'Life is new adventure every day, sometimes wonderful and usually a disaster.'

A Star Is Bored has a very unique feel to it. It actually felt more a memoir than fiction, even though it was all made up. And it also had a more conversational and casual feel to it. It was refreshing in between the thrillers and romances that I have read lately. It was full of truths, introspection, and lots of zingers and one liners.

You are thrown in to the absurd universe of Kathi Kannon from the start as she talks in riddles (which I enjoyed decoding along with Charlie every time!) and is proud of all her eccentricities. She appears to be strong and to give no f****s. But I really enjoyed watching her relationship with Charlie grow and transform, and her softer and more vulnerable side to emerge, as much as she tried to bury it. Kathi was truly an interesting character. At times she entertained, she irritated, she confused, but by the end she had really grown on me. I am sure that a lot of the crazy things she did, there are many celebrities and rich socialites out here that have actually done all of it and much worse. Her randomness really did keep me giggling.

Charlie's character had so much depth and vulnerability too. My heart ached for him when he recalled his memories of his father and the way he treated him after his mother died. I was cheering him on as he blundered thru through multiple bad relationships and finally tackled his his issues with his dad.


Thank you to Henry Holt & Co for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I used to live in West Hollywood and love to read books set near there. This book centers on Charlie, a celebrity personal assistant, who jokes about his suicidal ideation, misses his mom all the time and seems to have the lowest self esteem. His job is to keep his employer sober, focused and organized. It ends up being way more than either of them bargained for. If you like darker humor, want an inside look into celebrity life, this is your book. It's a different take on a coming of age novel. Byron Lane says this is a work of fiction, but he used to be Carrie Fisher's assistant and I kept picturing her during this book.

I know this is a work of fiction, but it is so full of wacky situations that seem too specific to be made up! This book was equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, and I really enjoyed it. I also look forward to Byron Lane’s next book—he’s really very funny. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-galley for review.

Byron Lane has created a character with Kathi Kannon who can only be described as a modern day Auntie Mame with bi-polar disorder. I loved so much about this novel, I loved the humor, I loved the heart and I loved the passion that floated off the page. From page 1 you are on Charlie’s side and you want to learn and go along with him, he is captivating! There is terrific heart in this book and at times I was laughing while I was crying. Not a reading session went by that didn’t end with my fiancé saying “was it really that funny.” Yes it was! Byron Lane is a witty and original voice and the book is a breath of fresh air! I look forward to his other novels!

A Star is Bored is the story of a celebrity personal assistant written by a former celebrity personal assistant. As a pop culture junkie, I couldn't wait to read this book!

There are a lot of parallels you can draw between the novel and real life. Charlie, the book’s protagonist, gets a job working for film star Kathi Kannon. She’s Hollywood royalty (her mother is a beloved star as well) and best known for playing an iconic sci-fi character who also writes books and is a recovering drug addict. Byron Lane, the author, worked for Carrie Fisher, a film star who was Hollywood royalty, best known for playing an iconic sci-fi character who also wrote books and was a recovering drug addict. It’s hard not to read A Star is Bored wondering what actually happened versus what’s pure fiction and while that’s what makes it entertaining, more often than not, it made me sad too.

I think my biggest issue with the book is Charlie himself. He’s such a sad sack throughout and it’s difficult to root for him. There’s a subplot about his disapproving father that gives him a little more depth but it’s hard to get past his constant whining and anxiety. Also, some of Lane’s writing choices - like using a “Hey Siri” refrain - are odd and took me out of the story.

Kathi, on the other hand, is vividly painted. She comes across as brilliant and complicated, someone who sees the world through a unique lens the rest of us can only hope to get the chance to glimpse. But she’s also depicted as someone who squanders her talent and privilege and who basically obliterates anything good in her life. Sometimes it seems these episodes and tantrums are meant to be humorous but I had a hard time reading them that way knowing how Carrie Fisher’s life ended. Even if Kathi’s story is completely fictional, it’s almost impossible not to project elements of it onto the star we all know when there are so many similarities between Lane’s real boss and the one he put in his book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company and the author for an ebook to review. All opinions are my own.

This is an abbreviated review of ‘A Star Is Bored’. You can find the full review at the link below.
A Star Is Bored is about Charlie Besson, a writer for a Los Angeles television news station who gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is hired as a personal assistant to his childhood hero, actress Kathi Kannon. Kannon played Priestess Talara in the epic science fiction film, Nova Quest.

