Looking for some x-rated but enlightening bedtime reading?
A lot of people watch porn, but not many of us choose to read about it. That’s a great shame because there are some truly mind-boggling tales and stories to be shared. Some will make you question what you thought you knew about how the adult industry works…
We’ve rounded up the most eye-opening autobiographies and memoirs by adult industry icons – from 1970s trailblazers to today’s viral sensations. These books dish the dirty details behind the scenes: outrageous on-set antics, struggles with fame (and infamy), battles with demons, and plenty of shagging along the way.
What Are The Most Eye-Opening Books About Porn?
So… which porn autobiographies and memoirs should be high on your reading list?
Some of these stories will make you laugh out loud, others will undoubtedly make you gasp: “Wait, she did what?” – the reality of working in porn is very different to the end product we see on the screen.
1. Insatiable by Asa Akira
Asa Akira is one of the most famous porn stars of the last few decades and is still well-watched across the major porn tube sites, appearing in over 300 adult movies. Winner of the 2013 AVN Performer of the Year, Asa Akira has actually written three books.
Her first was titled Insatiable: Porn – A Love Story and is a brutally honest but often humorous look back (and sometimes ahead) at her career in the porn industry. The book was widely acclaimed by critics and well-received by her fans in what has been described by some as a:
“Relentlessly risqué. . . a lascivious, personalized journey through the pornography industry”
Her second book, Dirty Thirty marks Akira’s ‘coming of age’ as she turns thirty in an industry where the next hot young thing is always snapping at your heels. In this memoir, Akira once again demonstrates a surprising deftness of touch as she handles subjects as diverse as death and marriage alongside the obvious subjects of sex and love. Once again, the book was widely received with positive reviews such as:
“Personally revealing as well as universal, Dirty Thirty marks the coming of age of a new literary star.”
And finally, Akira has followed up the success of her first two memoirs with a third title, Asarotica. An exploration of what turns porn stars on, this book is a collection of 22 sexy stories and erotic essays written by stars of the blue movie screen. Edited by Akira and featuring a short story she wrote herself, it is an intriguing selection of vignettes and a real eye-opener on the libidinous and, sometimes, fetishist appetites of your favorite porn stars.
Not so much a memoir, but definitely well worth adding to your collection of Akira titles.
All three books are interesting and insightful reads. If you want to get inside Asa Akira’s head (without having to buy her a drink first), Insatiable is a must-read.
2. Girlvert: A Porno Memoir by Ashley Blue
Born Oriana Small, Ashley Blue is another megastar of the adult movie industry and has appeared in more than 300 porno films… including the infamous Girlvert series. She was voted the AVN Performer of the Year in 2004 and has also won numerous other awards for her work.
This cult-favorite book documents Ashley’s decade in the adult industry, where she became notorious for her edgy, boundary-pushing performances.
Blue’s autobiography takes the title of her most iconic porn movie and is called Girlvert: A Porno Memoir. Released in 2011, it is an, at times, brutally honest account of the decade of her life that she spent working in the industry. She recounts her “gonzo” porn adventures, substance-fueled misadventures, and the emotional rollercoaster of life in porn.
Illuminating and charged with authenticity, the book is actually a rather beautiful read. It was received well by critics and she was even given the highest accolade of being compared to a literary genius:
“If Hemingway had been a porn star, this is how he would have written.”
An excellent piece of work that not only offers up the darker side of life as a porn star for scrutiny… but also the highs. Of course, there is plenty of detail in her accounts of the sex which makes for an enjoyable read!
3. Lights, Camera, Sex by Christy Canyon
Lights, Camera, Sex is the autobiographical account of the 1980s porn icon, Christy Canyon (real name Melissa Kaye Bardizbanian). An inductee into the AVN Hall of Fame, Canyon has performed in over 100 adult movies under several pseudonyms including Tara White, Linda Daniel, Sara wine and DeeDee.
She famously retired from the industry on three separate occasions but each time returned to the porn movie business within a few years. Even her last retirement in 1997 has not entirely separated her from the sector as she continues to run her own porn website and is a host on the Vivid Radio network.
Published in 2003, her autobiography is not the slickest memoir you will ever come across and is written in an amateurish way in places. However, it is perhaps this authenticity which makes the book intensely readable as it adds an extra element of intimacy that feels as though she is sharing her thoughts with a small audience.
