Tales from the Back Row
An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.61
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
C. S. E Cooney
-
By:
-
Amy Odell
About this listen
In Tales from the Back Row, Cosmopolitan.com editor Amy Odell takes listeners behind the stage of New York's hottest fashion shows to meet the world's most influential models, designers, celebrities, editors, and photographers. But first, she has to push her way through the crowds outside, where we see the lengths people go to be noticed by the lurking paparazzi, and weave her way through the packed venue, from the very back row to the front.
As she describes the allure of Alexander Wang's ripped tights and Marchesa's Oscar-worthy dresses, Amy artfully layers in something else: ultimately this book is about how the fashion industry is an exaggerated mirror of human fallibility - reflecting our desperate desire to belong, to make a mark, to be included. For Amy is the first to admit that as much as she is embarrassed by the thrill she gets when she receives an invitation to an exclusive after-party, she can't help but RSVP "yes".
©2015 Amy Odell (P)2015 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
Anna
- The Biography
- By: Amy Odell
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, an influential newspaper editor, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor-in-chief of Vogue, she never looked back.
-
-
WONDERFUL, SPLENDID, I LOVED IT!!
- By Liz Jardine on 05-13-22
By: Amy Odell
-
The Kingdom of Prep
- The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew
- By: Maggie Bullock
- Narrated by: Cheryl Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time, a no-frills J.Crew rollneck sweater held an almost mystical power—or at least it felt that way. The story of J.Crew is the story of the original “lifestyle brand,” whose evolution charts a sea change in the way we dress, the way we shop, and who we aspire to be over the past four decades—all told through iconic clothes and the most riveting characters imaginable.
-
-
FANtastic Read!
- By Hello World on 08-16-23
By: Maggie Bullock
-
Deluxe
- How Luxury Lost Its Luster
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Dana Thomas
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry don’t want us to know.
-
-
Great books, terrible narration
- By andrewlb on 06-09-21
By: Dana Thomas
-
The Vanity Fair Diaries
- 1983-1992
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vanity Fair Diaries is the story of an Englishwoman barely out of her twenties who arrives in New York City with a dream. Summoned from London in hopes that she can save Condé Nast's troubled new flagship Vanity Fair, Tina Brown is immediately plunged into the maelstrom of the competitive New York media world and the backstabbing rivalries at the court of the planet's slickest, most glamour-focused magazine company. She survives the politics, the intrigue, and the attempts to derail her by a simple stratagem.
-
-
There is something about the Brits...
- By Sylvia on 12-11-17
By: Tina Brown
-
Vivienne Westwood
- By: Vivienne Westwood, Ian Kelly
- Narrated by: Paula Wilcox
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivienne Westwood is one of the icons of our age. Fashion designer, activist, cocreator of punk, global brand, and grandmother--a true living legend. Her career has successfully spanned five decades, and her work has influenced millions of people across the world. For the first and only time, Vivienne Westwood has written a personal memoir, collaborating with award-winning biographer Ian Kelly, to describe the events, people, and ideas that have shaped her extraordinary life.
-
-
Mother of Punk
- By Rafael Castillo on 07-28-16
By: Vivienne Westwood, and others
-
The Chiffon Trenches
- A Memoir
- By: André Leon Talley
- Narrated by: André Leon Talley
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During André Leon Talley’s first magazine job, alongside Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decades-long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, André moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild’s Women’s Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers (Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta). But as André made friends, he also made enemies.
-
-
Another case of author's narration not working.
- By CB on 05-21-20
-
Anna
- The Biography
- By: Amy Odell
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, an influential newspaper editor, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor-in-chief of Vogue, she never looked back.
-
-
WONDERFUL, SPLENDID, I LOVED IT!!
- By Liz Jardine on 05-13-22
By: Amy Odell
-
The Kingdom of Prep
- The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew
- By: Maggie Bullock
- Narrated by: Cheryl Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time, a no-frills J.Crew rollneck sweater held an almost mystical power—or at least it felt that way. The story of J.Crew is the story of the original “lifestyle brand,” whose evolution charts a sea change in the way we dress, the way we shop, and who we aspire to be over the past four decades—all told through iconic clothes and the most riveting characters imaginable.
