Love, Lucy
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Love, Lucy

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11  ·  rating details  ·  869 ratings  ·  116 reviews
Over thirty years ago, the undisputed queen of comedy sat down to record the story of her life. Lucille Ball was at the pinnacle of her success in show business, having teamed with Desi Arnaz (whom she had married in 1940) to make I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and, after her divorce from Desi, The Lucy Show. No comedienne had made America laugh so hard, no tele...more
Mass Market Paperbound, 256 pages
Published October 1st 1997 by Berkley (first published 1996)
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06jazlyn S.
title:love lucy
author:lucille ball
pages:256
on december 14th 2010 i received this book on my birthday from my grandmother, oh how i was thrilled to get this book in my hands i started to read it ammedently,this book is about lucille ball and growing up as a little girl in jamestown new york she talks about her exsperence of losing a father,grandmother,aunt as a child and how she hoped to find somebody to understand her,how she started modeling for a living and on her way to stardom...more
Steff
Steff rated it 5 of 5 stars
If you're picking up this book it's because you have a love for Lucy strong enough to get you interested in her life and how she got to where she got. At least, that's certainly why I picked it up. Even only being eighteen, I realize what a wonderful woman Lucy was and will forever be. I grew up watching her show with my Ma and to now be sitting down, years later, reading her book is incredible. I cracked up at certain parts, I got sad during others, but I was always interested in what she had t...more
Lisa N
Lisa N rated it 4 of 5 stars
I grew up on reruns of “I Love Lucy.” She is one of my all-time favorite entertainers. I think she is the best comedian ever. She did not have to be crude to be funny. I still occasionally watch old episodes of the I Love Lucy show. I remember crying in 1989 when I heard that she died.

This autobiography covers her life up until about 1964. Her children found the manuscript in a dusty box some years after her death, and it was published in 1997. Once I could get past the ope...more
Pat
Pat rated it 3 of 5 stars
I Love Lucy!

This book covers Lucille Ball's life up till 1964 or so. She describes her childhood, her career and the divorce from Desi Arnaz. This book was conceived after her death when found among her estate was a manuscript. It was dated 1966. Lucille Ball died in 1989. The manuscript was based on tape recordings that Lucille Ball had made in anticipation of a memoir that she decided not to finish. Lucille Ball probably shelved the project because she didn't want to hurt Desi so ...more
Tifnie
...because I never missed an I Love Lucy episode, well, rerun anyway.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. It was unfortunate that Lucille Ball stopped writting in 1964, 54 years into her fabulous life. Even more unfortunate is that this autobiography might never have made it to print if it weren't for her two children, Lucie and Desi Jr., who found it by accident after Lucy passed away in 1989.

Lucy was a pioneer in her time. She didn't succumb to the infamous casting cou...more
Lindsey
It was really good to hear Lucille Ball's story in her own words. This autobiography tended not to talk about most of the harder times in her life, other than with a gloss over. She avoided talking much about the problems she had with Desi, although she did acknowledge that there were lots of problems. She seemed to try not to paint Desi or anyone else badly, which is admirable, but can lead to a less interesting book. I found the book interesting and her voice pleasant, although I would hav...more
Stephanie
Thank goodness this little treasure was found and released for all to read! This was such a delightful and interesting read and I was terribly disappointed when I encountered the last page.

Just as her daughter remarked in the introduction of the book, Lucy's stories are truly written as if she's right there telling them. You can tell that the material on her tapes was very thoughtfully and thoroughly preserved in the translation to print. It covers her life up to 1964 (it's truly a sh...more
Holly
Holly rated it 5 of 5 stars
My grandmother got me started watching I Love Lucy more than 10 years ago. And because of my grandma, I really and truly love Lucy, but I did not know much about her life before I read this book. I bought this book at Universal Studios Orlando when i walked into the Lucy Tribute.



