myself. Some may not call it a “literary” work, but the content is raw and womanly and necessary. Also, she goes into so much of the Hollywood stuff but without snark and sensationalism. She’s just honest about how effed up this world can be, particularly towards women. I loled and cried at the pool and beach while reading the book and have absolutely no shame for doing so. I needed this.
Hmmm. I love Busy on instagram, and this book was an extension of her stories. If you like her grams, you’ll like the book (the audio in particular) because if you like her grams then chances are, you find her need for attention winningly lovable for some reason. It should be annoying ! It’s annoying on other people, but Busy and her honesty resonate with me, so her book was a fun listen. It’s not life changing, it’s not even super interesting, but I’m invested in her so I’ll keep on listening.
3.75 stars
Occasionally, I like to read memoirs by people I don't know very much about. That was the case with this one by Busy Phillips. I only knew the pencil outline version of her work - that she was on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson's Creek and Cougar Town and that she has a soon-to-end nighttime talk show, which I only watched once. I was more familiar with her red carpet appearances with best friend Michelle Williams above anything else.
Busy writes in a really conversational tone, as if you're her friend who she's dishing to over Cosmos on her couch. Her story starts right at the beginning, showing her independent streak when she takes off on her own for a walk around the block as a toddler. She then moves through her childhood and into her high school years, which was the point at which she decided that she wanted to be an actress. The difference between her and every other teenage girl with that very same ambition is that she actually made it happen. (And she got the satisfaction of throwing up a virtual middle finger to her teacher who told her that she wasn't going to be an actress and that being an actress was not a viable career.) She's extremely headstrong and determined; once she makes up her mind to do something, she goes for it and doesn't give up until she achieves it. Or if she doesn't quite achieve it, she has a cry (crying is a theme throughout), picks herself up and puts in one hundred percent effort to the next thing she's after.
This is one Hollywood celebrity who's not afraid to namedrop. Though I consider myself fairly up on pop culture references, I didn't recognize many of the names, though there were definitely enough that I did to make her anecdotes feel juicy. There was a purpose to it, though, and many times it was her way of standing up to the overriding boys' club/patriarchy/white male privilege that she put up with on so many occasions. It's her way of calling them out publicly for how they treated her or for their blatant hypocrisy. For someone who admittedly suffers from anxiety and depression, some of her writing felt like therapy. She was able to pour out her frustrations and worries onto the page. She never shies away from the truth and is really bold in the way she discusses her relationships from high school through to the present day. She's fully open about being raped as a teenager, the breakdown/reconciliation cycle of her current marriage and how she struggled with pregnancy and work obligations later in life.
This is still very much a Hollywood story. When she discusses money troubles and nannies not working out, as someone who's not anywhere near that upper echelon, it's definitely a little hard to relate, but that's just who she is and where she is because she put in all of the hard work to get there. Because Busy is so completely honest about all of the other aspects of her life, she doesn't try to sugarcoat anything to try to preserve her reputation. She puts it all out there and you can take it or leave it. She's already moving on to the next thing. Onwards and upwards.
Judge the cover: 4/5
Occasionally, I like to read memoirs by people I don't know very much about. That was the case with this one by Busy Phillips. I only knew the pencil outline version of her work - that she was on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson's Creek and Cougar Town and that she has a soon-to-end nighttime talk show, which I only watched once. I was more familiar with her red carpet appearances with best friend Michelle Williams above anything else.
Busy writes in a really conversational tone, as if you're her friend who she's dishing to over Cosmos on her couch. Her story starts right at the beginning, showing her independent streak when she takes off on her own for a walk around the block as a toddler. She then moves through her childhood and into her high school years, which was the point at which she decided that she wanted to be an actress. The difference between her and every other teenage girl with that very same ambition is that she actually made it happen. (And she got the satisfaction of throwing up a virtual middle finger to her teacher who told her that she wasn't going to be an actress and that being an actress was not a viable career.) She's extremely headstrong and determined; once she makes up her mind to do something, she goes for it and doesn't give up until she achieves it. Or if she doesn't quite achieve it, she has a cry (crying is a theme throughout), picks herself up and puts in one hundred percent effort to the next thing she's after.
This is one Hollywood celebrity who's not afraid to namedrop. Though I consider myself fairly up on pop culture references, I didn't recognize many of the names, though there were definitely enough that I did to make her anecdotes feel juicy. There was a purpose to it, though, and many times it was her way of standing up to the overriding boys' club/patriarchy/white male privilege that she put up with on so many occasions. It's her way of calling them out publicly for how they treated her or for their blatant hypocrisy. For someone who admittedly suffers from anxiety and depression, some of her writing felt like therapy. She was able to pour out her frustrations and worries onto the page. She never shies away from the truth and is really bold in the way she discusses her relationships from high school through to the present day. She's fully open about being raped as a teenager, the breakdown/reconciliation cycle of her current marriage and how she struggled with pregnancy and work obligations later in life.
This is still very much a Hollywood story. When she discusses money troubles and nannies not working out, as someone who's not anywhere near that upper echelon, it's definitely a little hard to relate, but that's just who she is and where she is because she put in all of the hard work to get there. Because Busy is so completely honest about all of the other aspects of her life, she doesn't try to sugarcoat anything to try to preserve her reputation. She puts it all out there and you can take it or leave it. She's already moving on to the next thing. Onwards and upwards.