-
-
FANtastic Read!
- By Hello World on 08-16-23
By: Maggie Bullock
-
Deluxe
- How Luxury Lost Its Luster
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Dana Thomas
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry don’t want us to know.
-
-
Great books, terrible narration
- By andrewlb on 06-09-21
By: Dana Thomas
-
The Vanity Fair Diaries
- 1983-1992
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vanity Fair Diaries is the story of an Englishwoman barely out of her twenties who arrives in New York City with a dream. Summoned from London in hopes that she can save Condé Nast's troubled new flagship Vanity Fair, Tina Brown is immediately plunged into the maelstrom of the competitive New York media world and the backstabbing rivalries at the court of the planet's slickest, most glamour-focused magazine company. She survives the politics, the intrigue, and the attempts to derail her by a simple stratagem.
-
-
There is something about the Brits...
- By Sylvia on 12-11-17
By: Tina Brown
-
Vivienne Westwood
- By: Vivienne Westwood, Ian Kelly
- Narrated by: Paula Wilcox
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivienne Westwood is one of the icons of our age. Fashion designer, activist, cocreator of punk, global brand, and grandmother--a true living legend. Her career has successfully spanned five decades, and her work has influenced millions of people across the world. For the first and only time, Vivienne Westwood has written a personal memoir, collaborating with award-winning biographer Ian Kelly, to describe the events, people, and ideas that have shaped her extraordinary life.
-
-
Mother of Punk
- By Rafael Castillo on 07-28-16
By: Vivienne Westwood, and others
-
The Chiffon Trenches
- A Memoir
- By: André Leon Talley
- Narrated by: André Leon Talley
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During André Leon Talley’s first magazine job, alongside Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decades-long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, André moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild’s Women’s Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers (Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta). But as André made friends, he also made enemies.
-
-
Another case of author's narration not working.
- By CB on 05-21-20
-
My Paris Dream
- An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine
- By: Kate Betts
- Narrated by: Kate Betts
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a young woman, Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college—and not without trepidation—she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style, and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay.
-
-
Sorry but narrator puts me to sleep
- By L.W. on 05-27-15
By: Kate Betts
-
Gods and Kings
- The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 2011 John Galliano, the lauded head of Christian Dior, imploded with a drunken, anti-Semitic public tirade. Exactly a year earlier, celebrated designer Alexander McQueen took his own life three weeks before his women's wear show. Both were casualties of the war between art and commerce that has raged within fashion for the last two decades.
-
-
Captivating
- By kpaige on 04-15-15
By: Dana Thomas
-
Fashionopolis
- The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Dana Thomas
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Fashionopolis, Thomas sees renewal in a host of developments, including printing 3-D clothes, clean denim processing, smart manufacturing, hyperlocalism, fabric recycling - even lab-grown materials. From small-town makers and Silicon Valley whizzes to such household names as Stella McCartney, Levi’s, and Rent the Runway, Thomas highlights the companies big and small that are leading the crusade.
-
-
Very informative and optimistic
- By cannonwall on 01-05-20
By: Dana Thomas
-
The Cartiers
- The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire
- By: Francesca Cartier Brickell
- Narrated by: Hattie Morahan
- Length: 23 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Cartiers is the revealing tale of a jewelry dynasty—four generations, from revolutionary France to the 1970s. At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was “Never copy, only create” and who made their family firm internationally famous in the early days of the twentieth century, thanks to their unique and complementary talents.
-
-
Wonderful Experience to Listen to This Story
- By BB on 01-12-20
-
Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem
- A Memoir
- By: Daniel R. Day
- Narrated by: Omari Hardwick, Daniel R. Day
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his now-legendary store on 125th Street in Harlem, Dapper Dan pioneered high-end streetwear in the 1980s, remixing classic luxury-brand logos into his own innovative, glamorous designs. But before he reinvented haute couture, he was a hungry boy with holes in his shoes, a teen who daringly gambled drug dealers out of their money, and a young man in a prison cell who found nourishment in books. In this remarkable memoir, he tells his full story for the first time.
