How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale

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How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale

by Jenna Jameson, Neil Strauss (Goodreads Author)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 5,700 ratings · 624 reviews

When the stewardess brought me off the plane in a wheelchair, I lowered my head. I was too scared to even look at my father. I didn't want to see the disappointment and horror on his face. All that hate I had accumulated for him over the years, all the resentment against him for not understanding what I was going through, just released with the tears.
"So, where are your pa...more When the stewardess brought me off the plane in a wheelchair, I lowered my head. I was too scared to even look at my father. I didn't want to see the disappointment and horror on his face. All that hate I had accumulated for him over the years, all the resentment against him for not understanding what I was going through, just released with the tears.
"So, where are your parents?" the stewardess asked me after a few minutes. "I can't wait here with you much longer."
I looked up and wiped my eyes. My father was standing ten feet away. He didn't even recognize me."

In the underbelly of Las Vegas, a cesspool of warring biker gangs and seedy strip clubs transformed the gawky, brace-faced Jenna Massoli into the bombshell Jenna Jameson. Today, Jenna Jameson is the biggest star in the history of adult movies, consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful women alive. But behind the glamour and the meteoric rise to fame was a path paved with tragedy and heartbreak.

As a teenager drawn into a chaotic world ruled by rape, abuse, and murder, Jenna plunged into a downward spiral of addiction, even as she became one of the most photographed women in adult magazines. Determined to overcome this past, Jenna rebounded in the adult-film business, where she encountered sadistic directors, experienced lovers of both sexes, amorous celebrities (from Howard Stern to Marilyn Manson to Tommy Lee), bitter rival starlets, and finally, glory, as she went on to become the biggest porn star the world has ever seen. But her struggle for happiness did not end when the accolades began. For years she wrestled with her resentment at her estranged father, the loneliness of growing up from the age of two without a mother, and her enduring childhood desire to find a man who could give her the security and love she never had.

Her unforgettable memoir is many things at once: a shocking sexual history, an insider's guide to the secret workings of the billion-dollar adult-film industry, and a gripping thriller that probes deep into Jenna's dark past. An unparalleled exploration of sexual freedom, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star ventures far beyond the flesh, into the heart-shredding tragedies and adrenaline-pumping triumphs of a woman who has already lived a hundred lifetimes. Always witty and humorous even as she faces the demons of her past, Jenna offers hilarious anecdotes about one of the most controversial businesses in history, and shares outrageous advice, including her ten commandments of dating and sex, how to become a "suitcase pimp," and how to make it in the business as a female (or a male).

Add to this never-before-seen photographs from Jenna's private collection and others taken exclusively for this book, and the result is certain to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.(less)

Hardcover, 592 pages

Published August 17th 2004 by It Books (first published 2004)

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Jul 30, 2007 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

I think this is a story of survival. (Why do people always look at me funny when I admit to having read this?) Being the queen of her business that she is, I read it wanting to know what made her tick. "Sex" is the popular answer to that. But that's really not the truth. She admits to loving sex, but she dispels the myth that porn stars are sex addicts who want to get paid for their source of pleasure. She's very honest about admitting how bad the sex industry can be. The fact that she survived...more

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Jun 12, 2009 Imogen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Here is one weird thing about this book: It's about six hundred pages long, but about a third of that is pictures.

Here's another thing about this book: during intense passages about things like rape, there will be pictures of porny-ass ol' Jenna with a gallon of lipstick on showing up her butt, or something. Which could totally work in two ways: either as total, 'you are reading this for the porniness' exploitive cash-in, or in a meta, 'here is the reality, looks how different it is from the wa...more Here is one weird thing about this book: It's about six hundred pages long, but about a third of that is pictures.

Here's another thing about this book: during intense passages about things like rape, there will be pictures of porny-ass ol' Jenna with a gallon of lipstick on showing up her butt, or something. Which could totally work in two ways: either as total, 'you are reading this for the porniness' exploitive cash-in, or in a meta, 'here is the reality, looks how different it is from the way it's portrayed' kind of commentary way. But instead I honestly couldn't figure out which it was supposed to be, and ultimately, I kinda feel like it was just to make Jenna's autobiography an Event Tome instead of, y'know, a porn star memoir. Which works- it is huge and cinderblocky.

