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Dec 02, 2009

Buck rated it:

When the original Star Wars trilogy came out, I was too young to have nurtured any grotty, pubescent fantasies about Princess Leia (though I guess by the time of Return of the Jedi, I was old enough to be confusedly excited by those harem scenes with Jabba the Hutt). But now that I’ve read Wishful Drinking, I kind of want Carrie Fisher for my girlfriend. Except that she’s my mother’s age. And she’s a recovering alcoholic/drug addict with bipolar disorder and a lavishly messed-up family. Othe More...

31 comments like (44 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2009

Collin rated it:

A memoir about drug abuse, sexual compulsion and manic depression shouldn't be this funny, but in Carrie Fisher's hands it's a laugh riot. Wishful Drinking ($21, Simon & Schuster) is slim, packed with photos and basically the script for her hit one-woman show of the same name. Fisher calls this book a "a really, really detailed personals ad," and covers everything from the dead, gay Republican in her bed (which was tabloid fodder for weeks in 2005), her missing-in-action, over-the-top More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2009

Christia rated it:

I knew when I spotted this book on the shelf at the bookstore that I wanted to read it. I have always loved both Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. I have read at least two of Fisher's novels, and I figured if her nonfiction was half as funny as her fiction, then I would enjoy this too. Plus, who can resist the picture on the cover of Princess Leia slumped over a martini glass and pills?

I was not disappointed. I laughed out loud several times, and I really liked her quote near th More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2009

Karendale2 rated it:

Carrie Fisher gives a keen, albeit absurd, look at her madcap life. This writing is based on her stand up routine. There is not overall theme that binds this together. When she has her breakdown she is more strongly observant. Provides an observation for all who may suffer or no someone who suffers from a mental illness. This is what I call looking out from within the disease. "Quick to excite, to agitate, to enrage, to anger--I was heading straight up into the rafters of my overly good or More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 22, 2009

Nick rated it:

I don't normally read celebrity biographies, but this one seemed different, and it was. Carrie Fisher has honed her writing skills through four novels, which helps a great deal. This book is a very strange and very personal journey through a convoluted life, one in which she admits to a lot of self-destructive behavior. Somehow, though, it's kind of a strangely uplifting and funny book about depressing subjects. She clearly has a lot of anger and frustration about her father, Eddie Fisher, and d More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 23, 2008

Librarian rated it:

I read this one in under an hour, and it was probably the perfect length for this book. My likes and dislikes came out pretty even.

I liked: her descriptions of her childhood experiences with old Hollywood. I am a pushover for a good (or even a mediocre) Cary Grant story. Also, I loved how not-precious she was about her Star Wars experience and her own acting ability. You kind of get the feeling that she is grateful to be a part of something so iconic, but that she also knows tha More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 23, 2009

Kirsti rated it:

This book describes Fisher's broken family, her two destroyed marriages, and her history of mental illness, addiction, and substance abuse. Strangely, it is a lighthearted and entertaining read.

I enjoyed Fisher's comments, such as --

"Instant gratification takes too long."

"I have too much personality for one person but not quite enough for two."

"Saying you're an alcoholic and an addict is like saying you're from Los Angele More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2008

LAwritersgroup rated it:

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. In part, I didn't connect to her self-deprecating style of humor. There were a few very funny lines and moments that got me to laugh out loud, but overall I felt that she did a little too much of "this happened to me" rather than taking us on those journeys which made the book feel dry (no pun intended). It was, however, a quick and easy read which says a lot about her clear talent as a writer.

The most fascinating choice of hers when w More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 17, 2009

Christina rated it:

I met Carrie Fisher once at a party in Montecito. I had no idea what to say to her since I couldn't stand to be one more person who said, "I saw you in Star Wars." I felt I should be able to come up with some thing more normal, you know? And after reading this book, I'm sure that's what should have happened. Because no one needs to have the not-normal-ness of their life pointed out by random strangers when they are clearly already very aware of it.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 03, 2008

Tattered Cover added it

Mark P says:

Great cover illustration of a sloshed Princess Leia. At last ditching the red-haired bastard stepchild that is the 'semi-autobiographical novel' the actress sets down what actually happened. Well, what she thinks happened. At least what she can remember.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2011

Joy H. rated it:

Added 9/8/11. This book was published in 2008.

