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Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me: Tom and Lorenzo's Fabulous and Opinionated Guide to Celebrity Life and Style
Tom and Lorenzo began blogging in 2006 with a fansite for the show Project Runway. In response to demand from their readers, they expanded to cover celebrity fashion, couture, red carpet commentary and other TV shows and TLo (as their "bitter kittens" call them) has become a household name, reaching more than 7 million visitors a month.
Thanks to their biting, insightful commentary on celebrity style, they started getting sweet missives from pear-shaped ladies who needed a boost of confidence more than fashion advice. “Every day, before you leave the house,” they instructed Lady Pear, after giving her some standard style recommendations, “look in the mirror and tell yourself, ‘Everyone wants to be me or do me.'” In this book, they explore the celebrity image and style culture with their trademark acerbic wit, from starlet meltdowns to publicity seeking pregnancies to red carpet disasters, along the way offering readers funny but inspiring takeaways and advice on understanding what constitutes great style and confident self-image: Know the venue, know the image you want to project, and sell it, sell it, sell it.
Brimming with insight, humor, and takedowns of the myths of the celebrity culture, this book offers the best of the friends readers want picking out their clothes every morning and gossiping over the newest issue of Vogue.
Thanks to their biting, insightful commentary on celebrity style, they started getting sweet missives from pear-shaped ladies who needed a boost of confidence more than fashion advice. “Every day, before you leave the house,” they instructed Lady Pear, after giving her some standard style recommendations, “look in the mirror and tell yourself, ‘Everyone wants to be me or do me.'” In this book, they explore the celebrity image and style culture with their trademark acerbic wit, from starlet meltdowns to publicity seeking pregnancies to red carpet disasters, along the way offering readers funny but inspiring takeaways and advice on understanding what constitutes great style and confident self-image: Know the venue, know the image you want to project, and sell it, sell it, sell it.
Brimming with insight, humor, and takedowns of the myths of the celebrity culture, this book offers the best of the friends readers want picking out their clothes every morning and gossiping over the newest issue of Vogue.
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2014
16 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 2, 2015
It really pains me to say this, since Tom & Lorenzo's blog is probably my favorite site on the entire internet, but, oh man, this here was just not the ticket. Seriously, I'd pre-ordered this in July, 2013, to give you an idea of just how much I want to support these guys, and how hard it is for me to write the review I'm about to write.
The writing's clever, just like their site, don't get me wrong. For me, though, the entire concept of this project was ill-advised. What appeals to me about their site is their criticism, both their (always thoughtful!) analysis of film and television, as well as their critiques of the effectiveness (or not) of the way stars deploy fashion on the red carpet. That really isn't what they're doing here, and I guess, for me, that's where things sort of go off the rails.
The book purports to be a guide to celebrity life and style, but reads instead as a bitchy, cynical-to-a-fault take-down of the entire PR and media machine that perpetuates celebrity culture, and a dismissal (evisceration?) of the stars themselves. While they concede as much in the introduction, and I get that this is all supposed to be tongue in cheek, I just don't really see the point of this type of project.
Entertainers, although none are named or positively identified, are portrayed at their best as out-of-touch and hopelessly delusional narcissists; at their worst, they're vapid whores, self-obsessed to a sociopathic fault. "Stars: They're Nothing Like Us, They're Despicable Monsters Operating in a Grotesque, Nightmare Horror Show!"
It's not lost on me that there are some people whose view of celebrity is so colored by schadenfreude that they legit get off on seeing stars muddied and humiliated: Perez Hilton's entire place in pop culture is a testament to this idea. Plus, TLo's primary job on their site is to criticize, in that au courant, meanly-funny way of the internet age, red carpet fashion, so maybe they need to have this view of stars to have the cognitive dissonance necessary to do their work without feeling shitty about it?
Not to sound like Zooey Deschanel or whatever, but I just can't get behind being nasty about people who, delusional and out-of-touch though they may be, are still living, breathing actual human beings at the end of the day. (Again, they do this in the abstract, but still.) If this is how T Lo feel about celebrity, why have they made an entire career writing about one aspect of fame?