Another weird thing is how ghost-written it feels. Alex said that Jenna Jameson is hella smart and articulate and all the things we say when we mean 'the assumption that comes with her background is that she's stupid, but the reality is that she's not,' and I totally believe her. But that doesn't always translate to writing, right? I know absolute conversational intelligent geniuses whose e-mails and letters are strings of cliches and stiff phrases. So I've got nothing against Neil Strauss as her, uh, co-author. It's just weird how, like, the prose slightly has character and slightly doesn't. Not to resort to one of the hackneyedest metaphors about writing in the world, but it's like potato soup where the only spice is a little bit of salt. I wish that her voice had come through more, because the sentences themselves read like they could have been written by literally anybody in the world, if they were co-writing a book with a professional paragraph-churner.

Pretentious.

I guess the only other weird thing I want to mention is how, like, if you take out the specifics- the fame, the porn, that kinda stuff- her life is just pretty much everybody else's life. Like, a few fucked up relationships, a little overboard on the substances, the amount of money she has is none and then a lot and then not much and then ultimately enough. Which I'm sure, also, is the point- it's just weird to get to the end of six hundred pages and read that somebody in their, what, late twenties? Is at the same point emotionally that I am in my late twenties. What am I supposed to do with that, if I already knew that sex workers were real people with real lives? I just felt like I didn't take much away from it.

Um, so whatever. It was fine. It's probably not worth thirty bucks though. Is it in paperback? I'd wait for the paperback, if it's not. (less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Nags rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

The book had some predictable content but far less than you would imagine. The narrative is candid (sometimes too much so) and a light, quick read. There are some excerpts from Jenna's diary which looked so genuine that I would be very surprised if they forged it. It's also amazing to see how her dad took to the news of her becoming a porn star - very well in fact, although she came from a reasonably "normal" family. Her relationship with her brother is also pretty special.

Some parts of it real...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is nearly 600 pages, and yet I read it in only a couple of days. Clearly I enjoyed it if I read it so quickly while having as busy of a life as I do. And yet at the same time, I would also offer up a few rather critical comments. The first is that it's the most self-indulgent autobiography I've ever read. If Benjamin Franklin's autobiography can clock in at under 150 pages, anyone's can. The author(s) leave no stone unturned. EVERYTHING is crammed in this book. Diary entries, pictures...more

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Jul 24, 2008 Courtney rated it 2 of 5 stars

Okay. Well. It was interesting. What else can I say about this book? I found myself frustrated because it felt like it was written by, well, someone who never quite took school as a priority and started stripping and having sex on film for money. Which makes Jenna Jameson sound worse than I think she actually is, but... that's how the book reads.

The story of her life is a bit predictable with the standard troubled childhood and life of trials and hardships, but to Jenna's credit, she does admit...more

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Mar 19, 2008 Erin440 rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am actually not a huge fan of biographies, yet here I am reviewing my second biography. Granted, I read this a couple years ago, but still. So, I've always been kind of fascinated with Jenna Jameson. She's pretty notorious in the porn industry and has made a huge name for herself through heavy marketing.

The book basically takes you through her life thus far. She talks about how her upbringing led her to be a wild teenager and how that ultimately led to her porn career. She writes about her fir...more

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Mar 28, 2009 Jessie Pearl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dont let the 600 page length of this book fool you, a lot of it is pictures, photocopy journal entries, and fluent but childish writing style. Still, story wise this is indeed interesting as hell in my opinion, but I'm in to this kind of thing. If you care not for stripper/porn star stories you should obviously not read this, but that's what's right up my alley so I take it for what it is. It was suggested to me that everything she says in this book is a lie but I have no idea, I take it at face...more

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Jan 19, 2008 Martina rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people going on beach vacations

Shelves: beach-reads

Before you judge me, let me just say that I chose this book as a beach read prior to my two week vacation in Mexico. That being said, it was pretty much a disappointment. It passed the time and required very little of my vacation brain (which was my goal) but it still seemed flat. I expected it to be super juicy and scanalous but it was pretty boring. I give it three stars just for the fact that it served its purpose and the chapters about the inner workings of the industry itself were entertain...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Figgy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

I'd been curious to read this for a while. I have a thing for biographies of people who work in businesses that are so completely outside my own world, and I'd heard that this one was a doozy.

