Superficial: More Adventures from The Andy Cohen Diaries

by Andy Cohen

The star-studded and sidesplitting follow up to The Andy Cohen Diaries

The megapopular host of Watch What Happens: Live and executive producer of The Real Housewives franchise is back, better than ever, and telling stories that will keep his publicist up at night.

Since the publication of his last book, Andy has toured the country with his sidekick Anderson Cooper, hit the radio waves with his own Sirius station, Radio Andy, appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher despite his mother’s conviction he was not intellectually prepared, hosted NBC’s Primetime New Year’s Eve special, guest edited Entertainment Weekly, starred in Bravo’s Then & Now with Andy Cohen, offended celebrities with his ongoing case of foot-in-mouth disease, and welcomed home Teresa “Namaste” Giudice, from a brief stint in jail. Hopping from the Hamptons to the Manhattan dating world, the dog park to the red carpet, Cardinals superfan and mama’s boy Andy Cohen, with Wacha in tow, is the kind of star that fans are dying to be friends with. This book gives them that chance.

If The Andy Cohen Diaries was deemed “the literary equivalent of a Fresca and tequila” by Jimmy Fallon, Superficial is a double: dishier, juicier, and friskier. In this account of his escapades—personal, professional, and behind-the-scenes—Andy tells us not only what goes down, but exactly what he thinks of it.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Humor, Biography Memoir, Biography, Celebrity

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2016

About the author

Andy Cohen is an American television executive, host, and author. As of 2012, he is the Executive Vice President of Development and Talent at the Bravo cable television network, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. He is also the host of the network's nightly live talk show Watch What Happens Live and the author of a memoir, Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture. He is the first openly gay host of an American late night talk show.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIP:
If you are a "BRAVOholic" and "FANdy" (like me), I highly recommend the audio version of all of his books. It's like having Andy at your kitchen table spilling secrets, and it's MUCH funnier, and certainly more enjoyable that way! Listening and Laughing to this fun, perfectly silly, highly entertaining "audio book" is my secret to surviving TRAFFIC! - Hey, whatever works!! :-)

[SUSAN *Nevertheless,she persisted* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aptly named,this book was overflowing with first world problems,braggadoccio and name dropping. It reminded me of a "Subway" sandwich,very little meat and a lot of filler.

[Gina *loves sunshine* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy Cohen - funny...dishy...jetsetting...and yes superficial!! This book is a diary continuation that picks up right where his previous book left off and follows the same format - his day to day life through summer 2016. I would highly suggesting reading the previous book first - that sets a better tone for the content and how the book rolls. I listened to the audio version, which is the best way to read this book. You get Andy's life straight from him - makes it more authentic. I enjoyed it! He adds a few just for listener moments.

This book is one big gush on his life, again. Go Andy - I think you are funny and I don't hate on you because you have a lot of money and obviously enjoy it! I say...keep it up...I like the entertainment!!!! If you don't watch the housewives or bravo...I'm not sure why you would read this book?? OK maybe just as a guilty pleasure!? It takes you through his day to day - his job, his meetings, his trainers, life with his dog, the men he meets, remodeling his apartment, his massages. He travels often and deals with various housewives and misc divas(both male and female) more than necessary! And his close friends(mostly celebrities) make a constant appearance. The best part about this book is his mother, her comments to him are priceless!! And in the audio version he does a great jewish nagging mother voice for her..and it totally works!! She is the epitome of keeping it real!! I found the book to be entertaining and totally interesting....in a superficial kind of way!! Throughout the whole book you realize that even though he's a celebrity, he's rich, constantly criticized and loved by media - he is still as human as everyone! he ultimately craves happiness and companionship. He still cares what people think about him and worries constantly about things he's said..a lot of foot in mouth moments!

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superficial, Shallow, and Narcissistic

I've read all of Andy Cohen's books. This one appears to me as a stream of conscienceness on speed. I think I have a love/hate thing with AC. I admire his politics and his ability to have a pulpit for them. I don't admire his stereotypical gay man in a bar attitude. His shaming of people who aren't attractive to him is sad. I also see his overuse of drugs and booze to be typical social scene. He tells us he's wealthy. He tells us he's hung. I found out he's a power top. There is often TMI.

This book was difficult to decipher. He talks about people I guess his readers are supposed to know. I had to Google each name and his relationship to them. Finally I found a chart that explains some of these names.

