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107 reviews for:
The Vanity Fair Diaries: Power, Wealth, Celebrity, and Dreams: My Years at the Magazine That Defined a Decade
Tina Brown
3.71 AVERAGE
107 reviews for:
The Vanity Fair Diaries: Power, Wealth, Celebrity, and Dreams: My Years at the Magazine That Defined a Decade
Tina Brown
3.71 AVERAGE
Tina is so good at recreating what the power house of 80s Conde Nast was like - I'm so happy she kept a record of her time there (no alcohol probably being the best bet). While it's a bit like a riches to riches story - and can sometimes be repetitivea- her honesty about being a young woman achieving so much at a young age is inspiring - I really appreciated her feelings about success in the city, having a calm spot by the sea, growing a family and earning what she feels she deserves. She knew from so early on what the book should look like, and throughout the years is hammering through those ideals. After reading past perspectives from the likes of Didion or Dunne it's fun to get another perspective on what life was like in those friendship groups. The stuff on Boris Johnson and Trump is so prescient... Although not on Roseanne Barr 😉
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
This book had potential. The first chapter and the epilogue where the author writes this in paragraph form was much more appealing to me. I wanted to love it more than I ultimately did, and I think the diary style format was part of that for me.
Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, shares her experiences as one of the most powerful magazine editors in 1980s New York. It’s an intriguing, often intimate book that gives an insider’s perspective on the reality of the publishing world: fast-paced, cutthroat, and at the mercy of advertisers, PR and publishers.
The Vanity Fair Diaries goes to the heart of the inner debate many women have in balancing motherhood and a career. Brown shows that you can have both without making too many sacrifices in either, but it is not easy. Impossible choices, rushed deadlines and gnawing guilt appear as Brown balances both. This is definitely an essential read for ambitious women.
The Vanity Fair Diaries goes to the heart of the inner debate many women have in balancing motherhood and a career. Brown shows that you can have both without making too many sacrifices in either, but it is not easy. Impossible choices, rushed deadlines and gnawing guilt appear as Brown balances both. This is definitely an essential read for ambitious women.
I grabbed The Vanity Fair Diaries from NetGalley when it was on read now almost a year ago but somehow I haven’t got around to reading it until now. I picked it up for non-fiction November last week and it was an enjoyable read.
The book is Tina Brown’s personal diaries from 1983 when she got the job as editor of Vanity Fair magazine until she moved on in 1992.
There are parts of this book that I really enjoyed. I loved finding out more about what it’s like to edit a magazine and how difficult it can be getting the right cover image that represents the pieces inside the magazine.
Tina Brown movingly captures what it must have been like living in New York in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS crisis. She doesn’t write at length about it but the frequent mentions of people she knows who have been diagnosed, or who have died is really shocking. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have lost so many people to one disease and in such a short amount of time.
The references to Donald Trump made for rueful reading, to know how he was thought of at various points during the 80s and now he’s president of the United States makes for interesting reading. There are other political figures referenced within the book that also make for interesting asides.
I also really enjoyed finding out more about how Brown juggled her work and her home life after she had her first child. She genuinely struggled to find balance and you can see her being pulled in two directions during her son’s early years. There is real honesty in these moments and it gave some balance to a book that is heavy on the celebrities and the gossip.
I think where I struggled a little with my enjoyment of the book is that, particularly in the earlier parts of the diary, I didn’t know who half of the people mentioned were. I kept putting the book down to look them up online. Once the book got to the later 80s and early 90s it was more my era and I knew who most of the people were and it became a much more fascinating read. This is down to my age though and not a fault of the book.
Overall I found this a really interesting and enjoyable book to dip in and out of and I do recommend it.
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
The book is Tina Brown’s personal diaries from 1983 when she got the job as editor of Vanity Fair magazine until she moved on in 1992.
There are parts of this book that I really enjoyed. I loved finding out more about what it’s like to edit a magazine and how difficult it can be getting the right cover image that represents the pieces inside the magazine.
Tina Brown movingly captures what it must have been like living in New York in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS crisis. She doesn’t write at length about it but the frequent mentions of people she knows who have been diagnosed, or who have died is really shocking. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have lost so many people to one disease and in such a short amount of time.
The references to Donald Trump made for rueful reading, to know how he was thought of at various points during the 80s and now he’s president of the United States makes for interesting reading. There are other political figures referenced within the book that also make for interesting asides.
I also really enjoyed finding out more about how Brown juggled her work and her home life after she had her first child. She genuinely struggled to find balance and you can see her being pulled in two directions during her son’s early years. There is real honesty in these moments and it gave some balance to a book that is heavy on the celebrities and the gossip.
I think where I struggled a little with my enjoyment of the book is that, particularly in the earlier parts of the diary, I didn’t know who half of the people mentioned were. I kept putting the book down to look them up online. Once the book got to the later 80s and early 90s it was more my era and I knew who most of the people were and it became a much more fascinating read. This is down to my age though and not a fault of the book.
Overall I found this a really interesting and enjoyable book to dip in and out of and I do recommend it.
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Good read if you remember and were enthralled by the glory days of magazines and newspapers, print journalism generally. The swank and glitter got to be a bit at times. Overall, though I enjoyed the trip back in time thoroughly.
A charming insight on the world of magazines, and fashion. This book is a page turner and funny and witty read.
Strongly recommended to all those who admired Tina Brown in her Vanity Fair/New Yorker years.
Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley
Strongly recommended to all those who admired Tina Brown in her Vanity Fair/New Yorker years.
Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
It is exactly what it says it is, and if you are deep into NYC in the 80s, specifically the publishing world and the very very rich, then you will likely enjoy this whole thing - it’s well written and insightful and Tina Brown has an interesting life. It just ended up being a bit much for me, and I’m not going to pick it up again.