I really wish I could endorse this, but, sadly, the whole concept and tone of this work really put me off. Sorry, TLo: longtime fan of your site, but this was clearly written for an entirely different portion of your readership than me. Again, their writing is smart and very clever; I just wish they had a long-form project that was worthy of their talents. Hopefully, in a future work, they will.
The writing's clever, just like their site, don't get me wrong. For me, though, the entire concept of this project was ill-advised. What appeals to me about their site is their criticism, both their (always thoughtful!) analysis of film and television, as well as their critiques of the effectiveness (or not) of the way stars deploy fashion on the red carpet. That really isn't what they're doing here, and I guess, for me, that's where things sort of go off the rails.
The book purports to be a guide to celebrity life and style, but reads instead as a bitchy, cynical-to-a-fault take-down of the entire PR and media machine that perpetuates celebrity culture, and a dismissal (evisceration?) of the stars themselves. While they concede as much in the introduction, and I get that this is all supposed to be tongue in cheek, I just don't really see the point of this type of project.
Entertainers, although none are named or positively identified, are portrayed at their best as out-of-touch and hopelessly delusional narcissists; at their worst, they're vapid whores, self-obsessed to a sociopathic fault. "Stars: They're Nothing Like Us, They're Despicable Monsters Operating in a Grotesque, Nightmare Horror Show!"
It's not lost on me that there are some people whose view of celebrity is so colored by schadenfreude that they legit get off on seeing stars muddied and humiliated: Perez Hilton's entire place in pop culture is a testament to this idea. Plus, TLo's primary job on their site is to criticize, in that au courant, meanly-funny way of the internet age, red carpet fashion, so maybe they need to have this view of stars to have the cognitive dissonance necessary to do their work without feeling shitty about it?
Not to sound like Zooey Deschanel or whatever, but I just can't get behind being nasty about people who, delusional and out-of-touch though they may be, are still living, breathing actual human beings at the end of the day. (Again, they do this in the abstract, but still.) If this is how T Lo feel about celebrity, why have they made an entire career writing about one aspect of fame?
I really wish I could endorse this, but, sadly, the whole concept and tone of this work really put me off. Sorry, TLo: longtime fan of your site, but this was clearly written for an entirely different portion of your readership than me. Again, their writing is smart and very clever; I just wish they had a long-form project that was worthy of their talents. Hopefully, in a future work, they will.
October 5, 2014
This is like an Onion parody of Cosmopolitan magazine, without the wit of the former or the fun of the latter. (Complete with shout-out boxes of star tips and massive illustrations.) Mean-spirited, nasty, sexist at times... this almost makes me ashamed to have read TLo's blog for so many years (I did stop visiting it religiously a couple years ago, after I realized how awfully they treat some of their commenters, and now only visit for red carpet roundups). I don't know when they became so horribly vitriolic, but it's not cute or fun. TLo used to be cute and fun. What happened? Now they're reduced to mocking their readers (just read that demeaning introduction) and making dated references to how a surefire way of becoming/staying famous is to release a sex tape or to buy African kids.
And let's just discuss for a moment the irony of this entire book, which is about how people are famous for no reason. First of all, how cynical can you be? No one who's famous has a shred of talent, they're all just sleeping with someone or pretty enough that the entire world is dumb enough to worship them for that alone? Come on now. But how ironic is it that TLo, of all people, are writing this? They were just two guys with a blog who liked watching Project Runway who are now somehow branded as "experts on the cult of celebrity." They are not fashion experts. They are not educated in fashion or fashion history or fashion branding or anything like that; they are just two guys who spoke for the average viewer. Similarly, neither have degrees in literature or writing. They are two men who liked to talk about a TV show who are now writing a book about how people become famous for doing stuff just like that. I mean, I loved Project Rungay, their former blog. It was full of biting commentary on TV shows, particularly on the clothing and judging on Project Runway. It was great fun to see what other non-expert viewers (who just happen to like fashion) had to say about the show. That somehow has turned TLo into experts. I'm not buying it.
