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Secret Diary of a Call Girl
This internationally celebrated memoir is now a new Showtime original series. Belle couldn't find a job after University. Her impressive degree was not paying her rent or buying her food. But after a fantastic threesome with a very rich couple who gave her a ton of money, Belle realized that she could earn more than anyone she knew--by becoming a call girl. The rest is his...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
June 18th 2008
by Grand Central Publishing
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Originally a blog, this book is a collection of diary entries from a London call girl. Belle is a likable narrator, even if I had a hard time believing both her unshakable businesslike nature and her overall good humor.
Being a call girl never really seems to get her depressed; the men never seem ugly, or vicious, or bad in bed. I felt like she had done better as a call girl finding decent guys than most of us do dating. Which is a pretty good recommendation for becoming a call girl, I ...more
Being a call girl never really seems to get her depressed; the men never seem ugly, or vicious, or bad in bed. I felt like she had done better as a call girl finding decent guys than most of us do dating. Which is a pretty good recommendation for becoming a call girl, I ...more
This book initially sank its claws into me during the hot sex scene at the beginning. A friend of mine kept recommending the Showtime series to me, but already having enough television addictions, I thought I'd read the book. Big mistake.
I feel that I regressed a little while reading this, and a more appropriate title would be, "The Narcissistic Ramblings of a Nympho." That's right, don't be fooled - Ms. Dujour paints the work of a callgirl as a fun little jaunt between var...more
I feel that I regressed a little while reading this, and a more appropriate title would be, "The Narcissistic Ramblings of a Nympho." That's right, don't be fooled - Ms. Dujour paints the work of a callgirl as a fun little jaunt between var...more
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I would like to first say that I only gave this book 4 stars because of the end. I am not sure if the author had always been planning a sequel and that's why it ended the way it did but it just sort of stopped. On one had it was very much like an actual personal journal, people writing journals don't wrap up the plot before filling it up and moving on to the next one, but this also leaves the reader with very little closure. I finished and felt like, "OK that was odd".
Aside from...more
Aside from...more
Still reading, maybe, but now I remember why I stopped reading her blog: "the boy."
People who say "the boy" to refer to their significant other come across as a) insecure and b) not fooling anybody about the long-term prospects of that relationship. Also, they're as annoying as a toddler discovering a new word.
While I can award 9 out of 10 for her maintaining focus on the (theoretically) titillating bits that (theoretically) everyone wants to read, wh...more
People who say "the boy" to refer to their significant other come across as a) insecure and b) not fooling anybody about the long-term prospects of that relationship. Also, they're as annoying as a toddler discovering a new word.
While I can award 9 out of 10 for her maintaining focus on the (theoretically) titillating bits that (theoretically) everyone wants to read, wh...more
I must be honest and say that I only read up to page 201.
In my opinion this book is written by a transexual. I have friends that are strippers that don't go through all the make-up, shaving, and deodorant that this person does.
Maybe I would have enjoyed the book more if the author was honest and said that they were a transexual call girl, but I just can't get into a book where I feel like the author is lieing about who they actually are.
There was also a story about her masturb...more
In my opinion this book is written by a transexual. I have friends that are strippers that don't go through all the make-up, shaving, and deodorant that this person does.
Maybe I would have enjoyed the book more if the author was honest and said that they were a transexual call girl, but I just can't get into a book where I feel like the author is lieing about who they actually are.
There was also a story about her masturb...more
I was only going to give this book three stars, but I can't justify doing that. It was a great read. True, you can read it all for free on her blog, but the girl put herself out there, blogging about a day-to-day that is much racier and far less legal than most.
Unlike some other reviewers, I thought her tone was perfect. She came off as a bit snarky and certainly intelligent--which isn't a view we're often given of anyone who works in the sex industry.
She's pretty fair ...more
Unlike some other reviewers, I thought her tone was perfect. She came off as a bit snarky and certainly intelligent--which isn't a view we're often given of anyone who works in the sex industry.