Once Charlie is hired as Kannon’s assistant, he is blindly trying to navigate being Kannon’s assistant. At the same time Charlie goes to work for Kannon, he is dealing with a complex and almost antagonistic relationship with his father.
As a debut novelist, Lane manages to bring along readers on the rollercoaster ride that is Charlie’s life as Kathi Kannon’s personal assistant. Throughout A Star Is Bored, you cannot help envisioning the late Carrie Fisher in Lane’s narrative of Kathi Kannon. Many of the adventures that Kannon drags Charlie on are based on the actual trips Lane took with Fisher during his time as her assistant.

I think I was inclined to like this book since I’ve always been a bit obsessed with both Carrie Fisher and her mother. Beyond a childhood that revolved around Star Wars, learning that Princess Leia had a wicked sense of humor, a potty mouth, a drug problem, and an outrageous mother considered Hollywood Royalty was essentially gay indoctrination in the late seventies.-Pick your family, Fisher or Garland.

So when I heard that this book was the story of an assistant to a brassy actress with a drug problem, a potty mouth, and wicked sense of humor, who lived with her actress mother who was considered Hollywood royalty in a fictional Hollywood, and was inspired by @byronlanedotcom ’s real life job as Carrie’s assistant, I couldn’t wait to read it.

Well, it’s funny. So very very funny, with dialogue so sharp you could cut steel with it.Kathi Kannon, the actress refers to her new assistant Charlie as something I can’t say here, but is a ring applied to a part of the male anatomy.
As he struggles to figure the job out aided by a group of similarly employed assistants to stars, one can hear Fisher say and do any and all these things he vividly paints. But here’s the thing: A little before halfway though the book I began to focus less on the idea that this was Carrie and got lost in this incredibly poignant story of two damaged souls who for a moment heal parts of each other.
In fact at times this reads like some off kilter unexpected romantic comedy and I really was so sad to leave them or them me as the case might be,
being completely unprepared for how connected and invested I was until I found myself wiping tears from my face. (And I fully acknowledge that pandemic life is creating sucky emotional see saws, but I gotta give props to Byron for earning the pay off the book brings.)
I really loved this. And if you’re looking for something that will make you laugh out loud and maybe even shed a tear or two, I’d highly highly recommend it.
One side note kinda related:
Years ago I was casting a pilot for NBC and we were testing (auditioning) Debby Reynolds. I walked into the room to get her and was going to bring her to another room where our producer was to run the material with her before we went before the executives. She looked like she was ready to perform in Vegas: stylish, coiffed, her eyes sparkling. I put out my arm and she stood and immediately linked her arm through mine as I said: ‘Miss Reynolds, I’m Brett Benner the casting director, and before we go in I’m just going to take you in this room over here before the audition’ and without missing a beat as we walked down the hall, she patted my forearm and said: ‘Oh my dear, you’re not the first young man to say that to me’ Thank you to the tagged publisher and @netgalley for the advanced copy. “A Star Is Bored” releases Tuesday July 28

If you are a fan of the late Carrie Fisher, I recommend you not read this book. Lane calls this book fiction, but in his interviews he makes it clear that incidents are pretty much just variations on reality, and the book includes details that are known about Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds. The picture Lane paints of “Kathie Kannon” is of a tremendously talented woman who wastes her talent and privilege with drugs. Worse yet, she is incredibly inconsiderate of others and downright destructive of everything in her path.

Even if you’re not a Carrie Fisher fan, it’s repulsive to read lengthy descriptions of someone who is such a mess and who makes life difficult for others just because she can, given her fame. Someone who brazenly defies public rules just because she can get away with it, who turns every hotel room into a wreck in minutes, who mindlessly goes on shopping sprees and then wastes everyone’s time by returning everything the next day, and who regularly abuses drugs. Especially right now, when so many people don’t know how they will feed and house their families, it’s off-putting, at the least, to read about this kind of person.

Sure, Lane tries to turn it all around in the final quarter by showing how Kathie Kannon taught him about love and acceptance and is a beautiful soul inside, but it’s too little too late. This book comes across as mainly a tell-all from another hanger-on abusing his access to benefit himself—and doing it after the subject is dead and can’t defend herself. I thought this was going to be a funny, with an admixture of self-mockery, like Carrie Fisher’s own books, but I was mistaken.

The author of A Star is Bored, Byron Lane was Carrie Fisher's personal assistant for three years.  He continually has stated that this book is a work of fiction...but I truly hope that he did take some liberties from his time with Ms. Fisher!