Lucy had a truly wonderful, unique story to tell, and I am so glad her children decided to publish this book. It really does read like Lucy is telling you her life story. I laughed multiple times throughout the book,...more
Keirstan
Lucille Ball’s television persona, which is all I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing until now, is both lovable and dynamic, a difficult feat for a mid-century comedienne. But after reading Ms. Ball’s memoir, I can attest that the icon herself is all that and more.

Lucille details her rough beginnings in rural New York and her series of early failures in show business not to garner pity from her fans, but to demonstrate her innate resilience and admirable ability to learn from failu...more
Karen Harasick
I admit to being an I love Lucy junkie. What can I say, she was just a comedic genius and my kids and I have had many a laugh watching her antics. I picked up this book at the library and it was a quick, easy read. This was written from Lucy's own words, her life story up to the mid-1960s that she tucked away and never told anyone about, found after her death. Her children published it in 1997. The book was actually not only her interesting story but a good sketch of what old Hollywood was l...more
Jess
Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: memoir, own
I'm desperately trying to think of a way to start this review without saying something about loving Lucy.

But you know what? Whatever. I'll say it.

I love Lucy.

I loved reading her autobiography, too.

From the very start, I was pulled into her story. In her very own words, readers get to learn what makes Lucy tick and where she got her start. The one thing that struck me about her was her determination and her confidence. Lucy had to work and work ...more
Amy
Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Female comedians and fans of Lucille Ball
Sometimes I'm accused of being "all business", Lucille Ball reminds me why it's not so bad to be that way afterall.



This book reads as a biography but offers so much more within it's text. Lucille Ball has proved herself to be not only a legendary physical comedian but also a very savvy businesswoman. Lucille described her dealings with agents, the importance of creating one's own work,

and the delicate balance between family and a professional career. All things I want to hear abo...more
Ms.
Ms. rated it 4 of 5 stars
A very easy and quick read. Not full of the juicy details one might want to read, and I did find that surprising. Wasn't so much looking for them as expecting them. It was fun to learn some little secrets about Lucy, for example the reason she wore open-toed shoes, and how her love affair with Desi ended. Lucy always makes me smile and I truly do think every time I see her that I really do love Lucy! Though incomplete in that it was written well before her death and published well after it is...more
Melanie
Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: read-in-2009
I read this book because it was on a list of "3 Books that Prove Women Can be as Funny as Men" (or something like that). While the book was very interesting and Lucille Ball was undeniably funny, I never found myself chuckling or laughing, but I did smile plenty. This is her story. She dictated it and people who knew her well say that they can hear her "voice" in it. It was put aside in 1964 and then not found until after her death, when the family decided to publish it. ...more
Graceann
Graceann rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Memoir Fans, Lucille Ball Fans
Shelves: memoir
Please see my detailed review at Amazon.com Grace's "Love, Lucy" Review

Please click that the review was helpful to you at Amazon so that my rating continues to climb! Thanks!