I want the old TLo back. The TLo that didn't take themselves too seriously. The TLo that would have written a scathing but witty takedown of any book like the one they ended up writing.
And let's just discuss for a moment the irony of this entire book, which is about how people are famous for no reason. First of all, how cynical can you be? No one who's famous has a shred of talent, they're all just sleeping with someone or pretty enough that the entire world is dumb enough to worship them for that alone? Come on now. But how ironic is it that TLo, of all people, are writing this? They were just two guys with a blog who liked watching Project Runway who are now somehow branded as "experts on the cult of celebrity." They are not fashion experts. They are not educated in fashion or fashion history or fashion branding or anything like that; they are just two guys who spoke for the average viewer. Similarly, neither have degrees in literature or writing. They are two men who liked to talk about a TV show who are now writing a book about how people become famous for doing stuff just like that. I mean, I loved Project Rungay, their former blog. It was full of biting commentary on TV shows, particularly on the clothing and judging on Project Runway. It was great fun to see what other non-expert viewers (who just happen to like fashion) had to say about the show. That somehow has turned TLo into experts. I'm not buying it.
I want the old TLo back. The TLo that didn't take themselves too seriously. The TLo that would have written a scathing but witty takedown of any book like the one they ended up writing.
February 23, 2014
Oy.... Not what I was expecting at all. I've been a fan Tom and Lorenzo since their "Project Rungay" days. They're the reason I stuck with the Project Runways fandom for some many years, became emotionally invested in Mad Men, and know all the words to "Don't be jealous of my boggie". The first time i saw that they announced they were writing a book; I wanted it. I just didn't want this type of book. Where's the snark? The excellent writing that has me checking multiple times a day to see if their review is up? What happened?
The book is a tell all of a movie stars life and how it compares to a normal person's life. The only thing it really did for me was cause me to look back at my ex's and suspect that one of them were using me to cover up their being "in the closet". Because some of their points of gays dating straight women to hide their identities were ringing bells that were already being set off... I'm not saying it's a bad book. It's a good "to read while you're at lunch break or on the bus" book. Just not one that makes you think "I want to read what happens next". I do hopes the guys write another book that displays their trademark cattiness and whit better. I'd definitely rather read that than a tell all on celebs. Think Betty White.
The book is a tell all of a movie stars life and how it compares to a normal person's life. The only thing it really did for me was cause me to look back at my ex's and suspect that one of them were using me to cover up their being "in the closet". Because some of their points of gays dating straight women to hide their identities were ringing bells that were already being set off... I'm not saying it's a bad book. It's a good "to read while you're at lunch break or on the bus" book. Just not one that makes you think "I want to read what happens next". I do hopes the guys write another book that displays their trademark cattiness and whit better. I'd definitely rather read that than a tell all on celebs. Think Betty White.
February 17, 2014
I am a long time devoted Bitter Kitten, so I've been excited to read this since they announced its coming. I read the first chapter and just cringed...it was so negative and cynical. I pushed on, and it got better. It's an incredibly scathing take down of celebrity culture and why we shouldn't look them for any advice, let alone style and beauty. I doubt very little of what they wrote, honestly. But I usually read them for thoughtful analysis and this was not that at all. It was mostly bitchy and occasionally mean. But maybe I'm the choir. Maybe other celebrity obsessed people don't know how fake everything that happens is, and this will shine some light onto how Hollywood culture screws us all.
I would have liked all the tips to be collected at the end for reference, though, maybe even along with the chapter title quotes. Sort of a summarized they say x but do y thing, which is what I expected more of from the title and conceit.
I would have liked all the tips to be collected at the end for reference, though, maybe even along with the chapter title quotes. Sort of a summarized they say x but do y thing, which is what I expected more of from the title and conceit.
February 6, 2014
I adore Tom and Lorenzo and definitely consider myself a bitter kitten. Which is why this is a tough review to write. Girl, this is not your book. TLo have an amazing gift for astute observation and hilariously evocative description-- they are the men who dubbed Johnny Depp an "elderly gay windchime" after all. This book, sadly, has none of that.