This is the funniest, laugh out loud book I have read in a very long time! The banter between the characters is incredible and witty and even though I am not suppose to I can't help but hear Fisher's voice in my head as I read the story, which made it even more comical.

Charlie works as an overnight writer for a boring publication.  He want to leave and dreams of having a more exciting job.  Well, be careful what you wish for!  On a tip, he applies for the job as the personal assistant to ultra celebrity Kathi Kannon.  Kannon, who just happens to be a very famous princess from a sci-fi movie lives on a property she shares with her very famous eccentric mother.  During the job interview (audition?) Charlie is extremely confused as to what Ms. Kannon is looking for in an assistant and leaves unsure of whether he even got the job.

The phone rings and Charlie gets his first inking that he got the job but still unsure of what the job entails.  As he soon finds out being Kannon's personal assistant is a trip, both literally and figuratively.  Between doling out her pills in the morning (see bottom draw in bedroom), to taking her on hilarious vacations (see Japan), to being not only her caretaker but her protector, Charlie finds the chaos disturbingly exciting. And the perks are not so bad either.

As Charlie tries to put Kannon's life in some sort of order, she on the other hand fights to have the continued mayhem.  There is a housekeeper who has a brain tumor who seems to do nothing but sleep at the kitchen table on a daily basis and a gardener who seems to hold hedge clippers in his hand daily, but never seems to clip anything. Added to the disorganization is Kannon's mother who is constantly handing Charlie bags of money to make sure her daughter eats her "vegetables". 

There are almost daily trips to what Kannon calls "Vegas" which Charlie assumes are shopping jaunts. They are not. There is one extremely comical episode in which Kannon runs naked (with a bed sheet) into traffic outside her house and Charlie literally tries to reel her in. Then cleans up the public relations mess.

Entwined in the story is Charlie's own personal dysfunctional history with a mother who died very young and an overbearing father with anger issues who screams a lot, so much so Charlie can't get his voice out of his head. He also highlights the difficulty of trying to have any kind of personal relationship when you are on call 24/7 at the whim of a superstar. His own dating chronicles are just as funny as his personal assistant shenanigans. 

But through all the craziness, Charlie and Kathi develop a relationship which cannot really be defined.  Part respect, part sibling, part parent/child but most of all devotion to each other and a mutual love.

I want to say I truly hope some of this is based in truth because in my head I want to believe Kathi Kannon and Carrie Fisher really did have these absolutely incredible you could not make this stuff up adventures.

So relax, sit back and go along for the most enjoyable ride! This would surely be a great beach read. 

Thank you #NetGalley #HenryHoltandCo #ByronLane #AStarIsBored for the advanced copy.  The book will be published on July 28.

Charlie’s story makes you laugh, cry and get angry. I found this an entertaining read. Most of us don’t probably directly relate to the eccentricity and personality of Kathi, she is a fantastic element of the book.
I think most people would enjoy this story.

Funny and witty and utterly relatable even if your life is nothing like Hollywood. This is also a book that makes you think, my brain was spinning trying to figure out what was really happening here and what was going on under the surface and how does this person feel and that person and what would I do it it was me. Its definitely not my usual kind of a book but it was a happy foray into a different style.

This is the story of Charlie, who is looking to change his mundane life. He interviews and accepts a position as a personal assistant to a Hollywood Star Kathi Kannon, who has become sort of a “has-been”. We spend the next 3 years looking into their relationship.

There is a lot going in the debut novel. There is a lot of humor, but this does veer into some very heavy topics, of mental-illness and drug use. What you get a deeper story than I expected of these two very different people and the bond that they come to have.

Overall, this was a pretty strong debut. The author, wrote a very fast paced novel that you will not want to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What would it be like to be the personal assistant for your ideal? A Star is Bored is the alternate universe to The Devil Wears. Lane takes us through two lives that intermingle and the journey they take together. Charlie is the fan geek in all of us, trying to forge an authentic relationship with a celebrity they do not understand. Lane gives an intense depiction of Charlie's upbringing and how these experiences lead him to latch into Kathi Kannon, his leading lady. Kathi's life is also revealed slowly through the eyes of Charlie and his many duties as a personal assistant. The pace is fast and witty with intense personal insight sprinkled in. Yet, the story seemed at times too forced and made it seem as if it was being thrown at the reader. While the reader gets an unforgiving look into Charlie's life, Kathi is left mostly as a shell of a person. Almost a charcuterie instead of an authentic fleshed out character.

