Reviews

How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great by Karen Karbo

tarrant's review

3.0

Half incredibly interesting, half annoying especially when the voice of the author came through. She seemed...young. On the other hand, it sparked some interesting conversations.

aas393's review

3.0

A fun, quick read. Mostly consists of saucy little Hepburn anecdotes that are oh-so-easy to gobble up. If only it were as simple as Hepburn (and Karbo) make it look...

wilycheese's review

informative medium-paced

2.5

Honestly? Skip it. The book's content is good but the information is poorly ordered and the delivery is pretty peculiarly dated. It was written in 2006 and has aged like cottage cheese on a hot day.

broadreads's review

3.0

Not a bad read. Sometimes a bit tedious and she goes off track with her thoughts. An interesting interpretation of Hepburn's life.

stenaros's review

4.0

Karen Karbo appears occasionally in the Oregonian and I enjoy her voice. This was an interesting combination biography and "self-help" book, though it was really more of the former and the latter was a bit tounge-in-cheek. I liked the biographic details of Hepburn's life, but my favorite part was the commentary by Karbo. Her musings on friendship, women and marriage and women and work were astutely observed. She is funny, too.

jeathhp's review

5.0

I'm hoping to finish reading this book in the next day or so, but felt the itch to sing its praises early. I grew up watching the classic films of my parents' era. Katherine Hepburn was revered in our house as one of the greats; so I was surprised to discover that early in her career she was considered box office poison. Philadelphia Story is one of my all time favorite films; I'd never heard of Holiday until just a few weeks ago. Pity that Hepburn and Grant didn't make more pictures together, they are a terrific duo. Karbo's book, How To Hepburn puts the spotlight on how truly unconventional Hepburn was by talking not just about her but the culture in Hollywood and the U.S. in her era. A time when women were to be ultra feminine, demure, domesticated --educated was fine as long as it was to support the man's career and goals. And here came a brash, pants-wearing intelligent woman who refused to be molded into a June Cleaver.

My favorite section from the book so far: "Hepburn loved nothing more than pulling the pin out of the grenade with her teeth and hurling it unto the accepted mores of the time. Her attitude toward marriage was complicated, which in those times was tantamount to saying antimarriage. In the middle of the last century, when every girl was supposed to regard marriage as her highest achievement--… Hepburn said that if it wasn't bloody impractical to love, honor, and obey, you wouldn't have to sign a contract." Quoting Hepburn, "If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married!"

This is a quick yet insightful read--short but meaty. While I got this from the library, I'm sorely tempted to buy a copy to keep on hand as reference.

letitiaharmon's review

3.0

Fun, light, and an interesting peak at Hepburn from the outside. I read her autobiography before cracking this one open and found the perspective shift fascinating. However, this book doesn't really have much of a thesis, or even focus. It's more or less a hodge podge of thoughts about Hepburn. While occasionally entertaining, definitely not a must-read.

audeve's review

1.0

I read for two reasons - entertainment and education. At the risk of being brash, this book contains neither.

satyridae's review

4.0

Arch, chatty, and just plain fun, this is not exactly a biography, nor is it a how-to book. Instead, it's a romp through Hepburn's life and legend.