5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revisiting the 1980s, March 25, 2008
This review is from: But Enough About Me: How a Small-Town Girl Went from Shag Carpet to the Red Carpet (Paperback)
Dunn gives her readers two books in one. She warmly writes about her childhood in suburban New Jersey during the 1980s. Her friends and family could easily have been cast in any John Hughes film of that decade. She reminds us that the 1980s were all about having an endless supply of cassette tapes for the boom box, Bruce Springsteen concerts, tanning with baby oil, and using an entire can of Aqua Net to keep your perm firmly in place.
She also provides sly instructions on the fine art of the celebrity interview such as:
How to sneak a peak inside Madonna's bathroom and Dolly Parton's kitchen;
How to appreciate the grooviness of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonnet;
How to politely decline a rock star's offer of heroin; and
How interviewing Barry White can heal a girl's broken heart
Dunn knows how to get the story and, in But Enough About Me, she proves that she can deliver it as well.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
'But Enough About Me' was certainly not enough for me - I want more Jancee!, June 3, 2008
This review is from: But Enough About Me: How a Small-Town Girl Went from Shag Carpet to the Red Carpet (Paperback)
Jancee Dunn isn't your typical starlet. She's from the unglamorous New Jersey, where she lives with a bizarre family who snack on sugar sandwiches, and worship J.C. Penney - the store, and the man behind the store. Like I said, she's no starlet, but Jancee Dunn has enough spunk in her pinky finger alone to entertain the reader, and make you envy her as she takes on the entertainment world, one celebrity at a time, via her stint at the legendary Rolling Stone magazine.
If there was one thing Jancee Dunn was from a young age, it was being obsessed with music. Her bedroom was cluttered with cassette tapes depicting everything from Madonna to Bruce Springsteen; her boombox was constantly blaring - much to her parents chagrin; and her weekends were full of music concerts. Music aside, however, Jancee was a typical eighties teenager, complete with a perm that was held in place with countless cans of Aqua Net hairspray; and tanning with whole bottles of baby oil. The oldest of three children, Jancee was a musical influence on her younger sisters, and tried to instill a love of song in the both of them - in-between her impromptu bedroom garage sales, that is. As Jancee gets older, she stops her late-night Jersey partying, snags a job at Rolling Stone Magazine, and begins hobnobbing with the rich and famous. Making peanut butter fudge with Loretta Lynne; scurrying around Star Jones' glamorous New York apartment; shopping with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen; and being offered drugs by Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots. Even with her celebrity partying, Jancee doesn't forget her family, and spends much time communicating with them via telephone - in the midst of other things, of course, such as working at MTV2 and Good Morning America. But as years pass, and Jancee gets older and older, she realizes that maybe being a Rock Chick isn't something that should last past a certain point, and contemplates settling down - or, at least, cutting back on her partying.
I will be the first to admit that I am not a memoir/biography reader. In fact, I rarely read anything but fiction. That said, there was something about Jancee Dunn's BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME that called out to me, and reeled me in; refusing to release me until the last page was read. Dunn is, perhaps, one of the most humorous writers I have ever encountered. Her memoirs kept me up long into the night, giggling at each memory of her crazy parents, her eighties wardrobe, and her celebrity mishaps. Each of Dunn's bizarre encounters with celebrities provide a shocking, oft-times humorous glimpse into the world of how the other half lives; while Dunn's take on all of her interviews, as well as the advice she doles out regarding dealing with celebrities couldn't be more enjoyable. Celebrities aside, Dunn's family life, and talk of her childhood is just as humorous as her adventures in the entertainment world. The scenarios involving her worrywart parents are always humorous; while the appearances by her sisters Dinah and Heather make the reader just as much a fan of them, as Dunn, herself. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME was certainly not enough for me - I want more Jancee!
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lot of Fun, March 10, 2008
This review is from: But Enough About Me: How a Small-Town Girl Went from Shag Carpet to the Red Carpet (Paperback)
This book had me giggling the whole way through. I grew up in a small New Jersey town as well, and Jancee reminds me so much of myself. At one point I think she described herself as a nerd with a little bit of old lady thrown in, which resonated with me perfectly. Woven into the memoir are celebrity interviewing tips, which are hilarious. And who knows-- maybe they will come in handy someday!
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