sTORI Telling (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Mama Lola, Tori Spelling, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

She was television's most famous virgin--and, as Aaron Spelling's daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character's exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed--and sometimes slammed--the same doors it had opened.

sTORI Telling is Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen's Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents; her struggles as an actress after 90210; her accident-prone love life; and, ultimately, her quest to define herself on her own terms.

From her over-the-top first wedding to finding new love to her much-publicized--and misunderstood--"disinheritance," sTORI Telling is a juicy, eye-opening, enthralling look at what it really means to be Tori Spelling.

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Amazon.com Exclusive
A Bonus Story and Family Photo from Tori Spelling

The Manor
People are always asking about my parents' mansion, which they called the "Manor," but I don't really spend much time talking about it in sTORI Telling because I didn't grow up there. After demolishing Bing Crosby's former estate in Holmby Hills, a fancy neighborhood in west L.A., they spent six years building the Manor. It's about 46,000 square feet (slightly over an acre) and has 123 rooms. Not that I counted or measured. I got those figures from the press, just like everyone else.

Anyway, we moved in when I was seventeen and I only lived there for two years. In some ways the house is like a normal house, but everything is on a bigger scale. It has four floors: the basement (which we call the "Lower Level," probably because that's its designation on the elevator) and the first, second, and third floors. The first floor has a kitchen, a breakfast room, a dining room, an office, a family room, a living room, and a projection room. There's a grand foyer with sweeping staircases on each side. Oh, and there's also a guards' room and the staff dining room. Everyone except fancy guests comes through the service entrance into a hallway with the guards' room and the kitchen.

The kitchen is gigantic, and my fondest memory of it is from when I was twenty-one and had just moved back in after splitting up with a boyfriend. I came home drunk with some girlfriends, and we pillaged the two double-sized Sub-Zero refrigerators. There was always bulk food in there for the staff. We pulled out a big vat of chicken salad and a tub of peanut dressing, both of which looked like they'd been made for giants. Somewhere in the middle of our feast we decided to have a food fight, and the five of us started flinging food at each other. Soon we were covered in peanut dressing from head to toe and the pristine kitchen was a mess. Then we heard a ding, the elevator doors opened, and there was my mother.

She stared at us in silent disbelief. I said, "We're going to clean it up!" She just said, "Mmm hmm," and left the room. I felt a surge of love for her in that moment. It took us hours to clean the kitchen, but it was worth it. That moment made it feel, for once, like home. --Tori Spelling

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Product Description

Tori Spelling Reads Her Fabulous #1 New York Times Bestseller

She was television's most famous virgin -- and, as Aaron Spelling's daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin of Beverly Hills 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character's exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed -- and sometimes slammed -- the same doors it had opened.

sTORI telling is Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen's Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents; her struggles as an actress after 90210; her accident-prone love life; and, ultimately, her quest to define herself on her own terms.

From her over-the-top first wedding to finding new love to her much-publicized -- and misunderstood -- "disinheritance," sTORI telling is a juicy, eye-opening, enthralling look at what it really means to be Tori Spelling. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight; 1st Simon Spotlight Entertainment Hardcover Ed edition (March 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416950737
• ISBN-13: 978-1416950738
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (418 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,134 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Really Enjoyed This Book!, March 4, 2008

By	P. Mann "Amazon Shopper" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed reading this book! Interestingly enough, I wasn't even a Tori Spelling fan when I bought the book. I had read an excerpt in People Magazine, and thought that Tori sounded so down-to-earth and real in the piece that I bought the book. I wasn't disappointed either. Ms. Spelling's openness and friendly manner draws the reader in completely. She describes her life's ups and downs with such frankness and humor that I even found myself laughing out loud at one point. Given how much trouble I had putting this book down, I went ahead and ordered Tori's series "So NoTORIous" to continue the fun!

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly frank and interesting..., March 14, 2008

By	Binky (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book after seeing Tori Spelling in an interview. Though I wasn't familiar with her TV shows, I had never forgotten her performance in a TV-movie called "A Friend To Die For." Still, I must admit that because of her famous name, I had made some snap judgments and generally dismissed her.

Her book was a pleasant surprise, filled with unexpectedly down-to-earth recollections of a childhood defined by wealth. Not even half way through it, I was rooting for her as she described repeated attempts to get roles. Her happy-to-even-be-there attitude seems quite genuine, and in such contrast to the sense of entitlement that seeps out of the vapid, rich-girl stereotype perpetuated by the likes of Paris Hilton.

If you are at all mildly entertained by these Hollywood, fun-read books, then pick up Ms. Spelling's story. I guarantee you will find that she doesn't deserve all of the rotten tomatoes lobbed at her solely because of her famous name. In fact, I think you'll end up liking her.

55 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A whole new view of Tori, April 28, 2008

By	Linda S. Urban "Shasta" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Had a lot of preconceived ideas about Tori's character through the tabloids, but after reading this book, I am rid of them. Tori comes across as a normal, unspoiled girl who just happened to have been born into wealth. Like regular folk, she struggles with her mother and with insecurities concerning her appearance. Unlike normal folk, she has to deal with the stigma of her last name to get jobs in tv and movies and to be recognized as a qualified actress in her own right. I like this girl; her spirit and sense of humor touched me and made me smile throughout her honest account of her life thus far. The only downside here is in wanting to hear more from Tori. Here's hoping she'll continue telling her stories in a second book !