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Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories

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An instant  New York Times  bestseller from Kelly Ripa—a sharp, funny, and honest collection of real-life stories showing the many dimensions and crackling wit of the beloved daytime talk show host. In Live Wire , her first book, Kelly shows what really makes her tick. As a professional, as a wife, as a daughter and as a mother, she brings a hard-earned wisdom and an eye for the absurdity of life to every minute of every day. It is her relatability in all of these roles that has earned her fans worldwide and millions of followers on social media. Whether recounting how she and Mark really met, the level of chauvinism she experienced on set, how Jersey Pride follows her wherever she goes, and many, many moments of utter mortification (whence she proves that you cannot, in fact, die of embarrassment) Kelly always tells it like it is. Ms. Ripa takes no prisoners. Surprising, at times savage, a little shameless and always with humor… Live Wire shows Kelly as she really is offscreen—a very wise woman who has something to say. 

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2022

1780 people are currently reading
10632 people want to read

About the author

Kelly Ripa

6 books182 followers
Kelly Ripa is one of the most powerful voices in media, with a diverse body of work both on and off the camera. A household name for more than two decades and a career at ABC spanning over 30 years, Ripa has welcomed viewers with her sharp wit every morning as the host of the award-winning Live franchise. Having established Live as a major destination for entertainers, politicians, athletes and other cultural icons during her over 20 year stint as host, Ripa has been honored with six Daytime Entertainment Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Talk Show Host and 15 Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show, with a win in the category in 2012.

Beginning her career in entertainment as an actress, Ripa’s success spans across numerous celebrated television series playing various roles. First appearing on the soap opera All My Children, where she met her husband Mark Consuelos on set, Ripa earned three Daytime Emmy nominations. Ripa additionally guest-starred on an episode of the hit comedy series Broad City, where her performance, playing an alternate version of her television persona, was met with rave reviews. Ripa also starred in three seasons of the half-hour ABC sitcom Hope & Faith and in 2003, took a turn in TV’s most coveted role, hosting Saturday Night Live.

Ripa and her husband ventured into the development side of entertainment when they began their NY-based production company, Milojo Productions. Milojo produces and creates content across multiple platforms, working with Bravo, Logo, VH1, E!, CMT, HGTV, WeTV, TLC, Oxygen, ABC Signature, Hulu and Discovery. Additionally, Milojo produced Emmy®-nominated documentary The Streak for ESPN and critically-acclaimed documentary Off The Rez for TLC.

Ripa has earned numerous accolades over the years, including the prestigious Excellence in Media Award from GLAAD and Glamour’s Woman of the Year Award. She is also consistently recognized by The Hollywood Reporter and has been named as part of its annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 list, as well as the publication’s 35 Most Powerful People in Media.

In September 2022, Ripa will add author to her resume, when her collection Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories is published by Dey Street Books.

Ripa lives in New York City with Mark Consuelos, and together the couple have three children.

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5 stars
4,409 (26%)
4 stars
6,409 (37%)
3 stars
4,570 (27%)
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1 star
424 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,699 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa ~ Bantering Books.
367 reviews2,266 followers
December 23, 2022
I never saw it coming. But I like Kelly Ripa. I really, really like her.

I say this with surprise because I’ve always felt rather ambivalent about Ms. Ripa. I’ve never disliked her, but aside from occasionally enjoying her on the various incarnations of Live over the years, she’s never evoked strong feelings from me either way.

Until now.

Because NOW I’ve had the pleasure of listening to her first book on audio, Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, expertly narrated by Ripa herself. NOW I know that the woman can write. And NOW I know that she can write well.

Live Wire is a collection of stories from Ripa’s life. So it’s technically not a memoir, but the stories have the feel of one. In them, she delves into a wide variety of topics: marriage and children, her early years on Live with Regis Philbin, plastic surgery, her love for the Garden State, her most embarrassing life moments. And she tells the stories with great wisdom, a sharp wit, and revealing candor.

I laughed. I made my husband listen to a few especially adept passages. My eyes misted over.

Kelly Ripa, you live wire, you.
Profile Image for Jayne.
1,033 reviews676 followers
October 14, 2022
Kelly Ripa's "memoir" is not a memoir.

Instead, "Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories" is a collection of very, very, very "long-winded" and "I'm trying to be funny and entertaining" short stories about random happenings in Kelly's life.

Did I really care about when Kelly met Richard Gere?

Or when she passed out after she had sex with her husband?

