Clinton Kelly

I enjoyed this book more than I expected I would. I've seen Clinton Kelly on What Not to Wear and appreciated his humor and snark about fashion balanced with kindness toward contributors' insecurities, as well as the seemingly authentic friendship with Stacy London in later seasons, so I was expecting light, enjoyable reading to relax with at the end of the day. I Hate Everyone Except You was that but it also revealed Kelly as vulnerable, compassionate, and even funnier. Recommended.

*Disclosure - I received a free copy from NetGalley.… (more)

If you are looking for a tell-all memoir about all the salacious gossip and scandal that went on behind the scenes of What Not To Where, alas, this is not it. Instead, the author recounts silly stories from his life, and a few choice pieces of creative writing. This book is charming and hilarious. The author's tone is brilliantly fresh and familiar. Reading this book provides an immersive experience of trading rumors with a life-long friend. Whether you know who Clinton Kelly is or not, you will not regret picking up this book.… (more)

Meh. I really thought I would enjoy this a lot. I grew up listening to Clinton, I enjoy watching The Chew when I have the opportunity and I really like their cookbooks. I like the drinks he suggests. I think he’s funny and I generally agree what he has to say. Therefore, I should like I Hate Everyone, Except You. Except not.

I don’t know what exactly I was expecting of Clinton, but this was not it. My overall reaction was of blase, noncommittal feelings of meh. Just meh. In continuing my listening to celebrity books as read by celebrities (up next is Drew Barrymore), I can say that from an audiobook standpoint, Clinton does a very good job reading his own work. I think the problem for me came from absolutely not carrying about the subject of each chapter and I found myself actively liking him less and less.

I would think, as a celebrity writing a book, you would want to accomplish at least two things: a, give the reader an insight into your everyday life, and b, relate to people and (hopefully) come across as a down to earth human being. Clinton Kelly definitely gives the reader the former but really falls flat on the latter – quite often, he just comes across as pompous and entitled. Maybe, in reading more closely into the title, that was the point? What I don’t know, as I often reflect on when listening to a book, is if the reading of it affected my perception of the content. Are books meant strictly to be read? Is the interpretation one gets from reading the real one and is automatically distorted when translated into audio? This is the question I’ve asked myself repeatedly this year, and one that I may never have a straight answer to.

Overall, I could do without this book. There were moments of brevity which I appreciated, none of his stories dragged on as other celebrity memoirs seem to do, and there were moments when I smiled, but overall, I feel like it was a dud.… (more)