Judge the cover: 4/5
3.5 stars. I really enjoy audiobooks read by the author, particularly autobiographies by funny people! This did not disappoint!
I was impressed by how open Busy was about her life. Like about everything! It's refreshing to hear that beautiful actresses struggle with the same shit we all struggle with. I'm really glad that I purchased the audio book because hearing her stories in her actual voice seriously added to her stories.
At first I was clutching my pearls in regards to, shall we say, Busy’s frankness. I’m calling her by her first name because I feel like that’s what she would want. After I got over myself, I was grateful for Busy putting herself out there and being real. 1. I feel like she is very, very under appreciated as an actor and I would give her all the awards if I could. 2. She made me feel more sane. 3. She is funny as hell. Reading stories like this is so important for young women, and women in general. Also WTF about the whole Blades of Glory thing. Not cool. Anyways. I wish that I could be her friend but instead I’ll just cross my fingers that she writes another book, and probably go buy the audiobook of this one so I can listen to it. Thankful for my friend who made me read this. I don’t want to give the book back because it looks excellent on my desk next to my other memoirs written by powerful, strong women.
Honestly, I had no idea Busy Phillips was such an instagram sensation until like right before this book came out. I had watched her on Freaks and Geeks, and knew she was on Cougartown, and had seen her in some other stuff, but overall was sort of indifferent towards her.
Then recently she popped up on my radar, probably because of this book. And I checked out her instagram. And realized she was tight with Kelly Oxford (maybe that's what made me check out her instagram? Who even knows why I do what I do or how things lead me to other things at this point). Regardless, my interest was piqued and I wanted to check this book out. I had one last audible credit before I canceled the promo deal I had going on, and I used it for this one.
I think that listening to this book with Phillips reading both enchanced and detracted from the overall telling for me. The thing is, she's very emotive. Which can be really great -- I loved when she would talk about things her mother had said. She nailed that midwestern mom thing. I mean, the actress in her can't help but come out as she narrates these various life stories. Which is great a lot of the time. The times that I struggled, honestly (and I feel like a bitch for even saying this), were when she was talking about some of the sadder, tougher things she had been through and she got emotional. I think because she's so emotive in general, these parts came across in audio as less than genuine. Which I'm sure is not actually the case -- but instead of finding myself wanting to cry along with her, I found the abundance of emotion a bit grating at times.
Regardless...I applaud Phillips for her honesty and candor. She's not afraid to spill the tea, and she's not afraid to tell the stories of her life that don't flatter her either. She's more than willing to admit the mistakes she has made, and places where she could have done better. But she's also not about to let other people's bad behavior go unmentioned. I found myself learning a lot about her (I had NO idea she and Michelle Williams were best friends. That's still kind of crazy to me), and really appreciating her in-your-face personality. At the same time, she lets her insecurities show, which I think made her really relatable. She's not one to be walked all over, but at the same time there are times that she (like anyone) let people take advantage of her, or just didn't feel like things were worth the fight.
Overall I enjoyed listening to her tell her story, and it was one I found really interesting. Especially because she's a celebrity that's fairly widely known but not one of those that's IN YOUR FACE with their celebrity and fame, it felt refreshing to learn new things about her and get her unique perspective of fame and the entire Hollywood world, which she's pretty closely tied to overall.
Worth the read.
Then recently she popped up on my radar, probably because of this book. And I checked out her instagram. And realized she was tight with Kelly Oxford (maybe that's what made me check out her instagram? Who even knows why I do what I do or how things lead me to other things at this point). Regardless, my interest was piqued and I wanted to check this book out. I had one last audible credit before I canceled the promo deal I had going on, and I used it for this one.
I think that listening to this book with Phillips reading both enchanced and detracted from the overall telling for me. The thing is, she's very emotive. Which can be really great -- I loved when she would talk about things her mother had said. She nailed that midwestern mom thing. I mean, the actress in her can't help but come out as she narrates these various life stories. Which is great a lot of the time. The times that I struggled, honestly (and I feel like a bitch for even saying this), were when she was talking about some of the sadder, tougher things she had been through and she got emotional. I think because she's so emotive in general, these parts came across in audio as less than genuine. Which I'm sure is not actually the case -- but instead of finding myself wanting to cry along with her, I found the abundance of emotion a bit grating at times.
Regardless...I applaud Phillips for her honesty and candor. She's not afraid to spill the tea, and she's not afraid to tell the stories of her life that don't flatter her either. She's more than willing to admit the mistakes she has made, and places where she could have done better. But she's also not about to let other people's bad behavior go unmentioned. I found myself learning a lot about her (I had NO idea she and Michelle Williams were best friends. That's still kind of crazy to me), and really appreciating her in-your-face personality. At the same time, she lets her insecurities show, which I think made her really relatable. She's not one to be walked all over, but at the same time there are times that she (like anyone) let people take advantage of her, or just didn't feel like things were worth the fight.
Overall I enjoyed listening to her tell her story, and it was one I found really interesting. Especially because she's a celebrity that's fairly widely known but not one of those that's IN YOUR FACE with their celebrity and fame, it felt refreshing to learn new things about her and get her unique perspective of fame and the entire Hollywood world, which she's pretty closely tied to overall.
Worth the read.
loved learning about Busy’s life. She cares so much