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12th out of 64 books
—
13 voters
Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture
by
Andy Cohen
The man behind the Real Housewives writes about his lifelong love affair with pop culture that brought him from the suburbs of St. Louis to his own television show
From a young age, Andy Cohen knew one thing: He loved television. Not in the way that most kids do, but in an irrepressible, all-consuming, I-want-to-climb-inside-the-tube kind of way. And climb inside he did. No...more
From a young age, Andy Cohen knew one thing: He loved television. Not in the way that most kids do, but in an irrepressible, all-consuming, I-want-to-climb-inside-the-tube kind of way. And climb inside he did. No...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
May 8th 2012
by Henry Holt and Co.
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This is the perfect summer/beach/poolside book. If you’re a Bravo fan or Real Housewives fan, it’s a must-read for all the insider tidbits that Andy spills.
Unlike some other Bravo-catapulted celebrity books (Bethenny’s Skinnydipping and Taylor Armstrong’s memoirs, ahem), this one is actually worth your time. Yes, it’s fluff—but it’s entertaining and fun fluff. I actually had no expectations when I began the book except that I wanted gossipy tidbits about the Housewives, so Andy’s humorous and en...more
Unlike some other Bravo-catapulted celebrity books (Bethenny’s Skinnydipping and Taylor Armstrong’s memoirs, ahem), this one is actually worth your time. Yes, it’s fluff—but it’s entertaining and fun fluff. I actually had no expectations when I began the book except that I wanted gossipy tidbits about the Housewives, so Andy’s humorous and en...more
I was really surprised how enjoyable this book was. Campy? Of course, it's written by the man behind Real Housewives. But the book has a lot of heart too as Andy reveals the mistakes he's made professionally and some of the personal hardships he had as a gay man coming out of the closet at the height of the AIDS epidemic. This isn't Just Kids by Patti Smith, but it's not trying to be. It's an entertaining autobiography worth reading, especially if you love Andy or the Bravosphere.
I'm almost halfway through the book, but have to share for those "on the fence" this is a very engaging wonderfully written book. Andy Cohen knows how to tell a story, and the most important story, his life. He spares readers the chronological boredom laid out in 99% of other autobiographies. The book reads more like he's a new friend you've met, and he's telling you stories about himself over a series of weekly lunch dates.
You're drawn in immediately if pop culture is one of your interests. I s...more
You're drawn in immediately if pop culture is one of your interests. I s...more
I love Andy Cohen. He fascinates me and I wanted to know more about him. And I feel like I did, but not all I wanted to know. You know I've read a lot of these celebrity books in the past year (Mindy Kaling, Jane Lynch, Tina Fey, Ellen) and they all had a nice build to the person we know now. I think what I missed most about this book is the pop culture. I mean he's freakin' Andy Cohen, he's met everybody! And aside from a few stories there just wasn't enough of what I was expecting.
With a subt...more
With a subt...more
"The man behind the Real Housewives writes about his lifelong love affair with pop culture that brought him from the suburbs of St. Louis to his own television show
From a young age, Andy Cohen knew one thing: He loved television. Not in the way that most kids do, but in an irrepressible, all-consuming, I-want-to-climb-inside-the-tube kind of way. And climb inside he did. Now presiding over Bravo's reality TV empire, he started out as an overly talkative pop culture obsessive, devoted to Charlie'...more
From a young age, Andy Cohen knew one thing: He loved television. Not in the way that most kids do, but in an irrepressible, all-consuming, I-want-to-climb-inside-the-tube kind of way. And climb inside he did. Now presiding over Bravo's reality TV empire, he started out as an overly talkative pop culture obsessive, devoted to Charlie'...more
I first saw Andy Cohen when he hosted the reunion show for Bravo TV's Flipping Out, a reality show about house flipper/designer Jeff Lewis. I wondered who this Cohen guy was and from where he came.
