Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

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Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 · rating details · 7,589 ratings · 1,333 reviews

Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV’s The Late Show to be the pick of �Dave’s Book Club 2006,� Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— ama...more

Paperback, 212 pages

Published January 2nd 2007 by Gotham (first published December 29th 2005)

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Feb 25, 2008 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people sick of working 9 to 5

Shelves: badgirls

Just a disclaimer here: I recommended this book for book club and was thoroughly humiliated as a result. Now, I don't consider myself a prude by any stretch of the imagination, and am usually willing to stand by my recommendations. However. When it came time to lead the discussion group, I felt myself groping for questions. It seemed a little odd to open the session with, "What was your reaction when the author was working peep shows and would watch men jisming over the plate glass? Were you hor...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: modern-culture-innit

Some American prose achieves a poetry unavailable to Europeans. The breakneck compression of pop culture references, loopy neologisms and fractured marketing-derived syntax stretches all the way from John Dos Passos via every hardboiled detective, through Chuck Berry through Thomas Pynchon and on to Nicholson Baker, Don DeLillo and James Ellroy. It’s not limpid, it’s hectic and the non-Americans have to hang on as best they can. Diablo Cody has this style down. Here’s a two sentence example :

At...more

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Mar 15, 2008 Lena rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

Diablo Cody wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for the smart and funny movie Juno. As one might expect, her memoir about a year spent working as a stripper is also smart and funny, but much, much harder edged.

Cody was working as an office drone in Minneapolis when she spontaneously decided to try out "Amateur Night" at a nearby strip dive. Though her first attempt garnered her all of nine dollars, she was so fascinated by the world she saw she got herself put on the schedule at an upscale strip...more Diablo Cody wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for the smart and funny movie Juno. As one might expect, her memoir about a year spent working as a stripper is also smart and funny, but much, much harder edged.

Cody was working as an office drone in Minneapolis when she spontaneously decided to try out "Amateur Night" at a nearby strip dive. Though her first attempt garnered her all of nine dollars, she was so fascinated by the world she saw she got herself put on the schedule at an upscale strip club.

Driven in part by a last-ditch rebellious desire to escape the cubicle farm hell of "respectable adulthood" as well as by an urge to master the secrets of a mysterious profession in which successful dancers could make thousands of dollars a night, Cody worked in half a dozen different clubs. In her quest for sex-industry success, she also transformed herself from a pink-haired, punk nerd girl into a fake blond with hair extensions, lacquered death nails and more make-up than a circus clown.

Cody is unflinchingly honest as she describes the stripping profession from the inside. Earning a living by removing one's clothes, it turns out, is nowhere near as easy as one might presume. Bored customers, passive-aggressive DJ's, and extortionist club quota policies that can leave dancers in debt to the house at the end of a slow night are just a few of the challenges she had to overcome. Cody eventually figured out how to play the game well enough to sock away a down payment on a house, but that cash came at the expense of physical and emotional exhaustion, not to mention permanent foot damage from those towering stripper shoes.

While Cody's smart insights into this unfamiliar, forbidden world make for fascinating reading, much of what she relates is so graphic there were places I learned more than I wanted to about what really goes on behind those blackened windows. There is a decidedly un-sexy reality behind the cold, hard commercialization of sex, one that even Diablo Cody's skilled storytelling and punchy humor is hard pressed to balance out.
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Jun 17, 2009 S. Annelise Adams rated it 1 of 5 stars

The author's detachment is chilling. Her need to present herself as a badass hipster is behavior worthy of an 8th grader. She's a tourist slumming amongst the sex workers and tells the story with a note-taking, photo-snapping objectification-of-the-locals sort of air that is inhumane at best. Still another "post-feminist" telling herself she's a "sexy-pin-up-type" and confusing true subversiveness with her willingness to use and be used by the patriarchy.
In a clumsy wrap-up that was obviously...more

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Jan 09, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: recently-read

I picked this book up for a couple of reasons; first, I keep hearing buzz about Diablo Cody, who wrote the screenplay for Juno, and second, because I spent several years waitressing/bartending/DJ-ing at a Deja Vu club in San Diego. I know that SD is unique in its approach to "gentlemen's" clubs- clean to the extreme, entertainer's licenses and all- so I'm always interested to hear stories about what the industry is like in other parts of the country (Cody dances in Minneapolis). I figured since...more I picked this book up for a couple of reasons; first, I keep hearing buzz about Diablo Cody, who wrote the screenplay for Juno, and second, because I spent several years waitressing/bartending/DJ-ing at a Deja Vu club in San Diego. I know that SD is unique in its approach to "gentlemen's" clubs- clean to the extreme, entertainer's licenses and all- so I'm always interested to hear stories about what the industry is like in other parts of the country (Cody dances in Minneapolis). I figured since this was a memoir, maybe for once there would be a realistic depiction of a strip club instead of the dreck you see in movies like Striptease and Showgirls.

