The Bling Ring audiobook

An extended version of the Vanity Fair article, "The Bling Ring" is a nice bookend to the Sofia Coppola film. I saw the film and then bought the book and while the two were clearly made separately, I actually gained even more respect for the film because of its attention to detail and its quotes from the real suspects. My only real issue with the book - aside from the fact that it means that Alexis Neiers and her fame whore mother are back in the spotlight - is that it is over reliant on the most vocal and media hungry convicts, Neiers and Prugo. I get that that's part of the problem with working on a deadline, but it leaves the reader with less than a full understanding of who all these kids are and their backgrounds. The book and the film never really address the issue of"why" -- aside from the obligatory psych 101 diagnoses of narcissism, greed and entitlement, and in truth, that may be all the motive and rationale needed. Still, the story of a bunch of suburban poseurs robbing celebrities is a fascinating one. This is a quick read, great for a plane, the beach or late night reading.

Because I was interested in the actual case, I found this book really interesting. Who would've realised that celebrities forget to but on there alarm systems and leave a spare key under the door mat? Maybe celebrities are like the rest of us.For someone like me, who hadn't really followed the case, it's a fantastic read because there are additional facts from police reports and references to things discovered by TMZ. Because Nancy Jo had access to all the suspects in the case including information Nick Prugo told to police about the involvement of other individuals not charged with any crimes that I had not read elsewhere, such as the possible involvement of "Pretty Wild" star Tess Taylor.It's a bit of a heavy book at times, especially because spends a fair amount of time referencing sociological studies about fame & going on small tangents comparing mastermind Rachel Lee & Prugo to people like Bonnie & Clyde, using historical evidence to support her thought process however it defiantly helps put the book and the case itself into context.Read my whole review at katieemay.co.uk

What has happened to our children??? This book as a parent drove me crazy. Our values and morals as a country our so in the gutter. The Kardashians Paris Hilton Lindsay Lohan are such horrible role models for our children to look up to. This book proves that very statement.

This is real?This all really happened?A bunch of bored (and rather foolish) young adults robbed celebrities and gave zero effs?It's frankly fabulous.And I laughed, probably inappropriately, many times while reading.

Maybe it was because I had zero clue about this whole crime wave that I found this book interesting. But man oh man did I shake my head at the whole Hollywood society part of it. So removed from that nonessential life that it makes it hard to believe this stuff goes on.

Truly juicy true crime! Sales delivers an acerbic profile of the members of the so-called 'Bling Ring', a group of teenagers who burgled the homes of A-List celebrities in Los Angeles in 2008/9. Between accounts of burglaries, trials and a media firestorm, Sales explores the rise of the teenager, contemporary infamy and celebrity obsession. Blackly comic and highly entertaining.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows the story of The Bling Ring now, after the Sofia Coppola movie that came out a few months ago (which I still have yet to see but am looking forward to watching). This book is written by Nancy Jo Sales, who is also the author of the original Vanity Fair article 'The Suspects Wore Louboutins' that inspired Sofia Coppola to film The Bling Ring. It's a true story about a group of seven friends, teenagers, in the Hollywood Hills that robbed like six different celebrity homes between 2008 and 2009. They ended up stealing around $3 million in cash, clothes, etc. Before going into this book, I thought I knew basically the whole story. Then as I began reading, I realized I knew next to nothing. I was definitely horrified in the beginning, I genuinely could not understand how these teenagers, who are all roughly around my age, thought that what they were doing was ok. It was this whole sense of entitlement that I couldn't mentally grasp. As I continued reading, it became this kind of sick fascination. I got sucked in and kind of began seeing things from the point of view of these teenagers, trying to imagine how they felt and reading their stories, their reasons for why they did what they did. And then it got scary. Because it definitely is very easy to relate to them in a lot of aspects. Obviously I don't rob houses but this whole idea of fame has gotten the whole world captivated. Everyone fuels it. Every time we follow someone on Twitter or Instagram or whatever. Every time we pick up a magazine or watch a reality TV show. It's a part of today's culture and most of us don't even realize that we're contributing to it. One thing that bothered me though was the author's judgement. We definitely hear her opinions loud and clear about all of this. And that got on my nerves after a while. Yes, we're all to blame for fueling the world's obsession with money and fame.And I guess I can see why older generations would be worried about this kind of thing. Because it does happen, and that is a part of today's society. But I don't want to read about Sales placing blame. She keeps talking about how her and Sofia Coppola bonded over their worries of the effects of fame and celebrity status on their daughters and today's youth. I mean, I can definitely see where she's coming from, but if I'm being honest, I think there are extremes. There are those who refuse to participate in any of this, they don't watch TV or read or have Facebook or whatever; and then there is The Bling Ring. So I think you do have to take what Sales says with a grain of salt, because there definitely is a lot of judgement of the people of my generation in this book. Otherwise though, I thought the book was really interesting. It was an interesting look at a lot of different angles : burglary, crime amongst the wealthy, teenagers since the 19th century, etc. Sales kind of went off on a few tangents that sounded a lot like my sociology teacher from last year, which I found fascinating but I can see those who don't find sociology interesting skipping a lot of chapters. This book didn't so much change any of my opinions or morals or anything like that, it was just an interesting and, if I'm being honest, creepy look into the extreme side of celebrity obsession. It really is like a completely different world than the one that most of us live in. These kids didn't do it for the money, they did it because they wanted to be famous. They wanted to wear the clothes of their favorite stars and to some extent, actually BECOME those people. It was really fascinating to read and gave the reader an inside look into the mind's of these kids with interviews from a handful of the teenagers themselves and a few of the celebrities and officers on the case. For anyone even a little bit interested in The Bling Ring, I say go for it.