It was. Jenna Jameson's had an incredibly messed up, insane life, and frankly it's kind of amazing that she's made it through alive. Abuse, drugs, alcohol, violence...she's seen it all, and done it all, but somehow she's remained very positive about herself and just kept on working. It's admirable, really,...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Kevin Mellor rated it 1 of 5 stars

Eh... so there's probably a lot that could be said for somebody writing a novel-length, in-depth description of a really easy stereotype. But why would anybody want to read a critique of a cliche? That's just time wasted in its purest form.

In my opinion, this book is not good. It's not interesting. It's not a page-turner. And since it's all about drugs and sex-- two topics that are ALWAYS interesting-- it's not really saying a lot for the author or her "helper." Check out the breakdown:

30%: Wist...more Eh... so there's probably a lot that could be said for somebody writing a novel-length, in-depth description of a really easy stereotype. But why would anybody want to read a critique of a cliche? That's just time wasted in its purest form.

In my opinion, this book is not good. It's not interesting. It's not a page-turner. And since it's all about drugs and sex-- two topics that are ALWAYS interesting-- it's not really saying a lot for the author or her "helper." Check out the breakdown:

30%: Wistful contemplation on how unfair it is that being a skagged-out person who has sex with others for money and makes permanent evidence of that for anybody to witness doesn't lead to healthy, loving relationships. (Not that I have some moral axe to grind with porn stars. Everybody's got to do something. I respect anybody who works.)

30%: Fake-ass diary entries, going back to childhood, where little Jenna is obsessed with her own measurements, boys, and Cabbage Patch Kids. These are right next to black-and-white nude photos of her made up to look like a schoolgirl, which probably means that this book is required reading for the Pedophile Book of the Month Club.

20%: Lame, lame, lame transcriptions of conversations between Jenna, her brother, and her dad about the craaaaaaazy times they had when she was growing up. It was like being trapped in a car on the way to fucking Nebraska with one of those families that think they're really special and different, but they're actually just self-absorbed and pretentious for no apparent reason.

20%: Photos of Jenna Jameson. Mostly black-and-white. Some color. "Artistic." Lots of time spent on eye make-up and hair, because really-- the girl doesn't have distinct features. I'm not knocking her. Better than having a tumor on the side of her nose, or buck teeth, or cauliflower ear or something. And she's made more money off her looks than I'll ever make off mine, so she must be doing something right.

This was a best-seller. If ever there was a case where people were so ashamed to have read a book that they didn't warn their friends away from it because they didn't want anybody to know they knew anything about it, this was probably it.

(less)

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Mar 09, 2012 Barbara Skuplik rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: about-life, culture, memoir, life, non-fiction, psychology, biography, business