Candy Girl is and isn't that depiction. Cody admits that she never quite fit in at the clubs where she danced. She isn't a good dancer, doesn't put much effort into her appearance, and she doesn't ever connect with the other dancers or staff at the clubs. She is almost an outsider looking clinically in, an undercover blogger who is in the clubs because she's looking for a "transgressive experience." Reading her descriptions of her co-workers, I felt like I was reading about an anthropologist describing exotic creatures, rather than someone who was truly one of the "peelers" talking about her experiences.

Cody does, however, describe the inner workings of a club fairly accurately. This is the first time I've ever seen the payout system really addressed- if anything, I'd like strip club patrons to read the book, so they understand why it's important to pay the girls and to tip them. I also appreciated that Cody didn't stick to just the high-end clubs; she ventures from the upscale Scheik's to the grimy arcades of an adult superstore, and she does embrace her time in these places fully. I just wish that the tone of the book had embraced the story she was telling in the same way.

Overall, though, I really liked Cody's narrative voice. She has a very clever way with words, and I read the book mostly in one go, largely due to the almost conversational style in which it was written. I would absolutely read another book by her, and I do want to see Juno. If I put aside my own concerns about the strip club industry and how the people who work in the clubs are depicted, the book was quite good. It just wasn't totally what I was hoping for.(less)

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Feb 26, 2008 Erik rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm writing this on Oscar Day 2008, and that's a fitting time to consider meteoric screenwriter Diablo Cody's first book. Back in the day, young Cody spent workdays in the beige expanse of cubicle-land, and stumbled upon the world of stripping as she casted about for adventure. The book chronicles her year-long stint taking off her clothes, for money, in one of America's more liberal stripper towns (since no alcohol is served in Minneapolis' strip clubs, a good deal more fabric can come free tha...more I'm writing this on Oscar Day 2008, and that's a fitting time to consider meteoric screenwriter Diablo Cody's first book. Back in the day, young Cody spent workdays in the beige expanse of cubicle-land, and stumbled upon the world of stripping as she casted about for adventure. The book chronicles her year-long stint taking off her clothes, for money, in one of America's more liberal stripper towns (since no alcohol is served in Minneapolis' strip clubs, a good deal more fabric can come free than you might be used to, in your own locality).

She was interested in pushing her own personal envelope. Already in the midst of major life changes (having moved to Minneapolis to be with her soon-to-be husband), and less bound than many to preconceptions of what makes someone a "likely" stripper, Cody wanted to see just what the world behind the neon would be like, for someone like her. Someone without a lot of childhood trauma. Someone mostly aware of her own hangups and issues. Someone with a reasonably healthy gender philosophy. Someone with a media-studies degree.

And if there's a flaw in the book, that's it: Cody was famously discovered online -- segments of the book first appeared in serialized, short-essay versions. Looking at the finished product, it's as though Cody and her editors didn't make a firm decision about how many of the seams should be allowed to remain, and show, and to what extent the story should be re-structured to be more "book-like."

The early going sparkles with her capacity for language; there are flashy neologisms and verbal excesses just as in the "Juno" screenplay, but behind those are compact, evocative descriptions of places and people. But the strange thing is, the same style of storytelling by small doses that crackled on the screen and made "the Ranch" a daily reading destination works a little against itself in dead-tree form. The fun is still there in every bit, but viewed as an arc the story stubbornly defies expectations about structure, motivation, and Cody's "journey." There is no spoon-fed lesson here; no turning points. It's neither flawlessly smooth nor clearly episodic. It's time for her to do this thing, and then one day it's time to be done. Along the way, there are some key events, and some things get lost, and found. But it's told far more as journalism than Hollywood.