-
-
Textbook for the Ages
- By Joël j. Sylvain on 07-13-19
By: Daniel R. Day
-
The Psychology of Fashion
- The Psychology of Everything
- By: Carolyn Mair
- Narrated by: Susan Osman
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Psychology of Fashion offers an insightful introduction to the exciting and dynamic world of fashion in relation to human behaviour, from how clothing can affect our cognitive processes to the way retail environments manipulate consumer behaviour. The book explores how fashion design can impact healthy body image, how psychology can inform a more sustainable perspective on the production and disposal of clothing, and why we develop certain shopping behaviours.
-
-
Fantastic and honest perspective sometimes anaemic.
- By Prime Minister Zardoz on 08-02-24
By: Carolyn Mair
-
A Visible Man
- A Memoir
- By: Edward Enninful
- Narrated by: Edward Enninful
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Edward Enninful became the first Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue, few in the world of fashion wanted to confront how it failed to represent the world we live in. But Edward, a champion of inclusion throughout his life, rapidly changed that. Now, whether it’s putting first responders, octogenarians or civil rights activists on the cover of Vogue, or championing designers and photographers of colour, Edward Enninful has cemented his status as one of his world’s most important changemakers.
-
-
Discovery!
- By Introspective on 01-04-23
By: Edward Enninful
-
Grace: A Memoir
- A Memoir
- By: Grace Coddington
- Narrated by: Grace Coddington
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beautiful. Willful. Charming. Blunt. Grace Coddington’s extraordinary talent and fierce dedication to her work as creative director of Vogue have made her an international icon. Known through much of her career only to those behind the scenes, she might have remained fashion’s best-kept secret were it not for The September Issue, the acclaimed 2009 documentary that turned publicity-averse Grace into a sudden, reluctant celebrity. Grace’s palpable engagement with her work brought a rare insight into the passion that produces many of the magazine’s most memorable shoots.
-
-
Grace a Memoir
- By Placeholder on 02-13-13
By: Grace Coddington
-
Dilettante
- True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster
- By: Dana Brown
- Narrated by: Dana Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dana Brown was a 21-year-old college dropout playing in punk bands and partying his way through downtown New York’s early-'90s milieu when he first encountered Graydon Carter, the legendary editor of Vanity Fair. After the two had a handful of brief interactions (mostly with Brown in the role of cater waiter at Carter’s famous cultural salons he hosted at his home), Carter saw what he believed to be Brown’s untapped potential, and on a whim, hired him as his assistant
-
-
spoiled brat
- By mc on 10-12-22
By: Dana Brown
-
The Palace Papers
- Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevocably change how the world perceives and understands the royal family.
-
-
Audible narration is dreadful
- By M M. on 05-03-22
By: Tina Brown
-
Bossypants
- By: Tina Fey
- Narrated by: Tina Fey
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Liz Lemon, before Weekend Update, before Sarah Palin, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: A recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true. At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've always suspected: You're no one until someone calls you bossy.
-
-
Tina Fey broke my new SUV
- By Warren on 04-07-11
By: Tina Fey
-
My Friend Anna
- The True Story of the Fake Heiress Who Conned Me and Half of New York City
- By: Rachel DeLoache Williams
- Narrated by: Rachel DeLoache Williams
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rachel DeLoache Williams’ new friend Anna Delvey, a self-proclaimed German heiress, was worldly and ambitious. She was also generous - picking up the tab for lavish dinners at Le Coucou, infrared sauna sessions at HigherDOSE, drinks at the 11 Howard Library bar, and regular workout sessions with a celebrity personal trainer. When Anna proposed an all-expenses-paid trip to Marrakech at the five-star La Mamounia hotel, Rachel jumped at the chance. But when Anna’s credit cards mysteriously stopped working, the dream vacation quickly took a dark turn.
-
-
The author is lucky she was scammed.