She's pretty fair ...more
I was originally planning to give this memoir three stars, but by the final page I couldn't justify why it didn't deserve four. I really enjoyed this. Belle is upfront honest, classy, humourous and intelligent; She has an insight to the world that you wouldn't "expect" from someone in her expertise. Any stereotype you have in mind about call girls will pretty much be banished by the time you're finished reading.
If anything, I'd say I admired her - not her chosen lifestyle,...more
If anything, I'd say I admired her - not her chosen lifestyle,...more
I am a little bit over sexual adventuress books, to be quite honest (see In My Skin: A Memoir; The Bride Stripped Bare) but I'd always meant to pick this one up at some point, as I had seen the telly show with Billie Piper (very scarred at seeing Rose's boobs - what would the Doctor think?). One of the reasons why I liked this one much better than those other books is because Belle du Jour approached the topic and experiences with a sense of humour - Gemmell and Holden taken themselves so seriou...more
A book about the life of a call girl, boring? Yes. I understand it was a blog first, but looks like the author didn't bother to review the entries and compose a more interesting and well-constructed story out of them.
I didn't expect anything especially revealing or insightful, but a little more substance would have been nice. Surprisingly, the author wrote a lot about her private life (boyfriends, parents, travels), and much less about her work, and this was what I wanted to read about...more
I didn't expect anything especially revealing or insightful, but a little more substance would have been nice. Surprisingly, the author wrote a lot about her private life (boyfriends, parents, travels), and much less about her work, and this was what I wanted to read about...more
This book is precisely what the title claims: the (true) story of the carousing of one of London's high-priced call girls. Originally written in the form of a blog (which won the Guardian's best blog of the year award), the book includes not only explicit tales of Belle on the job, but also stories of how her work affects her personal life.
I really appreciated the lightheartedness of this book -- it was basically a 300 page episode of Sex and the City -- a book which, for the record, I...more
I really appreciated the lightheartedness of this book -- it was basically a 300 page episode of Sex and the City -- a book which, for the record, I...more
I love blogs. I am obsessed with blogs. I am not so sure blogs should be books.
I have read my share of blogs turned books. I didn't think this book was of that category-until I read the first two entries.
Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl had an intriguing cover. I judge books by their cover.
I liked the book, but I am having a hard time singing it's praises. I am not sure why. It's not that I am up tight about sex or prostitution. Please.
...more
I have read my share of blogs turned books. I didn't think this book was of that category-until I read the first two entries.
Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl had an intriguing cover. I judge books by their cover.
I liked the book, but I am having a hard time singing it's praises. I am not sure why. It's not that I am up tight about sex or prostitution. Please.
...more
Alternate Titles:
Hard Core Sex and the City or Life During The Depression 2.0?
I read this book for two reasons: 1) I needed an easy read so I can reach my Goodreads goal for the year and 2) I watched Secret Diary of a Call Girl. This first half of this book is focused on the sex. In this portion of the book I found a lot to be unbelievable but maybe that’s because I’m a “prudy American.” Most of the “plot” seemed to deal with her relationships and life rather than client...more
Hard Core Sex and the City or Life During The Depression 2.0?
I read this book for two reasons: 1) I needed an easy read so I can reach my Goodreads goal for the year and 2) I watched Secret Diary of a Call Girl. This first half of this book is focused on the sex. In this portion of the book I found a lot to be unbelievable but maybe that’s because I’m a “prudy American.” Most of the “plot” seemed to deal with her relationships and life rather than client...more
I really wanted to give this book three stars. It's refreshing to see someone write about their sexuality in such an unfettered manner. In a way, the author normalizes sexual desire, framing it as a natural appetite to be sated and enjoyed where and when appropriate, much like a penchant for good food and fine wine. Sex is taken off its oft-unquestioned pedestal, stripped of its usual moral and mystical raiment, until we can look into its bare face as just another basic drive, a sibling of thir...more
This book, which was originally an award wining blog, was turned into a TV series starring Billie Piper. I’ve posted photographs of Billie playing Belle, I think I even posted a gif which is rare for me. I watched the programme before I read the book and I’m really glad I did. The Belle we see on TV is more of an every woman than the one in the book. I’m not saying that she was dumbed down but there was less of a sense that she talked about literature, art and film with her clients than there i...more
Well, there's no subtle twist to this book; it's exactly what it promises to be: Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl offers a glimpse at a year in the life of a high-class London working girl, though as far as "unlikely" goes, it might be up for debate... perhaps just pleasantly atypical. The original title (or at least the British title) is Belle de Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl and that seems a bit more apt. Thankfully, it is not the kind of diary ke...more
I picked up this book after watching the first 2 episodes of "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" on Showtime. I was intrigued by the concept of a PhD student turned "working girl" and I was looking for a read that was going to be "lighthearted, and scandalous" as Ben always says.