Once I realized I had been stuck in a "typical memoir" rut, the book was just plain fun to read -- and as Dave Letterman says, it's educational. For those with a lurid interest in what goes on backstage, Cody has an unflinching but ultimately sympathetic and matter-of-fact view (the economics of 'paying out' to the strip club management is pretty fascinating, actually). For those who muse about feminism and fetishism and the weird ways they can intertwine in our culture, she muses right along with you. For those who simply want to know what's up with this "former stripper" stuff Hollywood just CAN'T SHUT UP about, here's the deal from the woman herself.

[Full disclosure: I'm a friend as well as a fan. Cody was in Minneapolis writing the book during the period we and mutual friends hung out most Fridays. Discussions of "how was your week?" were a lot of fun.](less)

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Oct 27, 2008 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

Cody's writing is funny to me in the same way as Chelsea Handler's books, or even the stand-up comedy of Dane Cook, in that the stories they tell aren't necessarily funny, but the way they're told, the delivery itself, makes them exceptional. Word choices, phrasing, going out of your way to make everything count and pack as much punch as possible into each sentence, casting all generic bits to the side. I just like people who put forth a lot of effort to amuse me, and squeeze whatever humor they...more Cody's writing is funny to me in the same way as Chelsea Handler's books, or even the stand-up comedy of Dane Cook, in that the stories they tell aren't necessarily funny, but the way they're told, the delivery itself, makes them exceptional. Word choices, phrasing, going out of your way to make everything count and pack as much punch as possible into each sentence, casting all generic bits to the side. I just like people who put forth a lot of effort to amuse me, and squeeze whatever humor they can out of everything they write about. I especially like that she makes up her own terms, such as "clit-pink," "stunt-cunt," and "sales-gays." She makes a lot of literary and pop-culture references like these: "There was a sinewy Russian girl onstage, a trained ballerina who whirled in reckless circles as though the grand prize for effort was a Baptist's severed head," and, "I ordered a vodka Red Bull: upper meets downer in an effervescent hybrid of bubble gum and junkie piss." If you don't think that's funny, then fuck you. What about this: "She was healthy. Cheap. She looked like she'd spent the day roller-skating at the beach, then accidentally pitched face-first into a vat of Bonne Belle warpaint." Or this: "Vagina going once, going twice... SOLD to the fellow in the Timberwolves cap and the Manwich-stained fleece pullover!" Here, read this and tell me if you think it's funny: "I spotted a blonde girl working the floor in an outfit so tight I could clearly see her nipples, labia, individual goose bumps, hair follicles and DNA helix." If that didn't make you at least chuckle inside your head, we will never be friends and you can suck it hard. As an added bonus, there is plenty of dirt on the seedy inner-workings of the Minneapolis world of stripclubs, but the topic itself was probably just chosen because it made easy fodder as a vehicle for Cody's wit. Anyway, she's originally from Chicago, so I was happy to see her win the screenplay Oscar, even though my niece said she was putting herself on suicide watch if "Juno" won best picture.(less)

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Jan 08, 2008 jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, ladyish

a couple of years ago, i read most of the third-wave feminist and post-feminist sex-worker-positive books available. this book, however, came out in 2006, well after my interest in the industry (& my own career) had waned, so it never made its way across my nightstand. recently, diablo cody wrote a script for a movie called juno, and this movie's release reminded me that i had never tackled candy girl.

fortunately, cody skips a lot of the critical theory, politicizing, philosophizing, and int...more

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May 02, 2008 Rose rated it 3 of 5 stars

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper begins when author Diablo Cody moves from Chicago to Minneapolis to live with her new boyfriend, Jonny. A college-educated gal with a suburban upbringing, she stumbles into a job as a copy typist for an advertising agency. But her nine-to-five proves a little too bland; she finds herself craving adventure. On a whim, Cody signs up for amateur night at a strip club she passes on her way home from work. She doesn't win the $200 cash prize due...more Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper begins when author Diablo Cody moves from Chicago to Minneapolis to live with her new boyfriend, Jonny. A college-educated gal with a suburban upbringing, she stumbles into a job as a copy typist for an advertising agency. But her nine-to-five proves a little too bland; she finds herself craving adventure. On a whim, Cody signs up for amateur night at a strip club she passes on her way home from work. She doesn't win the $200 cash prize due to an unruly stiletto heal that gets caught on the pole mid-spin. But rather than squashing her curiousity about exotic dancing, those few naked minutes on stage doing high-kicks to Aerosmith's "Ragdoll" give her an incurable fever. The only prescription: more stripping. And thus, Diablo Cody's career as an entertainer is born.