I had this book on my shelf for several years, and a recommendation at Amazon following my reading of Kathleen Brady's "Lucille" led me to pull it down and give it a read. What a great surprise! Lucy is fairly open about her shortcomings (though, unsurprisingly, not as open as *...more
Kaitlin
I'm a big fan of the show I Love Lucy and I try to know everything I can about the show and about the cast. So reading this book about Lucille Ball and her successful career as an actress gave me the Opportunity to know her personally. I was very surprised to find new things about her and her relationship with Desi Arnaz, I just always thought that they had a perfect marraige. I loved reading and learning about them and it made me love the show even more and Simply, Love Lucy.
Gayle
Gayle rated it 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I was intrigued due to the fact that Lucille wrote this book but never published it. Her daughter found it in an evelope after her death. It was amazing to me (growing up with the "I Love Lucy" show) that she had been a model, a theatre actress and a movie star. It was interesting to find out her basic beginnings, how hard she worked and then meeting Desi. What I admired is how she took care of all her family throughout her life.
julia
julia rated it 5 of 5 stars
one of the best books i have ever read. it was discovered after her death and ends in 1966 when she dictated it to a writer. the family decided to publish it, and i am so thankful they did. here voice absolutely comes through and she is honest and brave when telling her story. i so wish she had had a chance to go back to the project and tell us all more, but the story of her success, her ambition, her hopes is absolutely riveting.
Kay
Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars
I'm a little biased when I put 5 stars on this one because I'm a huge Lucille Ball fan. This is an autobiography but it was actually transcribed from tapes she recorded towards the end of her life. It's amazing to hear Lucy's account of her life: from her truly working class childhood and close family ties to her divorce from Desi and movie star friends. <3
Sarah Marsh
Pretty good book. I learned a lot about Lucy's life that I never knew and found it all in all very entertaining. But still felt like it was mainly an account of facts. Didn't really seem to delve into an emotional side of things. Felt like it really could have been written by anyone. Guess I just expect more from an auto-biography vs. a biography.
Penny
Penny rated it 3 of 5 stars
Read for Jan. 2010 book club - autobiography of her life until a few yrs. after she married Gary Morton. I'm glad that she and Desi could have a friendly divorce and later life. I hadn't realized what a spoiled, wealthy life Desi had lived in Cuba before the revolution there and all was taken from his family and him.
Violet
I enjoyed reading this book. The foreword written by her daughter was a good touch. The further along I got in the book, especially closer to the end, I just got this feeling that something was left out. I can't really explain it. It would have been nice if someone would have filled in the part of her life where she stopped her written manuscript and her death.
Jo
Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars
Wonderful autobiography. Honest, straightforward and amazing tale of her young life, early years modeling in NY, and in Hollywood under contact to RKO & MGM and her subsequent life with Desi. Her voice shines through as she shows herself to be a hardworking family oriented class act.
Rachel
Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars
Ok, I'll be honest with myself for a moment. Is this really a 5-star book? No. But, I don't care. Everything Lucy is 5-stars.

The most moving part of the book for me is when Lucy begins to lament about her divorce from Desi. I knew that they divorced and this was not news to me. But their divorce from Lucy's own point of view? In a word, devastating. Haha
Becca
Becca rated it 1 of 5 stars
Shelves: biography
Honestly, I couldn't even make it past the first chapter. I picked this up because of a decent review I read of it, but found the writing dull and uninspired, and I guess I'm not into Lucy enough to read it despite that... If you really love Lucy, then maybe. For me, a no-go.
Lena
Lena rated it 3 of 5 stars
I've always loved Lucille Ball so I'm possibly biased from the get-go. This book was an easy read and was very personable. I learned a lot about her life and some of her personal philosophies. This is an light. easy and enjoyable read if you're curious about Lucy!
Lorianne
I was surprised at how little I knew about her. She was also a better person than I would assumed, or she's not being very truthful or completely open since it is an autobiography. But she had a very interesting life and career and it was fun reading it.
Ademide
For reasons unknown, I read this book at least 3 times in high school. It's an entertaining read about a fascinating lady. It provides some great insight to the old Hollywood studio system and the backlash faced by artists who went to TV. I recommend.
Caitlin
Having read every biography I could get my hands on about Lucy it was about time I read her autobiography. She doesn't pull many punches in her book and it's better for it. It's impossible to read it and not be sad that she and Desi couldn't make it work.
Jamie Leeper
Very good book. Lucy wrote down her life story and then her daughter made it into this book. It tells of her growing up, her start in modeling and show business, her continued career and her life with Dezi. She was more the "stay at home" person, Dezi was more the "out and about" person. This books tells all the ups and downs they had in their marriage and in their careers. A big thick book, but worth reading!
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Love, Lucy (Hardcover)
Love, Lucy (Hardcover)
Love, Lucy (Mass Market Paperbound)
Love, Lucy (Paperback)

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Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Lucille Ball was one of the most popular stars in America during her lifetime and had one of Hollywood's longest careers. She was a movie star from the 1930s to the 1970s, and appeared on te...more
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