Stories from Candyland [Hardcover]

Candy Spelling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009

Carole Gene Marer spent her girlhood dreaming of meeting Rock Hudson, but when she finally had the chance—on her second date with her future husband, television mogul Aaron Spelling—she was so shy she hid all night in the powder room.  How Candy morphed from that quiet girl into a seemingly-confident, stylish trophy wife, mistress of the largest house in Los Angeles (70,000 square feet when you count the attic) is at the heart of Stories from Candyland. 

The life Candy created for her family—her husband and children Tori and Randy—was fabulous, over-the-top, and often magical.  So what if California Christmases don’t come with snow? Let’s make some on the tennis court!  How do we take a cross-country family vacation with a dad who doesn’t fly? By private train car, of course (with an extra for the fifty-two pieces of luggage).  The kids want to dress up for Halloween? No problem, why not call in Nolan Miller to design their costumes?

Candy had a hand in some of the most beloved television shows of all time (she once stopped production on “Dynasty” because Krystle Carrington’s engagement ring was not spectacular enough), has entertained half of Hollywood in epic fashion, and lives an enviable life.  But under all the fun and showmanship lies a more interesting character, still wrestling with some of the insecurities of her ingénue self.  Oprah threw her into a major panic with a discussion of hoarding.  A lifelong humming habit evolved as a unique coping mechanism.  And there’s nothing like being defined as, “well, you know, complicated” by your daughter on television and in her own book.

Stories from Candyland sparkles with glamour and grand gestures. But it also satisfies with some more intimate Candy concerns: why being a perfect wife and mother was so important to her, how cooking and cleaning can keep the home fires burning, why collections matter, and whether dogs are better judges of people than people are.

Visit Candyland in these pages and get a glimpse of a generous, glittering world revealing many of its surprising and funny secrets for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers hoping for spicy gossip or retaliation against her disapproving daughter Tori will be disappointed with mother Spelling's mild mannered, saccharine memoir. Spelling, nee Carole Gene Marer, married the late prolific TV producer Aaron Spelling (whose shows accounted for one-third of ABC's 1984 prime time schedule) in her early twenties, and spent their 36 years together making up for her humble beginnings. Apparently devoting much of her time to amassing collections of everything from American Sterling Peacocks to sugar sifters (a list of her collections takes up three pages), she also devotes inordinate space to discussing (and defending) "The Manor," the Spellings' legendary 56,000+ square foot home, featuring a "gift wrapping room" and a basement bowling alley. Very little time is spent on relationships or people; a few cursory nods are all that allude to the verbal lashing she's received from actress daughter Tori, and one chapter is set aside, bizarrely, for limited input from family, friends, and her therapist. Twenty-three pages of irrelevant recipes, as well as tone-deaf statements like "there's a big celebrity culture that you'd have to be here in L.A. to appreciate or truly understand," further confuse the point of her endeavor. Unfortunately, Spelling's admitted insecurity ("What am I doing? Can I write a book?") proves well-founded.
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About the Author

CANDY SPELLING, whose husband Aaron produced America’s favorite entertainment (“Dynasty”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “The Love Boat”, “Beverly Hills 90210”), is one of Hollywood’s most famous wives and mothers.  Her marriage was one of Tinseltown’s happiest and most enduring, ending only with Aaron’s death in 2006.  Since then, Candy has begun writing, for TMZ.com and The Huffington Post, as well as becoming a contributing editor for Los Angeles Confidential Magazine.  She is involved with a number of charitable and public service organizations, and is in the process of “downsizing” from Spelling Manor to a 17,000 square foot condominium in Century City.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312570708
• ISBN-13: 978-0312570705
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

159 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Candy Smelling...I mean Spelling. Clueless, April 3, 2009

By 

Ginger, New Orleans "ginger6040" (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stories from Candyland (Hardcover)

Where to start? I bought this book and read it as an objective reader. I wasn't on Camp Tori nor Camp Candy. But it is impossible to remain non-empathetic to Tori after reading this book. The author is narcissistic, lacks insight and judgment, and puts to rest why a daughter cannot bond with a mother. The author, in finding her voice, according to her 20/20 interview, has no clue as to what people want to hear from her voice. Sorry to say, but her mom and husband were wise in suggesting she remain silent. Her long, rambling stories about the most mundane subjects would not pique anyone's interest even if offered by actual important people. Her air of superficiality seeps out everywhere. Imagine the horror when a staffer mentioned that one of her powder rooms might be the size of a normal bathroom. (She was suprised this did not make the tabloids, although the reader is left wondering why anyone would vocalize such a thought). Her attitude about life and her daughter, while she thinks she is defending herself, tells a sad tale of what Tori must have faced when trying to break through to this woman (who speaks more highly of her candy collection, spare gifts, and good manners, than her daughter. I can actually envision Tori trying to explain the problem to her mother only to be met with the most infuriating lack of understanding mixed with inappropriate explanations. She doesn't say she made mistakes as a mother. Rather, she says she was juggling a world of luxury while trying "to be the best mother in the history of motherhood." (P. 98). I'm sure such comments would drive any daugter back into distance. The author mocked her daughter for saying she "only" inherited $800,000 while describing, in agonizing detail, more than that much in the incidentals around her Manor. None of this would be our business, except that the Spellings have elected to make it our business. As a sincere note to mom, you have to find a different approach. Your putative kind words about Tori are buried beneath your sarcasm, passive aggressiveness, and victim mentality. Tori, we get it now.

79 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Can I give this fewer stars, April 3, 2009

By 

Patrizia (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stories from Candyland (Hardcover)

Chapter 3 or 4, I don't know but I am done with it.

I admit I never gave Tori much thought until her show.. I figured she was a Spelling living in the Spelling world.. rich girl.. etc.. then I watched her very cute, adorable show and the day she stood in that doorway of a trailer they had to live in while the Inn was being painted.. HUGELY Pregnant and made the best of it. I thought.. WOW I have this girl all wrong. I don't even think that would be in my thought process.

I realize it is TV but to see her heartbreak over her mother ,then to read this drivel..UGH.. Tori's book was fun and amusing and real.. The point is Tori comes off as approachable and relevant, her mother does not..she is stuck in her own head.. No wonder Tori could not relate to her.. There is no room for that girl in her mother's life. Too much ego.

Glad to see Tori however seems to be doing well with her little family.. Maybe Candy will get lost in the mansion somewhere... I mean really I loved her comment.. "I don't know how many rooms I have and I refuse to count".. it's pathetic.. don't waste your time or your money.. wait for Tori's new book to come out... if it is anything like her last one it would be a great read.

68 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Candy Land, indeed, April 1, 2009

By 

Jean M. Sabel "JEANIE" (Chicagoland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stories from Candyland (Hardcover)

I am not a fan of Tori's but was interested in learning about the family that lived in one of the largest homes in the US. I finished Tori's book, sTori Telling, in 2 days and was completely delighted! What a fun read! I was hoping for more of the same with her mother's book and quite frankly, after 4 chapters I am bored into unconsciousness!! This book seems like Candy is reverting back into her childhood of make believe! Who CARES what she dreams the designs on her fan collection might mean or of her fantasy of being married to Rock Hudson??!??! ho-hum!! And she can't seem to stop taking pot shots at Tori! (but hugs and kisses to brother Randy! smooch, smooch!) The photos are nice and there is some stuff about REAL life in Spelling Manor, however, I am doubtful I will waste anymore time trying to swallow this stuff! I'd rather rearrange my sock drawer!
Sorry Mom, Tori wins this one by a long shot! Looking forward to the release of Babywood!! Keep up the great work, Tori!!