The book is a little over the top, not only in content, but in style as well. Cody's writing oozes with similes, metaphors, adjectives, pop-culture references, and an unhealthy love of the thesaurus. Example: "Now, here I was, surrounded by Lycra-clad teenagers exhaling mentholated cumulonimbus clouds in the darkness." Yeah, they were smoking. We get it. But the book is funny. She recounts as many tales of nutty customers as stories of her own failed attempts to figure out what the customers really want. She's awkward and naive at first, but eventually gets better and better at her job. I guess you could call Candy Girl a coming-of-stripper tale. Ha.

What is most interesting and disappointing about the book, however, is how Cody shies away from the controversy around her new-found profession. She never really explores why she starts or leaves stripping, perhaps because these reasons are too personal. Oh, she mentions it, but it's pretty half-assed in comparison to the rest of the book. And it's almost as though she (or her editors) confirm this by adding a "Coda" at the end in which she writes: "You, the reader, are hoping to find some sort of redemption in this sprawling epic (okay, sprawling pamphlet) of a corporate yes-girl who literally puts her ass on the line and becomes a sex worker for sport. I'm afraid you won't find any here. That's the deal with true stories; they rarely deliver on a climactic level." I'm not expecting redemption, but I do expect some self-reflection from a memoir.

I think there is an identifiable shift in the story. As Cody gets more deeply entrenched in the world of sex work, her storytelling takes on a much darker tone. She never condemns the lifestyle, and I'm not suggesting that she should. But it is undeniable that, at the end, she doesn't gain what she hoped to when she set out. Her lack of commentary on why she starts and stops, and her lack of self-reflection on her mental and emotional state at the end, are a real detriment to the story. Although a fun and funny read, in the end this book left me feeling like a stripper leaves her customer: unsatisfied.(less)

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Jan 01, 2008 Celia Powell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

So why does Diablo Cody spend a year stripping? Well, because she was bored with her all-too-ordinary life, and wanted to be rebellious. At least, that's what I think she meant, in her last chapter where she sums things up. And that kind of spoils the book for me. If she needed the money, if she had a habit she needed to support - you know, your more everyday reasons for getting into stripping. Or if she was introduced to it by a friend, rather than ardently pursuing it herself. But her reasons...more

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Sep 06, 2009 Madeline rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: don-t-judge-me

Some books are meant to be kept in sacred spaces. Some books are so amazing, so wonderful, so full of personal meaning, that they can't even be kept on an ordinary bookshelf with the others, and need to occupy their own, special place. Some books deserve such honors.

And some books deserve to be kept in the bathroom. Which is exactly where the copy of Candy Girl currently resides in my apartment. (I can't claim responsibility for this placement - the book actually belongs to my roommate, but as...more Some books are meant to be kept in sacred spaces. Some books are so amazing, so wonderful, so full of personal meaning, that they can't even be kept on an ordinary bookshelf with the others, and need to occupy their own, special place. Some books deserve such honors.

And some books deserve to be kept in the bathroom. Which is exactly where the copy of Candy Girl currently resides in my apartment. (I can't claim responsibility for this placement - the book actually belongs to my roommate, but as far as I'm concerned any book kept next to the toilet is pretty much communal, so I helped myself.)

Don't get me wrong: the fact that Diablo Cody's memoir (I use the word only because that is how it's described on the front cover) is perfect bathroom reading isn't necessarily a criticism. Candy Girl is, in fact, probably the most perfect example of a bathroom book I've ever come across. You can read little bits at a time without having to bother following a continous plot, and if you just skip to all the dirty parts (where Cody is actually stripping or working at a peep show), you never miss anything important. She had a boyfriend at the time the book was written, and I guess we hear a lot about him, but frankly any part of the story that didn't involve stripping and/or frequent uses of the word "pussy" just bored me.

So, to sum up: the book describes a year in which Diablo Cody decides to try being a stripper. She spends several pages trying to rationalize this decision, but it can really be summed up in one sentence: "for shits and giggles, and so I can get a quasi-memoir out of it." (my words) Over the course of the story, she works at three different strip joints, a peep show, and also has a brief stint as a phone-sex worker that's so brief I don't know why she bothered mentioning it at all. In between there's lots of stuff about her boyfriend, his young daughter, and Cody's boring day job, but as I said, these parts can be easily skipped. As for the writing itself, I'll just say that it's very easy to believe this woman wrote Juno. Which is by no means a critique, but it does make it a bit jarring when Cody manages to produce writing that is actually well-done, maybe even meaningful. Luckily, this doesn't happen often and we quickly resume our regularly scheduled program of pop culture references and exclamations of "shazbot!" (less)

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May 22, 2008 tee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own

This wasn't superbly written, sometimes it felt like I was getting slammed over the head repetitively with crass metaphors; which I loved, being a crass sailor swearing trooper myself. I also felt like I had ADD, spinning rapidly through a year of someone's life, jumping from person to experience to person without too much depth; or personal insight. But, the observations of Cody's time as a stripper are fascinating and I couldn't put the book down.