It might be a generational thing. (He was born during my Junior Prom.) I was distressed by his disloyalty to friends and associates. Are celebrities bothered by their fans? Also, in this book I don't think the man breathes. I got dizzy trying to follow his daily routine. Breakfast here. Brunch next. Lunch at trendy restaurant. Gym next. Dinner, meeting, massage.

He becomes involved with a bright young man 20 years his junior. I was left wondering if he was going marry him or adopt him.

It's basically a dizzy read. You sort of live vicariously through him, but slow down. I do admire his relationship with Wacha. Rescuing him does give him extra points.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

OH MY GOD, HOW BORING CAN YOU GET??!

[Steven Walle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this humorist's book. I had never heard of him. I listened to it on audio book. The author was the reader. I recommend this book highly.
Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Steven

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you read his previous book, "The Andy Cohen Diaries", this is just more of the same. I got pretty bored reading this one, since it was so much like his previous above mentioned book. It just wasn' as interesting for some reason. Glad it was a library book.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more dish or more than a foot bath's worth of insight into anything going on in Andy Cohen's life. His diary was basically a long recounting of all the stuff he checked off his to-do list over the period of a year and a half. Maybe the only thing that really surprised me was how much of a pothead Andy is, and recreational drug use is always the most boring part of any diarist/memoirist's life as far as I'm concerned. Yawn.

[Sterling Hardaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is literally called superficial so you shouldn’t expect much. For what it is, cute and funny stories with bravolebrities and some actual celebs ( SJP, John Mayer mainly). Nice coffee table/airplane reading

[Galen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read in between a few others. I found myself reaching for a few entries of Andy’s diaries whenever I had some downtime these last few weeks and I was laughing out loud at points. A great time capsule for a pivotal time in my life (2014-16) and a fun look into both the celeb and Bravo worlds!

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to begin with saying that I love Andy. Love his show and his previous two books. However, I feel that there was something missing from this book. Maybe it was too similar to the last one. Which makes sense since they are both diaries and his life didn't change that much. I think I liked the first one more because it was more light hearted this one he was more unhappy and lonely and I felt bad. I just want him to be happy and have a partner to settle down with and have a HEA. There were a lot of great moments in the book. I live for the Housewives gossip and any mention of SJP and Kelly. I'm glad he wrote the book and was so open about everything. In the end I'm happy I read the book. Andy makes it so easy to think he would make a great friend and that you want to be his friend and maybe that you are by reading his diary. I hope one day I get to meet him.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superficial: More Adventures from the Diaries of Andy Cohen

I Picked Up This Book Because: Library book due.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: HC Public Library
Dates Read: 6/13/23 - 6/19/23
Stars: 3.5
Narrator(s): Andy Cohen

The Story:

Andy’s life is exhausting. The sheer number of activities he participates in in a day wears me out just hearing them. Although he has a busy life, he seems to have a fun life too. I found this book a little too long. I’m not sure what stories he could have cut and now I’m wondering what he actually did cut because we did not get a true daily accounting but anyway while I was entertained, I did feel like it went on a bit too long. His stories about Wakka make me second guess adopting a dog. Wakka deserves and has a loving home but some of his triggers causing him to bite people scare me. I also know he is sweet and loving 97% of the time.

The Random Thoughts:

I just googled “Brazilian Andy Samburg” and no title has ever been so accurate.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for everyone, but I love Andy Cohen and I love to hear about his life and his closest friends. I think he is a hoot! And I Love his relationship with his parents.

[John Beyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished a year after starting.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had a love/hate relationship with Andy Cohen for a long time. I LOVED him as the host of the Housewives reunions, and appreciated his role in bringing the Housewives to my TV for my viewing pleasure. I felt like I should enjoy him when he hosted WWHL, but I HATED that show for a long, long time. There was something about his too-chipper, over-eager demeanor that I just couldn't stand.

And then, somewhere along the line...I found myself not quite as put off by WWHL. Whether it was seeing guests that I enjoyed, or coming to recognize how unique, clever, and fun some of the games he played with his guests were. Sometime last year I grabbed Most Talkative on audiobook, and I think that sealed the deal for me -- he had officially won me over. It had probably happened at some point before that, but after listening to him narrate his own audiobook for hours and truly enjoying it the entire time, I knew I had somehow become a fan.

I never read The Andy Cohen Diaries which may have made Superficial an unusual choice. And when I started Superficial I felt like not having read the first book of diary entries might be a real detriment. I struggled to figure out who was who, especially in terms of his close friends. I persevered, though, and eventually figured out who most of them were, or at least recognized their repeated names enough to know they were in his inner circle. It was never NOT fun when I read about Hickey or Anderson, or Kelly or SJP and could immediately picture who he was with. His inner circle of celebrity friends is still kind of surprising to me in how varied it is, but I love it.