Covering everything from her early life growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Canyon spills the beans on all her misadventures with fellow porn stars including Traci Lords, Ginger Lynn, Ron Jeremy and Peter North. As you would expect, there are some bad encounters here along with the highs of a career on top but she handles the subject well and delivers a powerful account of life outside of the glare of the studio lights.
Reading more like a candid diary, this juicy memoir covers all the details you’d be interested in when looking back at the career of one of porn’s biggest stars.
4. The Devil Made Me Do It by Georgina Spelvin
For all but the dedicated porn fan, the name Georgina Spelvin may not mean much… but this erotic icon of the 1970s was the star of an all-time classic porno movie, The Devil in Miss Jones. Released in 1973, this ‘porno chic’ movie was shot by the same director as Deep Throat and is widely regarded as one of the most iconic movies of the Golden Age of Porn.
In her memoir The Devil Made Me Do It, Spelvin proves she’s as adept with a pen as she was in front of the camera.
Spelvin first shot some softcore lesbian scenes in the late 1950s and 1960s but was immediately catapulted to fame as the lead in The Devil in Miss Jones. She followed up with a couple of low-budget sexploitation films and continued making porno movies until 1982 when she retired.
Recording over 100 titles, Spelvin’s memoir takes us back to a very different era of adult movies and starts way before the heyday of her career. At times bawdy and at others poignant, this autobiography is more laugh-out-loud funny than teary and has been hailed as:
“… not a victim’s whine, but a romping good read, filled with the colorful details of a road less traveled.”
A tale of one woman’s journey from young hippie to porn star and then to housewife, The Devil Made Me Do It is an absorbing and fascinating read.
5. The Secret Lives of Hyapatia Lee
Hyapatia Lee’s life reads like a movie script… and in The Secret Lives of Hyapatia Lee, the 1980s porn megastar (and one of the few Native American performers of her era) tells her astonishing, often harrowing story in full.
Born Victoria Lynch, Hyapatia Lee was the stage name chosen by this 1980s porn star due to her mixed Cherokee/Irish heritage. The only adult performer (at the time) who could lay claim to Native American descent, Lynch/Lee gained a lot of prominence at the tail end of the Golden Age of Porn.
She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 1993 and was given a lifetime achievement award from the Free Speech Coalition in 1995
A self-published memoir released in 2000, The Secret Lives of Hyapatia Lee isn’t the most polished (she self-published it, and it shows in places), but it’s brimming with heart. Hyapatia’s honesty about her pain – from abusive relationships to industry exploitation – is gut-punching.
It is also quite a dark exploration of how someone with a difficult background ‘fell into porn’. This is an autobiography that firmly falls into the ‘victim’ category but, nevertheless, makes for some interesting reading… particularly if you were/are a fan.
6. Make Love Like A Porn Star by Jenna Jameson
There are few bigger names in adult entertainment than Jenna Jameson, so it’s no surprise her memoir became a crossover bestseller.
With an estimated net worth in excess of $30 million, Jameson’s memoirs are proof of yet another string to her bow. The book, published in 2004, spent six weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list and no doubt continues to earn her considerable royalties.
And deservedly so. How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale is an unforgettable account of one woman’s rise to the top in this multi-billion-dollar industry. With the help of a ghost writer, it is an insightful and ballsy account of the inner workings of the adult movie business coupled with some revealing inside gossip.
It is also, as the title suggests, a cautionary tale against the trappings of glitz and glamour by addressing those familiar issues of exploitation, rivalry and double standards.
In her continued crossover to the mainstream, the book was reviewed by plenty of critics who were (mainly) delighted with her efforts and was dubbed ‘a gold mine’ for aspiring performers.
“Captivating…a real person comes through in its page…Lively, hellacious, entertaining, sharp, feisty, and touching.”
What makes this memoir shine is Jenna’s larger-than-life personality. It’s a titivating, sometimes gripping but always thrilling autobiography, a great read and certainly a book that any true fan should have their paws on.
If not for the words, certainly for the never-before-seen and exclusive photos from Jameson’s private collection. 😉
7. Raw Talent by Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler’s Raw Talent: The Adult Film Industry as Seen by Its Most Famous Male Star is part memoir, part scorched-earth exposé. In the 1980s, Butler was a prolific male porn star known for his boy-next-door good looks and wild sense of humor on set. Off camera, though, Jerry was a bit of a rebel…
Born Paul Siederman in 1959 to a Jewish father and a mother with Cherokee heritage, he is considered one of the male porn legends of the 1980s and is fondly remembered by his audience as being a natural on set.