I read it in one sitting, rather enthralled but...more

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Apr 08, 2008 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would say this is part memoir, part cultural anthropologist's field guide. There's something about Diablo Cody's descriptions of her fellow strippers (and later, her fellow peep-show performers) that's like Jane Goodall writing My Life with Chimpanzees. Because, you know, Jane Goodall knows she gets to leave the Congo and go home after studying monkeys, and Diablo Cody knows she doesn't have to be a stripper a single day longer than she feels like continuing her social experiment. Toward the e...more

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Mar 30, 2008 Dayna rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm not crazy about her writing style - way too many similes for me, and they seemed so consciously couched (not effortless), that they stuck out. And, anyone who uses the phrase "arms akimbo" (last time I ran across this was in my historical romance phase in 7th grade), well - that's just silly.
As for the subject matter-
I learned it's a fuzzy line between being a stripper and a prostitute. Both involve getting a guy off - the former in his pants, the latter in one of your orifices. I was curio...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Eric Skillman rated it 3 of 5 stars

A light and fun read by the writer of the upcoming flick Juno. Really interesting, nonjudgmental descriptions of her time as a stripper. It sometimes seems a bit like a collection of anecdotes rather than one coherent story, but it's clever (in a good way) and funny enough to keep you entertained and intrigued throughout.

Finally worth reading primarily so that you can feel like the coolest kid on the block when Diablo Cody becomes crazy rock-star famous once Juno comes out this winter. I got to...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting book about the world of stripping, written in Cody's unique voice. It is not for the prudish, however, especially the part about when she worked as "booth doll" at a place called Sexworld. Enough said.

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May 24, 2010 Liz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: feminism-sex-gender-sexuality, memior

I found the whole thing to be, like I think Diablo Cody is at the core, disingenuous. She keeps harping on the fact she just really didn't know why she became a stripper, it can't be explained, just an adventure or lark, a desire to be naughty. Well, I can tell you what pulled her into it, a need to have something to write a memoir about so she could get published. You can almost imagine how she came to this idea: What can I get a book deal writing about: How about a punk rock fish out of water...more I found the whole thing to be, like I think Diablo Cody is at the core, disingenuous. She keeps harping on the fact she just really didn't know why she became a stripper, it can't be explained, just an adventure or lark, a desire to be naughty. Well, I can tell you what pulled her into it, a need to have something to write a memoir about so she could get published. You can almost imagine how she came to this idea: What can I get a book deal writing about: How about a punk rock fish out of water story with a little bit of sex and a bunch of four letter words and a healthy dose of name checking TV shows of the 80s and hair metal song/videos/bands?

I am not a fan of Diablo Cody's overly hipsterish, try-hardy style in her EW Magazine columns or her screenplays, but I had heard good things about this book and wanted to read it. I had a difficult time getting into the first few chapters, as from the first page, I felt Cody's syle is overwrought with too many pop-culture references and what she thinks is thought to be tough girl witticisms (using many four letter words starting with the letter "c" does not make you as "edgy" as you would like to think it does).

While I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at strip clubs, especially learning about the financial aspects, manditory minimums, the "payout system", etc., overall I could never connect with her or the book as I just didn't like her. I felt that she also spent to much time complaining about what an outsider she is/was. I can never understand how people who spend tons of time, effort and cash to have a "different" style in the ways that Diablo Cody does, then turn around and complain that are treated differently accordingly. I feel that many of the people who chose that personal style, like Diablo at the time she was stripping, are really just presenting a physical manifestation of the childish belief that 'deep down I am truly unique and different on the inside so I must show it to the world on the outside', but it is also a case of LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME, don't EVER STOP LOOKING AT ME.