This was not a quick read, though. I enjoyed it the entire way through, but the diary format was dense and just took awhile to get through. It felt like I wasn't reading enough, when I actually spent a lot of time with this book. In the end, though, it was okay, because it meant I did get to spend more time with Andy and his stories. His honesty and the view he gives the reader behind the scenes of WWHL and of his personal life are more satisfying than I think any other celebrity autobiography I've ever read. Based on the things he did reveal throughout the course of the couple years contained in the diary entries here, it makes me wonder just how crazy the things he DIDN'T reveal were! I loved the way he detailed his reactions and responses to text messages from celebrities and housewives, candor and their reactions upon reading be damned. It made him feel even more like a real person, because I know I've had some of the same reactions to things in my own life!

I also liked the way he discussed his own celebrity status, and his love life. I liked how he delved a bit into how successful he is, and yet how some days he's very lonely at the end of the day. I appreciated watching his relationship with #BAS grow, and also how, when I had just gotten to the point where I was so frustrated with Andy for still being hung up on #BritActor or the latest Tinder date I could scream, he himself acknowledged that he wasn't sure why he was doing those things when he really did have a good thing going with #BAS, that felt real. I hope they're still hanging in there.

And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the true love of Andy's life (at least as depicted in Superficial, the infamous Wacha. I especially loved the Wacha stories because it reminded me of my own relationship with my crazy pup. There were moments that he described between him and Wacha that I could really, really relate to. One of my favorite entries was when Andy's bedroom mirror falls on him, terrifying Wacha and forcing him to walk himself to the Emergency Care clinic a few blocks away. When Andy returns, Wacha refuses to come out of his crate, and Andy says "I was lying in my bed screaming across the apartment, 'Are you KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? Are you REALLY not going to come sleep with me tonight? I need you!!!!!!!," before changing tactics and sweetly calling him to bed instead, all to no avail. I HAVE DONE THIS WITH CASSIE. It was so great to see the bond between owner and dog on such full display, even as Andy struggles with some of Wacha's behavioral issues. I just loved every moment of the two of them.

This was such a worthwhile book for me. I unapologetically love my Bravo, and now I can say without a shadow of a doubt I love the man who made me love it so much as well. I loved how real he was, and even loved his reflection at the end of the book about having kept a diary for 3 or so years. The way it made him look back and reflect on where he's been and where he's come, but how it also, in some ways, kept him from truly LIVING his life, because then he thought about things that happened to him as something he needed to make sure he described in his diary. It was the perfect cap to a really enjoyable year and a half spent with a super interesting, busy, celebrity.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Superficial is the follow-up to The Andy Cohen Diaries. However, you definitely don't need to have read that book to be able to follow this book.

This book is written in diary format and follows Andy from September 2014 to June 2016. There are no chapters, just dates with diary entries.

I am not a big Andy Cohen fan. But I've seen him co-host with Kelly Ripa. And I've seen him do the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion shows. I heard him talking about this book and it sounded interesting.

This book is more about the stories vs stellar writing. Some of it is funny. But a lot of it just reads like the same thing over and over. I think that it was a big mistake to make the print so small for the hardcover. It's not easy to read.

The book starts with Joan Rivers' funeral. Right at the start he explains that he wasn't going to explain who people were. However, I think that it was a mistake to mention so many people by only their first name.

The actual writing is just okay. For the most part I was able to follow along with who he was talking about. I definitely appreciated when he used full names. I really think that it is a huge issue that not everybody is referred to by their full name. It's too confusing.

The book follows his day to day life. The only problem is that he does a lot of the same stuff over and over.

The parts I really enjoyed: his vacations, his dog Wacha, all of the Real Housewives gossip. anything to do with Sarah Jessica Parker, his book tour with Anderson Cooper, plus all things Kelly Ripa.

The book focuses a lot on: him doing things with his famous friends, the remodeling of his apartment, him going to the gym, and the launch of his radio station.

Overall, it was a semi-enjoyable read. Some of the stories were interesting. And I do think the book gives us a lot of insight into Andy Cohen's life. But I wish that there had been a glossary with everybody's last name. And I would have liked the book to focus more on the quality of the writing vs how much he did each day.