I listened to an audio CD of this book during Sept. 2011. It's comparatively short, only 3 discs.
Carrie Fisher, daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, tells her story in her own inimitable style. I found it interesting and easy to listen to.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 21, 2009

Kelly rated it:

This has to be one of the funniest biographies I've ever read. Fischer's frankness reminded me of Esther Williams' autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid. And what she does tell is pretty cut and dry with no euphemisms (for example Fischer describes that when Elizabeth Taylor's husband died in a tragic accident, her father "consoled her with his penis").

It's a very short read and that might be my biggest complaint. "You wouldn't believe what I'm NOT telling you," More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2009

pri rated it:

couldn't pass up the title and image. very surprised when i read the book and learned about her electroshock treatments and bipolar. although she didn't deal very much about that, she did talk - with much humor - about her family and her experiences growing up. her humor was very endearing. you can't help but chuckle along with her.

first line of the book:
I have to start by telling you that my entire existence could be summed up in one phrase. And that is: if my life wasn't fu More...

1 comment like

Jan 12, 2009

Robin rated it:

You know, this wasn't a bad book. Parts of it were hilarious, in fact. Fisher has a warped sense of humor, and if the book catches you in the right mood, you will find yourself laughing out loud. And, she certainly knows how to laugh at herself, and her situation, and everyone around her. What you won't find in this book is a lot of the things you want to know, especially if you're picking up the book anxious to hear every detail about the filming of a certain SF trilogy. Granted, that was More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 18, 2008

Bobby rated it:

After spending 2 months on Octavian Nothing #2, this one came about like a much needed drink after a long day at work (metaphor so intended). I finished it in one evening.

Those expecting a chronological autobiography from the woman familiarly known as Princess Leia will be disappointed. This is more a recollection of some of her more bizarre memories. Fisher relates her experiences with space bras (or lack thereof), Paul Simon, showbiz parents (mother Debbie Reynolds steals the sh More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2008

Lisa rated it:

I bought this book while I was away and had forgotten the book I'm currently reading. It was a very easy read, I finished it in three days.
Wishful Drinking wasn't at all what I expected, although I'm not sure what exactly I DID expect. It was fun to peak in on Carrie Fisher's childhood and see just how eccentric Debbie Reynolds really is and how surreal growing up in Hollywood with very famous parents must be. It was also a brutally honest look at Fisher's battle with alcoholism, drug addi More...

2 comments like

Jan 23, 2012

Brooke rated it:

A dramatic separation of the parents when a child is really young is enough to make any childhood dysfunctional. Add in the fact that those parents are famous, that her father was largely absent, that she grew up surrounded by celebrities, and that fame and stardom came at a young age for Carrie, it seems almost inevitable that she would become an alcoholic.

I mean, obviously there must be a lot more to it than that, but that's the simple premise Carrie puts before us. That's all the ex More...

0 comments like

Jan 07, 2012

Kathryn rated it:

I'd highly recommend experiencing this as a book on tape, because while the material is interesting all on its own, Carrie Fisher's reading is not to be missed. My younger sister told me about tuning in to a radio program halfway through an interview with Fisher and wondering, "Who is this sassy, whiskey-voiced lady?" That really sums up Fisher right there. She's had a frantically interesting life, with highs (wonderful mother, wonderful daughter, rocket-to-the-moon celebrity career) a More...

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Oct 25, 2011

Gayle rated it:

I don't usually read celebrity stuff (being not much of a TV/media dweller), but the book was on sale in my library for 80 cents and fit in with a bevy of substance abuse memoirs I found myself flocking to over the summer, thanks to Augusten Burrough's setting me on that path with his memoir, "Dry." With this one, I felt a little like a voyeur, with the attendant thrill of seeing inside famous people's closets but also left with a certain postcloset linty taste, or maybe it was the glu More...

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Aug 06, 2011

Paul rated it:

Fisher has had a fascinating life and I was really looking forward to sitting down with this book. That said, given the source material, I thought this could've been a bit better.