- By A. on 09-01-19
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
A New Model
- What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like
- By: Ashley Graham, Rebecca Paley
- Narrated by: Ashley Graham, Almarie Guerra
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most outspoken voices gracing the cover of magazines today encourages women to be their most confident selves, recognize their personal beauty, and reach for their highest dreams in this wise, warm, and inspiring memoir.
-
-
Not That Interesting
- By Erika K Horton on 09-21-17
By: Ashley Graham, and others
-
Gods and Kings
- The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 2011 John Galliano, the lauded head of Christian Dior, imploded with a drunken, anti-Semitic public tirade. Exactly a year earlier, celebrated designer Alexander McQueen took his own life three weeks before his women's wear show. Both were casualties of the war between art and commerce that has raged within fashion for the last two decades.
-
-
Captivating
- By kpaige on 04-15-15
By: Dana Thomas
-
The Glitter Plan
- How We Started Juicy Couture for $200 and Turned It into a Global Brand
- By: Pamela Skaist-Levy, Booth Moore, Gela Nash-Taylor
- Narrated by: Rose Itzcovitz
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While working together at a Los Angeles boutique, Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor became fast and furious friends over the impossibility of finding the perfect T-shirt. Following their vision of comfortable, fitted T-shirts, they set up shop in Gela’s one-bedroom Hollywood apartment with $200 and one rule: Whatever they did, they both had to be obsessed by it. Pam and Gela eventually sold their company to Liz Claiborne for $50 million, but not before they created a whole new genre of casual clothing that came to define California cool.
-
-
Elementary, at best
- By Laura P on 09-19-14
By: Pamela Skaist-Levy, and others
-
I Hate Everyone, Except You
- By: Clinton Kelly
- Narrated by: Clinton Kelly
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clinton Kelly is probably best known for teaching women how to make their butts look smaller. But in I Hate Everyone, Except You, he reveals some heretofore unknown secrets about himself, like that he's a finicky connoisseur of 1980s pornography, a disillusioned critic of New Jersey's premier water parks, and perhaps the world's least enthused high school commencement speaker.
-
-
Filthy language overshadowed stories
- By Doris on 04-29-17
By: Clinton Kelly
-
Every Day I'm Hustling
- By: Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Carr O'Leary
- Narrated by: Vivica A. Fox
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivica A. Fox is a dynamo who has created a lasting career on her own, through sheer, roll-up-your-sleeves DIY hustle. Every Day I'm Hustling is a personal book with a message Fox passionately believes in: that you make your own luck, that you never ever wake up in the morning thinking somebody's going to call you and offer you that part or ask you out on that date that's going to change your life, that you have to wake up and put on your longest eyelashes and fiercest heels and go out and make your life happen yourself.
-
-
Loved it!
- By colette on 04-09-18
By: Vivica A. Fox, and others
-
Fairy Tale Interrupted
- A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss
- By: RoseMarie Terenzio
- Narrated by: RoseMarie Terenzio
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To everyone else, John F. Kennedy Jr. may have been American royalty, but to RoseMarie Terenzio, he was an entitled nuisance—and she wasn’t afraid to let him know it. RoseMarie was his personal assistant, his publicist, and one of his closest confidantes during the last five years of his life. In this, her first memoir, she bravely recounts her own fairy tale interrupted, describing the unlikely friendship between a blue-collar girl from the Bronx and John F. Kennedy Jr.
-
-
Mediocre read
- By Rachel on 05-28-12
-
A New Model
- What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like
- By: Ashley Graham, Rebecca Paley
- Narrated by: Ashley Graham, Almarie Guerra
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most outspoken voices gracing the cover of magazines today encourages women to be their most confident selves, recognize their personal beauty, and reach for their highest dreams in this wise, warm, and inspiring memoir.
-
-
Not That Interesting
- By Erika K Horton on 09-21-17
By: Ashley Graham, and others
-
Gods and Kings
- The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 2011 John Galliano, the lauded head of Christian Dior, imploded with a drunken, anti-Semitic public tirade. Exactly a year earlier, celebrated designer Alexander McQueen took his own life three weeks before his women's wear show. Both were casualties of the war between art and commerce that has raged within fashion for the last two decades.