I think that like most other readers of this book, I was looking for and expecting a fun, light read,and a personal take on the porn industry from the inside--some juicy details and "secret behind the scene" recollections. There seems to be such a fascination with this industry, with many people wondering "how could they do that", while curiosity gets the best of us. What I got was a much more raw, honest, and personal story of what many consider to be the "Queen of Mainstream Pornography". This...more I think that like most other readers of this book, I was looking for and expecting a fun, light read,and a personal take on the porn industry from the inside--some juicy details and "secret behind the scene" recollections. There seems to be such a fascination with this industry, with many people wondering "how could they do that", while curiosity gets the best of us. What I got was a much more raw, honest, and personal story of what many consider to be the "Queen of Mainstream Pornography". This book is much more about Jenna Jameson, her life growing up, and the effects it had on her, than the "behind the scenes" commentary I was expecting. It seemed to be an attempt to figure out who she is and make sense of her past and current life. Of course, she is no longer married to Jay (as the book ends off), and depending on which sources you believe, she is either separated from Tito Ortiz, or happily in bliss. Her craving for motherhood is made clear throughout the book with her early first sexual experiences and yearning to have a true "parent" figure in her life. She takes you through her drug addictions, some photo shoots, the making of her movies, many of her sexual trysts--straight or otherwise, her career, her family drama, and her past. The book is rather long; filled with glossy photos and many black and white pictures from her childhood to present day. I would like to see her write a followup to she where she is in her 'head space' now. Her constant searching for approval, belonging, acceptance, and love is clear throughout, and manifests itself in many different ways (sex, drugs, attention seeking behavior, codependent relationships). I hope she has been able to find a bit of closure now that she has a family and has settled down and found some peace. This was definitely a fun book to read--very easy to read and surprisingly a fast read as well. The pictures are explicit (as a warning to those who are not comfortable with overt nudity but definitely add to the book. The book is punctuated by several diary entrees throughout her life, which if real, is a neat way to see the chronic issues and insecurities that have plagued her from childhood and sadly followed her to adulthood. This book is not for everyone, but it is definitely interesting!(less)

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Aug 21, 2011 Laura Brouwer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, time-waster, why-cloth-book-jackets-were-created

This was an easy-to-read captivating tell-all. Not sure if it's 100% accurate or if it's a memoir written in the James Frey style as there are a few instances of fact conflicts and contradictions within its pages (which also happens frequently in The Bible and many people still believe it's literal, so who am I to decide?). I suggested to Oprah on Twitter that this may be a great book club read as it is the classic Cinderella story that ends with the happy ending and an empowered woman on top (p...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Catty rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the first things my friend did when i reached LA for a holiday was shove a gigantic book into my hands and tell me to read it. It turned out to be the autobiography of porn star Jenna Jameson, and i was instantly hooked - i finished the 592 pages in four days while on holiday and doing a bunch of other things! Obviously if you’re a bit of a prude, you’re not gonna enjoy this book, but i’m not exactly a fiend for porn and i couldn’t get enough! It takes you through the hard times in Jenna’...more

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Jul 20, 2007 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, sexuality

It was cleverly written, but I don't think it was written by her exactly. I feel bad making the assumption that a once drugged up stripper turned porn star/diva couldn't write that well, but it is written in the first person and it's not referred to as an autobiography, either. Plus it says Jenna Jameson with some guy who wrote for the New Yorker.

It was hot though. Cause there was sex in it, that's cool. In a real way and not to knock romance novels, but in a non-romance novel way.

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Apr 29, 2013 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, top-of-2013

Jenna Jameson is a world-wide star of the pornography industry, and this book is the story of how she got there. From the early loss of her mother, her emotionally-distant father, the steady stream of new and abusive step-mothers he invited into her life, the gangsters that threatened her and her brother, and her family’s frequent moves across the country, Jenna’s childhood was anything but easy. Still underage, she left her turbulent family life to move in with her tattoo artist boyfriend and b...more Jenna Jameson is a world-wide star of the pornography industry, and this book is the story of how she got there. From the early loss of her mother, her emotionally-distant father, the steady stream of new and abusive step-mothers he invited into her life, the gangsters that threatened her and her brother, and her family’s frequent moves across the country, Jenna’s childhood was anything but easy. Still underage, she left her turbulent family life to move in with her tattoo artist boyfriend and become a stripper. From her short-lived career as a Vegas showgirl to stripping to porn magazines and finally to moves, Jenna Jameson has created her brand and rose up from pretty much nothing to become a millionaire and starlet.

