Scandalands

by Kyle Sandilands

Kyle Sandilands has been nominated as the most hated man in Australia, yet at the same time he's one of our most successful and highest rating on-air personalities. His career has been riddled with scandal and controversy, yet his breakfast radio show consistently sits at number one. It's fair to say that Kyle polarises people.Now, in Scandalands, we have a chance to get to know the real Kyle, from his difficult childhood in Brisbane, his strange adolescence impersonating police officers, through to his steely determination to make it in radio and the successes and failures he's experienced along the way. Whether it's teenage humiliation, his occasionally rocky personal relationships, or full-blown on-air catastrophes, Kyle tells his life story with disarming honesty.Funny, frank and very revealing, Kyle's memoirs are a page-turning insight into one of Australia's best-known and most controversial media figures.

Genres: Autobiography, Biography, Nonfiction

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Denielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! So many things we don't know about Kyle, he is a softie at heart and has had a rip time growing up.. Basically don't judge a book by its cover!

[Regina Andreassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, how I laughed! This book will challenge many assumptions people have of Kyle Sandilands and will help people connect emotionally with Kyle and understand that his negative experiences, which were out of his control for he was very young when they occurred, such experiences have shaped him as an individual and obviouslyz research established that trauma doesn’t just go away it stays there with the person, forever.

Scandalands is the story of a strong man, Kyle, who could have ended in prison or could have even committed suicide but instead took control of his life, worked hard, and seized almost all the opportunities that were presented to him, even the smallest one of them. He was a creator not a passive recipient. Kyle was resilient. Many people may not like Kyle for they have already judged him mostly based on his public persona. This is understandable for he is indeed an overly-opinionated, vulgar person and many of his comments can be unwise, trashy, filled with sexual innuendos that do not necessarily intend to harm but which can ,thus, be easily misconstrued, but that facet of Kyle the public see is not who Kyle is as a whole person. His public persona sells and he knows not. There are so many things he reveals in his book that I never expected to read. This memoir shows a very tender and even naive side of Kyle. He is a human being with defects and virtues, just like most people, but his outgoing nature and blunt nature as well as his visibility make him stand out, and often negatively.

Something I truly value about Kyle’s memoir is that he is self-aware and makes no apologies for his behaviour; for instance, he readily admits that he could be a very difficult person; he knows that he has done and said truly stupid things and has made many mistakes and he regrets most of them/ not all, for he sees them as parts of his learning curve.

Interestingly, in spite of the fact that Kyle emphasises that he isn’t a good writer, his book shows his ability to describe even the most painful situations with humour and sincerity; ergo, this is a very engaging memoir which has been written from the heart. Admittedly, Scandalands has some obvious flaws. For example, I wish Kyle talked more about his family. I wanted to know how they reconciled. I also feel that in this memoir we weren’t really able to learn more about his relationship with Aunt Jill, who was the most positive influence in Kyle’s life, and that feels unfair to her. She somehow just 'vanished' even though we know she was there, always for him. I also have the impression that Kyle didn’t examine or criticised his parents conspicuous lack of good parental skills as much as he should have done it. In my opinion, Kyle forgave his parents far too easily. Resentment isn’t a good feeling but being taken for a fool is a completely different story, it is failing ourselves. We learn that now Kyle and his parents are in good terms but we don’t know how it happened; it looks like he simply forgot about all the harm they inflicted to him and stayed in touch. He seems to make excuses for his parents’ appalling behaviour towards him, which to me suggests he is a person who doesn’t hold grievances but at the same time this makes me think of how easy is for victims of abuse to see abuse as normal and continue loving those who at certain point abused them, in a way enabling the abusive behaviour. Because of that I would like to tell Kyle this: Your parents certainly deserve harsh criticism for the way they treated you; you were a child and then a teenager who needed to be loved and heard but your parents didn’t care at all; so there is no justification for what they did to you. Without your aunt Jill you may have been lost forever. Think about that Kyle! You were the victim, not your parents.

Anyway, I know that not everything can be said in a memoir but the family area should take precedence when it has been a significant force in o person's life. 2 more chapters focused on family would have made this book a 5 stars for me.