-
-
Captivating
- By kpaige on 04-15-15
By: Dana Thomas
-
The Glitter Plan
- How We Started Juicy Couture for $200 and Turned It into a Global Brand
- By: Pamela Skaist-Levy, Booth Moore, Gela Nash-Taylor
- Narrated by: Rose Itzcovitz
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While working together at a Los Angeles boutique, Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor became fast and furious friends over the impossibility of finding the perfect T-shirt. Following their vision of comfortable, fitted T-shirts, they set up shop in Gela’s one-bedroom Hollywood apartment with $200 and one rule: Whatever they did, they both had to be obsessed by it. Pam and Gela eventually sold their company to Liz Claiborne for $50 million, but not before they created a whole new genre of casual clothing that came to define California cool.
-
-
Elementary, at best
- By Laura P on 09-19-14
By: Pamela Skaist-Levy, and others
-
I Hate Everyone, Except You
- By: Clinton Kelly
- Narrated by: Clinton Kelly
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clinton Kelly is probably best known for teaching women how to make their butts look smaller. But in I Hate Everyone, Except You, he reveals some heretofore unknown secrets about himself, like that he's a finicky connoisseur of 1980s pornography, a disillusioned critic of New Jersey's premier water parks, and perhaps the world's least enthused high school commencement speaker.
-
-
Filthy language overshadowed stories
- By Doris on 04-29-17
By: Clinton Kelly
-
Every Day I'm Hustling
- By: Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Carr O'Leary
- Narrated by: Vivica A. Fox
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivica A. Fox is a dynamo who has created a lasting career on her own, through sheer, roll-up-your-sleeves DIY hustle. Every Day I'm Hustling is a personal book with a message Fox passionately believes in: that you make your own luck, that you never ever wake up in the morning thinking somebody's going to call you and offer you that part or ask you out on that date that's going to change your life, that you have to wake up and put on your longest eyelashes and fiercest heels and go out and make your life happen yourself.
-
-
Loved it!
- By colette on 04-09-18
By: Vivica A. Fox, and others
-
Fairy Tale Interrupted
- A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss
- By: RoseMarie Terenzio
- Narrated by: RoseMarie Terenzio
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To everyone else, John F. Kennedy Jr. may have been American royalty, but to RoseMarie Terenzio, he was an entitled nuisance—and she wasn’t afraid to let him know it. RoseMarie was his personal assistant, his publicist, and one of his closest confidantes during the last five years of his life. In this, her first memoir, she bravely recounts her own fairy tale interrupted, describing the unlikely friendship between a blue-collar girl from the Bronx and John F. Kennedy Jr.
-
-
Mediocre read
- By Rachel on 05-28-12
-
Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic
- Lessons in Everyday Elegance
- By: Jennifer L. Scott
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just step out your door today, and you will notice that poise is a rarity in our wired, fast-paced, and unmannerly world. As uncivil behaviors like flip-flops at Broadway shows and digital oversharing proliferate, this timely book reminds us of the quiet power of behaving with dignity, kindness, and grace. Jennifer L. Scott's Parisian mentor, Madame Chic, embodied poise and not just with the good posture, stylish attire, and natural manners that made her extraordinarily elegant.
-
-
The speaker's voice sounds very robotic
- By Bobbie Monroe on 01-09-16
-
Size Zero
- My Life as a Disappearing Model
- By: Victoire Dauxerre
- Narrated by: Emily Lucienne
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
memoir of a brief career as a top model - and a brutally honest account of what goes on behind the scenes in a fascinating closed industry. Scouted in the street when she was 17, Victoire Dauxerre's story started like a teenager's dream: within months she was on the catwalks of New York's major fashion shows and part of the most select circle of in-demand supermodels in the world.