Cohen is an executive at Bravo TV, and besides foisting on the American people The Real Housewives of (insert one of many cities here), he also hosts Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, a crazy nightly talk show that has counted among its guests Jerry Seinfeld, Ralph Fiennes, Holly Hunter and every real h...more
Cohen is an executive at Bravo TV, and besides foisting on the American people The Real Housewives of (insert one of many cities here), he also hosts Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, a crazy nightly talk show that has counted among its guests Jerry Seinfeld, Ralph Fiennes, Holly Hunter and every real h...more
I do not watch Bravo. After they dumped reruns of The West Wing in September of 2009, I haven't been back since. I don't do reality. So why did I pick up this book? Mainly because Andy went from executive to hosting his own show and I was wondering how that happened. And I have flipped on Watch What Happens Live and with the exception of all the reality guests (flip), I like it. Even though the reviews for this book weren't that great, I still wanted to pick it up. And unfortunately, the reviews...more
What a blast!...I admit it: Bravo is my automatic default channel. I will watch just about anything they tell me to. Top Chef, Millionaire Matchmaker, Flipping out, and I have been reluctantly sucked into the drama and campiness of several of the Housewives. I totally get a kick out of Andy Cohen and his show Watch What Happens Live! and am completely predisposed to love this book....and I did. It was enlightening and fun to learn a bit about Andy's roots, how he grew up, and his born love of po...more
I must confess, I am a fan of most of Bravo's programming. I love the Housewives (except for Miami - WHY are they coming back?!?!), I love Top Chef (I want Tom Colicchio and Bobby Flay to make me a sandwich), I love Project Runway (and I liked Bravo's version better; I really think the show floundered for a bit when it went to Lifetime), and I love Jeff Lewis (delightful dry wit.)
At first, I wasn't a huge Andy Cohen fan, though. I just wasn't sure what to make of him when he hosted the reunion s...more
At first, I wasn't a huge Andy Cohen fan, though. I just wasn't sure what to make of him when he hosted the reunion s...more
This was pretty cool. To be honest, I skipped straight to the Housewives and Reunions chapters. They were by far the best because lets face it, that's all I'm interested in.
I've always envisioned Andy as a sort of flamboyant puppetmaster of Cougar Town aka The Real Housewives. And he freely admits it, which was cool. I found his justifications for blatant exploitation of the Housewife crazies interesting and mostly believable. He wants to make good entertainment and as such doesn't see much val...more
I've always envisioned Andy as a sort of flamboyant puppetmaster of Cougar Town aka The Real Housewives. And he freely admits it, which was cool. I found his justifications for blatant exploitation of the Housewife crazies interesting and mostly believable. He wants to make good entertainment and as such doesn't see much val...more
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Audiobook:
4 stars on this one! This is a relatively quick but FUN read with many laugh out loud anecdotes narrated by Andy himself. Woohoo!
I must admit that watching Bravo tv is one of my many guilty pleasures and that I have been a fan of this channel since 2003 when they changed their boring format and aired Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Listening to Andy talking about his childhood, family (especially his mom) his personal life and his career, particularly how he helped transform Bravo netw...more
4 stars on this one! This is a relatively quick but FUN read with many laugh out loud anecdotes narrated by Andy himself. Woohoo!
I must admit that watching Bravo tv is one of my many guilty pleasures and that I have been a fan of this channel since 2003 when they changed their boring format and aired Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Listening to Andy talking about his childhood, family (especially his mom) his personal life and his career, particularly how he helped transform Bravo netw...more
Probably 2 1/2 stars. Not without some funny/heartfelt moments but ultimately left a bit..underwhelmed? It seemed to be a bit chopped up too, with a big focus on his growing up and a lot about his coming out, sexuality and very early career (I love the anecdotes with his mother!) Then it kinda of jumps around a lot and becomes more about various interactions with celebrities at the time, some interesting and others not so much. It also went through very fast/glossed over his jump to Bravo and ho...more
I do not give usual reviews spewing the content of the book I've just read. I do tell how I felt about the book and if I enjoyed it or not.
I would not have bought this book and I actually didn't. I received it for Mother's Day from my kids. I do watch some of the Housewives shows and other Bravo television shows. My husband was listening to Howard Stern and Andy just happened to be on that day promoting this book. My husband thought I would like it, so, I got it as a gift.
I enjoyed the book imme...more
I would not have bought this book and I actually didn't. I received it for Mother's Day from my kids. I do watch some of the Housewives shows and other Bravo television shows. My husband was listening to Howard Stern and Andy just happened to be on that day promoting this book. My husband thought I would like it, so, I got it as a gift.
I enjoyed the book imme...more
I love Andy Cohen. He seems to be as fascinated by kooky behavior as I am. I don't think I have missed a single episode of his fabulous let's-put-some-liquor-in-Jackee-and-see-what-happens kind of talk show. Saturday Night Live got it right, he is "adorable." That's why I thought there was no chance I would win this book in the giveaway, than I did! http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho... (Don't tell the editors, I would have ended up buying this anyway.)