Or about her plastic surgery?

NO!

(Is this what today's celebrities need to write about to sell books?)

Missing from this book was praise for her mentor Regis Philbin, who was instrumental in helping her jumpstart and catapult her career.

A very, very small portion of the book had negative comments about Regis Philbin. (Huh?).

Kelly's disparaging "Regis comments" show that Kelly never learned that it's poor taste to discredit a mentor, especially when this mentor is dead and can't defend himself/herself.

Also missing from this book was Kelly's "short story" about the unprofessional and self-centered stunt that she pulled in 2016 when she "went missing" from Live after her former co-host Michael Strahan announced he was moving to Good Morning America.

I would have preferred a chronological insightful memoir about how a bus driver's daughter from South Jersey with zero Hollywood connections earned and achieved her celebrity status.

I also would have liked to read some "short stories" about Kelly's behind-the-scenes moments at "All My Children" and "Live".

I listened to the audiobook read by Kelly Ripa. I always love it when celebrities read their own memoirs and/or "long-winded short stories" and to Kelly's credit, she did a superb job with the narration.

2 stars rounded up.
Profile Image for Laura.
854 reviews208 followers
October 12, 2022
A couple of chapters were mildly entertaining, but I just didn't like the style of writing and couldn't connect with the lifestyle. There were also some negative statements about general groups of people. That's a real turn-off.
Profile Image for Darla.
4,825 reviews1,228 followers
April 3, 2023
Rounding up from 3.5. The good = stories about her marriage and Live. Especially loved the Regis insights. Her current host seems to be one of her besties. Wondering if an NDA keeps the Michael Strahan details on the down low. Some of the stories are truly long-winded. Glad I could speed up the playback to keep moving - minus 1/2 star. Taking off one additional star for her potty mouth. The number of times she uses the f-bomb is surprising. There is a warning at the beginning about adult content and language.
Profile Image for Heather Adores Books.
1,597 reviews1,860 followers
March 25, 2023
I used to watch Kelly and Mark back in the 90's on All My Children, then Live with Regis and Kelly, so I figured I'd see what she had to offer. It's not a memoir, but she tells her story in the format she calls essays. There were some funny parts and some meh parts. Going to middle of the road it.

Narration:
Kelly Ripa ~ 9 hours 59 minutes

Follow me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
Profile Image for Ellie Studdard.
258 reviews7 followers
September 29, 2022
Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love Kelly Ripa. I’ve always said my dream job would allow me to watch Live each morning then go in to work (I’m thriving on maternity leave). So naturally I was thrilled to hear she was writing a book. This collection of essays felt like an extended “host chat” with Kelly and had every bit of her humor and honesty. Like any memoir read by the author, you must listen to this one. It’s not a “tell-all” or super juicy by any means, but instead just a handful of stories about her and her family. If you like Kelly as much as me, you will love it, if you don’t, you should probably skip it.
1,365 reviews91 followers
October 18, 2022
Never was a subtitle truer than this book being "long-winded short stories," but I would add the word "boring" in the middle of that phrase. There are a lot of words spread across the almost 300 pages but very little is actually said.

Ripa claims to have written all of this herself (doubtful, she probably had a really good editor that wasn't willing to cut out all the dull stuff because there would be such a short manuscript left). And Kelly insists it's a "book of essays" instead of a "memoir," but really it's mostly inconsequential verbosity that I highly suspect is meant to cover up for the real secrets that she keeps carefully hidden within. Or as the Jersey girl might want to call it--it's verbal vomit.

She starts with a strange introduction telling readers that she knows she can't write well and doesn't even deserve to be hosting a talk show (I agree with both), trying to do the fake humility bit as a way to compensate when the negative reviews come in. She thinks a great way to begin the book is to talk about the timing of the press release announcing the publication of this tome? She has no idea how to put together real stories, and from the start it's obvious this is all just one big PR game.

Ripa runs through wordy explanations of her marriage, childbirth, and her surprisingly successful career. There is never enough depth to satisfy. She also talks about sex quite a bit (odd for someone married for so long, is there something she's hiding?) and isn't afraid to use more R-rated language than she does on TV.

Probably the most controversial (and most interesting) chapter involves her working with Regis Philbin and how she was hired. There is no love lost between the co-hosts, and it's obvious Ripa isn't happy with how she has been treated by the show's owners and producers over the years. However, she fails to go into much detail, pulling her punching and leaving the ring limp.