[Emily Rawlings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting perhaps a redeeming story about the little known qualities of the Australian Simon Cowell, where you see a softer side of him that shows he isn’t all what the media cranks him out to be. This memoir does not do that whatsoever, in fact quite the opposite. Sandilands does not hide from the fact that in general, he is not a very nice person, he is rude and he will stop at nothing to ensure his success, regardless of bad publicity. And I respect him for that. It was not some wishy washy bullshit you get from other celebrities who basically publish their books in the hopes to clear their name from a bad lighting, he accepts who he is, he is not afraid to be that person, and he is fully open about the things that he has done, albeit the consequences and how that may portray him as a person. I respect the honesty, and I quite enjoyed seeing his villain arc come full circle. Sandilands is a perfect example that hard work pays off, and although an asshole, you cannot deny that he has put in the hard grind to get himself into the position that he is in now.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book, I have always liked Kyle on tv ie Australian Idol and Australia's got Talent. I thought he was always honest and didn't beat around the bush. I'm not a fan of radio and have no interest in his radio show, like he said if you don't like it don't listen to it so I don't. Didn't really know a lot about Jackie O before I read the book and on the occasion when I have been somewhere that is playing the Kyle and Jackie O show I didn't particularly warm to her and after reading the book I really don't like her at all. I really enjoyed the book, it was open and honest, especially about those "scandals", it was good to read about them from his point of view, I have always been a fan of his and still am however having said that, all the way through the book, he flies off the handle about this that and the other is is genuinely sorry and remorseful afterwards but clearly hasn't learned anything from it as he keeps doing it.

[Janine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can say that this book does seem to be an honest biography of Kyle, in fact you can almost hear him narrating it himself! But, it does show that he has a big mouth and despite his not so good childhood, that's no excuse for the way he treats some people. How he has survived on radio this long I don't know. Interesting insights into the radio world though.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle Sandilands = either love or hate
He can stir the passions in many people, I have always been in two minds about him, I like his blunt honesty, dislike some of his tastes of jokes/comments.
After reading this, I have turned to a lover.

[Joey Koko · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and easy book to read about a bloke who literally took over Australian radio as well as Sydney’s social scene. I’m not a huge fan of Kyle, but I read this book with an open mind to understand the personal account of someone who has continuously been scrutinised by our Australian media. As Kyle mentions in his book, the book is a horrible piece of literature but does wish that readers receive some sort of value from his book. Personally, I was quite surprised on the amount of hard work, Kyle had to put in to reach his success.

[Ally Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst I’m obviously not a fan of Kyle’s consistent misogynistic slurs on radio, I picked up this book a while ago as I wanted to know more about his childhood. I appreciate his childhood trauma from being homeless to rising up the radio ranks.

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fantastic read, I've always loved Kyle and this book is so detailed on his life, past & present. I even had a few cheeky giggles.
I'll definitely read it again!
Worth the read if you like Kyle!

[Susan Nickolaou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly this was a good read . Very interesting and a side to kyle i never expected. I think even if your not a big Kyle fan you might surprise yourself and actually like the book.

[Michelle Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting, and had some surprising information that was not well publicly knowledgeable in the book .

[Farooq Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, really takes you through the ups and downs. Being a big fan of kyle i enjoyed it a lot!

[Alexandra (maddiemoobookreview) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about such a divisive character. I'm always interested in the media, and the way the dice fall in who reaches celebrity and who does not.
This is an interesting look at one man's climb to the top, and also some insights into the other side of big media scandals involving him.

[Sharon Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle Sandilands is not a man who ever really crosses my mind. I have only ever seen him on Australian Idol and read bits and pieces about him in gossipy magazines etc, nor have I ever heard his radio show with Jackie O (where I live only has access to a few stations). I've seen Kyle be funny and I've seen him be obnoxious on Idol - and so I came to this book with an open mind.

Turns out that 'Scandalands' was actually an entertaining read and as I was doing a bit of house/dog sitting when I read this, I pretty much read it in 24 hours.

Kyle is very honest about his temper and his numerous tantrums over the years - probably 50% of the pages has him apologising for his behaviour at some time or other. I admire people who can be honest enough to admit when they were wrong but sometimes there are only so many apologies a person can make before they ring a bit hollow? He's also very honest about pretty much everything he's done, even if it was hugely embarrassing!