I really enjoyed her writing style. It was much better than I expected, which makes sense, seeing as she was a science blogger, then sex blogger for many years before publishing this mem...more
I really enjoyed her writing style. It was much better than I expected, which makes sense, seeing as she was a science blogger, then sex blogger for many years before publishing this mem...more
Though I was skeptical, due to the marketing and first few minutes of the Showtime series, I was surprised at the quality of this book.
The diary format makes this book interesting because in truth, there's no story. No arc. No real character development. Just the notes and observations on life and vocation from the point of view of a beautiful British post-grad who just never cut it in the office world. "Belle" tells us about her friends, exclusively males and even more ex...more
The diary format makes this book interesting because in truth, there's no story. No arc. No real character development. Just the notes and observations on life and vocation from the point of view of a beautiful British post-grad who just never cut it in the office world. "Belle" tells us about her friends, exclusively males and even more ex...more
For a long time I thought I definitely did not want to read this book, and I didn't watch the TV series with Billie Piper either. I thought it sounded too blasé about prostitution and the feminist inside me objected.
But then I saw it on my friend's shelf, and she said it was interesting, so I thought maybe I'd read it one day, if only to learn something. And now that I have my Kindle, which affords a little more privacy, I felt the time had come to give it a chance.
I found th...more
But then I saw it on my friend's shelf, and she said it was interesting, so I thought maybe I'd read it one day, if only to learn something. And now that I have my Kindle, which affords a little more privacy, I felt the time had come to give it a chance.
I found th...more
An interesting, semi-light read--however, if you want to check it out, look for it under its former title, Belle du Jour; without the Showtime deal, it'll run you half as much to buy. Saying that, I don't regret buying this book, but it did fall a little short in the end; it reads like the blog it was based on, but a very short blog--we hear Belle's voice, but not quite enough to make it a must-read.
This was pretty much complete trash. Apparently they made it into a TV show!? WTF... Dear everyone, please stop making blogs into books. The only one I found even remotely entertaining was Candy Girl, and that wasn't great either.
I just didn't find Belle very likable, and the whole thing just seemed annoying. The sex was either very vague or very graphic and just liked being shocking. Was this marketed as soft-core erotica? Did women read this? I just don't get it. Seemed like a Sex ...more
I just didn't find Belle very likable, and the whole thing just seemed annoying. The sex was either very vague or very graphic and just liked being shocking. Was this marketed as soft-core erotica? Did women read this? I just don't get it. Seemed like a Sex ...more
OK, so this is a book most people might not admit to having read. I down-loaded a Kindle copy after reading an interview with the recently un-masked "anonymous" author who, as we now know, turns out to be not so much a tart-with-a-heart as a beauty with brains. The motivation for reading a book like this is probably something akin to the Victorians paying 1d to look in a "What the Butler saw.." machine on the pier. And like them - you probably don't learn much more than you a...more
I just loved this as a TV series and was very surprised when the 2nd installment passed through the 2nd hand book shop where I work (so I nabbed it quick smart). Then I found book 1 in the series.
Loved. loved her "voice". I like the way the story has been written, it never gets boring or sags- the anecdotes come fast and furious and fresh each time.