I feel that Diablo felt that she was above it all, better than the other girls (she isn't from Minnesota, she has a desk job, she went to college, her parents are still boringly married) even as she is working at a sex show where she spends hours doing illegal penetration shows while men masturbate to her through a glass window. I also felt that her relationship with her boyfriend, now husband Johnny, was also phony in its representation. She kept going on and on about how cool he was about her foray into the sex industry, how accepting. I feel that acceptance showed a lack of love and respect for her, I cannot believe there was a total lack of jealousy there, and if so, the lack of jealousy must represent something deeper. I also find it odd that Diablo's insistence that Johnny's detailed interest in everything she did at work being a turn on to him as being a positive. I t is as if she is trying to justify her behavior to the reading audience and not being honest about how that work environment would affect someone's mental state, views of men in general and any romantic relationship one would be in. I would imagine it is more complicated then she was willing to admit or write about. If Johnny really was ok with her making men orgasm in their sweatpants every night during bed dances as long as Diablo could pay for a new car, a new house and things for his daughter then that is something she really ought to look more deeply into.

I have ZERO issues with people working as strippers for whatever reason they so choose, but don't make excuses or not own up to what is really the issue or reason behind your motivations to strip, Diablo.

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Jul 17, 2010 TheBookVixen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, c-b

I normally won't dabble in non-fiction, especially a memoir, but I have to admit this book caught my eye. The cover. The premise. I've heard of the name Diablo Cody but didn't know exactly where to place her. So I googled her and found out that she wrote the Academy Award winning screenplay for the movie Juno. Her writing is raw and descriptive and it pulls you in. Just in the few pages of this book I knew I wanted to know more about her year as a stripper.

Candy Girl is a memoir of a 24-year ol...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Otoki rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one comes to mind

Recommended to Otoki by: A friend and co-worker, who had worked with the author in one of

(This is from my review on Amazon)

I never worked with Diablo Cody (she was before my time), but I know someone who did. She was the one who suggested I read the book. Afterwards, we both talked about how we want to write the anti-Diablo Cody strip-club book. This book is like A Million Little Pieces, but because of the veiled nature of the industry, the facts are harder to check. I think the book is disgraceful, but the fallacies and exaggerations are mostly hidden to those who have never worked...more (This is from my review on Amazon)

I never worked with Diablo Cody (she was before my time), but I know someone who did. She was the one who suggested I read the book. Afterwards, we both talked about how we want to write the anti-Diablo Cody strip-club book. This book is like A Million Little Pieces, but because of the veiled nature of the industry, the facts are harder to check. I think the book is disgraceful, but the fallacies and exaggerations are mostly hidden to those who have never worked in the industry.

For the record, for six months she worked in the Dollhouse in Sexworld, which is a peepshow. While that is part of the sex industry, it is a very different job from dancing. In fact, as she points out in the book, anything involving penetration is illegal in MN, yet the Dolls could get away with doing it. Because of this, I find her attitude of being "above" the "dirtiness" of certain clubs disingenuous, and her condescending description of dancers an insult to any woman in that occupation. Her sudden vague-ness when describing what occurred in the Loft at Deja Vu also begs the question of how candid she really is. The few things she actually mentions are blatantly illegal, things that many dancers never do, yet despite this lack of willpower in the face of a generous and pushy client, she still expresses her belief in her own mental superiority to other strippers. I guess she didn't see the irony.

For the most part, her book revealed a few important things about the industry (club fees, work expenses, irritating customers) but did little to explain stereotypes, or even debunk them. Instead, her patronizing descriptions of dancers (either blond fake-titted bimbos at Sheiks, or drug-addicted boorish wrecks at Skyway) simply echoed the two most common stereotypes of strippers. For someone whose writing exposes their obvious belief in their own superior intellect, she was far less observant than most "dumb dancers" I know.

I think one reason is because she went into the job from a research angle. Most of us get into the industry (as staff or entertainers) because of a financial need it would fulfill, like supporting kids, paying for school, getting out of debt, etc. It is an industry that can open doors for women (and men) and give us opportunities we may not have had otherwise. The sense of solidarity between individuals can be quite strong, although it was notably absent in Cody's case.

