I’ve been on a stars-of-the-‘90s memoir kick lately.
It all began with Melissa Joan Hart’s Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life. Any other Clarissa Explains it All or Sabrina the Teenage Witch fans out there? I was a big fan of both series in my youth and have always been an admirer of Melissa Joan Hart. Heck, I still remember her wedding special that aired on ABC Family a few years ago and I currently have Melissa & Joey set to record on my DVR. She’s funny, seems down to earth, and will always be Clarissa Darling in my eyes. Her memoir was a great, easy read that didn’t sugar coat anything about her life story. I highly recommend it.
Next, I downloaded Jennie Garth’s Deep Thoughts From a Hollywood Blonde. Again, I was a big fan of 90210 as a kid. My twin brother and I were hooked after we spent one summer watching back-to-back reruns on the Soap Network (or a similar channel). After that, the show became a regular addition to my primetime TV watching and I can embarrassingly admit to practicing the half turn you see all the characters make to the camera in the opening sequence in front of the mirror on more than one occasion. I also watched Jennie Garth on What I Like About You (one of those great shows that no one really talked about) and 90210, the rebooted edition.
I really knew nothing about Jennie Garth’s personal life, besides the very public divorce she went through with Peter Facinelli a few years ago. But even then, it was mainly the tabloid’s version. It was enjoyable to read her views on their relationship and I admittedly shed a few tears when she went into details of what broke in their marriage. Though she didn’t have quite the juicy number of stories as Melissa Joan Hart (taking ecstasy at the Playboy Mansion and showing up to photo shoot still high? What?), you could tell she wrote the book from the heart.
Finally, I just finished Mario Lopez’s Just Between Us. It popped up on my suggested download list right after I watched The Unauthorized Saved By the Bell Story on Lifetime (terrible movie, don’t waste your time). Mario had a bit of a reputation as a ladies’s man, which is a fact he didn’t shy away from. I enjoyed reading his perspective on things and found his honesty refreshing. I had a deep desire to start regularly watching Extra after reading his book.
Fun Fact: All three stars have been on Dancing with the Stars. I think that’s where all stars-of-the-90s go to revive their careers, right?
Any other 90’s child star memoirs I should add to my must-read list?
It’s not a 90’s star memoir, but it’s equally awesome — you should definitely check out “Slimed: An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age”!
i did know that melissa joan hart wrote a book! i definitely need to read this. ferguson!
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PLEASE tell me you’ve seen Holiday in Handcuffs with Melissa and Mario! If not… fix that this holiday season 🙂
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Yes! At this point it’s a holiday staple!
Love it.
Not a 90s memoir, but I heard Cary Elwes was putting out a book that’s tales from the movie the Princess Bride. It’s called “As You Wish”. Some coworkers recommended it. (What can I say, I work on an amazing team of nerds). But if you’re feeling the true stories vibe. Who knows. 🙂
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I am more a child of the 80’s but enjoyed the same shows in the 90’s as you did! (i was just more of a tween and teenager in the 90’s)…I feel like the cast of Full House is still so popular and involved in social media that they would make for a good read. Especially Candance Cameron at the moment.
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I loved watching Clarissa and Sabrina. Even though I’d seen all the episodes, repeatedly, I was so sad/angry when Nickelodeon decided not to show Clarissa anymore 🙁
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be sure to pick up Jason Priestley’s memoir, it’s another fun, quick read.
Danielle Fishel (Topanga from Boy Meets World) has one out now, too!
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What?! Adding to my must-read list now!
I’m in the middle of Melissa Joan Hart’s book right now. I like it, but I do feel like she is name-dropping constantly.. I am a little embarassed to admit how much I love Melissa & Joey though… and Baby Daddy.. lol I’m an ABC Family junkie.
I love reading biographies, it is always so interesting to hear how they grew up. I liked Jodie Sweetin’s (from Full House) book, but I passed on Candace Cameron’s because it seemed to be more religious than biographical. I strangely really liked Howie Mandel’s Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me. It was hilarious!
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Sabrina the Teenage Witch!!
I loved Clarissa Explains it All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I just finished rewatching Sabrina on Netflix a little while ago. I’ll have to check out that book. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Wait, Sabrina’s on Netflix?
I read Deep Thoughts of a Hollywood Blonde. It was interesting. I thought she had a great story to tell without diving deep into all of her personal business. She has a great drive. I thought StoriTelling was one of the best 90s star memoirs ever though. Funny, charming and brutally honest book about her relationships with herself, love, and family. Also really enjoyed Pam Grier’s memoir and Steve Martin.
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I’ve been meaning to read the Tori Spelling memoirs. Thanks for the recommendation!
I cannot add any to your list but I adore Melissa Joan Hart as well. I love to have on Melissa & Joey when I am washing dishes. 🙂 The first episode is so damn cheesy but it did get better I found. I wish netflix had Full House and all those other TGIF shows. It would make my cleaning routine a heck of a lot easier. Haha
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I LOVED Clarissa Explains It All! I always wished that my friends could crawl through my window like Sam did! Did you watch the newest 90210 series that was on the CW? I got sucked in for like 4 seasons and then they canceled it. It was good guilty pleasure show though 🙂
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Yes, I did! I was really into it for the first couple of seasons, and then I lost interest. The original series definitely had more longevity.
Rob Lowe! His books are terrific.
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Omgosh…. i am the queen of reading biographies….
If you like those you will love Coreyography by Corey Feldman. I read it in 2 days it was sooo juicy (if you watched the reality show 2 Coreys it will put a lot of what they said/did into perspective)
– Rosie Perez – Handbook for an unpredictable life
– Tori Spelling – all of her books…
– Christopher Ciccone – Life with my sister Madonna (soooo juicy)
– Chris Perez – To Selena with love (mexican singer Selena)
I’ve been on the fence of reading Tori Spelling’s biographies. Looks like I’ve have to give them a try. Oh, and I didn’t know about the Selena one! I’ll have to read that too.
I can’t see the comments anymore. Not sure if anyone else is having this issue. Even if I comment, I can’t see my comment or others. It’s been going on for awhile and I thought maybe it was my work computer until I tried it at home with the same issue. Can you try to get it corrected?
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Sabrina the Teenage Witch was my favorite show! My son is only a few months old but that is one show I plan on showing him all the reruns of when he gets a bit older. It’s also an excuse for me to rewatch it!
I loooooved Clarissa Explains It All as a kid! On a sort of related note I have been secretly enjoying the “Boy Meets World” spin off “Girl Meets World” on Disney. Love nostalgia.
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I’ve read all three. Loved all of them!! Still trying to find another book to read. Waiting for the new Tracy Garvis Graves book to be released. Thank you again for making me hooked on her. I adore her work.
I have been LOVING on Melissa! I wanted to grab her book but never got around to it. I loved loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch
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