Compared to many male leads of the time, Butler brought an element of humor to his work as well as being an intense and uninhibited performer.
His memoir, Raw Talent: The Adult Film Industry As Seen by Its Most Famous Male Star, is an excellent read and demonstrates the addiction that adult movie stars have to the industry despite its flaws and failings. The book is actually written by two writers to whom Butler told his story but, nevertheless, he is a great raconteur and shows a remarkable emotional intelligence in giving this no-holds-barred expose.
The book is an excellent read for anyone curious about the real dynamics on a porn set. But Butler’s honesty was far from rewarded and his sharp tongue earned him enemies; when Raw Talent came out, a lot of former colleagues were none too pleased with his candid admissions!
8. Porn King by John C. Holmes
Few names in the porn industry are as well-known in the mainstream as John C. Holmes. A giant among men, in every sense of the word, Holmes is to the adult movie business what Elvis was to Rock n Roll.
The undisputed King of Porn appeared in a staggering 550+ porn films (some say more than 2,200) and was known as ‘Mr Big’ by his legions of fans; an apt moniker for the owner of an exceptionally large penis.
Despite his infamy as a blue movie screen legend, Holmes was actually an intensely private and down-to-earth man who was more comfortable with his other nickname, ‘Mr Nice Guy’.
It is because of his private nature that makes Porn King a truly unique and intimate memoir, particularly as it was co-written with the help of Holmes’s wife, Linda (aka Misty Dawn).
There is very little about his early life but the accounts really start when he broke into the porn industry and tell the story of the adult movie business in its heyday from a male perspective. No corner is left unlit and Holmes covers everything between these pages from his involvement in the Wonderland Murders (he was acquitted due to insufficient evidence) to his side job as a male prostitute servicing the rich and famous.
There is very little glamour in the account of his own life yet there is a fondness here in his retelling of his story which is charming yet dated; Holmes hails from a very different era and it shows.
It’s an easy read that is refreshing and entertaining whilst (appearing) to be brutally honest. A rare portrait of an icon from the Golden Age of Porn.
9. Ordeal by Linda Lovelace
According to some critics, Linda Lovelace’s autobiography Ordeal is the most talked about porn memoir of all time. It is actually her third such book but her previous two attempts (Inside Linda Lovelace and Out of Bondage) are not (according to Lovelace) the whole story…
In Ordeal she makes some startling revelations about the truth behind her starring role in the world’s most famous porn film, Deep Throat. In this book, she reveals that her partner, Chuck Traynor, and director of this 8mm skin flick not only coerced her into performing but did so under extreme threats of violence. As well as death threats, systematic abuse and holding Lovelace at gunpoint, Lovelace claims that he also forced her into prostitution.
Famously a born-again Christian, the book has added fuel to the fires of the morality debate around pornography; Lovelace herself was a spokesperson for the anti-pornography movement up until her death in 2002.
Ordeal is a horrific account of one woman’s attempt to protect herself and her family from violence and abuse that is, unfortunately, tied up with one of the most iconic adult movies ever released. It is an eye-opener to read and casts a very different light on Deep Throat than the proponents of this ‘feminist’ piece of hardcore porn at the time would have you believe.
For many readers, this shocking account will ‘spoil’ the magic that this seminal piece of work embodies. However, it is an important memoir that not only shines a light on the dark underworld of where porn has come from but, importantly, helps illuminate the path of how this should never happen again.
10. Confessions of a Transsexual Porn Star by Meghan Chavalier
Not necessarily the most well-known porn star on our list, don’t let that put you off: Meghan Chavalier is certainly one of the most intriguing.
A male-to-female transsexual, Chavalier rose to fame as the world’s most successful ‘shemale’ adult film star in the business and is still widely watched on porn tube sites.
Right from the off, we will warn you that her memoir, Confessions Of A Transsexual Porn Star is not a cheery read. Far from it. In fact, it has plenty of the typical ingredients that many anti-porn campaigners would get excited over (if they were allowed to) including an alcoholic, abusive father, bipolar disorder, depression, prostitution and drug abuse.
Yes, of course, these issues are not to be belittled but there are plenty of porn memoirs that cite them. What’s different in this particular autobiography (apart from the obvious) is that Chevalier has overcome them in spite of her own issues with gender identity and doesn’t portray herself as a victim.
