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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This Rinnavation is Nothing New., June 6, 2009
This review is from: Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever (Hardcover)
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I picked this book because I like Lisa Rinna. After reading it, I still like Lisa Rinna, but the book doesn't live up to the portion of the title that proclaims "Getting Your Best Life Ever."
Keep in mind that the secondary reason I selected the book is that I'm in the author's age range and, therefore, in the demographic she probably hopes to reach.
But there's the rub.
This is a thin book, and other than some personal revelations and the occasional new tidbit of advice, it's comprised of information any woman who ever read Cosmo fairly regularly would have read decades ago and claims with no science to support them.
There are certainly good suggestions there, things any woman can do, as well as things out of the price range of most. Now, personally, I don't mind rich people spending money how they like -- it's theirs to spend. However, this book is so thin that it can't stand to lose to things that most of the readers can't implement. All this would have been fine in a more substantial book.
Ms. Rinna likes fads, too. And psychics. And anecdotal evidence. Which would make her a fun friend, sure, but it's of limited helpfulness here.
I'm okay with women getting plastic surgery. I think anyone who proclaims they like Lisa Rinna would probably be tolerant on the topic, but what does the average woman do with Ms. Rinna proclaiming getting some was the only thing that made her able to feel like rolling in the sheets with Harry Hamlin? She spends a lot of time talking about creams and exercise and drinking water and a good outlook, but when all of that is done, it becomes about the surgeon's knife defining her sense of self-worth.
She takes it as a given that people should drink 8-eight ounce glasses of water. Okay. Is there anybody who hasn't heard that? Then, I can't help but think of how this has been disproved several times in recent years -- most recently on Oprah with Dr. Oz. This claim would still be okay, as old as it is, as disproved as it is, if it wasn't in a book with advice of similar ilk.
There's nothing wrong with reminding women of advice we know -- sometimes it's a needed nudge. At some point I wanted substance though. Not: drink water, exercise, be open to your husband's needs, and research your plastic surgeon. Most women of a certain age could have written much of this book, as could their daughters.
I think a Lisa Rinna autobiography would have been great, with a sprinkling of health, beauty, and romance advice comprising a couple chapters, but the book doesn't hold it's own at what the author wants it to be. There are few insights here, little substance, and not enough to justify a book. This would have worked well as a monthly feature in a mag or a column on Huffington post, but I just don't see it fulfilling the title.
Three stars, because it's not bad -- just insubstantial. Definitely worth getting from the library or the bargain bin and I still think the writer has a better book in her.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Your Normal Self-Help Book, May 30, 2009
This review is from: Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I began watching Lisa Rinna years ago on Days of Our Lives. She was always beautiful and captivating, so I was very excited when I saw that she had a book about her struggles and triumphants with beauty and life! This book was a quick read. It has over 200 pages, but the font size is large, and the style is easy to read. Lisa does a great job of keeping the reader engaged in what she is trying to explain. Most of her topics were interesting, some were not applicable or did not relate to me. When she talks in detail about skin treatment, facials, and other beauty regiments, she loses me. A lot of her focus is on outer beauty. I am okay with that as long it is focussed on making you feel better; I don't think women should get so hung up on their outer beauty that they miss enjoying life on a more intimate level.
Lisa speaks on different enhancement procedures that she's had, and I appreciate her honesty. She is a beautiful girl with great advice. She concentrates a lot of her book on her marriage and things she does to make her personal life more intimate. Even Lisa Rinna has struggled with some depression and feeling inadequate. She has some good insight into how she dealt with each of those issues.
Lisa writes this book as a real woman with some of the same issues that we all face. Although she's never truly 'struggled' with her weight, she has had baby weight to lose. She has some ideas about weight loss that are scientifically supported and easy to adapt. She believes in eating small, healthy meals throughout the day. She also gives some details about cleansing the liver and going on a liquid fast to cleanse the system. Her recipes are an added bonus!
Lisa is one of those weird ones who actually enjoys exercise! Yuck! For those of us who don't just love exercise, she gives us ideas on how to quick start our exercise regime. She also has some methods for losing weight fast to fit into a special dress. Those methods include both exercise and eating right.
She pays some homage to Howard Stern a few times in the book. He is not a man that impresses me, so that part was a little disappointing. She also has read and gained an understanding of "The Secret". I have some major issues with the subjects contained within it. All in all, Lisa is sharing her tried and true methods that have helped her achieve a healthy body, a healthy marriage, and is now allowing her to enjoy her 'best life ever.'
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lisa Rinna Bares All, June 7, 2009
This review is from: Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever (Hardcover)
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This book reminds me of they type of book beauty queens like Raquel Welch and Victoria Principal wrote years ago spiced up with notes on sexuality. It will date quickly and is very personalized. Here Rinna bares all about what works for her. The book covers her fitness, beauty, spiritual, fashion and sex life. Essentially the reader is to use this tips to "rinnavate" their own life and become as happy and healthy as Lisa. Lisa has developed a program that really works well for "her" but it is so personalized and she uses such a mix of things whether it will work well for others seems unlikely.
For diet Lisa explains how she uses or has used a mix of "Fit for Life", "Zone", "The Blood Type Diet", detox plans, and eating small meals frequently, but goes on to say that her plan isn't really a "diet". One is left curious about what Lisa's plan really is.
Lisa suggests keeping up with your looks with injectibles but shares that she messed up her lips using them. She shares tips on how to whip your skin into shape but confides that she used the hard to get prescription accutane to get her acne under control. She shares home beauty secrets such as using Preparation H under the eyes. Use of Preparation H, in an area it was not intended for, could potentially be damaging.
Lisa's fashion tips have merit. She shares buying quality over quantity. But she also shares how she was once unable to join an event because she was wearing pants and they were not allowed. She had to wait in a small room. She enjoys telling this tale and others and it appears she likes to "shock the epater" ie shock the middle classes. Most of us can't pull off shocking the crowds and will look like fools instead. Often wearing appropriate clothing is best.
Lisa also takes on sexuality in her book and is unashamed to share about her and husband Harry's sex life. Lisa also shared she spilled all on Howard Stern. Why not keep intimacy intimate? As an aside, Harry wrote a beautiful introduction to the book.
A lot of Lisa's personality came through in the book and she comes across as a sincere person who is comfortable with herself. Overall though, I think Lisa may have been better off writing more of a biography and including a smattering of beauty tips instead of writing this type of self help book.
~ Lee Mellott
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