She manages to make her husband look bad quite a few times, slams Regis without subtlety, makes innocent wisecracks about her children, and ignores or barely mentions some of the biggest things she's known for (Hope & Faith, Michael Strahan, Ryan Seacrest). She even makes a couple demeaning comments about Gelman!

It's as if she wants to burn bridges (even saying how much she hates going in to do the talk show every day) but she doesn't have the guts to fully start the flames. Her personal wall is way up when it comes to telling deep truths about her marriage, kids, workplace, unusual friendships with a number of famous gays, and what her future holds.

Give her a little credit: on page 110 she writes, "In case you haven't figured it out by now, I tend to ramble." That's the understatement of the year. What she calls being a "live wire" is actually her nervous energy using hundreds of pages to say almost nothing.
Profile Image for Alissa.
353 reviews80 followers
October 13, 2022
Disappointing memoir.

I thought she was going to talk about her experience on the show. Nope. She mostly focused on her life before she got the "Live with Regis and Kelly" hosting gig and a little bit about her first few months there, but NOTHING ELSE. We know her from the show so to leave it out nearly completely was a very bizarre, intentional and glaring omission.

Instead, she talks about her marriage and family and plastic surgery and meeting Richard Gere at a random party. I kept waiting for her to get to the "good part" and she never did.

I guess if you're a super fan, you may care a lot more about college visits with her kids and the time she took half of a Xanax before a speech, but for the rest of us? This book is a swing and a miss.

I walk away from it wondering why she wrote it. Perhaps it's a love letter to her husband and kids? She did say it's not a memoir, it's a collection of essays. But it actually is a memoir, it just doesn't talk about her career at all. What is it like hosting with Ryan? What keeps her coming back to the show every day? What really went down with Strahan? What's her relationship with Gelman? Who was her favorite celebrity guest? Who is her favorite guest co-host? What was her most embarrassing moment on the show? What is her career advice for younger aspiring talk show hosts?

I can understand why she wouldn't want to speak ill of the show because she's still on it. But she doesn't talk about it at all. Not even the good stuff.

Instead, she tells what I think are supposed to be "hilarious" anecdotes. There are some funny parts, but she isn't nearly as funny as she clearly thinks she is.