A very quick read,Wishful Drinking is certainly entertaining, but it very much comes across as a transcription of Fisher's one woman show of the same name.Those hoping for a right and proper memoir will be quite disappointed. Obvious "laugh lines" that work in a live setting don't always do that well on the More...

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Aug 06, 2011

Tee rated it:

Carrie Fisher is cray cray. And I'm allowed to call her crazy because 1) she admits she is crazy and 2) I am also crazy. It's like how bald men can tell bald men jokes, or handicapped people reserve the right to lol about disability issues but it's no-go territory if your able-bodied. Fisher is a tad unhinged but lucid enough to be able to string together an erractic bunch of tales; stories about her mother Debbie Reynolds (whom she is besotted with), her absent father, Cary Grant and various ot More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 10, 2011

Tristen rated it:

So this book is a little bit of an inside look into the life of princess Leia. And it really is as funny as the cover would so indicate. The thing that was a little disappointing is that this is really more about her struggles with manic depression / bipolar II disorder and less about interesting trivia about the making or the day in the life of the star wars cast. She definitely has some funny anecdotes about George Lucas being a sadist and how you can't wear a bra in outer space. Thank you for More...

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Apr 03, 2011

Mariah rated it:

I love Carrie Fisher. At first I loved her because of Princess Leia and Star Wars but the more I heard about her the more I loved her for her refreshingly candid attitude about not only her life, but life in general. I can't believe it took me this long to read her memoir. Rest assured, should she write another - which I fervently hope she does - I will not take so long.

Wishful Drinking made me wish I was friends with Ms. Fisher and not just in the "Oh, I love Star Wars and I w More...

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Feb 08, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Wishful Drinking is the saddest biography I've ever read. I'm sure die-hard fans of Carrie Fisher may enjoy and appreciate this book, but if you're looking for some fun celebrity comic-relief, definitely pass this one up.

Wishful Drinking begins with Carrie Fisher explaining how proud she is to be starting her life over at the age of fifty-two after having undergone electroshock therapy. She states how she can't remember much of her life up until the writing of Wishful Drinking, and a More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2011

Joanna rated it:

They say to never judge a book by its cover, but I picked this book up after laughing out loud at the cover image of Princess Leia with her head down clutching an empty martini glass. This is a fast moving memoir about the life of Carrie Fisher, as remembered post-electroshock therapy. But despite Fisher's struggles with depression, addiction, and bipolar disorder, this book is a light, fun, and engaging read.

She gives it to the reader with both barrels, talking about what it is like More...

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Jan 13, 2011

Kater rated it:

This book is basically the written version of a stand-up comedy/memoir of Carrie Fisher.

She talks about being the daughter of famous parents (Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher) about having her parents' marriage broken up by Liz Taylor (If you're going to have a homewrecker destroy your marriage, why not use the best?) She also talks about her lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, with addiction, and with the aftermath of a certain famous role she took on which some of us may hav More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 14, 2010

Barky rated it:

Wishful Drinking is based on Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show by the same name, and it definitely reads like more of a stand-up act than a biography. Carrie Fisher attempts to milk her alcohol and drug addictions, her ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) treatments, her failed relationships (and the history of her parents’ failed relationships), and the trials and tribulations of being the iconic Princess Leia for laughs. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t. If it had been more detailed and balanc More...

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Nov 21, 2010

Annie rated it:

Carrie Fisher was Princess Leia in STAR WARS and I love Star Wars. This is a well-known fact, evidenced by my Star Wars magazine subscription and that I was Darth Vader in 7th grade. I was inspired to pick this memoir up after her appearance on 30 Rock and a late night show interview when I realized, Fisher is actually really hilarious. She outlines her dysfunctional life in this short book, tackling one sordid headline after another. She discusses her parents’ infamous marriage and divorce, More...

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Sep 30, 2010

Megan rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 03, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

I will admit I am a Star Wars fan, and thus I was intrigued when I found this book at a Borders Express going-out-of-business sale. However, this book left me ambivalent. It basically reads as Fisher’s script for her stand-up routine, but I imagine she is much better in person. I just couldn’t quite discern the sarcasm from the truth at times without tone of voice and/or body language. I didn’t feel engaged and share in the jokes (as compared to how I feel reading Anne Lamott or David Sedaris More...

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