But Enough About Me: A Jersey Girl's Unlikely Adventures Among the Absurdly Famous [Hardcover]

Jancee Dunn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Known for her celebrity profiles, journalist Dunn blends interviewing tips, dirt-digging secrets and memoir-type snippets in a mix that's tough to define, but a delight to read. As a frequent writer for Rolling Stone and contributor to Vanity Fair, GQ and Vogue, Dunn can reach an array of stars and has the anecdotes to prove it. She details ducking the paparazzi with Mel Gibson, eating in Dolly Parton's kitchen and posing for three minutes as Ben Affleck's girlfriend to prove a point about how quickly gossip spreads. Refreshingly, she maintains an "Aw, shucks" quality that has become her work's hallmark. By providing a zesty glimpse at her New Jersey childhood and young adulthood, Dunn offers a grounded counterpoint to the breezy tales of pop idol handling. Even after rising in the ranks at Rolling Stone, Dunn is mildly astounded that a Jersey girl who still slips phrases like "Yeah, right!" into her conversation should be shaking in her ritzy hotel room after being berated by Flashdance icon Jennifer Beals for asking about her personal life. Amusing, clever and affable, Dunn shares a satisfying memoir-turned-celebrity dish. (June)
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From The New Yorker

Dunn grew up culturally bereft in the nineteen-eighties, but parlayed a modest knowledge of pop music into a job at Rolling Stone. After establishing her bona fides as a square, she devotes her memoir to an inside look at being a celebrity journalist and the eventual toll this takes on her soul. The chapters alternate between entertaining set pieces—peeking into Madonna's bathroom, being given Velveeta cheese by Dolly Parton (Dunn still has it in her freezer), turning down a rocker's offer of heroin—and considerations of what it means to be an aging rock chick. Dunn tells her story in the brisk prose of a magazine profile, and, in keeping with her memoir's title, she goes easy on personal matters, apparently preferring to show the life of a celebrity interviewer refracted through the lives she writes about.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060843640
• ISBN-13: 978-0060843649
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #959,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jancee Dunn grew up in Chatham, New Jersey. She was a writer at Rolling Stone from 1989-2003. She has written for many different publications, among them the New York Times, Vogue, GQ, and O: The Oprah Magazine, where she writes a monthly ethics column entitled "Now What Do I Do?" From 2001-2002 she was an entertainment correspondent for Good Morning America. Prior to that she was a veejay for MTV2 from 1996 until 2001. Her memoir "But Enough About Me," about her life as chronically nervous celebrity interviewer, came out in 2006. Her novel "Don't You Forget About Me" is out in July 2008. She and her husband live in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Memoir of a Rolling Stone Reporter!, April 19, 2006

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Tamela Mccann "taminator40" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: But Enough About Me: A Jersey Girl's Unlikely Adventures Among the Absurdly Famous (Hardcover)

Jancee Dunn's book, But Enough About Me, is an engaging account of her life as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, as well as the time she spent as a veejay for MTV2 and reporter for Good Morning America. Dunn chronicles how she managed to get one of the world's best jobs, and she shares lots of details about meeting the rich and famous. The chapters alternate between her personal memoirs and accounts of some of the interesting interviews she has conducted. Ms. Dunn does a nice dance of sharing just enough information without giving away too much of her clients' musings, and her name-dropping is fun in an unpretentious way. This is a fast, enjoyable read, and anyone with any interest in entertainment personalities will enjoy it immensely. Excellent writing with great stories! Recommended.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous, self-deprecating memoir with loads of juicy celeb gossip and musings about the fabulous life, June 11, 2006

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Gen of North Coast Gardening (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: But Enough About Me: A Jersey Girl's Unlikely Adventures Among the Absurdly Famous (Hardcover)

I can't praise this book highly enough - what a funny, interesting, informative read! Jancee Dunn alternates stories of growing up a New Jersey girl in a quirky family, with her experiences talking with celebs. A lot of the celeb experiences start out telling (in a tongue in cheek way) about what NOT to do when you meet a celeb, then going on to tell us a funny or embarrassing story about a meeting with a celeb she had.

It is part celebrity gossip, part hilarious and charming memoir, and part information on the psychology of stars and how to get good information out of them.

I was fascinated on all levels and will be recommending this book highly to everyone I can.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Summer Read, May 30, 2006

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Book Lover (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: But Enough About Me: A Jersey Girl's Unlikely Adventures Among the Absurdly Famous (Hardcover)

I picked up this book to bring with me to the beach and am so glad I did! What fun! When Jancee writes about interviewing celebrities, she tells you what you want to know--what they wore, how nervous she was, how they look different in person, the awkward moments. Plus, the stories about her own life are surprisingly interesting. I read it in two days, which for me is some kind of record.