This book is your perfect beach read for...more
This book is your perfect beach read for...more
May 15, 2012
Noel Adolph
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of andy cohen/bravo, pop culture
fans of bravo's 'watch what happens live' host andy cohen will absolutely love this breezy fun read delving into the rise of a network executive. Andy was born 1 year earlier than I was so relating to his obsessions was like a walk down memory lane. Besides his childhood in St. Louis, Andy covers off on coming out in college to his friends and family, working for CBS news in the 90s, and working at Trio and Bravo (including a lengthy chapter on the housewives franchise, including some transcript...more
Andy Cohen is a golden god.
No seriously. I have always loved him as the Bravo wunderkind, but never really knew that he spent most of his career climbing up the ladder, paying his dues behind the camera, working with some legitimate talent (Sorry RH, that doesn't include any of you) before becoming the silver fox of my heart's desires... Well, tied with Anderson Cooper of course.
This was fantastic. I devoured it in like, two hours. Total fluff but yet completely engaging, he spoke to the gay J...more
No seriously. I have always loved him as the Bravo wunderkind, but never really knew that he spent most of his career climbing up the ladder, paying his dues behind the camera, working with some legitimate talent (Sorry RH, that doesn't include any of you) before becoming the silver fox of my heart's desires... Well, tied with Anderson Cooper of course.
This was fantastic. I devoured it in like, two hours. Total fluff but yet completely engaging, he spoke to the gay J...more
If you love yourself a little "Top Chef" or "Real Housewives," Any Cohen's new biography provides light summer escape. With his trademark self-deprecating wit, Bravo's executive vice president of development and talent and the host of "Watch What Happens Live" traces his boyhood watching such cultural touchstones as "Charlie's Angels" and "All My Children" and comes out to his mother who responds, "I probably would have hated your wife anyway." Cohen traces his early years as an overeager CBS in...more
I was first attracted to this book because I saw Andy Cohen promoting it on The Colbert Report, and I thought he was easy-going and funny. Even though I don't watch The Real Housewives, I was still interested in the stories Andy had to tell.
And my goodness, does Andy Cohen have some stories! For Real Housewives fans, know that this is a memoir. Though he talks about the show, it's not all about it. But Most Talkative has something for everyone, I think, as it's mostly about Andy's path from inte...more
And my goodness, does Andy Cohen have some stories! For Real Housewives fans, know that this is a memoir. Though he talks about the show, it's not all about it. But Most Talkative has something for everyone, I think, as it's mostly about Andy's path from inte...more
Having just finished my advance copy of Most Talkative (www.librarything.com Early Reviewers) , I think that I owe Andy Cohen an apology....not that he KNEW that I thought he was all fluff and no substance up until I read his book. Really.
I've watched the Real Housewives franchise sporadically, including a few of the reunion shows (don't judge!). I assumed that Cohen was "cast" off the street, so to speak, to be the snarky, sensitive, awkward, and instigating (by turns) host of said reunions (as...more
I've watched the Real Housewives franchise sporadically, including a few of the reunion shows (don't judge!). I assumed that Cohen was "cast" off the street, so to speak, to be the snarky, sensitive, awkward, and instigating (by turns) host of said reunions (as...more
Jun 02, 2012
Jessica
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Bravo, Real Housewives, and Susan Lucci
Shelves:
read-in-2012
This book was great fun! I'm a long time Bravo fan and Andy Cohen lover and I'd been looking forward to reading this for quite a while.
The book is a somewhat traditional memoir, talking about his beginnings, growing up, etc. I really enjoyed learning about his career pre-Bravo since I knew very little about it. Andy's personality shines through and I can only imagine what the audiobook must be like.
I'm a regular viewer of many of the Bravo programs that he works on, so the stories about those sh...more
The book is a somewhat traditional memoir, talking about his beginnings, growing up, etc. I really enjoyed learning about his career pre-Bravo since I knew very little about it. Andy's personality shines through and I can only imagine what the audiobook must be like.
