About book Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal (2000)
"Being anonymous was an inconvenience for me." And obviously, fanatic readers like myself needed-- yearned in fact-- for the obvious continuation to the stellar first Booky-- this time, there are anecdotes of the gods and goddesses of Mt. Hollywood themselves, precisely what the stand up comedy audience NEEDS. What begins with a kiss from (and short-lived romantic relationship with) Kate Moss unravels to later feature various co-stars (P. Diddy, Jonah Hill, Juliette Lewis, Ricky Gervais, Helen Mirren...) and Brand's own keen observations of them. He gets dissed by his hero in public (on Bob Geldof: "Well, you may've fed the world but you just broke my heart"). He acknowledges the vile victimization and downfall of a fellow professional-- just another casualty of the fame game ("isn't it a shame..."). His band of misfits is insinuated in a rape. He feels bad for child-star stand-ins (sometimes, they are little people). On Australia: "The price of a no-class system is no class." He has an undaunted admiration for his nonfans and their t(h)reat letters. A fanboy gushing (many pages of this) at the great MOZ* (in fact, his fanboydom never dims, even after that rarest of miracles has been achieved, fame).Wook II is absolutely the Quixote legend revamped. In the second tome, fully realizing the scope of his famedom, Mr. Brand acts accordingly: like a well-conditioned diva and full-tilt asshole. Naturally. (For I wholly despise famous individuals who still admit that they "keep it real." Oh, please.) Brand admits, "You can't just waltz out of rehab into stardom, diddling birds wherever you go, and expect the world to tolerate it."My favorite part is his view on the Beat Generation. "Of course the beats were a great movement and begat counterculture and gave birth to the 60s, but 50 years later to remain humorlessly enamoured of them would be a sure indication that you ain't no kind of comedian." AMEN! (My least favorite part? His inevitable hooking up with the charismatic Katy Perry-- see how long that lasted?)* See Liana? Like for many of those nostalgic Millennial Mexas, Morrissey likewise taught generation(s) of Englishmen how to align their emotional priorities. It's s-oooo hard! Russell, Russell, Russell, Russell... What I think is interesting about this book has very little to do with this book. I was interested in reading this book after Russell went on a book tour for this book where he talked to people like Jeremy Paxman about how to find meaning in a culture that is more interested in the pantheon of celebrity than helping ourselves (individually and collectively). I think Jewel vaguely made this point before she was dashed into obscurity. However, this book addresses few of these topics. This text presents the specter of celebrity. This text is a present day Great Gatsby without any consequence. Russell screws his way through the celebrity ladder and then meets Katy Perry. There are no more pages after this. There is no car crash, downward spiral, naked ladies beckoning from teardrops in a crying sky. This book is useful if you are a trained (or amateur) psychologist or psychiatrist. It is nice to put Russell's behaviors in DSM V categories: bipolar (check), sexually abused (check), sex addict (check), obsessive compulsive disorder (check), drug addict in recovery (check), narcissistic personality disorder (it's hard to diagnose this one with the bipolar diagnosis). So, I await Booky Wook 3: I hit rock bottom and sort all my shite out. Alas, Russell has moved into political activism and the next book of his I will be reviewing will be revolution. Thanks.
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A lot of people have mixed feelings about Russell Brand. I, myself, think that it would probably be difficult to contain an energy such as his in a 'real life' setting but I do find his book amusing and insightful. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: "Life is not a postcard of life, life is essential and about detail, minutia and trivia." "If I should die think only this of me, 'I thought it would be funny.'"Brand displays a strange dichotomy of reverence toward women to an unattainable perfection and a misogynistic viewing of them as simply a means to a (happy) end(ing). This sequel, Booky Wook 2: This time it's personal, was everything I thought it would be and more. Its main focus is his continuing rise to fame and his sex addiction. He continues to astound me with his insight and irreverence. The ending is bittersweet but I'll leave that a mystery so as to whet your appetite. ;-) I look forward to hopefully reading more from him in the future.
—Lilio0410
I latently wanted to read this after reading Brand's first book, and snagged it for $1.99 on kindle. It's a little sloppy and meandering, which I guess describes Brand, too. Those ladies in "The Dirt" who lined up on their hands and knees waiting for some Motley Crue action have nothing on the parade of women in this book. Wow, lots. The best part of the whole thing were the email exchanges with Morrissey. If you've ever wondered what kind of emails Moz might send, this book will tell you. That alone is responsible for a whole star, if not more.Nice view into Crazytown. Brand is, as ever, simultaneously repellant and captivating.
—jamarcus
This book was inane & very hard to follow. I guess I need to be British to understand it.
—dkv