The title really says it all: "A Year in the Life of an UNLIKELY Stripper". Her assumption, (obviously supported by many people, much to my chagrin), that a nerd, educated woman, geek, etc etc simply doesn't fit the mold of "stripper". My friend who worked with her (call her B) said that, when Cody expressed surprise that B was going to college, B pointed out that most of the dancers at the Choice were in school. Cody responded with disbelief and dismissal "No they don't"*eye roll*. I think that pretty much sums up Cody's attitude towards the people in the sex industry, and explains why she felt girls were "mean" at the Choice. I currently work with many of the former staff from Sheiks, and they complained that she turned the club into a generic, faceless place when there was so much personality and dynamics to be explored in both the customers and the dancers/staff.

I think that the 6 months she spent as a DANCER is very significant. Most strip club workers (dancers and staff) are excited at the money, the change in lifestyle, the flexible schedules, and the newness when we first start the job. I also think that most of us, after the first year, are more reserved and realistic in our enthusiasm because we've had plenty of time to reflect on how the industry has changed us, and we have seen plenty of men and women go through a less than desirable change. Perhaps, with a more empathetic attitude, Cody would have had a more realistic view of the industry, one focusing on individual change beyond her own self-centered story. Somehow, after speaking to B and others who remember her, I think I'm being a bit optimistic.

Diablo Cody held herself aloof out of a sense of intellectual superiority, and thus blinded herself to the wealth of information and reality that she could have revealed to an (obviously) captive audience. It's a shame. (less)

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Feb 18, 2008 Darga rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: diablo cody fans, sex-work expose fans.

"standing outside the skyway lounge, i found myself frawn to the bay of blacked-out windows. my heart was banging against my ribs in speed-metal time. i wanted to be in there, part of that spangled corps of women who knew better but walked in anyway. it didn't matter to me that i was somebody's quasi-stepmother, or even somebody's fucking copy typist. i wanted to take shelter in the dank, yeasty darkness, safe from the glare of snow and medium-bright typing paper and the file folders that slashe...more "standing outside the skyway lounge, i found myself frawn to the bay of blacked-out windows. my heart was banging against my ribs in speed-metal time. i wanted to be in there, part of that spangled corps of women who knew better but walked in anyway. it didn't matter to me that i was somebody's quasi-stepmother, or even somebody's fucking copy typist. i wanted to take shelter in the dank, yeasty darkness, safe from the glare of snow and medium-bright typing paper and the file folders that slashed up the fleshy parts of my palms. i wanted to march into that topless dive and expose myself to the shadowy goons, winterized in parkas and boogeyman balaclavas. and so, i respirated purposefully several times, and walked in like a first-class dumbass."

chuck klosterman has recently hooked me on memoirs, which i never really read before, aside from an ex-girlfriend sticking a particularly good david sedaris page in front of my nose from time to time. i went to the store to pick up Fargo Rock City, but they didn't have it, so i grabbed this instead.

first off, it's not as funny as you think it will be, or at least not as funny as juno. but it is more interesting than i expected.

she's got a really candid way of discussing her thought process, which is the whole reason to read the book. she comes across some really ideas about the value of women, as perceived by themselves and as perceived by others. she alternately feels empowered and totally taken advantage of by her role as a sex worker, and as a guy i found it interesting to read her complaints about how women who would normally be considered super hot would have to pander to gross dudes to fulfill their lapdance quota.

i'm also really interested by her relationship with johnny. he seems to be the kind of laid back boyfriend that every man is convinced they can be, but isn't. by her account, he's totally selfconfident, nurturing, supportive, and never jealous, threatened, or judgmental. but then again the fact that she's now married to him might color those descriptions in a way that they wouldn't be if they'd been written about an ex.

this is an interesting book, a one-day read, but nothing amazing. it is pretty cool that the whole thing happened in a year, and i like the attitude of self-improvement that the whole story is framed in. i also really like that she saves her backstory for the end of the story, instead of starting with it. it reinforces one of the themes of the book, which is that you can never tell who a person really is or where they come from, just by looking at what they are currently doing. (less)

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Jan 15, 2008 Janna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008

The only reason I picked up this book was because I ADORED Juno, so I figured her book couldn't be that bad to read. That and it was $5.

It's a good book--nothing earth shattering. And easy and quick read, filled with stories that make you laugh or disgust you. Really the only thing I didn't like was how Diablo Cody starts out the book perpetuating Minnesota stereotypes:

"Here in the woebgone upper country, Jack Frost is a liberal, rangy sadist with ice crystals in his soul patch. Winter is the...more

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Jun 24, 2007 Leah Elton rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Chandra Ray

So far this is a breezy and humorous read. Chock full of pop culture references. Mrs. Cody nails the vulgar fascination/repulsion I feel for the stripper industry. As an outsider plundering the stanky depths of a doll house ruled by oily men and flesh bots. The following is an excerpt of the ground rules laid out by a "House Mom" for an amateur night competition.