Overall, unless you absolutely ADORE Kelly Ripa, this book was mostly a waste of time with no clear reason for writing it.
Profile Image for RsvpShindig.
102 reviews4 followers
October 16, 2022
Kelly Ripa was an opportunist when she auditioned for the spot next to Regis. Does anyone remember her sitting and telling the well-rehearsed squirrel story?
To read that she didn't have a relationship with Regis is not a surprise. She used him. Has had little respect for most cohosts. For a girl that started out as a B-rated actress on a soap opera, it seems like she has never really grown as a person. There is not depth to her when she tells her stories in this book. If that incident with Clay from American Idol happened now, she would be canceled. As she should be.
I can't imagine the pain that Regis Philbin's wife and daughters must have felt reading his or seeing her headlines from this. Sometimes our truths should just be kept to ourselves or those close to us. Not by writing a book and making money off it.
676 reviews2 followers
October 7, 2022
Rounded up to 4 stars because of how adorable and down to earth this is. The crazy ramblings are hilarious even though disjointed. But I just wanted more. More depth, more details, more background, more personal insights. And more crazy stories. An enjoyable read for sure.
Profile Image for Patty.
400 reviews9 followers
June 8, 2023
I'm a fan of Kelly and Live but am disappointed with this book. A lot of it I found boring. When reading a book like this I expect some inside scoop or tidbits of things I didn't know. That doesn't happen. I think I appreciate her humor better with her delivery than it being read. In Kelly's defense she literally has LONG WINDED right on the cover...believe her!
Also if you have conservative values or a reader who likes to keep politics out of their entertainment I would skip this one.
370 reviews10 followers
December 11, 2022
Go ahead, call me shallow--but I LOVE Kelly Ripa! Even though I rarely get to actually view "Live with Kelly," I've been aware of Ripa for years and have always been entertained by her quick wit and apparent frankness. Well, this book did NOT disappoint. She claims to have written it entirely without a ghost writer, and if that is indeed true--props to her! Ripa's humor, reality checks and relatable life experiences shine through. Even though I was experiencing a sobering family crisis while in the midst of this, "Live Wire" gave me reason to laugh out loud and take me out of the moment on several occasions. She is open about the privileges she and her husband Mark Consuelos now enjoy due to their wealth and celebrity, as well as the Botox she has freely injected--yet she clearly cherishes her children, values her husband (they've been married for 26 years now--practically a century in the celebrity world) and has never forgotten where she started. You've got to love her for those reasons alone, but you really will love laughing with and at her as she shares scenes from her life. Ripa gives new meaning to the phrase, "Celebrities: They're just like you and me," because in a lot of ways....she really seems to be just that.
Profile Image for Amy Lawson.
667 reviews11 followers
November 18, 2022
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. She can be a lot. But, I laughed my head off and related to so much of her story. The parts about sending kids off into the world made me cry. Any book that can make me laugh and cry is a win and I will read her again if she writes more.
Profile Image for Denise Jo.
371 reviews6 followers
November 6, 2022
I am glad this was a library book. I would not have been happy if I had to pay for it. I did not see any comedy in her book. It was poorly written and she didn't do herself any favors with some of her stories. I was hoping to read more about her sister and her relationship with her. But nothing. I think I liked her a whole lot better before I read the book. These are just my feelings and you may feel differently when you read it.
Profile Image for Carol N.
870 reviews21 followers
October 3, 2022
Let me just say I am guilty of watching Live with Kelly and Ryan while I am enjoying my morning coffee. Since her book, "LIVE WIRE: Long-Winded Short Stories,"was discussed often, I was eager for its publication. It is not a memoir, but instead it is a collection of autobiographical essays covering the highs and lows of Ripa’s life. I would have preferred a chronological memoir format instead of her essay version that lacked consistency. Some of the topics she touched upon were her early tabloid relationships, their infamous wedding elopement details, Botox or plastic surgery experiences, and finally their transition to empty nest parenthood. She only briefly touches on her long relationship with Regis and does not mention hot topics such as the show's Michael Strahan’s drama. Her stories were a mixed bag, some captivating, some rather random and not particularly pertinent. Her writing style left me a bit surprised; she seemed to be less poised or self-confident than she appears each morning.
Profile Image for Katie Tongalson.
11 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2022
Ripa’s hallmark self-deprecating humor about the challenge of drafting her non-memoir book of short stories has a grain of truth—the book fails to meet expectations. Ripa is hysterically funny in moments of these brief stories but they ultimately feel a bit vapid. There is a whole chapter devouted to experiences of traveling around the world and finding natives of New Jersey—what was the ultimate message there? I applaud Ripa for her trademark honesty about topics that are perhaps still taboo, such as post birth vaginal intercourse pain, which sends her to an ER after a fainting spell. However, for a woman who had a fascinating career, I wanted to hear more about what drove her career arch (other than luck) and her philosophy as a TV host. There is a nuance between comedy and seriousness and she seems to forfeit the latter. She seems to have missed the mark (no, not the hot hunky hubby, Mark who gets plenty of attention).
22 reviews
October 6, 2022
I recommend the audio book and listening to Kelly tell her own stories.

Of course I bought this believing it was an autobiography, but the disappointment learning it was not, did not last long. Filled with funny stories-some I laughed out loud to and eagerly waited to hear more. T’was a little disappointed went the book ended—not because the book was disappointing, but because contrary to her beliefs, she is a natural storyteller.

I rarely watch Live and came to know Kelly from watching All My Children. If she ever gets the idea to write down some more of her stories.. I’ll be here to listen, gladly.
113 reviews3 followers
October 8, 2022
loooong chapters
whiney
still glad that i finished it
Profile Image for Mila Cutteridge.
198 reviews6 followers
November 11, 2022
I got close but i ended up not being able to finish this one. I did like how down to earth she seems and Although some stories were interesting and i like Kelly Ripa, we get it: Mark Consuelos is a smoke show but half the book happens to be about that - how hot her husband is. She goes out of her way to mention how charming he is and how he is constantly horny and wants to bone her. It was like listening (Audiobook) to her thirst trap consuelos instagram posts in real life.

