I bought Christy Canyon's autobiography a few year ago and was kinda disappointed with it because it didn't seem real to me. According to her book porn was a great thing and she never experienced anything particularly bad and everyone treated her well. I thought it was a total whitewash. But then I got a chance to listen to her on PLAYBOY radio for a few months and now I believe everything she wrote. She was often shocked to hear some of the bad stuff going on in porn. One day Bill Margold was a guest on the show and gave the simple explaination for it. Since Christy spent most of her porn career as one of VIVID's top contract girls they protected and shielded her from most of the bad and sleazy sides of the porn biz. That coupled with Christy wasn't wild and out of control in her life style meant Christy just basically missed/avoided porn's bad side. Christy's book is an interesting read but it doesn't have the juicy and scandalous stuff you'd expect from a porn biography. Books like Jerry Butler's RAW TALENT and the book THE OTHER SIDE OF HOLLYWOOD are more exciting reads.
There are quite a number, old and new. These previous threads might be useful, though the more specific ones don't have many responses. Best Porn Star Biographies/Autobiographies. Porn books worth a read. ADT Book Club! In my own experience, I enjoyed Spelvin's autobio, but there was too much time spent on DIMJ and not enough detail about her subsequent career imo. On my to-read list are Jack Wrangler's What's a Nice Boy Like You Doing? and the Casey Donovan biography. I would also be interested to read Heather Hunter's and Traci Lords'.
Thanks! I was thinking about getting that one. I'll have to order it (I know the local library won't have it). I find this subject interesting. It's like the old Scott Fitzgerald saying, the rich aren't like us. I think porn stars aren't like us. There's something fundamentally different in your brain that lets you screw people while others film it. And then it's going to be released and shown. Most of us don't even want to be naked in front of anyone but our closest relatives, let alone perform sex acts. I'm not really into the sleazy expose side (which is why I haven't gone for Linda Lovelace's book) or even the big scandal stuff. I'm more interested in the psychology of why they're willing to do what they do, when most of us aren't. Is it just the money, or is it exhibitionism, or something else? Edited by - jayo on 10/8/2011 7:33:18 PM
The list (I'll edit as I compile) Ashley Blue - "Girlvert: A Porno Memoir" Jack Butler - "Raw Talent" Christy Canyon - "Lights, Camera, Sex!" Marilyn Chambers - "My Story" Jenna Jameson - "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star" Ron Jeremy - "The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz" Hyapatia Lee - "The Secret Lives of Hyapatia Lee" Tracy Lords - "Underneath It All" Linda Lovelace - "Hardcore" Shelley Lubben - "Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn: The Greatest Illusion on Earth" Monica Mayhem - "Absolute Mayhem" Kay Parker - "Taboo: Sacred, Don't Touch: An Autobiographical Journey Spanning Six Thousand Years" Tera Patrick - "Sinner Takes All: A Memoir of Love and Porn" Harry Reems - "Hear Comes Harry Reems" Georgina Spelvin - "The Devil Made Me Do It" Annie Sprinkle - "Annie Sprinkle: Post-Porn Modernist" Edited by - jayo on 10/9/2011 12:47:31 PM
I'm very surprised Nina hartley never wrote a book. She's well spoken, well regarded, and has seen so much in the porn biz over the many years she's been in it. If she wrote a book on the realities of the porn biz I'd buy it without hesitation. On the other hand, I have no desire to read a book from Jenna Jameson, Tera Patrick or Ron Jeremy because I think they'd all be too self serving. On the male side of things I'd be interested if Sean Michaels wrote a book. It might be interesting to here from a black performer who's been around awhile and hear what he had/has to go through. Edited by - draxxx on 10/9/2011 12:22:31 AM
I'm very surprised Gloria Leonard hasn't written one. Of most people, I thought she would be one. I listened to her audio commentary on INSATIABLE and she's very articulate.
Doesn't count as an autobio, but I thought this looked interesting: "Vanessa Del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior" In this sumptuous over-sized volume, TASCHEN celebrates a remarkably candid, confident and exuberantly sexual woman. Presented through Vanessa’s own archive, in her own words, is a life at once shocking, titillating, amusing, and inspiring. And because paper and ink can’t do justice to a personality this big, an original 140 minute DVD documentary is included. Should be interesting if they can justify an over 2-hour documentary...