I was expecting a light-hearted story about the sex industry, but even though How to Make Love Like a Porn Star ended up being an in-depth autobiography about a woman I hadn’t even thought of before, I was pretty much absorbed in the story from the moment I picked it up. Jenna overcame drug addictions, rape, kidnapping, and anorexia, and she holds nothing back from her biography. Some things were hard to read, such as when she’s passed out and raped by a classmate, stealing her virginity, and she appreciates it and decides to date the boy afterwards. Another tough read was the amount of time, money, and love she invested in relationships with men that so clearly wanted to use her and then dump her. Despite these turbulent periods, Jenna was able to prove herself as a star. This is the story of a woman who worked with the hand life dealt her, and while most people looked down on her life choices, she was able to make that hand work for her all the way to the bank.

The sex industry here in America is beyond intriguing, and this book offered a few behind-the-scenes stories about how it works. From the injuries strippers sustain during their performances to the “suitcase pimps” who feed off the insecurities of young women in the sex tape business, Jenna’s book was pretty thorough. For all the men and women looking to get into the industry, as well, Jenna included some helpful tips about how to make it.

Along with some pretty detailed celebrity gossip, tips about how to give the best blow job of your life, and diary excerpts from Jenna’s insecure childhood, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star was an immensely interesting, fast-paced read that offered a bit of everything. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was a lot more interesting.

However, this is not a book for the faint of heart. There are a lot of graphic sex scenes that Jenna describes and tons of topless photos of her scattered amongst the pages. I would recommend the book for the risqué reader looking for a new addiction. (less)

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Nov 10, 2012 Mike rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was hoping this book would take me into a foreign world and reveal a fascinating sub-culture. I mean, who ARE these people who make pornography? But the big surprise of this book is that there are really no surprises. Her story is exactly what you would expect. No mother, absent father, no friends, moved a lot, grew up in Las Vegas with few assets, basically her body and her love for the way men looked at her. She fell for a worthless and much older tattoo artist, and into a career path that w...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Daniela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Let me first say that the very first sentence had me engulfed. It's story of a never ending cycle of hard fast infatuation turned into hard long battles of getting away. Jenna is one hell of a business woman/hustler. From childhood to adulthood, her diary entries only change in 3 ways: spelling, names of men n women she has loved, and the place she lives. Other than that, the topics are all the same. Love, loss, and compulsive body image issues. In entries she includes her measurements from I be...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Murtaza rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book is full of non-sense, and is sheer waste of time. The protagonist is trying to prove that she is a great person and she is kind of obsessed with her ownself. A good narrative would have followed her motivations for taking the choices that she took, and that was the prime reason that I wanted to read this book. But at crucial moments during her journey of life she just tells you that she did X and Y without indulging you into her inner thought mechanims why she did want it at the first...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Wendy Price rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm not even really sure why I started to read this book. I love biographies about strong women who come out as winners in their life...but I wasn't sure that being a #1 porn star was what I considered being a winner. I see now, that I was wrong.

A profession, is just that. It's what you do to pay the bills and hopefully find some enjoyment as you do it. Could I do what Jenna did? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!! Am I envious of her seriously flat stomach and trim waist? You bet, but I'm not willing to get add...more

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Apr 14, 2010 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think if you're going to invest the money and time into reading this book, you shouldn't be ashamed of reading it in public! The most embarrassing part of reading this book for me was that I got it as a birthday present from my fiance's parents after he told them I wanted it -- and they had no idea that it was a biography when they bought it!

I read a lot of other reviews that critique Jenna's writing in this book, but seriously? She's a porn star! Of course she didn't graduate high school or l...more

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Aug 16, 2007 Vanessa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those as fascinated with the porn industry as I

Maybe it's all Howard Stern's fault - but ANYTHING Porn, that's not really porn, I just gotta read. Jenna really truly is a good person and her memoir is both funny, sad, touching, and totally interesting from start to finish. She's a straight shooter and tells her story, just the way it happened. There's a bit too much packaging: goofy comics, lots and lots of photos - but hey, she'll do anything for her fans. Would love to have a meal with her one day.