It's filled with broad, played-out humor in the "celebrities have lots of plastic surgery and buy African babies" vein that is neither clever nor funny. I really thought this was going to be a book about style. I'm still really hoping they write a book about style.
It's filled with broad, played-out humor in the "celebrities have lots of plastic surgery and buy African babies" vein that is neither clever nor funny. I really thought this was going to be a book about style. I'm still really hoping they write a book about style.
March 29, 2014
I have read T and Lo's web site for a number of years and thought I would enjoy this book, but I have to say that it is a major disappointment. The catty tone is probably their most common voice on the blog, but reads better as a few paragraphs between screen caps than it does at chapter-length. Not a penetrating or particularly witty book written about the narcissism and artificiality of celebrity culture, and the cattiness becomes tediously one-note after a few chapters. Indeed, for people who make a living off celebrity, this book seemed to be written irony-free and with quite a bit of unearned superiority. Fortunately this is a quick read or I would have become too bored to finish it. It also needed further editing to catch typos and could have caught a few quirks of writing.
The sad thing is that T and Lo are very much capable of thoughtful and insightful analysis and have published extremely entertaining and thoughtful pieces. Hopefully they will become more confident if they attempt other book-length projects and will present more than this shallow and limited attempt at satire.
Really disappointing.
The sad thing is that T and Lo are very much capable of thoughtful and insightful analysis and have published extremely entertaining and thoughtful pieces. Hopefully they will become more confident if they attempt other book-length projects and will present more than this shallow and limited attempt at satire.
Really disappointing.
February 11, 2014
I'm a big fan of Tom & Lorenzo anyway, but this book makes me love them more. Turns out their combination of insight and snark really lends itself to a longer form than a blog post. This isn't a rehashing of their site, but a dissection of the lifecycle of the celebrity, with occasional pointers on how it could be applied to regular people. It's funny, witty and timeless. In the week since I got it, I've been ticking off celebrity behaviours from the book - I think it is safe to say that right now Shia Lebeouf is giving a masterclass in The Full Chernobyl.
February 6, 2014
My, what a deeply cynical look at celebrity culture! Even so, I would have enjoyed this book more if I were well-versed in the lives and antics of celebrities, since they never name names. I love TLo's blog so much, but this…not so much.
June 8, 2014
I hate giving the book one star, but as a fan of the blog I had high hopes for the book. Yes, the wit and tongue-in-cheek humor is there, but the format is almost unreadable and completely uninteresting.
February 3, 2026
I reviewed TLo's two books in 2022 under the moniker "Saul S." which was enough for Tom and Lorenzo to find me on Twitter and block me. These old queens can't take criticism. I don't like them. Here's what I said:
Good gosh, this book is horrid. I actually think it could have worked for the Kansas City sort of tourist visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It could be that sort of book you'd pick up from a gift shop and promptly put on the toilet for house guests to read while taking a poop at board game nights. Instead, it's written by Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez, who at this stage in their careers were still riding high from their "Project RunGay"-turned-"Just Jared" or "Perez Hilton" blog. These men were a big deal when this book published in 2014: Designers invited them front row to their runways; The New York Times profiled them; Nina Garcia lunched with them; Sarah Paulson publicly despised them. All the makings of a pair you loved to read and snark about on social media and at cocktail parties.
Eight years ago, their blog found success amid TLo laughing at their own jokes about Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, and Charlize Theron staging phony walks around town so paps could photograph their designer clothes. (I still laugh at the entry, "Taylor Swift's Empty Bags Tour".) So they cashed in on their popularity and wrote, "Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me," with I hope a sizable financial advance.
Objectively, the book itself isn't the problem, even though it's also nothing special. It's printed and edited. There's illustrations. You've got a solid 253 pages of content here! I'm not that mad about it insofar that, as I said, it sort of belongs in a gift shop or one of those variety stores with sassy bumper stickers. As a marketing vehicle for these two, however... I mean the built-in audience already knows all there is to about celebrities because they're mauling TLo's website every day. The book attempts to provide granular detail of how a celebrity comes into being, the archetypes of a famous person, snarky versions of their beauty tips of the stars ("But make sure everyone believes your beauty was G-d given and effortless"), why celebrities get married... on and on.
