Not Too Brad

I wasn't expecting too much from "Born To Be Brad: My Life And Style So Far," as far as deep writing was concerned. I knew it would be fluff, and it was, but it was kind of deep as well. It wasn't deep-dee-, but it dug enough. Was it Thoreau who said that in order for you to write, you need to live. I guess I pigeonholed Brad Goreski as one of those shallow media personalities, and he kind of is, but the good thing is that he has no pretense about who he is. This book is mostly a memoir of his life, thus far. He grew up in a suburb of Toronto, and knew he was gay at a very young age. We get the usual story: he plays with barbie dolls, his father throws them away, his grandmother buys him more in secret. He gets hooked in drugs and alcohol (and a toxic relationship) after college, and then hits rock bottom and has been sober since. he aso tells his story of how he rose from being an intern at Vogue and then working for its Los Angeles office before working as Rachel Zoe's assistant, then coming to his own. I only very fleetingly saw the Rachel Zoe show, but on a Saturday marathon sat through some episodes of "It's A Brad Brad World," so I kind of know his latter story. I thought this was thoughtfully written, enough to keep my attention. I never got bored with it. I had little use for some of his tips, like how to choose a little black dress, or his favorite restaurants in New York City. But, a lot of the people who bought this book probably appreciated it more. I wish there were more about his relationship with the writer Gary Jannetti, but he may be saving that for another book. All in all, this is a good summer read, and of course the underlying message he touts: "Be Yourself," is always a good thing.

BC-42