^ I remember hearing about that when it was in the planning stages. I was interested in it but I remember it having a super high price tag and them saying only a limited amount would be made. I thought the book would be super expensive and a pain to find so I just forgot about it completely until just now. I'm less interested in it now but wonder if the material was worth the treatment and effort put into it.
I'm sure she could do a good job of writing a book on the porn biz but so much has changed since her time in porn. For me personally I thnk it would be more interesting to hear from someone who's had a longer run in the business and could discuss how things are today vs back in the day and talk about the performers/studios/directors from yesteryear through today. But that's just me.
Maybe it's just me, but if, say, Joanne Worley wrote an intersting memoir about being on Laugh-In, I'll take that over any insipid memoir from an actress on a recent tv show, or someone who's had a long life and wrote a crappy memoir. I like autobios and it's amazing who writes (or has ghosted for them) good ones and who writes bad ones; people you think would be fascinating just punt it, and people who seem unlikely end up producing something fascinating. Or in the case of Michael Caine, the first half is great and then it melts into a recounting of parties and name-dropping "I met The Queen during a charity event for genital warts..." stories.
I agree with you. But for me personally I'd just rather read a book from someone who could do more of a "porn through the decades" type autobiography. The business has changed and I think the changes are interesting and someone who's had to and was able to adapt to those changes and still manage to keep it together through it all would be more interesting to me than someone of one particular era.
Once I retire, I plan to write "From Altar to Porn Star"; childhood, college (yup, a Catholic one!), marriage, 25-year Army career, and 17+ in porn. I've been writing some notes to help me recall specifics, plus the monthly columns for my websites will jog my memory.
A little constructive criticism for your blog: please consider adding an About Me page that gives us a little background of who you are, what you do, etc. I've been reading your blog and it's taking me a fair amount of time to get up to speed on things. If you come into that blog not already knowing who you are and what it's about, the blog can be confusing.
I would love to read a book by Christian , he's pretty smart if you read his site-pretty interesting stuff . And his career is definatly not the norm . Dave as well , how a normal middle aged guy got into porn . To date , Ron Jeremys was the best I have read , Butler was interesting(though he didn't have nice stuff to say about Shanna McCullough , my all time fav) . There are a few good blogs aouth there , would love to see some condensed and edited for a book . Jenna Haze is clearly very smart , would love to read her story.
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Rosco Fuji Deactivated User
On the licking stick, Mr. Magic Dick! 3309 Posts 2/09
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 10:43AM
I guess you missed the part about all the drug abuse and the family drama with her father.
You can't be serious, can you? My Strange Life Within the Adult Film Business: Experiences, Thoughts, and Comments on My Daily Activities - this is the line in HUGE LETTERS at the top of the blog. what else are you missing? and check the bottom left column - there is a link that says ABOUT for more background information. How can you possibly be confused? That doesn't make any sense.
Just another bare bum in the shiower 1739 Posts 12/04
Posted - Dec 10 2012 : 9:43AM
I am currently enjoying very much reading Jill C. Nelson's "Golden Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema, 1968-1985". Done in oral history format, with interviews with the performers and the people that know them, it is a great read. Some of the performer's featured in the book are Seka, Marilyn Chambers, Serena, Kay Parker, Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn, Veronica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Christy Canyon, Candida Royale, Sharon Mitchell, Nina Hartley, Gloria Leonard, Georgina Spelvin, Annie Sprinkle, Rhonda Jo Petty, Juliet Anderson, Kitten Natividad and more ... A very weighty book, it is basically 25 biographies in one. I hope Jill C. Nelson will do a follow-up of performers between 1985 and 2000.
Jerry Butler's "Raw Talent" was interesting in retrospect, if you consider 1) the times in which it was written, late 80's (ahem, snort!) and 2) just how many people he pissed off when it came out. Edited by - katar hol on 12/11/2012 4:52:25 AM
Introducing Natasha Carter
Posted - Oct 8 2011 : 5:11PM