Honestly, the more I've flipped through this book, the more it doesn't sound like a guide to celebrities, but a good one for how to write about celebrities in similar style to TLo's website. So in addition to gift shop merch, you might be into grabbing this if you want to start your own celebrity gossip website. And I'm serious.
I am a gay man. And we have this saying in the community of "gays trying to tear down gays" which I wish this review didn't sound like. But TLo, gurl, you're just so rude. These two label themselves "semi-b!@chy" bloggers but really it's just full-on mean sometimes. My latest review of their other book, "Legendary Children," earned me getting blocked on Twitter. The only reason I paused on writing and submitting this review was literally to spare their feelings and to not being that gay trying to tear down other gays, but to me that's extending some courtesy and sparing the feelings of two men who clearly think they're above the criticism and harshness they dish out.
"I'm sure we've gone overboard, but, we would never say anything about anyone that we wouldn't say to their face," they told Newsday in 2012. Yeah... absolutely. I would love to see them repeat a tweet in March about an "elderly" Liza Minelli to someone's face: "I invite you to f--k all the way off forever and ever, you sour piece of s--t." Just, TLo, you guys. You are not Michelle Obama! You do not take the high road. You are not above being criticized, especially for these two books that honestly both could have been a lot better. But especially "Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me."
Honestly I added an extra star because I think it takes a lot of courage to try again and write "Legendary Children" after this enormous flop. This book cost me $4.75 used and came with a signed postcard that I couldn't tell whether it was real or printed. I remember they toured fairly extensively when this book was released, so maybe it's real, and the seller thought they could get an extra $2 if they included something autographed.
Good gosh, this book is horrid. I actually think it could have worked for the Kansas City sort of tourist visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It could be that sort of book you'd pick up from a gift shop and promptly put on the toilet for house guests to read while taking a poop at board game nights. Instead, it's written by Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez, who at this stage in their careers were still riding high from their "Project RunGay"-turned-"Just Jared" or "Perez Hilton" blog. These men were a big deal when this book published in 2014: Designers invited them front row to their runways; The New York Times profiled them; Nina Garcia lunched with them; Sarah Paulson publicly despised them. All the makings of a pair you loved to read and snark about on social media and at cocktail parties.
Eight years ago, their blog found success amid TLo laughing at their own jokes about Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, and Charlize Theron staging phony walks around town so paps could photograph their designer clothes. (I still laugh at the entry, "Taylor Swift's Empty Bags Tour".) So they cashed in on their popularity and wrote, "Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me," with I hope a sizable financial advance.
Objectively, the book itself isn't the problem, even though it's also nothing special. It's printed and edited. There's illustrations. You've got a solid 253 pages of content here! I'm not that mad about it insofar that, as I said, it sort of belongs in a gift shop or one of those variety stores with sassy bumper stickers. As a marketing vehicle for these two, however... I mean the built-in audience already knows all there is to about celebrities because they're mauling TLo's website every day. The book attempts to provide granular detail of how a celebrity comes into being, the archetypes of a famous person, snarky versions of their beauty tips of the stars ("But make sure everyone believes your beauty was G-d given and effortless"), why celebrities get married... on and on.
Honestly, the more I've flipped through this book, the more it doesn't sound like a guide to celebrities, but a good one for how to write about celebrities in similar style to TLo's website. So in addition to gift shop merch, you might be into grabbing this if you want to start your own celebrity gossip website. And I'm serious.
I am a gay man. And we have this saying in the community of "gays trying to tear down gays" which I wish this review didn't sound like. But TLo, gurl, you're just so rude. These two label themselves "semi-b!@chy" bloggers but really it's just full-on mean sometimes. My latest review of their other book, "Legendary Children," earned me getting blocked on Twitter. The only reason I paused on writing and submitting this review was literally to spare their feelings and to not being that gay trying to tear down other gays, but to me that's extending some courtesy and sparing the feelings of two men who clearly think they're above the criticism and harshness they dish out.