1.No touching the customers during our stage set.(Not that I'd be tempted, since most of the guys in the bar looked stoop-shouldered an...more

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Feb 01, 2008 Spiros rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Aficionados of the Grotesque

Shelves: cinerelated, staceys

After seeing JUNO, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I would make room in my reading for this book. Having worked for years in a bookstore amidst a slew of strip clubs, and from having at least half a dozen of my high school classmates at one time or another work as ecdysiasts, I am familiar with the milieu, at least as it was in the '90's in San Francisco; obviously, Diablo Cody has a wonderful way with words, and it was interesting reading about the corporatisation of the industry,...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Wow, this was really poorly written. Which is weird, since this is the woman who wrote the screenplay for Juno - which was fantastic. To be fair, I think the book is best described as a train wreck. Terribly written, unnecessarily graphic (I recognize that it's a book about stripping, and some things need to be graphic to get the point across, but there is absolutely no need to describe a woman's brown lip liner as 'scat-colored' - that's just nasty.) ... but I couldn't look away. I learned some...more

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Aug 01, 2007 Barbara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: notthatgreat

I found this on a recommendation from a fellow Goodreads member.

This book would be a good beach read when nobody is looking over your shoulder. I was reading this on the bus and actually felt a little dirty. I was afraid that somebody on the bus would be looking over my shoulder and read some of the explicted areas of the book.

It's an interesting insight to a world I knew nothing about and to find out why somebody would chose to live that particular life style.

The author writes in the last coupl...more

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Jul 23, 2007 Frank rated it 3 of 5 stars

Just read this today in a few hours...was going to rent a movie, but this just slid right down.

Gal is an intelligent but "wayward" gal who has a knack for some great pop-culture metaphors.

Talking about the delayed effect of professional spray-on tanning, she quips "which means you can hit the pillow a translucent, blue-white lass and wake up looking like a Cosby kid...I 'tanned' three times the first week, and gradually went from Sondra to Rudy."

She did her stripping, incidentally, in Minneapoli...more

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Dec 11, 2007 Gretchen rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was a great Saturday read that you can just pick up carelessly and finish in about 3 hours tops. I too am fascinated by the stripper lifestlye. "Diablo's" (what a stupid moniker) writing style is funny but goes way overboard in the crazy slangy observations and somehow cheapens the experience. She never seemed to skim more than the bare surface of any emotions, said she was a "good kid" but her tattoos and surrepetitious dumping of her boyfriend made me think otherwise. (i don't think that...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 27, 2008 Lindsay Russo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not knowing much about stripping or exotic dancing as I approached this Valentine's Day present, I wasn't sure if this memoir was going to rely soley on it's "hook," or if it was going to be simple and sincere writing in wild circumstances. It was a little of both, and I loved it more for its flaws. Stripping in Minnesota was never something I ever thought was a career choice, but Diablo Cody shows the claustrophobia she felt at her desk job tempered by the commonplace naughtiness that inhabits...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 18, 2008 Amberjean rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: trashy-novels, history-and-culture

Self-involved, overeducated, privileged girl in the throes of post-collegiate depression decides really self-consciously to take a walk on the wild side. Yawn. a) the side is not that wild, and she's not the real deal anyway and b) who cares? Only the titillating subject matter (and haven't we all wondered about the economics of being an 'exotic dancer'?) could have made this book such a hit with the crowds. The writing itself was pretty painful...the author doesn't let a paragraph go by without...more

8 likes · like · see review

May 15, 2010 Katsumi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

An entertaining memoir about Cody's progressively experimental foray into sex-based professions. The writing is clever and frequently hilarious, as one would expect from the screenwriter of "Juno." This is a fun way to indulge your curiosity about just what goes on behind those darkened "Gentleman's Club" windows--or if you've peeked behind the windows, what goes on backstage. I found the lack of a moral agenda refreshing. For this author, stripping was just a way to make money and a way to inje...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Diablo Cody

Brook Busey, better known by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American Academy Award-winning screenwriter, writer, author, journalist and blogger. First known for her candid chronicling of her year as a stripper in her Pussy Ranch blog and her 2006 memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper, Cody won wider fame as the writer of the 2007 film Juno, for which she won the Academy A...more

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