Take Your Shirt Off and Cry: A Memoir of Near-Fame Experiences

This book is really entertaining and fun to read even though it deals with the painful struggle of trying to make it as actress in Hollywood. Nancy's portrayal of her experiences as an aspiring actress is candid and self-aware but most of all her perspective is always so funny! ( )

I enjoyed this book. It wouldn’t be on the top of my list to read again, but overall it was humorous and a nice way to spend an afternoon. ( )

Like others i really wanted to like this book. My theatre background makes me a little hungry for such autobiographies, but the author herself was more interested in herself (and her life was not all that compelling, than what was actually happening in her life. I found myself only reading a few pages at a time and trying to force myself to read through to the end of each chapter before putting it down (and after putting it down not picking it up again for days.) Maybe my disjointed reading led to some of my sense of disconnected chapters lacking continuity but i'm not entirely convinced. I'm also not sure how reliable of a narrator Balbirer is. ( )

I wanted to like this book, I really did. I received this book as part of the early reviewer program but it took me months to get through it because the author's life was just not all that fascinating. It started out strong with Balbirer describing the time she spent studying with Mamet, but there was no compelling narrative to tie subsequent incidents together. There was nothing there to make me feel for the author. She just wasn't all that likable. The stories involving Phil Hartman, Jennifer Aniston & Friends and Seinfeld felt dated. Had I read this book in 2000, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. Overall, I found it to be a huge disappointment. ( )

I have to admit, it took me a while to get through this book, but I'm glad I finally did. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments, but it wasn't all fun and games. Balbirer is clearly writing laughs, but there are also some very poignant moments. It was an interesting look at the acting business. We all know what success is in Hollywood, but what about all of those who don't quite make it? This is one of those stories, and it's an enjoyable read, and definitely eye opening. She could have made this a bit of a tell-all, but instead she chose to coat her story with humor and laugh about the past.