"I'm sure we've gone overboard, but, we would never say anything about anyone that we wouldn't say to their face," they told Newsday in 2012. Yeah... absolutely. I would love to see them repeat a tweet in March about an "elderly" Liza Minelli to someone's face: "I invite you to f--k all the way off forever and ever, you sour piece of s--t." Just, TLo, you guys. You are not Michelle Obama! You do not take the high road. You are not above being criticized, especially for these two books that honestly both could have been a lot better. But especially "Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me."
Honestly I added an extra star because I think it takes a lot of courage to try again and write "Legendary Children" after this enormous flop. This book cost me $4.75 used and came with a signed postcard that I couldn't tell whether it was real or printed. I remember they toured fairly extensively when this book was released, so maybe it's real, and the seller thought they could get an extra $2 if they included something autographed.
June 30, 2021
I've been following TLo's blog for years, so I was excited to read their book. Unfortunately it was a bit of mixed bag for me. It is definitely a witty take-down of celebrity culture, but I don't think the central premise of the book (we can actually take some lessons from celebrity culture to improve our lives) really worked all that well. It also ended without any real conclusion. It was fun to read on my commute, but wasn't quite what I expected.
August 21, 2020
You would have more fun spending a few hours reading your favorite gossip blogs. And if you read those blogs regularly, this book will tell you no secrets.
February 1, 2015
Another book I'm giving up on at 60% in. This and We Need To Talk About Kevin have soured me on reading so much the past few weeks that I've barely picked up another book.
I love TLo a hell of a lot, but this book did not work for me. They're smart, socially aware guys, so I don't understand why this book reads like a caricature of the gossipy sassy gay stereotype. Rather than delving into why the norms of Hollywood are what they are, what those implications are on a wider social scale, the gendered and ageist treatment of stars etc, this book seems to mostly spend its time taking potshots at those slutty sluts who dare want to climb the ladder of fame. The different parts of the lifecycle of the celebrity are described the way you'd expect a college humour rag to handle the subject, without any deeper analysis. There's little recognition that TLo themselves, in being male fashion bloggers who make a living criticizing women's appearances (albeit in a witty way), also play into the grand Hollywood PR machine. It's about 60% of the way to an actual meaningful satire of celebrity culture, but falls short enough so that the commentary winds up sounding malicious rather than incisive.
I only read as far as I did because I have a lot of goodwill for TLo, but there's a lot of implicit misogyny here that I'm not interesting in continuing to slog through.
I love TLo a hell of a lot, but this book did not work for me. They're smart, socially aware guys, so I don't understand why this book reads like a caricature of the gossipy sassy gay stereotype. Rather than delving into why the norms of Hollywood are what they are, what those implications are on a wider social scale, the gendered and ageist treatment of stars etc, this book seems to mostly spend its time taking potshots at those slutty sluts who dare want to climb the ladder of fame. The different parts of the lifecycle of the celebrity are described the way you'd expect a college humour rag to handle the subject, without any deeper analysis. There's little recognition that TLo themselves, in being male fashion bloggers who make a living criticizing women's appearances (albeit in a witty way), also play into the grand Hollywood PR machine. It's about 60% of the way to an actual meaningful satire of celebrity culture, but falls short enough so that the commentary winds up sounding malicious rather than incisive.
I only read as far as I did because I have a lot of goodwill for TLo, but there's a lot of implicit misogyny here that I'm not interesting in continuing to slog through.
February 22, 2016
I've been a fan of T and Lo's site since way back (as in "since it was called Project RunGay"). Their site is one that I've enjoyed because they tend to have a good balance between putting forth good criticism and keeping it fun.
IIRC, I pre-ordered this book (something I'm not in the habit of doing) and was super ready to hang out with T and Lo as they deconstucted the idea of what a celebrity means, etc.)
To be honest, I still can't believe how terrible the book ended up being! T and Lo were incredibly mean and sexist and not even a tenth of funny as they thought they were. I truly don't understand why they thought this was going to be an amazing book (between y'all and me, I was sorta embarrassed for them because they don't seem to be aware about what a crappy book this is).
