The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year

Cohen (Most Talkative), host and executive producer of Bravo's Watch What Happens Live and executive producer of the drama-laden Real Housewives franchise, walks readers through a year of his life via this mildly entertaining diary. Those expecting insight into the inner workings of cable network programming will be deeply disappointed, as Cohen offers next to nothing in terms of boardroom drama or casting decisions, but readers familiar with his charming and occasionally catty persona will likely find themselves drawn in as he recounts fighting a terrible urge to go to the bathroom while on-air, searching for a meaningful canine companion, and handling countless celebrity interactions with aplomb and a striking amount of humility%E2%80%94he's probably harder on himself than he is on his guests. Those expecting lightning bolts of bad taste will get their fill%E2%80%94he's kept a jar of Lady Gaga's urine%E2%80%94and there's plenty of celebrity dishing (Donnie Wahlberg has no problem using public restrooms, Madonna flies commercial), but his sheer delight is endearing as he recounts meeting Fred Schneider of the B-52s, watching the St. Louis Cardinals with his parents, and indulging his unabashed love for his dog, Wacha. Still, it's tough for Cohen to keep the narrative from falling into a rote cycle of lunches, late-night massages, and brief recaps of often uneventful shows ("The live show was 50 Cent and Jerry Ferrera. A caller asked how much cash each of them had and 50 pulled out ten grand in hundreds from his back pocket"), making for a book best read in small doses. (Nov.)