What comes across in this book is a strength and determination that sees her succeed as an alternative porn icon who possesses an enormous amount of dignity.
True, the writing here is not the literary genius of a professional wordsmith but we can forgive the odd grammatical error. The storytelling wins the day.
If you’re interested in the experiences of transgender performers in porn, Meghan Chavalier’s memoir is a pioneering work that deserves attention.
11. Absolute Mayhem by Monica Mayhem
If you want to know exactly how a a respectable Aussie financial analyst from Brisbane became a global porn sensation then Absolute Mayhem is precisely the memoir for you. To be honest, there aren’t that many alternatives but, fortunately, Monica Mayhem’s foray into the world of celebrity autobiography is actually a pretty good read!
Tone-wise, Absolute Mayhem cuts an upbeat tune. Monica isn’t here to lament or moralize… she’s here to have a laugh and tell you how she lived out every good-girl-gone-bad fantasy.
Mayhem can count more than 400 porn films to her name as well as mainstream appearances in movies such as Sex in the City – and her memoir reads like a solid flipping the bird to her detractors. Far from being a tale of how the porn industry has ‘ruined’ her life, this is a celebration of what the business has given to Mayhem.
If you prefer your porn star memoirs with a side of positivity and humour, you’ll definitely enjoy this account, packed full of Aussie wit and self-deprecating jokes.
12. I Am Jennie by Penny Flame
Star of more than 200 adult movies over a career that spanned from 2002 to 2009, Penny Flam (aka Jennie Ketcham) is another porn star who has achieved mainstream crossover fame. Famously appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show (and many more besides) to discuss sex addiction, Flame started blogging about her experiences in the porn industry after she retired in 2009.
Her blog was turned into a memoir and published in 2012 as I Am Jennie; it documents her ‘descent’ into the world of pornography accompanied by issues with drug addiction.
In the book, she reveals her story which includes ingredients that will be familiar to many; difficult family life, early promiscuity, an inability to find emotional intimacy and substance abuse.
For Flame, porn was a catalyst of self-destructive behavior and much of this well-written memoir addresses her recovery from this world and how she forged a new path in life after retiring from the industry.
Famously renouncing and forfeiting all of the profits she made from the adult movie business, I Am Jennie is a journey beyond porn from a performer who found a way to heal and grow.
13. The Hardest Working Man in Showbiz by Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy’s memoir carries the perfect tongue-in-cheek title for a man who claims over 2,000 conquests on film: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz.
Truly one of the most prolific porn stars ever, Jeremy has starred in almost 2000 adult movies (directing more than 280) and has had sex with every leading lady you care to mention. Famously known as the ‘everyman’ of porn, it is the fact that he is ‘ordinary’ in the looks department (yet blessed with a large cock) that has made him so popular; this and the fact he is a bit of a ‘character’.
In his autobiography, you can expect his larger-than-life personality to burst out of the pages and take you on a whirlwind journey of sensational stories told with great aplomb and plenty of humor.
It turns out that, despite not getting many speaking roles in his many films, he is quite the raconteur! There’s plenty of namedropping here and the anecdotes come thick and fast (much like his on-screen work!).
“…if you want to know where all the bodies are buried, he’s the guy that can not only show you the grave, but can tell you the back story on the tombstone.”
Published by Harper Collins in 2007, Jeremy’s autobiography may not be the most comprehensive account of his life. Anyone looking for rare insights about how a middle-class Jewish boy from Queens ended up in the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Appearances in Adult Films may be disappointed – but that does not detract from this hugely entertaining read.
If you enjoy reading this book then you should definitely catch the highly-rated porn documentary covering his life, Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy.
14. The Naked Truth by Sasha Cream
Sasha Cream’s The Naked Truth serves up exactly what the subtitle promises – revealing secrets and crazy escapades from her double life as a porn star and high-end escort.
Never heard of Sasha Cream? That’s okay; she freely admits she wasn’t an A-list adult performer. But what she lacks in name recognition, she makes up for in scandalous connections…
“As I sift through a long list, I’ll spare no details when it comes to my time spent pleasing these men in ways their wives and girlfriends weren’t—all for the mighty dollar”
Cream may not be the most well-known adult performer on our list nor is her memoir the best-written. However, The Naked Truth offers anyone looking for celebrity gossip more than a few juicy titbits. Expect some bean-spilling about her relationships with the likes of Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, Cee Lo Green and Momma Dee.