I'm a regular viewer of many of the Bravo programs that he works on, so the stories about those sh...more
I have a strange fascination with Andy Cohen (and Ryan Seacrest, too, but that's a topic for another day). How did this seemingly happy-go-lucky little sprite of a man get himself involved with the harem of the housewife franchise? (Sidenote: Andy assures me that I should no longer be ashamed of my housewife guilty pleasure as Bravo research shows that the series is watched by the most educated and upscale audience on TV.) I got my answer in his fun memoir. Witty and self-deprecating, he talks a...more
Very adorable book! If you like Andy Cohen (and I mostly do), you will enjoy reading "Most Talkative: Stories From the Front Lines of Pop Culture". He has a cute sense of humor and isn't afraid to poke fun at himself. Combined with his interesting career, it makes for an entertaining read. Mr. Cohen has a way of making even mundane, ordinary events fun - But his life is filled with entertaining adventures and brushes with some well-known folks. He tells us about his family, his upbringing in St....more
Warning: You should only read this book if you can tell the difference between Kim and Camille, you know what a Jackhole of the Week is, can name two or more reality shows aired on Bravo, care about celebrity gossip and TV. Because that is, more or less, what this book is all about.
Most Talkative is pretty great, I won't lie to you. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could. The beginning kind of drags, especially for younger readers who aren't as familiar with the stars of the 80's that author Andy...more
Most Talkative is pretty great, I won't lie to you. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could. The beginning kind of drags, especially for younger readers who aren't as familiar with the stars of the 80's that author Andy...more
I indulge in all things Bravo and Real Housewives, but listening to this audio tape on a road trip for 15+ hours nearly drove me insane. The book is gratuitous. It is purely what Andy wanted to write about, instead of, hey, let's edit down to only include things Your Readers want to read about! It's full of details about his mother and BFFs that are dull if you aren't them. More detail on his career path, besides personal blunders, would have been interesting. Commentary on some of the dark and...more
You really need to be a fan of Bravo TV, and the Real Housewives series to really appreciate this book. Since I am a fan of both, I couldn't put it down. He starts by talking of his life growing up "differently", in St. Louis, and having no real male role models, since in the early 80's, most gay men were in the closet. This book takes his life from St. Louis, to London, where he was a TV intern, to NYC, as another intern at CBS, and worked his way up at the CBS Early Morning Show. I enjoyed thi...more
Loved, loved, loved this book - Andy Cohen and I are on the same wavelength. He has an over enthusiasm for some things, and gets out of proportionately excited, blowing things up to epic proportions - something of which I am guilty, so I can definitely relate. I have honestly never laughed this hard at a book in my life. I love people who can laugh at themselves and their quirks, and at least in this book, Andy is one of those people! Ironically, as someone who loves The Real Housewives, the las...more
What an entertaining book. Andy Cohen has been a celebrity fan....some say "stalker" since he watched ALL MY CHILDREN with his mother when he was a child. His first crush was Susan Lucci from that soap opera. He went into journalism and television right out of college and never looked back. He has much more experience behind the scenes than I knew. I was impressed with what he has accomplished. And now he is on Bravo all the time. He hosts the Real Housewives of.... everywhere. He has great stor...more
I am a HUGE HUGE fan of Bravo and am addicted to 99% of their programming and mostly due to the genius that is Andy Cohen. I love everything about him and didn't think i could love him more until I read his book. I finished it within hours and felt every emotion possible as I went through the pages. I loved the smaller inclusions like his camp letters and photos, and other personal mementos. I have never read something where not only am I familiar with the writer but I could here Andy talking as...more
All of my favorite celebrity memoirs have one thing in common: they all document the fact that that person has worked their ass off to get where they are. (I'm looking at you Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling.) I wasn't exactly expecting that from Andy, but he pleasantly surprised me. I thought this book would be light and funny and all about the crazy housewives, and it is, but it's also about a lot more. Andy's stories about coming out to his friends and family, living in New York at the height of the...more
I should preface this review by saying that it might be somewhat biased because I went into this book already adoring Andy Cohen.
So about 6 weeks ago, I had just finished the 50 Shades trilogy and I was more than ready to get out of that world. In fact, my main motivation for finishing the last novel was that Andy's book was going to released that next morning and I wanted to start reading it immediately. The reason I am bringing this all up is that the same enthusiasm many seemed to have for 5...more
So about 6 weeks ago, I had just finished the 50 Shades trilogy and I was more than ready to get out of that world. In fact, my main motivation for finishing the last novel was that Andy's book was going to released that next morning and I wanted to start reading it immediately. The reason I am bringing this all up is that the same enthusiasm many seemed to have for 5...more
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Andy Cohen is an American television executive, host, and author. As of 2012, he is the Executive Vice President of Development and Talent at the Bravo cable television network, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. He is also the host of the network's nightly live talk show Watch What Happens Live and the author of a memoir, Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture. He is the first op...more
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Jun 27, 2012 12:33pm