I've heard them say that they're writing a new book about styling. My first instinct is to cringe at the probability it will be as horrible as this one. :|
IIRC, I pre-ordered this book (something I'm not in the habit of doing) and was super ready to hang out with T and Lo as they deconstucted the idea of what a celebrity means, etc.)
To be honest, I still can't believe how terrible the book ended up being! T and Lo were incredibly mean and sexist and not even a tenth of funny as they thought they were. I truly don't understand why they thought this was going to be an amazing book (between y'all and me, I was sorta embarrassed for them because they don't seem to be aware about what a crappy book this is).
I've heard them say that they're writing a new book about styling. My first instinct is to cringe at the probability it will be as horrible as this one. :|
March 10, 2014
It's a scathing and satirical view of celebrity culture which could be considered cynical and mean spirited if it wasn't all true.
However, it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for a bit more wit and humor in the delivery. Overall, it was an interesting read but it kind of fell flat. When I finished it, I didn't really see the point to it but I love these guys so I devoured it like a box of fine chocolates.
Definitely do not read this if you're a fan of their blog and you're expecting more of the wry humor you find there. You will be disappointed.
Do read it if you really want an insight to what makes celebrities tick. It's very astute.
However, it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for a bit more wit and humor in the delivery. Overall, it was an interesting read but it kind of fell flat. When I finished it, I didn't really see the point to it but I love these guys so I devoured it like a box of fine chocolates.
Definitely do not read this if you're a fan of their blog and you're expecting more of the wry humor you find there. You will be disappointed.
Do read it if you really want an insight to what makes celebrities tick. It's very astute.
July 22, 2014
There are few lessons the lives of celebrities can teach us, but Tom and Lorenzo (of fashion blogging fame) manage to unearth them all in this delightfully bitchy frothy book about learning from the stars, or as they call them, our modern day court jesters.
In a nutshell, you should hold yourself up with the confidence of the Hollywood deluded and tell yourself, no matter what kind of day you are having, "everyone wants to be me or do me." You are then free to sally forth and completely dominate and control your life, setting your own narrative and controlling your own press.
A fun book that had me giggling all the way through.
In a nutshell, you should hold yourself up with the confidence of the Hollywood deluded and tell yourself, no matter what kind of day you are having, "everyone wants to be me or do me." You are then free to sally forth and completely dominate and control your life, setting your own narrative and controlling your own press.
A fun book that had me giggling all the way through.
September 29, 2014
Tom and Lorenzo, authors of a popular fashion blog, dish on celebrity lives.
I feel bad saying this, but I couldn't really get into this book. It took almost 8 months to read. I love their blog, so I was expecting to like the book, but the premise was just one I couldn't get into. The cynical yet generalized look at the lives of celebrities (very carefully written to not mention any specific celebrities) just wasn't interesting to me. I continue to read their blog, however, and I still enjoy that.
I feel bad saying this, but I couldn't really get into this book. It took almost 8 months to read. I love their blog, so I was expecting to like the book, but the premise was just one I couldn't get into. The cynical yet generalized look at the lives of celebrities (very carefully written to not mention any specific celebrities) just wasn't interesting to me. I continue to read their blog, however, and I still enjoy that.
March 21, 2014
I have an actual bitter kitten endorsement: My cat tried to eat this book because I was too busy reading it to play with her! I will never be able to sell my copy "like new" because it has little bites and claw marks on the cover.
In all seriousness, this book is not meant to be taken so seriously! It's not "cynical" it's silly. A quick, easy and entirely entertaining read. And it's fun to play guess who -- in fact, I think they should release a party game version. My cat and I want to play.
April 23, 2014
If this was by a different author, I might give it 5 stars for humor and a biting commentary on how much is fake about Hollywood.
However these authors can do SO MUCH BETTER. They currently do an amazingly detailed analysis of the costumes on Mad Men, and bring a grad school thesis level of detail to thoughts on history through the lenses of fabrics, colors, prints, accessories, undergarments, and how they all underline a momentous decade of chance.