Alongside the celeb scoop, Sasha shares how she entered the adult industry, her experiences as a Black woman in porn (and the stereotypes she battled), and the double life of being both adult entertainer and escort to the rich and famous. Enjoy accordingly!
15. Neü Sex by Sasha Grey
At just 21, Sasha Grey left porn as one of its most recognized stars, then promptly flipped the script by releasing Neü Sex… a stylish photobook-memoir hybrid that’s as unconventional as Sasha herself.
Though only actively working as an adult performer for four years (2007-2010), Sasha Grey is a well-known face in the industry and shot to fame with her debut performance; an orgy performed with Rocco Siffredi.
The following year she became the youngest winner of the coveted AVN Female Performer of the Year and went on to collect another 14 awards in her short career.
Neü Sex is a photo memoir that vividly documents her time on set and being around the porn industry in general. Most of the images were taken by Grey herself (some are taken by her fiancé, Ian).
Accompanied by thoughts and musings, the result is a very intimate window but is far from ‘revealing’ in the sense of an autobiography ‘tell-all’.
Don’t expect any graphic depictions of sex; instead, this is a fascinating artifact that captures the ethos of her stint in porn and her philosophy that porn could be performance art.
16. Inside Seka
Often referred to as the Marilyn Monroe (or, Platinum Princess) of Porn, Seka is one of the biggest names in the adult film industry. As leading producer and agent, Bill Margold, points out:
“The Mount Rushmore of Adult Entertainment has four heads: John Holmes, Marilyn Chambers, Jenna Jameson, and Seka. That’s it; there ain’t no more.”
Appearing in more than 200 titles, many of which bore her name, Seka’s career started in the late 1970s and she remained top of her game until she retired in 1993. During this time, she worked with most of the screen legends whose names we are all familiar with from this era. However, she was also a regular on the Hollywood circuit and her memoirs include celebrity gossip from her time spent with movie stars, artists and rock stars.
Published in 2013, Inside Seka is a refreshing porn star autobiography that has none of the ‘misery memoir’ or ‘victim mentality’ for which much of this genre is known. Instead, Seka delivers a powerfully positive account of her life despite the usual ups and downs one can attribute to this kind of journey to stardom.
There are no apologetic excuses here and you won’t find any accusations being leveled at the industry. What you get is the story of an enigmatic and charming woman who was (and is) in control of her own destiny. She calls it like she sees it, addressing the usual ups and downs of stardom but emphasizing that she chose and loved her career.
The book was co-written with the help of a ghost-writer, Kerry Zukus, and is a remarkably easy read which zips along at a good pace.
17. Porn Star by Steven St. Croix
Ever wanted a candid Q&A with a male porn star?
Steven St. Croix (real name Stephen Scott) obliges with Porn Star: Everything You Want to Know and Are Embarrassed to Ask. St Croix is a Hall-of-Fame stud who spent over 20 years in the biz and became one of the top male performers of the ’90s and 2000s.
Though not quite an autobiography, this book is nevertheless a very entertaining and informative read. In it, St. Croix answers some frequently asked questions about the porn business and dispels many myths along the way.
From his candid accounts of what a ‘fluffer’ actually does on set to the contentious legislation regarding mandatory condom use in the industry – all in all, it’s a pretty educational read.
Steven charts some of his journey from how he got his first break to his own opinions on the world of adult entertainment. One thing to note: Porn Star was initially an e-book only and didn’t seem to have a heavy editorial polish.
Though an informative account, you can’t help but feel that the whole book could have delivered more with the help of a professional publisher. Still, it’s not without its value as a quick and amusing reflection on some aspects of the industry omitted by many others (botched plastic surgery and the Mafia plus the economics of making porn!).
18. Full Disclosure by Stormy Daniels
When it comes to porn star memoirs that transcended the genre, Stormy Daniels’ Full Disclosure blows the doors off the clubhouse.
This is one of the most widely read memoirs of an adult performer… ever.
Though she had made a reasonably well-known name for herself prior to that date in March 2018 when she filed a lawsuit against the president of the USA, it is her relationship with Donald Trump that will probably always define her. Certainly, Stormy Daniels was the search term that defined PornHub that year!
The book is a complete account of the notorious nondisclosure agreement and her subsequent battle to take on the Leader of the Free World in his first term.