This review and others are posted at Read, Rinse, Repeat. This story fascinated me when it was all over the news several years ago. I read all the gossip sites. I even watched The Lifetime movie. The upcoming film from Sofia Coppola has been on my radar for a while, in no small part because I want to see how Emma Watson pulls of a California girl accent. I've read articles by Nancy Jo Sales in Vanity Fair magazines, and I've always enjoyed her writing. So, even though I knew the basics of the crimes, I was interested in a more in-depth look, and I also realized I didn't know the outcomes of any judicial proceedings. If you know nothing about the Bling Ring case, I think you'll find this book fascinating. Sales got several of the Bling Ring members to consent to interviews, even before their convictions. Even though only one of them seemed fully candid, it was still interesting to hear from the others. They are incredibly self-absorbed and fame-obsessed, largely without remorse for their crimes, and they are the type of people I prefer to view from a distance. We hear detailed recounts of the planning of the burglaries and the burglaries themselves. The "planning" consisted largely of, "Hey, what are you doing tonight? Nothing? Great. Let's go to break into Paris Hilton's house. She tweeted that she's out of town." Want to know how they broke into Paris's house? She left her key under her doormat. Seriously, folks. I'll admit that I was not exactly sympathetic to hear that the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan had their homes burglarized. If anyone "deserved" it, surely it was these two? But when I read testimony from victim Orlando Bloom's grand jury deposition, I could almost feel his pain and sense of violation. Maybe (maybe) Lohan and Hilton were deserving of a little sympathy, too.Sales writes objectively of these crimes, even when one of the ring members seems to attribute his participation to drug use and struggles with his sexuality. (Not surprisingly, just about all of them were admitted or alleged drug users or dealers.) He comes off the best, mainly because he is the only one who seems to have any genuine regret. One cop told Sales, "They were a very successful crime ring. They were just really bad at not getting caught." I'll say! They bragged about their crimes, flaunted their loot, and seemed to believe that once they were through the doors of someone's house, they were entitled to anything they could haul out. What could possibly inspire this attitude? Sales looks to history, reality TV, and our fascination with fame for answers. I think the truth is simpler: spoiled teens, lots of drugs, and bad parenting. Note - I was provided with an ARC by the publisher with the request for an honest review.

The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales is one of the best books I have ever read. It opened my eyes about how corrupt some of todays youth really are and the out of control envy some people have for todays "rich and famous". It's filled with drama, suspense and the crazy ability that these kids had to deceive people so well and for so long. The cool thing about this book is that it is 100% a true story. There were so many times I found myself saying "No way!" but all of the things that happened in this book happened in real life a few years ago. It's about a group of teenagers, later known as "The Bling Ring", that went around robbing celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Partridge, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox and plotted to rob many many more. Rachel and Nick, known as the "Ring Leaders", initially started this fad these teenagers had. They later got friends to join them. They stole millions of dollars worth of items such as purses, shoes, watches and tons more. These fame, young hollywood obsessed, materialistic, "rich" kids wanted it all and were going at all costs to get it. Some of the things the kids did were sickening and quiet scary... such as steeling Megan Fox's hand gun and playing around with it and steeling money to buy cocaine which led to addiction for some of the kids. But while this story has serious topics there are some twists that cause you to laugh. Such as when Nick and the kids go to Paris Hiltons house and try on her shoes... You find out that Paris Hilton wears a size 11 shoe! And because of this, Nick steals these pink pumps and wears them around, its corrupt but funny at the same time.I just overall loved this book for how real it was... but for how unreal and unbelievable it was at the same time. This book isn't laid out in a typical "story" format like most of us are used to. It is written from Nancy, the author's, prospective and point of few and it is the facts about what happened while her opinions are also stated and included. It's all about her interviews and encounters with the kids, the research, and the things Nancy went through in order to help make this true story into a movie (which I recommend watching). I would suggest this book to mature teenagers and women of all ages or even men that are interested in a hollywood, fame obsessed themed book. It is a great, entertaining read with a great unintentional message. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars! Read it!