Sadly, not what we got here at all, although it was funny.
May 18, 2014
If you're a fan of Tom and Lorenzo (the fabulous blog), you may be in for a surprise. This book really isn't anything like the blog. I had a hard time getting into it (and truth be told, I haven't finished it). More in-depth and "serious" about celebrity culture than mere witty bitching or fawning over red carpet looks (which is the raison d'etre of their blog), this is a sarcastic and satirical look at how one becomes a celebrity. Honestly, not much fun to read. Oh well...their blog is still lusciously addictive.
February 17, 2016
I am a longtime Bitter Kitten. I even remember when they had two separate blogspot sites. Their sharp wit has kept me coming back for years, but imho this was a lot of snark to take at once. Parts of this book were laugh out loud funny and I adore TLo for their honesty about the dysfunction of celebrity. However, by the end I was questioning why I pay attention to celebrities and read celebrity style blogs at all. If I were to lend this book to a friend I would tell them to read it a chapter a day.
February 12, 2014
Loved, loved this book. A complete laugh out loud book. For those of you seemingly having such a offended response to it, you have to look at it like parody. Parody always has a bit of truth in it, helped along by a healthy dose of hyperbole. Tom and Lorenzo have clearly succeeded with that here, making it a book I will want to reference when seeing celebs act out on television or in photo ops, or just when I need a good laugh.
March 29, 2014
This book was such a disappointment. I love the blog, but what I like about it is the thoughtful analysis. This book has none of that. It's just a recitation of celebrity stereotypes: they have plastic surgery, everything they do is for attention, etc. It never goes any deeper than that. Their style of writing on the blog made me think they were capable of more than this, and they probably are.
April 7, 2014
Wow. What a huge disappointment. I debated on giving this book one star, but since I did actually manage to finish it, and because I LOVE Tom and Lorenzo and know that they can do better, it got two. That's a generous two though. This was cynical, bitter, bitchy, and not in a funny, laugh-out-loud sort of way. I just didn't enjoy reading this at all. TLo, stick to what you do best! Your next book needs to be about fashion!
May 26, 2015
I don't know anything about Tom and Lorenzo's blog or Project Runway.
I read this on a dare from my sister who loves their work.
The only thing I took away from it was a sense of the hugely empty bowl of celebrity.
And maybe that's enough.
If they're truthful, it's just astounding that such emptiness is celebrated by so many.
Guess it's just part of the culture?
Egad. I just don't know what to say because their take on things is just...in another universe, I guess.
I read this on a dare from my sister who loves their work.
The only thing I took away from it was a sense of the hugely empty bowl of celebrity.
And maybe that's enough.
If they're truthful, it's just astounding that such emptiness is celebrated by so many.
Guess it's just part of the culture?
Egad. I just don't know what to say because their take on things is just...in another universe, I guess.
December 30, 2022
I’ve long enjoyed Tom and Lorenzo’s fashion blogging, so I was curious about their first book about celebrity culture, published nearly a decade ago. That it was pretty harsh, more so than is currently in vogue, wasn’t surprising given the tone of their commentary at that point. What was surprising in a disappointing way was that it just…wasn’t very funny. It was the same joke, essentially, throughout the entire book and it got old fast.
February 14, 2014
I really wanted to love this. Really. But the snarky wit that plays so well in TLo's blog does not translate to an actual book. Many of their observations are sound, but I think they were so focused on being deliciously mean that a lot of their points get lost.
February 5, 2014
If you're not already a fan of their blog (and you should be) then this is a great introduction to the fabulously opinionated and witty words of Tom and Lorenzo. Read the book; improve your life. But that's just the opinion of this humble non-Urdu speaking Kansan and loyal bitter kitten.
February 12, 2014
I agree with other reviewers, I love Tom and Lorenzo's blog and I was excited for and disappointed by the book. Although I understand why they did not just reproduce their blog in book form, they wandered from the voice I admire.
February 26, 2014
Brevity is the soul of wit, darlings. There is a great deal I admire about these authors, but they are much stronger in the short form. What is brilliant and incisive in blog posts becomes belabored here.
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