She addresses the subject of intimidation and being thrust into the limelight as well as being publicly reviled by many. It is a frank, often funny, but compelling story of one woman’s journey into the porn industry that lead to crossing swords with, perhaps, the most powerful establishment in the world.
“Reading Daniels’ story in her own words, you find yourself charmed by her wit and her stark self-awareness, all of which draws you further into the book.”
Don’t get us wrong, this book has its flaws and there are many who will read Daniels’ memoir with a raised eyebrow. Politics aside, and whichever side of the fence you sit on, this book is explosive, full of mischief and written with an incredibly defiant and unapologetic voice.
A classic in the genre? Absolutely!
19. Sinner Takes All by Tera Patrick
Tera Patrick is another huge name in the porn industry who has been inducted into both the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. Patrick is one of America’s favorite porn starlets of the Millennium and still regularly receives millions of views on tube sites.
Once married to the porn star Evan Seinfeld, and still the owner of her own production company (TeraVision), she is, like fellow performer Jenna Jameson, a highly successful businesswoman.
Published in 2010 and written with the help of the journalist Carrie Borzillo, Sinner Takes All is a no-holds-barred and very personal account of Patrick’s life. There are familiar ingredients here including plenty of emotional obstacles, poor relationship choices, difficult family ties and a deep depression resulting in a suicide attempt.
Certainly dark in places, Patrick described writing the book as a “cathartic” experience and there is a sense of a journey shared when you read this book. In fact, the process allowed Patrick to mend the fractured relationship with her mother and address her separation from Seinfeld.
Well received by her audience, Sinner Takes All has plenty of positive reviews from critics.
“The fast-reading memoir whips from knowing to naive and back as it tracks its plucky protagonist from ugly-duckling school days to international adult superstardom.”
If you’re curious about the life of a top-tier porn star who successfully straddled the line between porn and mainstream, Tera’s memoir is a rewarding read.
20. Underneath It All by Traci Lords
Traci Lords is infamous for nearly bringing the adult industry to its knees in the 1980s – and in Underneath It All, she finally tells her side of the story.
Lords only played a part in the business for a couple of years from 1984 to 1986. However, it was the fact that she famously faked her ID to appear in adult movies when she was just 15 that earned her a place in the unofficial Hall of Fame.
Her autobiography, titled Underneath It All, follows her story as she runs away from home at the age of 14 to pursue her dream of a modeling career. What follows, as we all know, is an addiction to cocaine and sex which led to her short career in blue movies before an explosive revelation about her true age.
“Frank, opinionated, intelligent, drenched in emotion….Will have readers cheering Lords on as they speed through its gritty, big-souled pages”
Much of the memoir covers the latter years of her career in which she became a cult icon as well as appearing in plenty of mainstream movies and TV shows.
The book received very positive reviews from critics and, for a time, topped the New York Times bestsellers list when it was published in 2003.
Overall, it is a confident and pragmatic account of a woman who, thirty years on, is still capitalizing on the name she made for herself as a teenager in the porn industry. Her story is one of the most extraordinary in or out of the porn world.
21. We Did Porn by Zak Smith
Artist. Porn star. Provocateur. Zak Smith (aka Zak Sabbath) is a man of many personas, and his book We Did Porn is as unconventional as he is.
Blending memoir, cultural critique, and even illustration (Zak is an accomplished painter), We Did Porn chronicles Zak’s strange trip from the New York art scene to Los Angeles’s alt-porn underground. If that sounds high-brow, don’t worry… it’s also full of some outrageous party stories, sharp wit, and a cast of characters that could really only come from the fringes of Hollywood.
“An intelligent, funny, and self-aware reminder that intelligent, funny, and self-aware people do in fact choose to work in the porn industry.”
The book is presented in a series of vignettes that are broadly chronological in order, although at times dense and meandering. Through Zak’s eyes, we see a side of the industry that’s worlds away from the glossy Vivid Video sets; this is the realm of DIY alt-porn productions, tattooed and neon-haired starlets, and porny parties in art lofts…
Smith’s style may not be to everyone’s tastes – and there is definitely something a little kinky about We Did Porn – but what is undeniable is his creativity. Funny yet beautiful, strange whilst familiar, this memoir is an arresting and articulate account of a truly unique porn star.
Are there any excellent porn memoirs or autobiographies that we’ve missed?
Let us know your top reads and favourites…