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Oct 05, 2012 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read about one train-wreck book a year. This year, I decided to seek non-fiction dysfunction away from the wrestling ring by reading Jenna Jameson's book. Although the pattern of constantly making the same poor choices remains a fascination for me, I'm not sure I'll ever get it or fully understand. In this case, Jenna's ambition brings her success in between bouts of horrible drug abuse. The ambition seems to clean her up long enough to succeed so she can... resume horrible decisionmaking. The...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Shanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

So first thing, this is not a how-to manual on how to do it like Jenna. Next, WOW what a horrible life. I know she is loaded beyond reason and beautiful, but her history makes me want to hug her and tell her I'm proud of her, it's seriously pitiful. It has a lot of pictures that make it distracting to others and maybe around 5 filthy stories that would make some people blush. I would not call this a porn book, there are some vampire fic books that have more actual sex, Jenna is just totally blun...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Mindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got some sideways looks reading it in waiting rooms and my mom wanted to know why I wasn't reading "something else", and I'm sure there's a large segment of the world that would not enjoy reading this and would find it vulgar and think it shows what society is coming to... and I'm not even saying they're wrong. I don't feel like it was a waste of my time to read it though. It's more interesting and serious than you would think judging by the cover. I'm surprised at some of the serious issues...more I got some sideways looks reading it in waiting rooms and my mom wanted to know why I wasn't reading "something else", and I'm sure there's a large segment of the world that would not enjoy reading this and would find it vulgar and think it shows what society is coming to... and I'm not even saying they're wrong. I don't feel like it was a waste of my time to read it though. It's more interesting and serious than you would think judging by the cover. I'm surprised at some of the serious issues she survived (rape, drug addiction, her friend's murder, unhealthy relationships) and even though the book is really long and I got bored in the middle, I wanted to keep reading to finally get to read that her life got better (which it did).
I ultimately liked the styling of the book the most- which you can get a feel of with the cover. I liked that there were pictures throughout the book from all different stages and events in her life and (presumably) photocopies of her journal from middle and high school. It had nice chapter dividers and everything was visually appealing. The writing was good too. It was an easy read, but not because it was lower-level reading. I don't know how much were her words or Neil Strauss', but the stories were interestingly told and no matter who worded it, you can tell Jenna has put serious thought into her life and reflecting and making wise comments about what she's learned. Her journal entries as a young adult confirmed her intelligence and introspective qualities too. And even if you don't want to have things in common with a porn star, she has gone through many of the same basic relationship issues anyone else has on some level.
I did get bored in the middle where there is a section that alternates between play-styled dialogue on the page and some of her journal entries from when she was younger. The stories weren't bad, I just preferred the typical narration to the way she had it on the page when her and her brother Tony and her dad were talking about memories.
Oh, and she does get RATHER graphic describing some of her real-life sexcapades...(less)

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Jun 24, 2010 Mr. Charley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: get-out-of-my-memoirity, 2010

Came away wanting to read more about her dad's life. He seemed much more interesting from a memoir or novel perspective. She obviously should be congratulated for not so much of her accomplishments but for her survival. She is probably 1 in a million especially these days with more porn, more internet porn, more wanna-be's, and more predators and traffickers lurking everywhere. Seemed honest but the contribution by co-author Strauss likely made this compelling, well-paced and readable. I wonder...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Shayne Banks rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings regarding "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star". I read the book rather quickly and definitely found her story entertaining and enjoyable to read which is why I will rate it three stars. The narrative of the conversations Jenna had with her father and brother were rather dull and hard to read. I didn't find them interesting and felt the book would be better off without them as well as the clearly forged diary entry, countless photos, and porn transcripts. I felt at times the...more I have mixed feelings regarding "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star". I read the book rather quickly and definitely found her story entertaining and enjoyable to read which is why I will rate it three stars. The narrative of the conversations Jenna had with her father and brother were rather dull and hard to read. I didn't find them interesting and felt the book would be better off without them as well as the clearly forged diary entry, countless photos, and porn transcripts. I felt at times the book could drag on, giving unnecessary details that didn't contribute to the book in any way. It seemed as though Jenna left nothing out of this book and at times I wanted to just stop reading the book altogether. Another problem for me was that the book didn't flow. In fact it often jumped back and forth from different periods of her life in a very choppy manner. Jameson would touch on one subject briefly and then bring up another point.