I have been reading a lot of 4- and 5- star books lately...makes me feel like my luck may be running out, but here I am with another 5-star review for a charming, sweet story about Charlie, personal assistant to Hollywood royalty Kathi Kannon. This is based (loosely? who knows?) on the author's time as Carrie Fisher's personal assistant, and it is obvious that there was caring and love between them.

That is what makes this so much sweeter than many of these types of books. While we read about Kathi's battles with addiction and mental illness, there is mutual affection between her and Charlie. There are no salacious details or other ickiness, but Lane doesn't seem to hold back from showing the very human failings of Ms. Kannon.

I loved the language and the humor and the tenderness of this book. Lane pulls back the curtain on the Hollywood personal assistant sub-culture just a little, which is fun (if that's the right word...maybe not?) I also liked that Lane didn't publish this while Ms. Fisher or her mother were still alive. That shows a level of kindness and grace that seems rare these days.

My thanks to Henry Holt & Co. and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that show an inside look at Hollywood. And what could be more insider than what the personal assistants to the Stars witness! Although this is a work of fiction, one can tell this novel is greatly influenced by the author's experiences as Carrie Fisher's PA. While it is full of the wild excesses of pampered stars, it is also a story of the main character's search for meaning in a superficial society. This is the Must Read book of the summer!

What I Liked:
Premise:
I have always wondered what a personal assistant does. These PA's manage every aspect of a busy stars lives. It's hard to imagine why one would need that much help (I can't even fathom someone cleaning my house)!

Characters:
Charlie:
Charlie, the main character, stumbles into becoming a PA in order to escape a boring, night shift job as a television news writer. But while this new job isn't boring, might it be equally soul-crushing?

Charlie also has many issues with his parents. He tries to fill that void by seeing his employer as a substitute parent. He desperately craves her approval, which makes it impossible to objectively do his job.

Kathy:
Kathy is the big star who is modeled after Carrie Fisher. Her fame is fading as she moves slowly into old age. But she still has loads of cash, and many rabid fans. This, along with her uncontrolled mental illnesses and addictions, fuels Kathy's wild behavior.

I really like that, through it all, Kathy is not a target of ridicule. But she is not to be envied. Here's a person who is set up to be dependent. With a lifetime of caretakers and hangers on, she has never been alone in her entire life. She seriously can't take care of herself.

Story:
Aside from Kathy's antics, Charlie learns all about the power of money. Whenever he gets a little too comfortable, feeling like Kathy is his friend, he will be rudely reminded that Kathy is his boss, and he is not one of the glittering elite. This keeps Charlie constantly off balance. Until he finds his own self-worth, Kathy's approval is all he's got going for him.

Charlie's relationship with his dad is one of pain and is difficult to read about, at times. While his dad's abuse would be hard to forgive, Charlie does begin to see how his dad's behavior came about. Eventually he does find a way to make peace with who his dad is. This gives the story a weight that makes this something that we all can relate to.

How do we find meaning in our lives? Is it through our jobs, our relationships, our passions? This really is the central question of this novel. This book a so entertaining and yet makes me think of all these bigger themes. That's the magic of this well written book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this intimate look at life through the eyes of an assistant to an international household name. This book was at time humorous, but also extremely heartfelt and emotional. I found myself feeling for both Charlie and Kathi, and I was rooting for them every step of the way. I highly recommend this book for those looking for something humorous but also deep and moving.

I picked this book up because of the Taylor Jenkins Reid blurb and loved the writing and the byplay between the actress and assistant. My one quibble is how closely it mirrors to real life (the author was Carrie Fisher's assistant) and I feel a bit uncomfortable at fictionalizing this actress without Carrie's consent.

This was an odd book. At times I loved it, and at times I thought it was utterly ridiculous. All in all, I did enjoy the story and the character development. I thought the portrayal of addiction and the struggles the main character faces seemed realistic. I thought that the nickname cockring was a little over the top, but I am sure in the celebrity world assistants get called worse than that.

When I read a fictionalized book based on the author's real life, I can't help but think it all happened the way described, and if that's the case, A Star is Bored is like a day spent at the theme park. You will not be bored. There are tremendous highs, laughter, moments of sadness as if you've witnessed a mother slap her child, cheers, and "I can't believe it" exclamations.
Not a perfect book, but a page turner.

Byron Lane was Carrie Fisher's assistant, so as I listened to the audio version of this, I kept wondering if there were bits that were taken from his time working for her. This book is hilarious at times and heartfelt at others, so it gives the reader a varied reading experience. The audio version was a nice treat to listen to while completing work around the house!