REVIEW - Stories I Only Tell My friends audiobook

OVERVIEW

This was another good celebrity memoir/autobiography this time by Rob Lowe. It was good, but not great. 

There were some very interesting parts such as when Rob grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and then moved to Malibu. His childhood was very normal until he became an actor. 

The toughest part was what I felt was a bit of a pity party about his time on the West Wing - it just really dragged the book down. Also, his time in rehab was very riveting.  

This book was published in 2011 - it seemed a bit dated so I wish that I had read it twelve years ago. The age of the autobiography/memoir will be something that I will need to consider going forward. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars

Writing: 4.0 stars

It was very strong writing. Rob came across as very intelligent and well-read. But, at times, I felt like SAT words were just thrown in - it disrupted the flow of the reading. Also, he really is a good Midwestern boy at heart!

Narration: 5.0 stars

Rob is a very good impressionist and reads beautifully. I find that memoirs narrated by the author are so much better than narration by professional readers.  

Character Arc: 4.0 stars

The majority of the memoir was in chronological order which is my preferred timeframe. Of course, there are little tangents to other times, but it was pretty straightforward in the timeline. It was a bit uneven in the amount of time spent on the different parts of his life. 

His childhood was interesting and his time on The Outsiders was fascinating. He also spent a chapter on his time in rehab which I didn't know about. But, he had a bit of "poor me" when talking about the West Wing.  There could have been much more - not salacious or tell-all - about the REAL Rob Lowe.

Memorable: 4.0 stars

Yes and no. This isn't a memoir that I am immediately going to think of when I get asked about a memoir recommendation. It was good, but not great.

Entertaining: 4.0 stars

Rob is a good storyteller and impressionist. It could have been so much more!

 

Book cover: 4.0 stars

I liked it!

Book title: 3.5 stars 

It really was a bit untrue. I didn't feel that the book was this at all.

DEFINITE recommend

STATISTICS

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

9 hours, 10 minutes

Listened to as an audiobook from the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)

Release date of 04/26/2011

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Rob Lowe

My Goodreads review

Macmillan Audio

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