I was also very surprised at how disconnected I felt from Jameson. Although I feel awful that some of the things that happened to her did, it was hard for me to emphasize with her and I felt as though she never seemed to learn from her mistakes and grow. At times she came across as so naive, vain, and contradicting that she as a person frustrated me.

I did, however, enjoy learning how she got into the industry, this was the primary reason I bought the book. Unfortunately she seemed to embody society's "stereotypical stripper". No mother growing up, dysfunctional and disconnected relationship with her father, low self-esteem and sense of worth, self-destructive behavior including meth addiction, had been raped on more than one occasion, and numerous unhealthy relationships with men. While reading the book I became frustrated with her lack of growth. It seemed even at the very end when she was getting married to Jay that she was still very much a little girl seeing love as a cure for all of her problems. Despite her claims of independence and autonomy, Jenna to the very end seemed to come across as very insecure, clueless, destructive, and dependent on males. The whole book, which I had hoped would be surprising and eye-opening, was very predictable.

I do believe that Jameson deserves credit for how hard she has worked, and would never take that away from her. She was very business-savvy and took the porn industry by storm. I enjoyed reading about her work the most and her thought-processes when dealing with business. Despite my less than rave review I still would recommend the book to anyone who is at all interested in the porn industry and wants a quick, easy read. I would not read this book if you are looking for an enlightening, well-written, story that will shock you, which I'm sure many readers expect from this novel. (less)

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Feb 01, 2009 Lilah rated it 3 of 5 stars

First, a tangent:
Believe it or not, it was for Neil Strauss and not Jenna Jameson that I picked up this book. He's great trashy reading, a real talent for Lifestyles Of The Odious Yet Compelling. The Game was one of the funniest books I read last year – hell, ever - it was a totally bizarre story to live through, and Strauss was the right guy to tell that story. Sure, the veracity is suspect since everybody wants to make themselves look good – and Strauss, being a master pickup artist himself, k...more First, a tangent:
Believe it or not, it was for Neil Strauss and not Jenna Jameson that I picked up this book. He's great trashy reading, a real talent for Lifestyles Of The Odious Yet Compelling. The Game was one of the funniest books I read last year – hell, ever - it was a totally bizarre story to live through, and Strauss was the right guy to tell that story. Sure, the veracity is suspect since everybody wants to make themselves look good – and Strauss, being a master pickup artist himself, knows all those tricks - but the anecdotes, the characterizations, the eye for human nature, there were so many details that a lesser voice would have missed. It made me go look up everything else he'd done – and it turned out I'd already read Motley's book, Manson's book, hey, there's Jenna's book – handling the life of a porn star, that should be interesting.

The structure features all of the typical Neil Strauss built-in features: top lists, comic panels, diary entries, loads of pictures, the usual fun and games with the narrative structure. We learn about stripper injuries, suitcase pimps, why guys who think porn is a great way to get laid are deeply deluded, and other facets of the business. The beginning jumped right in with Jenna's biker boyfriend-tattoo parlor-Las Vegas strip club lifestyle, and read fast through her first steps through the sex industry, laced through with the behind-the-scenes drug addiction and relationship misery. But things slowed down towards the middle, where her dad and brother were brought in to recount their family history - amusing at first, but then dragged on and on until it felt like one overlong round of Remember When and I just skipped it. Another problem was that Strauss's style would creep in and obscure Jenna's voice with discordant philosophizing and epiphanies that sounded odd – I've seen too many of the same little metaphors/images/time-outs for reflection in Strauss's other books, as if he thought up some encapsulating lines and had the celebrity look at them and the celebrity said “yeah, exactly!”

Not bad, but not scintillating. This one didn't have as much flavor as Strauss's other books.