Whilst being a book about sex- it is not titillating -( maybe just a little)- just very very interesting and very funny...more
Loved. loved her "voice". I like the way the story has been written, it never gets boring or sags- the anecdotes come fast and furious and fresh each time.
Whilst being a book about sex- it is not titillating -( maybe just a little)- just very very interesting and very funny...more
Having watched the tv show first, but also following Belle on Twitter and reading her online blog, I was very interested in reading her book. Really loved it...it gives you a perspective on call girls that, I'll admit, I've never read before: that of a woman who wasn't forced into prostitution, who doesn't have a manipulative pimp, and who, on the whole, leads a fairly normal and productive life. And she makes it clear that not every woman has this experience, obviously.
Very sexual...more
Very sexual...more
Diary. Call girl. Does what it says on tin.
If you read this like a blog, which it was, it works pretty well. Actually, I think I could've become quite addicted to it if I'd had the site on my RSS feed and been given small parcels of story over weeks and months at a time.
Unfortunately, it got turned into a book and I expect certain things out of my books that I don't with my blogs. Like, oh, I don't know, character development or that steady movement to some particular goal o...more
If you read this like a blog, which it was, it works pretty well. Actually, I think I could've become quite addicted to it if I'd had the site on my RSS feed and been given small parcels of story over weeks and months at a time.
Unfortunately, it got turned into a book and I expect certain things out of my books that I don't with my blogs. Like, oh, I don't know, character development or that steady movement to some particular goal o...more
I had read some of this back in the day as a blogspot blog, and it was insanely compelling, but i lost track of it. Then I bought this book like 3 years ago at heathrow, and when picking out books for my vacation, I figured I'd take this with me, since I was swinging through Heathrow again. It's a pretty solid read. I like to think it's all real, and I suppose it probably is, since I started following Belle De Jour on twitter the other day - and she certainly still seems real. It's also probably...more
Originally published as an anonymous blog, Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl chronicles approximately six months in the life of a £300 per hour escort in London. It centers on her social life, with her working life mentioned in passing (but with lots of detail). The action centers around a coterie of exes referred to as N and A1-4, and her attempts at finding love with various aptly nicknamed prospects. Billed as a college grad without any promising job prospects who turns to her non...more
After just having read the first volume of the diary Anais Nin I found Belle's short sticato senses infinately refreshing and enjoyable. I've seen season 1 of the tv series that eventuated from this book and therefore had some idea what to expect, still there were a few surprises in store for me. For example Belle's preoccupation and penchant for fisting. There were moments in this book that made me laugh out loud, a few that had me shuddering (let's just say unfiled nails and cervical walls)...more
This is the blog, oh, sorry, MEMOIR of Belle, a twenty-something who can’t find a job in London and turns to the world’s oldest profession to make ends meet. The racy bits were fascinating, especially Belle’s detachment and matter-of-fact approach to topics that I wouldn’t talk about with my mother. Regarding the ho-ing, yes, this is an interesting book. The parts about her “real life,” were boring. It was like reading a blog about someone I didn’t know or care about, talking about her various b...more
Честно пыталась дочитать её до конца, но не получилось. Просто четкое руководство для тех, кто желает стать проституткой в Лондоне. Прям все поэтапно расписано, по полочкам. Если есть у Вас такое желание, то можете делать эту книгу своей настольной. Всю полную информацию на тему того, куда обращаться начинающим, как одеваться, как краситься, как вести себя с клиентами, найдете там.
If I were to become a prostitute, I could only hope it would turn out as well as it has for Belle. Though, I don't think I could be nearly as polite.
Favorite Quotes:
I could not stop thinking of my last boyfriend, who had left me suddenly among accusations of my snobbishness and utter lack of sympathy for other people. Well, as Philip Larkin put it, useful to get that learnt.
Perhaps another time, when I've had more warning.
...leaves from this au...more
Favorite Quotes:
I could not stop thinking of my last boyfriend, who had left me suddenly among accusations of my snobbishness and utter lack of sympathy for other people. Well, as Philip Larkin put it, useful to get that learnt.
Perhaps another time, when I've had more warning.
...leaves from this au...more
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