Customer Reviews

The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I absolutely LOVE this book -- as anyone should who has ever had a negative thought about themselves. What you haven't? OK, hate you but moving on. For those of you who are human, sitting down (or stand up if you want) to read this book is like hanging out with your best friend as you dish about stories over coffee. Only your best friend is freaking hilarious, has been there done that and now shares her wisdom with you calorie free. It's a fun, quick read that will make you feel better about yourself, nod your head in agreement and laugh out loud until your sides hurt. Run, don't walk, to get yourself your own copy because I'm not loaning you mine.

If you are a woman you will LOVE this book and I dare you not to call 10 friends and quote it. Its that kind of book. Its the book I will gift to my closest friends and make my daughter read (as soon as she learns how) I felt like I was sitting in a room with my best friend and she was just talking. That, and you can't put it down.

I saw Lisa Ann's show at CityWalk a month or so back and thought she was hysterical. A friend of mine even went up on stage where she told a story about her (ex) husband trying to pimp her out on some dating website.

Buy this book. And go see Lisa Ann's show if you can. Both are laugh out loud, in your face funny. You won't regret it.

She's "celebrity adjacent"--not prime paparazzi meat, but more along the lines of "How do I know you?" Lisa Ann Walter is a veteran of show business, having managed within it to carve out a career and a life despite being (by Hollywood standards) somewhere around an 8 among 10s, looks-wise. She took on the huge challenge of making a living in standup comedy, not hospitable territory for women then or now. Challenging Hollywood, she found her way into a succession of TV and film acting and production roles. She has succeeded because she is a 20 in terms of salty wit, humor, brains, and determination.

While struggling, and having her share of satisfaction and fun along with the pain and depression, Lisa has also been watching what is going on and thinking about it. She has drawn some conclusions, or at least formulated some questions, and is sharing them with us. For example, why do women, and not just in Hollywood, let themselves be drawn into the killing, and ultimately unwinnable, competition to be supremely young and beautiful, and size 2 (max)? Can one overcome body-self-hatred and exult in becoming the very best version of oneself? How much artifice (e.g., surgery) is self-defeating? How can one wear hair extensions without slowly going bald? Must I wear acrylic nails? Is a voluptuous ass a good or bad thing?

This sassy, sometimes outrageous, sometimes sad, but mostly funny book will tell you a lot about Hollywood and the entertainment biz that you had no idea of, give you close-up views of some big and small figures in that world, and discuss some beauty interventions that you have never even known were available. Along the way, she drops observations on growing up as a half-Sicilian, East Coast suburbanite and even provides some tangy household hints drawn from her heritage and experience, including what is, more than a recipe, a disquisition (to be read in a Brooklyn accent) on making Southern Italian tomato gravy and incorporated meats. She leaves braciola for a more advanced course in the future. May it come soon!

I got this based on the reviews and I was really in the mood to have something that I didn't have to concentrate too hard on. Something light and breezy. In the first quarter of the book, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to recommend this book to...by about halfway through I was bored with it. There were parts that still made me smirk but it became repetitive on her self improvement, her boasting on how many people came on to her, and how she had the ability to cut down a male in the matter of seconds. In the beginning, all of this was amusing but for me, it became redundant. I actually just barely skimmed the last 3 chapters so I could get done and move on to my next book. I wouldn't discourage this read, but It's very low on my lists of recommendations.

It's funny because it's all true. Was laughing outloud at the nail salon today. Buy it for yourself, your sister, your mom, your friends, your daughters. They'll thank you.

"My very best advice to fellas: work from the outside in." - Lisa Ann Walter

"You never have to buy an issue of Cosmo again to be the 'Best Lover He's Ever Had.' Just remember this phrase: 'Oh my goodness, I don't know if that will fit.' Then start mentally picking out jewelry." - Lisa Ann Walter

Lisa Ann Walter hosts a Saturday and Sunday late afternoon talk show on a local radio station, and I tune in any chance I get. She's irreverent, funny, and entertaining. And it was with that which compelled me to read THE BEST THING ABOUT MY ASS IS THAT IT'S BEHIND ME.

BEST THING is Lisa Ann's one-woman rant on the unfair expectations Western society has of women, especially when it comes to their physical appearance when compared to the cultural ideal of beauty. According to Walters, this leads to self-loathing, which in her case she's focused on her, um, ass.

"... I just saw ass pads advertised on TV. I almost started crying ... Asses are in ... And mine is still high and firm ... I could probably bounce a quarter off of it with a few thousands squats. I'm totally thrilled. But it came at the expense of my self-esteem because up 'til now whoever decides those things decided that big asses were definitely not hot."

Though I've never seen Lisa Ann's live, on-stage, stand-up comedy routine, I have to believe that the book's humor is probably at its best presented in that milieu. In written format, not so much, though there were moments, especially when skewering crazy diets, cosmetic surgery, exercise trends, and men's sexual expectations, that her monologue elicited chuckles. Indeed, I'm giving a generous four stars just for her smart-ass attitude. When she can finally report about her reflection in a storefront window...

"Yup. That's my snacky ass. It's right there, bouncing behind me. Whoever's following me sure is lucky."

... the reader may very well be moved to yell, "You go, girl!"

And finally, in the light of Lisa Ann's advice to other women - "Always be seen with decrepit old men - you'll look young and beautiful in comparison" - let me just say as an aging man advancing inexorably into decrepitude...

Lisa, I think you're HOT!

And, hey, you can cook, too!

I thought this would be a lighthearted book. It is almost an autobiography, and a terrible one at that! The author writes about all these celebrities and then slams them , she is rude, lewd, and disgusting! I didn't laugh once. Actually I never ended up finishing it because it was that bad.

I haven't finished reading this book yet but I keep reading snippets of it out loud to my husband. Finally, I told him that I'll just have to read him the whole thing later on. Right now I'm reading another favorite book to him but after we're done with that one I plan on rereading this one again with him.

Be warned this book will have you laughing out loud. The other day I embarrassed myself, in a doctor's waiting room, by unsuccessfully trying to suppress a laugh while reading this book (it came out as a very unladylike snort).

I'm loving this book. Lisa Ann Walter is one funny lady!

So I ordered 10 of these books, because I had the feeling my friends would love this book. They arrived last night, but not knowing what was in the Amazon box, I did not open it until this morning. The cover is so enticing, I decided to thumb thru it for a second. Next thing I knew, I was sitting out on my outside veranda, looking out on the ocean, on the calmest day ever, and I could not put the book down! Thanks so much Lisa Ann, I just missed my Pilates class, which according to you doesn't make a difference to our bodies, anyway! It is a book that from the beginning where she thanks her children, which made me cry, that throughout makes you smile and laugh. It is poignant, funny, but oh so real! It makes you think, of all the dumb things we do to ourselves to improve ourselves. After reading this book, I am going to remind myself everyday of her advice, "Just being the Best Version of Me"! The book was like sitting down with a good friend! Highly recommend it! And the extra bonus is getting the Sicilia Sausce Recipe! Oh and by the way, I thought of more people that need to read this, so I just ordered 10 more! So think of that when ordering, that you may want to order more than one, and share it with all your friends.