Struggling between 2 and 3 ⭐️.
Profile Image for Shannon.
8,304 reviews423 followers
September 29, 2022
I really enjoyed this honest and often hilarious collection of personal essays from Live host Kelly Rippa. She talks about her marriage, pregnancies, being a working mom, career challenges and so much more. There's a few really funny celebrity anecdotes included too. Great on audio read by the author herself and definitely recommended if you're a fan.
Profile Image for Manda Marigold.
835 reviews
October 22, 2022
Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about Kelly Ripa (besides the few segments I've watched of Live with Kelly and Ryan). After reading this book I still feel as if I know very little to nothing about her. This book certainly lives up to its title. It is long winded for sure. I was expecting this book to be humorous. Instead, I found this book to be a bit pretentious.
14 reviews
October 17, 2022
I think it would be better if listened to than read. Definitely long winded and not that good
Profile Image for Candy.
504 reviews68 followers
November 21, 2022
Meh 😑 I was disappointed with this book. Just a lot of rambling.
Profile Image for Gina *loves sunshine*.
2,223 reviews93 followers
October 22, 2022
This review is dedicated to my Mom - who introduced me to Kelly Ripa and kept this TV lady in my life for the last 20+ years, LOL! Yes, my Mom was an All my Children watcher my whole life, so somehow I know all about the characters Haley and Mateo, without really even watching them! Mom also watched Regis and Kathie Lee.......therefore Kelly! So even though I watch nothing regularly...somehow I know a lot about Kelly and Mark and their family! It's actually weird how much I knew listening to this book and only having really caught bits and pieces of the show throughout the years. I guess that's why she remains so popular. My opinion ~you don't have to be a dedicated fan to find this book entertaining. But you do need to get her personality!

Just as she is on her talk show - she is a great story teller. She has a way of combining her celebrity lifestyle, with her family life, and spinning a very relatable story with it - even though it is steeped in luxury and famousness - it still somehow remains love able, charming, and seem very normal!!! I have always felt her vibe was strong on love for her spouse and family. It's obvious they are her world and really an anomaly in the business - sorry to say! My favorite part of the book was her telling the stories of taking her children to college - funny, yet poignant and again so relatable!

I feel like you know her already because she shares so much of her day to day life on her show - and the stories in this book are very much like the things she shares. A few chapters chronicling how certain times of her life really went....getting to tell her side of the story. Not sure why she really wrote the book...since she joked negatively about the process the whole book! But as most of the stories it is quite tongue and cheek in it's delivery and kept my attention - also credit to her as the narrator of the audiobook and even had her husband chime in with his voice on some of his parts!
Profile Image for Jodi.
491 reviews5 followers
October 8, 2022
This was a fun, light, quick book to read. Because it was written as short essays, I found myself thinking, “just one more chapter, and suddenly it would be three more instead. I feel like if I actually had entire days to myself, I could’ve read the book in one day. I enjoyed her sense of humor and the connection to what it’s like being a mom and a Mom that works outside of the house. Most of it was filled with a great deal of humor until you get to the last chapter when her kids are leaving for college. I then found myself on the verge of tears, understanding the scariness of moving your child far away & the pain of walking away. If she writes another book, I look forward to reading that, too.
Profile Image for Shelby (catching up on 2025 reviews).
1,002 reviews166 followers
December 20, 2022
3.5 ⭐s

Live Wire is a collection of stories / essays from different periods throughout Kelly's life. Many of them are about her husband, Mark. It's actually well written for someone with no writing experience. In Live Wire, Ripa is candid, funny, and entertaining. I listened to her narrate the audiobook, and I liked hearing it in her voice (which sounds nothing like I expected it to 😅).

I didn't really know much about Kelly Ripa aside from watching a handful of episodes with her and Regis on Live, back in the day, so I don't think I'm the right audience here.

But this would be a very enjoyable read for Kelly's fans! My mom loves Kelly and continues to watch her every weekday. I think I'll pass this one along to her 💕

Thank you @tlcbooktours and Dey Street Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Tour date: Weds Dec 21st. 💕
Profile Image for Laura.
763 reviews36 followers
April 17, 2023
I frigging loved this.
I've been watching Live for years, and have been a Kelly fan since the Regis days. I once even camped out to get front row seats when they were here on PEI lol I don't know if you would love this as much if you're not a Kelly fan but I could listen to her talk for hours- which I did. Highly recommend the audiobook, and adding this to your TBR.
Profile Image for Erica Atkins.
45 reviews
August 26, 2023
She has miles to go before she catches up to her friend Andy in terms of a writing a delightful memoir-lite. BUT this was enjoyable. I learned that her and Regis really had beef apparently and reconfirmed (again and again) that she’s deeply attracted to her husband. Honestly could’ve used more name-dropping.
Profile Image for Sara.
102 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2023
I really liked Kelly Ripa going into this book but after reading I find her a little whiny and negative. Some chapters were entertaining and provided some good behind the scenes perspective but others were just too wordy and not that good of a story.
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