Anyway, that aside, I really quite enjoyed his autobiography, and it's obvious that he DID write it himself instead of having a ghostwriter which was refreshing. My general impression going in was that Kyle is something of an obnoxious git with a bit of the teddy bear inside him. My opinion now that I have read this is exactly the same. I think he can be a total pain but also a nice guy - if you're on his right side!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite not being a fan of Kyle's I thought if he actually managed to write a book I wanted to know what made him tick.

Despite a grade 10 education and his high negative public profile, a lot of what he wrote actually surprised me. A man who is very complete, prone to anger issues and who had a rough start (and it shows) has slowly managed to get his life to a point where he is now proud of most of what he has done.

I can't say it made me a fan, or changed that much about how I view certain aspects of his character but I will say it was actually very well written, honest and made me realise he is more than just a big mouth.

The fact he spent time in my home town and hated it didn't exactly endear him to me but I can appreciate his honesty. Writing the book opened my eyes to aspects of him I never knew existed and actually was a good read so I guess job well done Kyle.

PS. if you ever read this can you sign my book for me please? it might be worth more in the future :) good luck

[Aussie Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I have always liked Kyle on radio and Australian Idol. I like that he tells it how it is but is reasonably respectful. I know he has been in the thick of controversy in the past but as I am not a regular to his radio show and don't absorb media on a daily basis I probably did not really know how deep he had been in the sin bin and how often....until I read this.

He is a bit of a sloth and has a mouth on him that gets him into trouble and now after reading the book I think perhaps his life is all a bit sad? Certainly not a life I would like to live.

It was a reasonably interesting book to read but probably falls into the easy reading category. Easy to pick up and read short bits, not totally gripping.
There was light humour throughout but I have to say, halfway through the book there was a page where I was bent in half - laughing so hard! Hilarious!!

I think his radio partner Jackie O is fantastic, perhaps he could convince her to put pen to paper!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I applaud anyone that can write a book about themselves that demonstrates the highs, lows and doesn't necessarily paint a pretty picture. I guess it's no surprise to learn that Kyle Sandilands has no clue what to do with his money, is celebrity obsessed and is big on parties. But at the end of the day, what I took from his book is that he is just your average guy. He has made some bad decisions, both personally and professionally. His redeeming qualities are his honesty, acceptance of the truth, and his ability to move on. If you enjoy reading autobiographies about people you think you know, from media perception, give this book a chance.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and easy book to read about a bloke who literally took over Australian radio as well as Sydney’s social scene. I’m not a huge fan of Kyle, but I did read this book with an open mind to understand the personal account of someone who has been consistently scrutinised by our Australian media. As Kyle mentions in his book, the book is a horrible piece of literature. However, I was quite surprised when I read about the amount of hard work, Kyle had to put in to reach his success. We hear an awful lot about successful entrepreneurs, career men and women, doctors and lawyers etc. Kyle’s success should not be overlooked.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am no fan of this man, and after reading this book, I still am not. That being said, I do give him credit for admitting his faults, and staying he is wrong at times.
It is just a pity, he won't allow himself some form of councilling or help for the faults that he admits to.
I don't like the man, but I will say after reading this book, I understand him better

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear booklovers
When my close friend heard I was reading this book she said some nasty words about the author. For me no matter what anyone says I like this Sydney radio personality and think he is funny and a interesting person. This book is a real page turner and is a very honest autobiography. I loved to learn that since 2005 Kyle's breakfast radio show has had number one rating.

[Lelian Zora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked Kyle before reading his book but that all changed when I picked it up! Uncannily truthful and a tad bit abrasive, interesting life story although he kinda stuffed up in the last few chapters as I personally found he got too repetitive

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! Always been a fan of Kyle's on the radio and reading this book made me like him even more! Well written and entertaining

[Niki Disalvatore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book didnt make me like or dislike Kyle any more or less. It was a honest story and I think Kyle was very brave writing it.

[Nicole Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Had a few laughs and sad parts. It's always good to remember that there is always two sides to every story.

[Calli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read - I loved having insight into the life and mind of Kyle. The writing quality wasn't the best but would recommend for anyone who is interested in his life or is a fan of the radio show.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. I think he says a lot of problematic things on the radio and I wouldn't say I am a fan but it was interesting to read about his life and career.

[Mark Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, interesting to hear about his earlier life which provides an insight into why he is like he is today.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle has certainly led an interesting life.

[Brad Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it , easy read, humorous , good insite into his life and the media

[Janine Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Kyle!