BTW, the night that Jenna and Marilyn Manson met each other appears in both their books – and they both have very different memories of that evening.
Marilyn Manson: “She had a whole catalog of different 'I'm a whore, I'm a virgin, I'm your mom, I'm your daughter' lines; she had all kinds of fuck-me-doll looks; she pulled out the entire contents of her seduction bag of tricks.”
Jenna: “Every time we were naked, he'd be going for my butt like a rat to cheese.”(less)

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Dec 23, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended, so-bad-its-good

This was a strange book.

I had sat down to read a few pages of this book, and before I knew it I was 300 pages deep. This book was undeniably addicting at first, and was certainly a page-turner, but it soon took a turn for the worse.

To begin with, Jenna is clearly lacking in her writing skills, which wasn't surprising. On top of that, this book is filled with unnecessary things. A good chunk of this book is made-up of dialogue between her, her father, and her brother. It was enjoyable at first, b...more

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May 16, 2013 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

A ‘cautionary tale’ of the adult entertainment industry, as told by Jenna Jameson, one of its biggest stars (certainly at the time of publication in 2004 and probably still the same today). A sturdy book, at almost 600 pages, it’s lavishly illustrated (which made for some interesting moments as I read it during my lunch break at work) and follows her life from birth to being on top of the world using prose, Q&A transcripts and the occasional comic panel. She is very candid and open, highligh...more A ‘cautionary tale’ of the adult entertainment industry, as told by Jenna Jameson, one of its biggest stars (certainly at the time of publication in 2004 and probably still the same today). A sturdy book, at almost 600 pages, it’s lavishly illustrated (which made for some interesting moments as I read it during my lunch break at work) and follows her life from birth to being on top of the world using prose, Q&A transcripts and the occasional comic panel. She is very candid and open, highlighting her bad childhood (losing her mother as a toddler, a dad, whose occupations don’t seem to tally, who’s never there but a loving brother who is), the poor choices and accidents of her teens (rape, abuse and addiction feature heavily) and the grit and grind of the porn industry. This is not a happy read, it’s grim and unpleasant for a lot of the time though there are flashes of humour and good times and to her credit Jameson doesn’t sugar-coat her own personality - she was obnoxious, she was a bitch and, quite often, she was the kind of needy, addicted,unconfident, easily swayed girl that she says the industry chews up and spits out. Having said that, it is good to see her keep going against the odds and it’s a timely reminder that if the porn business looks glamorous on film (or the Internet), it is anything but for the performers themselves, who often lose out on normal life, loving relationships and a family life. As I mentioned before, the book is chock full of photographs - mostly black & white, from a variety of sources - childhood and family stuff, modelling, film covers, stripping days - but even though the cover says “Uncut and Uncensored”, there is always a large X covering her bare groin whenever it appears in a picture. Also, oddly, she never refers to her vagina as anything other than her “ding-ding” (whilst dropping the C-word for other things) and is also delicate with the use of words for the male member - one line actually reads “When I felt his pee-pee probing around my backside…” A hard book to recommend - it’s certainly not for everyone - but as the ‘cautionary tale’ it proclaims itself to be, I would say it’s worth a read.(less)

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Jun 11, 2010 Mailis Viiand rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

After reading this book i am exhausted so i cant imagine what Jenna Jameson must have felt living this life...Its beautifully constructed story of someone who is faulted to no ends but at the same time genuine and even at times funny. How she has able to survive i put down to plain luck and same goes for her family. Shes blubbering idiot concerning choosing men for herself and at the same time has iron willpower to get ahead in life and make something of herself. Celebrity gossip is juicy and se...more

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About Jenna Jameson

Jenna Jameson (born Jenna Marie Massoli on April 9, 1974) is an American pornographic actress and entrepreneur who has been called the world's most famous porn star and "The Queen of Porn".
She started acting in erotic films in 1993 after having worked as a stripper and glamour model. By 1996, she had won the three top newcomer awards from pornographic film industry organizations. She has since wo...more

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