This film was released in Australia only yesterday. I'm really keen to see it, so why not read about the events the movie is based on?Turns out this was a brilliant decision. Nancy Jo Sales (an American writer and contributor for The New York Times, People Magazine, Vanity Affair) delivers a very well researched and put together piece about the burglaries committed by a group of Valley teens on popular Hollywood starlets in 2008.I'm not sure if the four stars is for Nancy herself or for the kids that managed to steal MILLIONS of dollars worth of designer and luxury items from the famous, because I'm generally amazed at how they used the internet and social media to their very criminal advantage. I almost feel like congratulating them.As someone who is of the similar age to those that were apart of The Bling Ring, I'm not surprised I feel this way. I was beyond impressed how Nancy describes my generation's obsession with fame and money so perfectly. She is so on point. I don't pick up gossip mags that much anymore, but I love having twitter and I love knowing what my favourite celebrities are up to and what they're wearing and where I can buy that handbag myself. When I think of it that way, myself and many other young adults are only a hop, step and a jump away from mirroring Nick or Rachel's thoughts about celebrity and wanting the desired lifestyle that comes with it. They thought it was okay to stomp through Lindsay's home because, hey, they knew her.And that is what makes the tales about The Bling Ring so intriguing. "Don't write them off as goofy teens. These kids are the window into this world of celebrity obsession."

3.5 stars, rounded up because I really *did* enjoy the read. Trashy true crime in the time of reality TV. I've been obsessed with this story for the last couple of weeks, surprised that I didn't hear about it when it actually happened. After reading Nancy Jo Sales' story for Vanity Fair online, I knew I had to read her full book. It was pretty well-written & went into considerable detail about the potential psychology behind the crimes. If you like true crime and/or reality TV, you'll probably enjoy this book.

The Bling Ring, a non fiction book by Nancy Jo Sales, was extremely thrilling and an amazing read. It's a story of 5 teenagers who begin to steal and break into houses in Hollywood. They steal so many things, from jewelry to thousands of dollars worth of shoes, and electronics. They use these products throughout their everyday life and begin to have the illusion of being famous themselves. I thought this book so great. I was so shocked to find out that they stole so many things, in total 3 million dollars worth of things were stolen. I was incredibly surprised that throughout the entire time they were stealing, they never once got caught until the end. This book is incredible, and I most definitely recommend that everyone should read it. The fact that this was based off of a true story, and they actually stole from hundreds of celebrities, the biggest being Paris Hilton, is shocking. All in all, I loved this book and definitely hope that many more people read it. I could not put this book down, and I hope others can't either.

When I bought it I thought I was going to read something similar to the movie made by Sofia Coppola but I was wrong -- a good kind of wrong. I'm not saying the movie is bad but the book is definitely better. Nancy Jo's writing style reminded me of Mainstream, which is a great book. Sales didn't just write a story on the Bling Ring, she did a in-depth analysis and this is what made it a good book. The way she conects the Bling Ring's actions to some of America's elemental values is worth reading. It's astounding to realise the Bling Ring is a reflection of what America is today, of its celebrity centered culture, of its desire to be famous at all costs, of its Bonnie and Clyde fascination and of the american dream -- in a twisted way.

I'm pretty excited for the movie, so I thought I'd check out the book. Who am I kidding? I'm OBSESSED. I've read the Vanity Fair article, I watched all of Pretty Wild in the span of a week, and I FLEW through this book. For some reason, The Bling Ring is absolutely fascinating to me. Sales actually added a lot to the story by discussing the rise of tabloid culture and even a little history lesson about Bonnie and Clyde. Definitely worth picking up if you're at all interested in celebrity culture.