-
-
Self-indulgent twaddle
- By Adeliese Baumann on 05-19-17
-
Fat Girl Walking
- Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It
- By: Brittany Gibbons
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fat Girl Walking is a collection of stories from my life, my thoughts about the issues that I have faced as a woman, wife, mom, daughter, daughter-in-law, and Internet personality in regards to my weight. I have tried to be as honest as I possibly could - apologies in advance to my husband and parents, but hopefully any discomfort you feel is quickly replaced by laughter.
-
-
One Woman's Body; One Woman's Story
- By Meghan Matt on 06-03-15
By: Brittany Gibbons
-
30 Before 30
- How I Made a Mess of 20s, and You Can Too
- By: Marina Shifrin
- Narrated by: Marina Shifrin
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Something was nagging Marina Shifrin. As a freshly minted adult with student loan payments and a “real” job she hated that paid her enough to get by if she also worked two other jobs, something needed to change. Marina and her friend each made lists of 30 things they’d do before the age of 30. The first thing on Marina’s list was, “Quit My Shitty Job”. So she did, and just like that the List powered her through her twenties. Told with humor and heart, 30 Before 30 will entertain, motivate, and challenge listeners to get out of their comfort zones and live their best lives.
-
-
Inspiring read
- By Chris Gledhill on 12-18-18
By: Marina Shifrin
-
Bitter Is the New Black
- Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jamie Heinlein
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jen Lancaster was living the sweet life-until real life kicked her to the curb. She had the perfect man, the perfect job-hell, she had the perfect life - and there was no reason to think it wouldn't last. Or maybe there was, but Jen Lancaster was too busy being manicured, pedicured, highlighted, and generally adored to notice.
-
-
Intolerable
- By Betty on 09-12-09
By: Jen Lancaster
-
I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends
- Confessions of a Reality Show Villain
- By: Courtney Robertson, Deborah Baer
- Narrated by: Courtney Robertson
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Complete with stories, tips, tricks, and advice from your favorite Bachelor alumni, and filled with all the juicy details Courtney fans and foes alike want to know, I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends is a must-listen for every member of Bachelor nation.
-
-
I didn't come here to make friends
- By Carolyn on 06-10-15
By: Courtney Robertson, and others
-
White Girl Problems
- By: Babe Walker
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Babe Walker, center of the universe, is a painstakingly manicured white girl with an expensive smoothie habit, a proclivity for Louboutins, a mysterious mother she's never met, and approximately 50 bajillion Twitter followers. But her "problems" have landed her in shopping rehab - that's what happens when you spend $246,893.50 in one afternoon at Barneys. Now she's decided to write her memoir, revealing the gut-wrenching hurdles she's had to overcome in order to be perfect in every way, every day.
-
-
Hysterical
- By Kimberlykate on 02-01-13
By: Babe Walker
-
My Mrs. Brown
- A Novel
- By: William Norwich
- Narrated by: Angela Brazil
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the grand dame of Ashville passes away, Mrs. Brown is called upon to inventory her estate and comes across a dress that changes everything. This isn't a Cinderella confection; it's a simple yet exquisitely tailored Oscar de la Renta sheath and jacket - a suit that, Mrs. Brown realizes with startling clarity, will say everything she has ever wished to convey. She must have it. And so Mrs. Brown begins her odyssey to purchase the dress.
-
-
Sweet story
- By Pam Hewitt on 05-01-20
By: William Norwich
-
The Price of Illusion
- A Memoir
- By: Joan Juliet Buck
- Narrated by: Joan Juliet Buck
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Joan Juliet Buck, former editor-in-chief of Paris Vogue, comes a dazzling memoir: a fabulous account of four decades spent in the creative heart of London, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris, chronicling Buck's quest to discover the difference between glitter and gold, illusion and reality, and what looks like happiness from the thing itself.
-
-
Narcissistic name dropper
- By Marlette on 12-03-19
By: Joan Juliet Buck
-
Southern Charm
- A Novel
- By: Tinsley Mortimer
- Narrated by: Johanna Parker
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Southern girl Minty Davenport always dreamed of skyscrapers, yellow cabs, and a life like Eloise's in New York City. So upon graduation from college, she bids adieu to Charleston and makes a beeline for the Big Apple. Almost instantly, she finds herself at an event being photographed for Women's Wear Daily, and her career as a New York society "It Girl" is launched.