[Alex Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy Cohen's Diaries, volumes 1 & 2, are the epitome of the term "guilty pleasure." I have never watched the various "Housewives of..." shows, or any of his other Bravo oeuvre, but the diaries are compulsive reading. He doesn't care if he comes across as likeable or not, neurotic or not, etc., he just lays it all out and you can take him or leave him. His NYC is a bustling place, full of famous friends and things to do, while his vacations, especially on Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg's (DVF) yacht, sound like loads of fun. I do worry about his dog, Wacha, who seems to be left behind when Andy goes on his many adventures. No wonder he's a snarling, biting, pooping mess! I think he needs a better owner. Cohen says this is his last Diary, but you never know. I plan on reading the next one if it ever comes out. I will continue to fret about the dog.

[Erin Heyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exactly like his last book but with a few new & interesting "storylines" to follow (his book tour, launching of his satellite radio station, blossoming relationship with his still current boyfriend). Beyond that, it was more of the same. And just like with his last book, I couldn't wait to be finished with it. I still ❤️Andy Cohen, though!

[Ada-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to Andy Cohen read this on audiobook. Definitely entertaining for walking or plane ride, but the title is pretty accurate. And I'm not sure I'm cool enough to know all of Andy's friends by first name or initials only, so I only knew who he was talking about 23% of the time.

[Sandra Lenahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like watching WWHL or the Housewives and their reunion shows then you've probably already read Superficial or his 2 previous titles loving and laughing through every page! Even if you aren't a Housewives fan or don't recognize who Andy Cohen is the book is still a hoot.

There's never a dull moment as you go thru Andy's journals for 2014 to 2016. He tours with buddy Anderson Cooper, takes Sarah Jessica Parker (forever known as SJP) to the Met Ball, tries to find the perfect man, deals with Wacha's issues being an abused rescue pup, remodels his apartment and launches RadioAndy on Sirus XM. More than just a gossip piece, Cohen reflects on his behavior, gets schooled on Twitter and maybe, just maybe, has found his dream man in Brazilian Andy Samberg.

I'm not a big nonfiction reader and watch almost no TV (I rather read about it in my Entertainment Weekly magazine) but still found Cohen's diary entries a quick and fun read. It really made walking on the treadmill enjoyable.

[Zach Schwarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another year (and a half) in the life of Andy Cohen. While I can only imagine what it is like to be him and immersed in the Bravolebrity world, you can get a pretty good idea from reading this book. I did not find myself enjoying The Andy Cohen Diaries as much as I was expecting but I went into the continuation with the same expectations but I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

At the end of the day, Andy Cohen is very entertaining and as long as you don't take it too seriously, you can't help but laugh and enjoy his daily antics. His daily ups and downs, his adventures with Wacha, and his interactions with the Housewives and other celebrities were quite enjoyable. It does get monotonous at times and it is hard to keep up with who everyone is but you learn to just sail past those parts after reading the first Diaries. Just what I was expecting from another year in the life of the king of the Bravo universe.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not at all, in my opinion. I just adore Andy Cohen--for his success, his self-assessment, his sense of place, his spot in pop culture. So much! I wish he wanted to write a third book based on his diaries (he says at the end of "Superficial" that it will be his last) because I'd love to follow his adventures as a daddy. This book, a gift, got lost in a box of books that was created when I was on a shelf-rearranging kick. Boy, am I glad that I rediscovered this and several other gems during this pandemic!

[Becky R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty standard fare for anyone who has read Andy's first book, all in journal/diary style. If you like BRAVO and have watched The Real Housewives series, this book is almost a "behind the scenes" for those Andy encounters from the BRAVO world and Hollywood. You definitely get a huge inside look at his life, and he is a pretty brave and candid guy. Admittedly, I really like Andy Cohen and find him hilarious. If you're not a fan of his or BRAVO, this might not be for you.

[Benjamin Hammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I read the first two diaries too closely together because Superficial was an understatement on this one. That’s hard to even say given I do enjoy Andy. I just got tired of him asking himself why he’s alone and with no one while he constantly talked about all the cute guys he was meeting. Made me think therapy might be beneficial to better understand the “why.”

[Stephanie Spiess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the audio book since I have a long 1 hour commute to work everyday. Andy Cohen had me laughing every morning and evening. I definitely recommend if you're looking for something light and fun!

[Marsha Hood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite of all his books. Laughed out loud many times.

[Jessica]

Did I really just read this whole book? Welp...someone gave it to me, so in I dived. Le sigh.

[Vanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun read (audiobook). Much like his first diary book.

[Courtney Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a busy guy Andy Cohen is—makes me wonder how he’s spent the Covid months. I found both of his diaries books to be only mildly interesting—total junk food reading.