A neighbor offered up boxes of used books. I dug through and found a copy of Elizabeth Taylor's Liz Takes Off (1988), the book she wrote about her weight loss. I love Elizabeth Taylor. So talented, so gorgeous, so very much exactly who she was. Unapologetically unconventional, forthright, intelligent. Fabulous. I wasn't looking for a weight-loss program, but the aforementioned fabulousness made me think this might be a fun read.
I would wear all of this. Right now. Especially the sunglasses.
- respect: she approaches weight loss and exercise in terms of working toward your ideal weight and shape rather than an ideal weight and shape
- says things you wouldn't think she'd say (examples: studios pumping Judy Garland full of pills, her disdain for her role in Butterfield 8 even though it won her an Oscar)
- good attitude towards aging, considering what a celebrated beauty and sex bomb she was: "all the surgeries and all the diets in the world will not make you look eighteen again, so stop trying."
Recommended?
Yes, but more for Taylor's whip-smart, deeply personal and often very funny writing than for the diet and exercise information. I didn't read that part and thus cannot evaluate it. Maybe her autobiography would be an equally fun read, without the recipes? On the other other hand, don't you kind of want recipes from Elizabeth Taylor?
I shall now use this three-bullet book review as an excuse to post a shot from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. If you've never seen this, do so as soon as possible. She's absolutely astounding in this film. (As is Paul Newman. Ahem. Whew! Almost too much hotness in one movie, truth be told. Don't say you weren't warned.)