-
-
Not Very Original
- By Ken on 06-03-12
By: Tinsley Mortimer
-
This Is Not a Fashion Story
- Taking Chances, Breaking Rules, and Being a Boss in the Big City
- By: Danielle Bernstein
- Narrated by: Danielle Bernstein
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Danielle Bernstein spent her youth shopping at discount department stores, getting boozy in suburban backyards, and proposing marriage to every boy she dated. By age 19, she was a college dropout living in a West Village shoebox with three roommates and only six months to prove that her blog, @WeWoreWhat, could become a full blown career...or else board the train back to her mom's house. This Is Not a Fashion Story is the down and dirty tale of how a Long Island-born teenager became one of the most recognizable names in fashion.
-
-
Waste of time
- By Leena on 05-18-20
-
She Memes Well
- By: Quinta Brunson
- Narrated by: Quinta Brunson
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From comedian Quinta Brunson (creator and star of Abbott Elementary) comes a deeply personal and funny collection of essays about trying to make it when you're struggling, the importance of staying true to your roots, and how she's redefined humor online. In her debut essay collection, Quinta applies her trademark humor and heart to discuss what it was like to go from a girl who loved the World Wide Web to a girl whose face launched a thousand memes. This special Audible edition includes never-before-heard details about the making of Abbott Elementary.
-
-
That moment you know you’re a TEACHER…
- By chrissybrown on 09-19-22
By: Quinta Brunson
What listeners say about Tales from the Back Row
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K. Dorsey
- 09-08-15
Couldn't get past the voice
If you could sum up Tales from the Back Row in three words, what would they be?
Funny, honest, witty
What other book might you compare Tales from the Back Row to and why?
Devil Wears Prada, How To Be A Grown-up
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of C. S. E Cooney?
Just about anyone. She does that "sexy baby" voice that may work for YA books.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Fashion from the inside out.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vahlen
- 03-10-16
Soooo Good! I Mean... Really Good.
I work in fashion, in NYC. This book is so accurate, right on point. I really enjoyed it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Audio Diva
- 10-03-15
Terrific narrator makes this fun to listen to
Where does Tales from the Back Row rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
between a 1 and a 10 I give it 8It's one of the lighter books I've listened to.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Tales from the Back Row?
The interview with Anna Wintor
What does C. S. E Cooney bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Lilt, she has the perfect voice and effortless timing when reading the book. She make you think she is the author.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes
Any additional comments?
If you love the fashion world and satire, you will find it both, along with anhonest perspective of the industry and the people in it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah
- 10-03-15
Funny & Engaging
What did you love best about Tales from the Back Row?
As a fashion outsider it was phenomenal to learn about the fashion world from an insider who still maintainers her "outsider eyes." The book was funny and entertaining. I loved it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rafael Castillo
- 07-01-16
Funny, Fascinating Memoir Excellently Narrated
Amy O'Dell is a funny, smart woman and a very good writer. If the fashion industry interests you, but you don't fall for all the bullshit and are one to say, "The emperor is wearing no clothes!", then this is the book for you.
C. S. E. Cooney is a terrific reader and this audio production is a good reason why most authors should let a professional narrate their books.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Cynthia Schriever
- 05-13-17
Quick Read
I enjoyed listening to this book, the witt and honest approach of the author held my attention.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- N. Matteson
- 03-26-16
just ok
i was hoping for much more insider detail. the wedding dress shopping was excruciatingly dull.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kt
- 11-10-15
Only O.K.
Not much for fun or spicy insight into fashion industry. Author tends to drone on about herself in clunky, unnecessary internal, descriptive monologues. There is little humor or joy in this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kathleen Mrachek
- 02-07-16
Disappointing
The performance seemed forced and contrived. The author is very preachy. A much more interesting and better written fashion memoir is Kate Betts's My Paris Dream.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!